Sound Business Principles, Not Panic is the Key to Surviving this Economy

Boy, when the economy is good, everybody is a marketing genius. Seems it is impossible to fail.

We even begin to believe in our own business acumen. So we expand, take unusual risks, borrow money for expansion, relax our credit terms and so on. Whatever it takes to grow, we do because, after all it’s grow or die. . . right?

Then there is what I call the Hamlet effect. To quote Hamlet “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions:” – William Shakespere, Hamlet Prince of Denmark (Claudius, King of Denmark at IV, V)

Well now careless optimism has come home to roost. What was once a stroke of marketing genius may be starting to look more like reckless gambling. And rest assured, the carpet baggers have shined their shoes, put on a new face and now stand outside the door offering their help.

Since the turn in the economy, has your phone been ringing off the wall or your email filled up with “free advice” to help you succeed? At every turn is there someone telling you that if only you did better SEO, made a video, had a website make over, bought this marketing plan, or whatever, you will will over your competition?

Stop. Take a breath, slow down and think for a minute. If you had the money, and time, to take advantage of everyone of these offers, would the added success even cover the cost of the services? Somethings obviously will improve your business more than others and some are probably just a waste of money.

No amount of marketing, SEO or website improvements are going to save a company that is not running on sound business principles. We had a joke at one company that seemed to engage in endless price wars. The joke was; “who cares if we sell at a loss, we will make it up on volume.”

Here are some solid strategies that you must implement if you are going to survive:

1. Get your Cash Flow In Order. Bill Douglas, CEO of EssentiaLink, has a saying “Cash Flow is Oxygen” and boy truer words were never spoken. Bill’s careful and incessant attention to cash flow has helped EssentiaLink survive and grow.
    
2. You have to understand and adhere to basic financial principles. For example, a $1000 expense is far more than a $1000 burden on your company. If your margins are 10%, you have to boost sales by $10,000 just to recover the $1000 spent and who wants to just break even. Not to mention an extra $10,000 in additional sales also puts an extra burden on cash flow. And when that happens, the cost of money comes into play. Things can get very expensive.
    
3. Not all customers are worth keeping. Some customers just don’t quite fit into the niche of what you are offering. Maybe you can never quite keep them happy, or maybe they never embrace all that you can do for them. These customers can bring down your business and image and they often consume far more of your resources than they are worth. Do some research, find a company that can serve them better and bring the two together. Your reputation will rise as a result.
    
4. Stop stepping over dollars to save dimes. In light of point 2 this might seem counter intuitive, but it’s not. If you are the main mover and shaker in your company and you are wasting time fiddling with IT, or spending 15 minutes to save a few bucks on a box of paper, the little you save can never make up for your lost time. The same is true if you are paying for a purchasing staff. If they are wasting time pricing pencils when they should be tracking down better prices on raw materials, you are losing money.
    
5. Technology is a tool to use, not the object of the game. If your technology is getting the job done and not incurring excessive maintenance cost, let it ride. remember, every dollar you spend on technology will cost you $1 / margin rate.
    
6. Focus on your core competencies. If you are an Engineering or Legal firm for example, your efforts should be to increase billable hours. So if billable people are working on IT problems, marketing, buying office supplies, consider outsourcing the non-core tasks and put people back to work on core projects. Having them do busy work while waiting for business to come in is draining your cash flow and hurting your business. Notably, sometimes this leads to a tough decision.
    
7. Get close to your customers. Before you spend a fortune on SEO or website overhauls, make sure you are speaking to your customer’s current needs. The reason they signed up a year ago, may not be the reason they are staying with you or would sign up with you today. Marketing is like fishing, if you use the wrong bait, you will get the wrong fish or nothing at all.
    
8. A million hits means nothing if you are not converting. Wouldn’t 500 highly motiveted buyers be better than 1,000,000 drive bys? Focus on revenue per hit, not hits per day.
    
9. Running a business is like writing good documentation. You want exactly enough to cover the topic, and not a word more.
    
