A loved one works in a bookstore.
He knows that
a patron coming into the store
looking for a copy of
Kimber Chin’s Breach Of Trust
is more likely to buy
(if that book is in stock)
than a patron
asking simply about a book.
Why?
Because she has done her research,
she has thought about it already
and
she is ready to buy.
The more specific the request,
the closer the prospect is to buying.
Jeff Johnson provides a great presentation
explaining this.
I haven’t had a consulting contract
in two weeks.
I might not be on placement again
until I get back from
the Consumer Electronics Show
mid January.
That is normal.
That is expected.
That is one of the reasons
consulting billings
are higher than full time employee wages.
So how do I deal?
I’ve budgeted for slow periods
(with the writing schedule,
I assume
I’m only consulting 6 months out of the year)
and
I’ve planned work for this time.
The nice-to-do list
that somehow never manages to get done.
Training, admin work,
touching base with previous clients.
If your revenue is spotty,
arrange time flexible projects for the off periods.
I have a core group
I go to when I want to hear the brutal truth.
I also have a larger group
I go to when I want a pat on the back.
One of the reasons I’m successful
is because I know
who belongs in which group.
In the Rich 100 edition
of Canadian Business,
former CEO of Seagram Co
Edgar Bronfman
talks about ass-kissers and truth-tellers.
“One of the hardest things to do
when you’re a chief executive
is to separate the ass-kissers
from those who tell you the truth.
And, of course, there’s a lot more ass-kissers
than there are truth-tellers.
Sometimes it’s very difficult
for people to tell you truth.
Nobody wants to get in the ashcan
because they insulted you.
They tend to skirt around the issue.
You really have to know
how to penetrate the nonsense.”
In the Rich 100 issue
of Canadian Business,
Dollarama Founder Larry Rossy talks strategy.
“One of Rossy’s secrets is his penchant
for reverse engineering:
he will comb the malls,
looking for $10 items
he believes he can knock off
and source from Asia
to sell for $1.
He then gets his in-house design team
to develop sharp, customized packaging
to put around the products.
Dollarama has 70 house brands,
still a novel concept
in the dollar-store world.”
From $10 to $1,
if you plan to compete on price,
that is a ratio to keep in mind.
I have an email list of 1,500 readers
for my romance novels.
I contact them monthly.
1,300 of these readers
get a fairly standard form letter.
It is chatty and friendly
but still standard.
200 receive a personalized email.
I add one or two personal tweaks
to the form letter
(information tracked on their profiles
like Bella loves redheaded heroines or
Sue is a Margaret Moore fan)
so they know I’m writing directly to them.
The 200 recipients change every month.
What does this accomplish?
It makes the one on one contact
so necessary for small businesses
manageable.
Many people claimed to be
‘Buy and hold’ investors’
but when the markets took a dive,
the truth came out.
They didn’t hold,
they sold.
Faith is not faith unless it has been tested.
An entrepreneur is not truly an entrepreneur
unless she has gone completely broke
at least once.
A survivor is not a survivor
if she’s only survived happy times.
I could go on
but you get the picture.
If you’re going through tough times right now,
as many of us are,
the upside is
that you’re about to find out
what you REALLY stand for
and who you REALLY are.
Embrace this.
It may be a short term struggle
but, if you learn from it,
it will bring long term happiness.
I had a book signing on Saturday
and I achieved better than
the industry standard 2%
on my direct mail drop.
How?
It was a local mailing so…
I made a local flyer.
I told recipients
we’d probably already met
while shopping at the local grocery store
(which I named)
or waiting for the local bus
(again named).
I hand wrote a cheery hi! on the fold
(in orange pen).
If you’re going to be a local business,
BE a local business.
Use this advantage.
BTW…
the money management firm
where I held the signing
was envious of my folksy flyer.
They may claim to be a local business
but their franchisor
prohibits adding any local flavor
to their standard marketing.
If you’re wondering
whether or not to post that personal rant
on your blog…
Don’t.
It IS as simple as that.
Your gut is usually pretty darn good
at telling you
you’re about to do something stupid.
It is also,
however,
pretty darn good
at telling you
you’re about to do something scary
(like start your own business).
Those are two different feelings
and it’ll benefit you
to know the difference.
I walked around the neighborhood
this past week
at 10am on a Monday
and was surprised
at how many stay-at-home people
there were.
I shouldn’t have been.
In October 2008, there were
75 million people
not in the workforce
and not looking for work.
This could be for a number of reasons,
education, retirement, raising a family,
writing a novel.
That’s 25% of the population.
HUGE opportunities.
This demographic provides
unique marketing, sales and product design
possibilities.
Keep them in mind.
Remember the gloom and doom
about Black Friday
for retailers?
Didn’t happen.
Sales were up 7.2%
But, but, but
the NRF protests,
don’t expect it to last.
The sales increase for 2008
is expected to be
only 2.2%.
Only.
Since when is an INCREASE
in sales
a sky is falling scenario?
If your own sales aren’t where they should be,
don’t blame the consumer.
Look internally.