Author: k

Trust Your Customer

A personal consultant
told me
to do something
X way.

I told her
my brain would fight me
on that.

I would do the something
Y way instead.

The consultant argued
I would more likely
achieve the something
with X way
and said
I was dooming myself
and the something
to failure.

I know my own brain
better than she does.

I know how I think.

I know how I’ll be
most successful.

Trust me.

Your customer likely knows
themself
much better than you do
also.

Listen to them
when they tell you
what best works for them.

And consider
at least trying it
their way.

Kill Criteria

When one of my self-published
romance novel series
started selling really well,
I told myself
I’d stop writing in that series
when pre-order sales
didn’t cover production costs.

Making that decision
near the start
of the series
was emotionally
much easier
than making it
when pre-order sales
had dipped.

And it ensured
I ended the series
(the product line)
with much of its profits
intact.

Identifying
clear ending or stopping points
is called
kill criteria
and it can be the difference
between profits
and losses.

It ensures
we don’t wait too long
to end projects.

Establish kill criteria
at the beginning of a project.

Delivering On Optional Goods Or Services

I was offered
the services of a dietitian.

It would be free
for me
but paid for by the government.

I accepted that offer.

An appointment over the phone
was arranged.

The dietitian never called.

I completed tasks
while waiting for the call
that never came.

But I had rearranged
my schedule
to be at home.

The next time,
I’ll say no
to a dietitian consultation.

Optional products or services
are just that – optional.

Deliver
or customers won’t invest in them
again.

A Good Review Doesn’t Offset A Bad Review

A book reviewer has been
VERY vocal
about hating one of my books.

Whenever I promote that book,
she’ll share how much she hated it
in the comments of my posts.

Then she’ll share about how she liked
one of my books
in another unconnected thread.

She does that
because she wants me to like her.

I DON’T like her.

She is deliberately killing my sales
and making it d@mn difficult
for me to make a profit
on my books (products).

If I could block her
without her kicking up drama,
I would do that.

A good review
shared sparingly
doesn’t offset
a bad review
shared everywhere.

A nice comment
also doesn’t offset
a mean comment.

A Like Doesn’t Equal A Share

I’ve noticed a trend
on social media.

I’ll share another writer’s post.
They’ll, in response,
like one of my posts.

That’s not the same thing.
At all.

When I share a post,
it means all of my followers
have a better chance
of seeing the other person’s post.

When I like a post,
it means the other person’s followers
have a better chance
of seeing their own post.

Both increases reach.
But only one increases reach
to new-to-us readers (prospects).

A like doesn’t equal
a share.

Remember that
when reciprocating
on social media.

No One Will Notice

I’ve changed my diet
significantly
and I was worried
it would cause issues
and raise questions
with a friend
I regularly have lunch with.

We normally order
similar items.
This would be…different.

She didn’t even notice.

I had to change the release day
for a story.

Many readers had already pre-ordered it.

I worried they’d be upset.

No one contacted me about it.
I suspect many people
didn’t notice the change.

There’s a lot of sh*t happening
right now.
People are worried about
a lot of other things.

They likely won’t notice
the change
you’re worried about implementing.

If that change is necessary,
make it.

Is It Applicable To The Average Person?

An expert advised people
on social media
to stock up on Tamiflu
in preparation for
the certain-to-happen
mass Bird Flu outbreak.

Tamiflu is by prescription only.

The expert told people
to ask their doctors for prescriptions
for ‘preventative purposes.’

The rich, the powerful, the connected
can get prescriptions
for ‘preventative purposes.’

Doctors will do
favors like that
for those people.

They’ll take that risk.

Doctors won’t do favors
for the average person.

The expert doesn’t know that
because he is one of the elite.

We, business builders,
also
aren’t the average person.

We have knowledge
other people don’t have.

We have resources
other people don’t have.

We likely have connections
other people don’t have.

Ensure there is
an ‘average person’
on your team
(formally or informally).

Check with them
before giving advice
to other average people.

The Cost Of Shipping

Yesterday, I suggested
increasing the cost
of your products
to cover shipping
and
then offering
free shipping.

How do you do that
when you ship
all over the country
and/or world?

First, you offer
a different cost for your products
based on country.

International buyers
often already expect that.

Then you review
where your sales originate
in that country.

Are most of your sales
in the USA
coming from
the mainland
for example?

Then you offer
free shipping
to mainland USA
and charge for shipping
to other places.

You calculate
that cost of shipping
by taking your current shipping costs
divided by the number
of delivered products.

Increase that cost per delivered product,
give yourself space for error
and a little bit of profit.

Then monitor
that cost per delivered product
closely.

You’ll lose profits
on shipping costs
on some sales.

But you should more than compensate
for those losses
with gains on other sales.

Ensure you know
your shipping costs
before you offer free shipping.

Include Shipping Costs In Pricing

I will pay more
for a product
if there’s free shipping.

Often I’ll pay more
than what the shipping costs
would be.

It makes no sense.
I admit it.

But that’s how I think
and
that’s how many other people think.

What does this mean
for you, as a business owner?

Consider increasing
the price of your product
to cover the cost
of shipping
(to mainland USA
or major cities
or…everywhere in a certain country)
and
then promote free shipping.

Other Uses For Your Products

I plant radishes
every year.

I do this primarily
for the bulbs.

But sometimes
the bulbs don’t form.

If that happens,
I will eat the leafy part,
the greens.

Or I will allow the radish
to produce flowers
and then seeds.

That feeds the bees
and it gives me seeds
for the next season.

When I design products,
I always ask myself
what other uses
the products can serve.

Sometimes
the primary use
fails.
There’s no true market
for it
or
the product simply doesn’t work
for it.

How else could customers
use your product?