10. Document, document, document. If you do not document your processes and business, you can suffer from the effects of vanishing technology. What do you do when your star worker leaves for another opportunity? You have a great sales proces that works, but does it stop working when you go on vacation? Document everything, so you can remain successful even when good people leave or you go on vacation. Try selling a business for what it is worth if it is not documented.

At the end of the day, good busienss practices go a long way towards securing your survival. And yes, you must market and sell. But if your house is not in order, throwing a lot of money an time at marketing will do little to help you survive in the long run.

Are you charging enough for your services? 14 Hidden Costs You Must Consider when Pricing Your Services.

As more and more people find themselves twisting in the financial wind, they often to turn to consulting or providing other services for hire.

One of the most pressing and important issues you face as an independent service provider is how to price your services.

While the following will not tell you what to charge for your services, it will give you a number of things to consider. But, before we go into the nuts and bolts of calculating, let’s review some basic marketing principles.

First you have to think about how you want to position yourself in your market place.

• Do you want to be the low cost leader?
• Do you want to be the high-end expert?
• Are you introducing unique new services?
• Are jumping into a mature market full of established competitors?

Obviously, how you want to position yourself affects your message? It is very difficult to try to position yourself as the leading expert when you are trying to compete on price. Sadly, your chances of being perceived as the leading expert when you price your services too low are very slim. You may be thought of very good for the price, but you will never be perceived as the top dog.

Here are a couple of examples to drive home the power of perceived value.

Imagine your friend’s son or daughter is soon to be married and you are shopping for a $50-$75 wedding gift. You know the bride loves crystal. So as you are shopping you find a beautiful crystal bowl. So beautiful in fact, you are afraid you won’t be able to afford it. You almost walk away, but decide to flip the bowl over and see the price.

Tentatively as your allow your eyes to focus on the price tag, you see two things.
#1 it is a brand you do not recognize. And,
#2 the bowl is only $17.49

Instantly, fear sets in. You can’t possibly show up at the wedding with an $18 dollar gift, no matter how beautiful it is. So you put the bowl down and go in search of a more appropriate gift.

That my friends, is perceived value. The value you placed on the bowl is greatly diminished just because the price was low.

Here is another example. When EssentiaLink first started out, the message got confused. As we wowed our potential clients with the huge array of products we provide, the conversation always turned to price. Something in our presentation lead our prospective customers to think all of our products would be lower priced than the other guys.

It was not until we approached companies above the purchasing level and started speaking with C-Level managers that our message made sense. We were not selling low cost products, we were offering a simple procurement solution that typically lowered the TOTAL cost of procurement for non-strategic consumable supplies by 25% or more.

In both of these examples, the issue of price obfuscates true value.

Think about this with respect to the service you are offering. Are your prices high enough to establish value? Think of it this way, if your price is too low, it diminishes the perception of value, no matter how much you contribute.

Don’t think so?

Have you or someone you have known ever had to change jobs to finally earn a salary commensurate with their abilities and contribution?

A very common problem in companies is that when they hire someone at say $40k per year they always think of them as a $40k per year employee. Even if the employee takes advantage of all the company educational benefits and completes 2 degrees, they still see him/her as a $40k per year employee. Consequently, they only move them up the pay scale based on small annual % increases. So this highly educated and trained individual has no other choice but to seek financially rewarding employment elsewhere.

And the company that hires our hypothetical employee for $70K will always perceive him/her as being a $70k employee and so the cycle starts again.

Are you inclined to price your services low so you can get a foot in the door?

Think about it, will your services ever be valued for the benefit they provide?

Also, imagine a group of CEO’s are having social lunch. What do you think will capture their imagination more, the fact that one of them hired a functionary for a nominal fee or the fact that another just committed a bundle of money to an expert to come in and shake things up? If you are the high priced expert that gets results in that crowd, you are going to open far more doors than the perceived functionary.

So here are some things you must consider when pricing your services.

