Once Is Not Enough

We all know that
making a difference
in the long term
is a constant effort,
the ‘drip.’

But many of us,
myself included,
think one time exposure
is enough to make a substantial difference
in the short run.

It often isn’t.
What is needed
is a combination of pushes.

Seth Godin
shares

“In the short run,
drip by drip rarely puts people on alert.
It’s the thunderclap,
the coordinated,
accelerating work of many people,
that causes those in power
to sit up and take notice.
Do it a few times in a row,
or fifty, or a hundred,
each with more impact,
and you can successfully intervene.”

Once is not enough.

Published
Categorized as Marketing

How To Communicate Work Isn’t Quality

When one of my stories
doesn’t work,
my editor will tell me
my readers would be disappointed
with it.

This doesn’t say
the story is bad.
It simply says
I haven’t met the expectation
I’ve set for my readers.
I haven’t met my own standard.

Seth Godin
shares

“One of the nicest things
a generous critic can tell you
is that a particularly off-key email
or comment
doesn’t sound like you.

It’s generous
because that’s precisely
the sort of feedback
we can use to improve our work.

And it’s nice
because it means that
not only do you sound like something,
you sound like something
worthy of sticking with.”

Don’t tell people their work is bad.
Tell them it doesn’t represent
the work they usually do.

Bryan Baeumler And Hard Work

I always advise business builders
to love the business they’re building,
to enjoy being part of that industry.

Because they will be spending
quite a bit of time
and investing a lot of hard work
into that business.

I work EVERY day of the week.
I write from Monday to Friday
but Saturday and Sunday
are big marketing days.

Bryan Baeumler,
handyman
and TV personality,
shares*

“I grew up
watching my dad,
and knew early on
that to put food on the table
and keep the lights on,
you had to put
blood, sweat, and tears
into it.”

Expect to work hard
while building your business.

*March/April 2017
The Costco Connection

Permit Short-Cuts

At the end of the year,
a big romance novel bookseller
went out of business.
I had a book releasing
in February.
Readers had pre-ordered it
but the bookseller didn’t give them
a refund.

If I had published that book
at a big New York publisher
and that reader had contacted the publisher,
the publisher would have told her
there was nothing they could do.
Their issue was with the bookseller.

But I self-published that book.
Readers contacted me.
Normally, I don’t give readers
free copies of books either.
But this wasn’t a normal situation.
I gave them a copy of the book
and kept those readers as customers.

Robert M. Galford
and
Cary Greene,
share*

“When small businesses
start to grow,
owners often find
they need to establish
formal rules and procedures
so things will be done correctly
even if they’re unable
to supervise in person.

That’s smart policy.

But those rules invite sabotage
– instantly –
when they prevent
employees’ personal judgment
from overriding processes that,
for whatever reason,
are not working in the moment.”

Consider giving your employees
permission
in some cases to take short cuts,
to bend the rules
to make the customer happy.

*March/April 2017
The Costco Connection

Yes, And

One wrong word
can ruin a 100,000 word book.
It can destroy the experience
for the reader.

One wrong word
can also change
how your team acts.

Dave Wilk,
Founder of
Four Day Weekend,
suggests
saying “Yes, and”,
rather than
“Yes, but.”

He
shares*

“Saying “yes, and”
to something
does not always imply agreement.

It is accepting the reality
of a situation or information,
and building upon it.

Be aware of
how you acknowledge
the other person’s ideas.

Saying “yes, but”
is really just saying “no”
while wasting time
and creating confusion.
Word choice matters.”

Be aware of which words
you use.

*March/April 2017
The Costco Connection

Lisa Berry And Appreciation

Everyone is born with disadvantages.
I have a terrible memory.
If you offered me one million dollars
to tell you what 7 X 8 was,
unassisted,
I couldn’t do it.

But, as fiction writers know,
every disadvantage is also an advantage.
Not having a great memory
forced me,
as a young age,
to develop systems.
That talent made me very successful.

Look for the positives.
They are usually there.

Actress Lisa Berry,
in the March/April
Cineplex Magazine,
shares

“I feel like
if I put my best foot forward
and love the hand
that I was dealt
rather than
be upset at the hand
that I got,
appreciate
rather than
expect,
then everything falls into place
in a wonderful way.”

Appreciate what advantages you have
and you DO have quite a few advantages.

How To Deliver Bad News

Things don’t always
go as planned.
Disasters happen
while we’re building our businesses.
These incidents
have to be communicated.

Bruna Martinuzzi,
Founder of
Clarion Enterprises Ltd.,
shares

“If you are delivering bad news
to an executive audience,
don’t waste time in preambles.

When an audience hears bad news
in midstream,
it may have a negative emotional effect.
The audience may feel that
they have been set up,
and no one likes to be
caught by surprise.

Get to the point quickly.
Follow up with
a recommended solution.”

Odds are
people know
about the disaster.

Address it quickly.

Play In Your Niche

When Fifty Shades Of Grey
started earning huge dollars,
the romance writing industry
was swamped with profit seeking writers.

Many of these writers
didn’t read romance novels.
They didn’t understand the genre.
They didn’t know the nuances
of what readers wanted,
how they bought,
why they read romance,
and a gazillion other variables.

Most of these writers failed.

I’ve seen this same thing happen
in many different industries.
A complete outsider sweeps in
and usually fails.
Why?
Because she doesn’t understand
the nuances of the industry.

Learn about your niche.
Play in it.
Buy from the competition.
Spend time with prospects.
Be part of the community
you wish to sell to.

Focus On The Present And Future

In an earlier post,
I talked about learning
about history.

Learning about history
isn’t living in history.

Every day,
I hear someone say
something like

‘When I started in publishing,
publishers did all of the marketing.’
or
‘In the 1970s,
I could afford a house.’
or
‘If it weren’t for retailers like Walmart,
I could make a profit.’

Who the f*ck cares?
That isn’t the current reality.

Writers have to market.
Housing prices are higher.
Walmart exists.

Deal with it.
Stop moaning and groaning,
wishing about how the world used to be,
and
figure out a way to be successful
in this current business environment.
(And there ARE ways
– there are opportunities
in every environment.)

Learn about the past.
Focus on the present.
Plan for the future.

Changing With The Times

On January 27th,
the U.S. put the travel ban
into effect.

I’m Canadian.
Usually the major travel sites
send me promos
focusing on travel to the U.S.

Within days,
those travel sites
had changed their promos
to focus on Europe.

The world is changing quickly.
Ensure your business is able
to change quickly also.