• What is your true cost of providing your services?
  Obviously you have the cost of travel, printing, office supplies, phone, Internet and so on but there are a lot of hidden costs that get over looked. For Example:
  • The cost of business licenses
  • 7.65% FICA and self employment tax
  • Your health insurance
  • Additional Car insurance to cover liability of using vehicle for business
  • Banking and Phone services are higher for businesses and many banks will not allow you to cash checks as DBA
  • The cost of incorporation and/or maintaining O & E insurance to limit exposure to liability.
• You need to charge for marketing time.
  As an employee everything is taken care of, but when self employed you need to plan to spend at least 25% of your time on marketing efforts. Even if you have the perfect gig, it is going to end and if you do not maintain marketing efforts, you may have extended periods of $0 income.
• You deserve to have benefits too.
  As an employee you probably had a number of benefits that comprised your compensation package. For Example:
  • 7-10 Paid holidays
  • 7-28 Paid vacation days
  • 0-14 Paid days of medical or personal leave
  • Continuation education benefits

  Benefits vary greatly from company to company, but regardless of the level of benefit you are used to, there is an associated cost that must be taken into consideration.

• Do you have children?
  Typically, unless you have found a way to make the 4-Hour Work Week work for you, your home business will place more demands on your time than the old 9-5 did. With that in mind, you may expect an increase in child care costs.

Ok, let’s wrap this up with a nice little formula to give you a way to think about how to price your services:

Let’s define the terms of the equation.

• S = The desired salary or effective salary you need to replace.
• AC = The expected annual cost to be in business including licenses, phone, banking, insurances etc.
• B1 = The annual cost of your health Insurance benefits
• B2 = The annualized cost of other benefits you want to replace (i.e. $2,000 / year for certification / continuing ed)
• OE = Other expenses such as child care you may need to take into consideration
• PTO = Paid Time Off hours (i.e. 8 hrs. per day for each paid day off you want to replace
• CHR = The calculated hourly rate you need to charge to net your desired salary (S)

The Formula
CHR = (S+AC+B1+B2+OE) / (2048 – PTO) * .75

An Example

• S= $100,000
• AC = $1,000
• B1 = $12,000
• B2 = $2,800
• OE = $900
• PTO = 160 (2 wks vacation, 5 holidays, 5 paid days off)

CHR = ($100,000 + $1,000 +$12,000 + $2,800 + $900) / (2,048 -160) * .75
CHR = ($116,700) / (1,888) * .75
CHR = $116,700) / (1,416)
CHR = $82.41

Notes and Conclusions

Given the above example, your would want to start by pricing your services at $82.41 per hour. But this is just a starting point. You also need to consider what the market will bear. That does not mean your are limited by current market prices. But if you are too high, you must build exceptional value into your offering. By the same token, if your prices are too low, you may need to raise them to the appropriate level to garner the respect and reputation you want.

Also not taken into consideration in the calculation is your current business tax structure. If you are an LLC, you have more deductions than you would have as a sole proprietorship. If you are a C type corporation and work the system properly you can deduct a lot more, but risk double taxation if the corporation makes a profit. These are all topics you should discuss with your Tax Adviser.

If your down time between jobs or time required for marketing efforts is greater than 25%, then adjust the formula from .75 to whatever number represents your situation.

Finally, the 2048 is based on a 40 hour work week. Chances are you will will be working a lot more than that. So you may want to adjust to rate up to reflect overtime. Or not. It is just something to keep in mind.

So, when you run the numbers, are you charging enough?

Of Black Swans, Long Tails and Surviving in this Economy

It was a dark and stormy night. A shot rang out. A ship sank in the ocean. A young girl screamed.

Whether it is a novel written by Snoopy or real life occurance, unexpected things happen. The impact of the unexpected (read highly improbable) is the subject of a very interesting book titled The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

In a previous article I discussed how we use distortions, deletions and generalizations to make functional maps of the world. Black Swans are the events that don’t fit our neat little maps and throw us for a loop.

As entrepreneurs we plan for ups and downs, we insure for liability, we aim high; we monitor and adjust as reality imposes itself on our dream. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the unexpected happens. It can be anything; an identity theft, car accident, our 5 year old sticking our laptop in the dishwasher.

Black Swans happen. Imagine being the CEO of a major record label or publishing house and your black swan is the Internet. Where once star making power was in the hands of the few, it is now in the hands of the individual. Anyone with access to a computer, microphone, or video camera can become a rising star in a niche market. There are fortunes to be made in niche markets.

This brings me to a second of three books I am reading concurrently. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson is an analysis of unexpected success. Anderson provides a compelling series of anecdotes outlining the disassembly of huge markets into wealth making niche markets.

Within the pages of these two books lies a formula for how to succeed in today’s economy. Sure the markets are unstable, unemployment is on the rise, and inflation may soon be out of control. But that is all a distraction.

Because we are no longer self-sufficient cave dwellers or hunter gatherers, we depend on others to survive. At the end of the day, people still need stuff, companies to provide the stuff, and services to support the commerce.

The beauty of black swans and long tails is that, when we open our minds to look beyond the distortions, deletions and generalizations we can see opportunity where none seemed to exist. The important thing about black swans is that, while improbable, they are not invisible. As I mentioned in the previous article, Ken Olsen of Digital Equipment Company, was not unaware of personal computers, he simply did not believe anyone would want one in their home. To Mr. Olsen, personal computing was a black swan. To Gates, Balmer, Wozniak, and Jobs, personal computing was an outstanding opportunity.

We are all familiar with the Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule. 80% of any given result comes from 20% of the effort. 80% of revenue comes from the top 20% best sellers. Brace yourself; the 80/20 paradigm has busted wide open. Consider this. A typical book store carries the top 100,000 books. Amazon.com by comparison, carries close to 4 Million books. About ¼ of Amazon’s sales are in the niche and fringe books that would never make into a typical book store.

Similarly, Wal-Mart carries 55,000 audio tracks in the form of CDs. Rhapsody, carries over 1.5 million tracks online and the number is constantly growing. Anderson points out that a whopping 40% of Rhapsody’s sales come from tracks that will never see the inside of a Wal-Mart.

Imagine being Kodak. Their black swan was the digital camera.

On the other hand, imagine being a paper manufacturer when the whole world was thinking computers would lead to a paperless society. Would you have folded up or beefed up production realizing that paper products would be consumed at a higher rate than ever?

The Internet gives us the tools to find, reach out to, and communicate with these “long tail” niche markets. And if we communicate effectively, there is substantial income to be made out on the fringe.

So how do we turn this understanding of black swans and long tails into strategies that improve our ability to function in this economy? Here are my thoughts on the subject.

• As the Aussies would say, think outside of the box. Open up your mind to think about fringe markets you hadn’t thought about before. Maybe one niche market won’t support your lifestyle, so how can you organize your business to efficiently support numerous niches that may ultimately provide income well beyond expectations.
    
• Redefine yourself or your company. Stop thinking about what you do and for whom you do it as the defining elements of your business. Take a very close look at the true and tangible benefits your customers enjoy by doing business with you. Ask yourself what markets have you avoided that in fact could benefit from your products or services.
    
• Put away the shotgun and pick up a rifle. Now is not the time to pursue broad markets with general appeal marketing. Pick a sub or vertical market, study them, find their pain points and market specifically to their issues.
    
• If your market is crumbling around you, understand why. Then realize there is some side effect of your market shrinking. Within that side effect may be additional opportunity.
       
  For example, EssentiaLink responded to the decline in demand of Office, IT and MRO supplies by beefing up Managed IT services. Realizing that, even though companies are cutting back, they still need IT security, email, secure backup and so on. Interestingly, as companies come on board with the IT services, they soon realize the benefits of streamlining their purchasing as well. The niche markets coexist nicely and enhance each other.
    
• Observe the biggest players in your market space. What are they missing? How does their large size keep them out of niche markets? Which niche markets in particular are not being served by the big players?
    
• Study who is playing in you niche? What are their limitations? Geographic? Expertise? Price Point? Reputation? Can you slide into a sub-niche and expand out?
       
• Survey your die hard, loyal customers. Find out specifically why they are loyal? Use that information to research other markets that may have similar needs that are not being met.
    
  Perhaps you sell products. Everyone sells products, so you know it is unlikely the products are the source of your customer loyalty. Whatever it is that is keeping your customers loyal is what you should be marketing, not the obvious service or product.
    
• To not fall victim to your own black swans, do a thorough SWOT analysis. Particularly pay attention to your Weaknesses and threats. But remember the black swan will come as an attack on your core strength. Ask yourself, “if I had to compete against our strength, how would I do it?” If you are too close to what you do to see weakness in your strengths. Go to a high school and work with a teacher to create a class project to find chinks in your armor. Chances are, high school students are more aware of the latest technology or paradigm shifts than you are.
    
  Put your best ideas on a blog and declare this is so good, no one can find flaws in this plan or service. Chances are, there will be plenty of people ready to tell you your flaws.

I don’t know what you will do to find success in this economy. I do know if you keep doing what you are doing, you are likely to find disappointment. I am reminded of my time back in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Even in the 90’s people were sitting on bar stools complaining about the decline in the steel industry and waiting for things to return to “normal” so they would be rehired. All the while what they really needed was to open their mind seek other opportunities.

I have been a lifelong student of self improvement. To me the singular most important concept is that quality of life is not a measure of what happens in life nearly so much as what we do about it. For the time being we are dodging black swans. What we do about it is in the long tail.

When the Right Words Fail – The Unavoidable Truth About Distortion, Deletion and Generalization

Introduction
The side effects of Distortion Deletion & Generalization  are everywhere.  They involve communication of people at all levels in government and of all ages.  Improper understanding of the influence of DD&G has ruined lives, destroyed companies and resulted in death. 

But have you ever heard of them? 

Did you even know they exist?

Three Key Brain Functions

Our brains do many things consciously and unconsciously.  With respect to day to day operations and guidance, our brains rely on three key functions:

1. Distortions
2. Deletions
3. Generalizations

The rest of this article will discuss each or these functions.   You will learn why they are important and how they influence your actions.  And you will learn how to use this understanding to improve your communication skills.

Deletions

Imagine you are late for work, fighting your way through traffic and rehearsing your presentation for the quarterly marketing meeting.   You probably don’t even notice a little bit of dust on the dashboard.  Your eyes see it; your brain notices it and quickly filters it out as being irrelevant.  That bit of dust simply is not important.

Depending on what is going on at any given point in our lives, our brain seeks relevance, and filters out that which is not.

Suppose, you are driving  the CEO to the airport . . . suddenly, that dust becomes relevant.

Our state of mind determines our perceptual filters.  Circumstances change our filters.  

We all have perceptual filters. 

Think about the last time you bought a new car, dress, or electronic gadget.  Didn’t you suddenly become aware of every car, dress or gadget that is similar to yours? 

If you really need a customer to sign a contract but are convinced they won’t, it is likely you’ll filter out buying signals and only hear the rejection.

For example, your prospect may ask questions about price but yours are high. 

• Do you immediately assume defeat? 
• Or, do you see the questions as a signal that they want you to build more value into your proposition?  

Effective communicators take responsibility for their filters.  Here is one way:

• Stop, relax and take a breath before assuming anything or responding.
• Ask yourself
  o What am I missing here?
  o Do I have all the facts?
  o What more do I need to know?
  o What if I am wrong?
  o What else could this mean?
  o Is this really important with respect to my larger goal?
• If you are missing key pieces of information, ask the other party more questions.
• Realize you may not have a complete picture and be open to new information.

Distortions

Our daily pressures and desires distort the way we perceive what is going on around us.  These distortions affect the way we respond.   Here is an early example from my childhood.

The last day of 6th grade I was walking with my girl friend and best friend Rich. 

As we were walking, I kicked a rock. 

Rich playfully shoved me exclaiming “you kicked my rock.” 

In my 13 year old insecure and distorted view of the world, Rich was making me look bad in front of my girl friend.   So, I did the only thing that made sense, I took a poke at him.  

Here is what my distortions kept me from seeing:

• My girl friend could have cared less. 
• Rich was just having fun.  
• Rich was an aspiring Golden Gloves boxer, I was a geek.

How do you think that distortion ended? 

Imagine a young boy flying backwards over the hood of a 1957 Ford Fairlane. 

Distortions can be a problem.

How many times has a customer told you “maybe, let me get back with you on that?”  And you waited.  You assumed “I think it is going to work out.” 

And you wait.  You make projections based on pure non-sense.  And you wait. 

How much time, money and opportunity is wasted when distortions lead down the wrong path?

We can’t avoid distortion.  When we take millions of bits of data from our senses, mix them with our fears, hopes and desires and sprinkle in massive amounts of deletion, things get distorted. 

Knowing our distorted map of the world is not reality gives us opportunities to improve our communication.  We can evaluate circumstances and decide which parts of the map are appropriate, need updated or changed and where crucial information is missing.

To develop more useful maps try the following:

• Realize you are responding to your interpretation of reality and interpretations may or may not be correct.
• Question the fundamental assumptions of the map.  For example:
  • Is this about me? 
  • How did I think this was going to work out?  
  • What did I miss or ignore that led me to think this would be different?
  • How was I predisposed to think about this before I started? 
    • Did I think this would go well?
    • Did expect to fail?
  • At the end of the day, does this really matter?
  • Where is my focus?  
    • On myself?  
    • On My Client? 
    • On the “big picture?”
    • On the minutia?
• Am I too close or too emotionally invested in this?  Why?  How does that affect my perspective?

Generalizations

When something happens we notice.  When something similar happens, we begin to “see” a pattern.  As this goes on we make generalizations about meaning, cause and effect. 

A door is a perfect example.  We generalize about how doors,  knobs and locks work.   This saves us time.  If we had to relearn the concept of doors every time we encountered one, we would still be living in caves, if we survived at all.

Generalizations can also be detrimental to our success.   Have you ever assumed “those people would never need my product?” 

Probably the most famous example of a business defeating assumption was made by Ken Olsen of Digital Equipment.   Mr. Olsen said, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”

Consider the following statements and ask yourself which one is true.

He loved his job.  He murdered everyone in his building.

He loved working at the post office.  He murdered everyone in the building.

If you are like most people, the second statement seems true.  Our preconceived notions and generalizations about “going postal” define our map.     Now step away from your map and you will see the serious flaw in logic.

The first sentence encompasses far more.  It could include any “he” in any occupation in any building. 

The second statement refers to a very small subset “he” working the post offices.

There are many more chances for the first statement to be true than the latter.  Our first blush however was naturally to generalize about the perceived stress of being a postal worker.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to keep your generalizations in check:

• What were my assumptions before I ever got into this situation?
• What evidence is there to support my assumptions?  
• How does this situation differ from my preconceptions?
• How effective was I last time I was in this situation?
• Do I need a new strategy?
• How much did it have to delete or distort to make this “just like before?”

The key to effective communication is understanding the structure of communication.   What gets communicated is always a bi-product of the Deletions, Distortions and Generalizations.

How would your life change if you had Disney’s Creativity Strategy?

There are a number of reasons why we may not feel creative at any particular moment.  If you read my previous article “8 Simple Steps to Becoming a Successful Author and Why You Should Start NOW!” you know the story of starting with the “upper left brick.”

 

There is another creative block people often run into I refer to as “the little voice that won’t.” 

 

Maybe you are familiar with it.

 

You have a sudden flash of inspiration.

 

Then, before you have your ideas thought out the little voice in your head (or even possibly from a colleague or friend) starts to criticize the idea. 

 

Or just as bad, the voices start getting into all the realistic details of how to bring the plan together.

 

Critical and Realistic perspectives are absolutely essential to bringing an inspiration into successful fruition.  The problem is not one of the critical and realistic voices; the problem is one of timing.  

 

Our brains and/or well meaning friends try to help us do all three activities simultaneously.  As a result, our creativity is dampened.  The critical and realistic voices feel annoying instead of helpful.

 

The process needs to be sequential and recursive. 

 

Years ago in an NLP practitioner training, I watched Robert Dilts do a great presentation on what he called the Disney Creativity Strategy. 

 

This method works for individuals, departments or large organizations.

 

Two Important Points to Remember

First you must recognize that being a Dreamer, Realist, and Critic require 3 distinct mindsets.  Trying to do all three at the same time only frustrates and slows down the creative process.

 

Second, the Realist and the Critic are as important to the creative process as the Dreamer.  They should be utilized; not dismissed or ignored.

 

Creating Harmony Amongst the Voices

Have you ever been in a poorly run brainstorming meeting where ideas get shot down as soon as they are presented?  Does this ever happen in your head?

 

The key to creating harmony between the Dreamer, Realist and Critic, involves:

·         Making sure every voice is heard

·         Making sure every function is exclusive of the others.

·         Making sure the environment for each voice is conducive to the role of the voice.

 

Environments Matter
While sounding a little “left brained” you should plan to be creative.  Start by setting up three distinct areas.  These areas may be as elaborate or simple as your situation allows. 

 

In some cases it might mean just moving from an easy chair, to desk, to a kitchen table.  I have done this by simply using three differently colored tablets.

 

 

For corporations it might mean building three unique rooms or areas that that are designed to support each specific role.

 

 

1. The Dreamer’s area will be a comfortable environment.  It should include all the things you or your team will need to be creative.

   For example, you may have flip charts, colored pens, white boards, inspirational posters, awards, comfortable furniture, bright lights, appropriate music, and so on.
   

2. The Realist’s area will be less comfortable and more practical.  It could include calculators, budgets, lists, editing tools, good lighting, reference books and articles.

   Basically you want this area to provide the Realist’s with all the tools they need to fully analyze the ideas brought in from the creative area.
   

3. The Critics area will be smaller, uncomfortable, without chairs.  The purpose of this environment is twofold. 

   First, to put people on edge a little bit so they are more likely to speak their criticisms.

   And second, to be uncomfortable enough that no one wants to hang out and just bitch or complain.

    Let’s look at each at each area.

The Dreamer
Start in the Dreamer’s area.   If you have an idea or need to come up with an idea, the best place to do it is here.
 
If you are working alone, use this space to fully expand your idea.  No holds barred.  In this location there is only one rule.

 

NO REALISTIC OR CRITICAL THOUGHTS ALLOWED!

If realistic or critical voices enter into your thoughts, STOP what you are doing and acknowledge the voices.  Remind them that they will be heard very soon, and to please be patient and wait.
 

The Realist

In the creative process the role of the Realist is to evaluate an idea based on the criteria of a real world.  If the idea was a supersonic blimp, the Realist would send the idea back for revision based on the violation of the laws of aerodynamics.
  

Or if there were a really profitable idea, but it involved selling contraband or robbing banks, without a rock solid getaway plan, the Realist’s job is to point out the risks and send the idea back for revision.
  

There is only one rule for the Realist’s Room.
 

NO DREAMER OR CRITICAL THOUGHTS ALLOWED!
 

It is not uncommon, when faced with reality, to immediately start creating solutions.   This is not appropriate in this area.  Nor is it appropriate for the Critic to start slamming the idea as being stupid or whatever.
 

If the Dreamer or Critic insists on disrupting the voice of the Realist, STOP what you are doing and go the appropriate area to jot down the ideas or criticisms.  Leave the creative or critical notes in the appropriate area.
  

If the Dreamer’s idea passes the Realist test, then move into the Critic’s area.  If not, send the idea(s) back to the Dreamer’s area for replacement or refinement.  Let the Dreamer focus on creative solutions. 
 

The Critic

The role of the Critic in the creative process is to be negative.  Their role is to think of everything that can go wrong or be perceived badly.
 

This is the Realist on steroids.  Output from this area might be in the form of “This will never work because . . .”
 

It is no fun being a Critic in this capacity, but it is absolutely necessary to fully develop successful ideas.   I have personal experience with ignoring the Critic inside me.
 

When I wrote my second book, The PC Easy Reader: Because Your are NOT a DUMMY or an IDIOT!   I thought I was really on to something.   Even the Realist in me was happy.  Who wouldn’t want learn something without having to buy a book suggesting they were an idiot.
 

My critical voice kept trying to tell me it was a bad idea because PCs make people feel like dummies and idiots.  Besides, my cover was plain and the subject matter fully discussed. 
 

I didn’t listen to my inner critic and ended up giving away 1000 books I couldn’t sell. 
 

There are only two rules for the Critic’s Room.

 NO DREAMER OR REALIST THOUGHTS ALLOWED!

DON’T STAY HERE TOO LONG.

 The Creative Process

With your areas established and full agreement on the rules you are ready to begin creating.

1. Start in the Dreamer’s area, create wildly without constraints.
   
2. Take best idea(s) to the Realist area and test them against reality.  Ideas that pass muster get forwarded to the Critic.  Ideas that fail are returned to the Dreamer for revision.
   
3. Criticize the Ideas from the Realist.  If ideas can’t be shot down, let them pass.  If they are shot down, return them to the Dreamer for revision.
   
4.  Cycle ideas through the process numerous times until they stand strong in the face of reality and criticism.
    

 This process sounds complicated and time consuming but it is not. 

 It is actually more efficient.  Once each voice knows it will be heard; it stops interfering in processes where it doesn’t belong.  
 

The end result is the development of highly creative, well tested ideas with better chances for survival.

 If the Realist or Critic, insist on disrupting your creative thoughts, STOP what you are doing and leave the creative area.   If the insistent voice is a Realist, go to the Realist’s area and write down its concerns and leave the paper in the area for the future steps.   
 
If it is an insistent critical voice, go stand in the Critic’s area and jot down the criticisms and leave the notes there for future steps.
 
Once the concerns have been addressed, go back to your Dreamer’s room.  Continue dreaming up new ideas.
  

8 Simple Steps to Becoming a Successful Author, and Why you Should Start NOW!

From as far back as the 6th grade I have wanted to be an author.  Before I knew it, I was in my late 30′s and had not written a word other than term papers and business reports.

I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to write.

Then I read a great book by Robert Prisig titled, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

About the middle of this fascinating book, Prisig describes difficulty he had with one of his students. It seems she had an essay to write and was stuck. She could not think of a thing to say.

The student wanted to write a 500 word essay on the United States and could not think of a thing to say.

So Prisig had her narrow down her topic to Main Street in Bozeman.

Still she could not think of a thing to say.

Finally he narrowed down her topic to the front of the Opera House and to start with the upper left-hand brick.

The student showed up at the next class with a 5000 word essay on the Boseman Opera House starting with the upper left brick.

I immediately realized, my problem was not one of having nothing to say but rather one of having too much to say. I needed a smaller topic.

I decided to get really granular. I picked out one of the smallest things in my life about which I was fairly knowledgeable.

I wrote my first book, 7 Easy Steps to CNC Programming . . . A Beginner’s Guide.

While you have probably never heard of my little book, it has been very successful.

It has sold over 6000 copies in 6 countries and 50 states.

This little obscure book, paid off my school loans, paid for my Master’s Degree and supports my various hobbies.

But that is not all. Having written that book and three others since, has opened up doors for me that I could never imagine.

So when I talk about being a successful author, I am defining success in terms of the benefits it brings into your life. Not whether or not it hits the New York Times Best Seller’s list.

So have you considered writing a book or becoming an author?

Would you be interested in learning a few tricks to get you started?

First, I want to define some terms as I use them.

A Writer is a person who actually writes the book

An Author can be anyone with a book idea who commits to getting the book written. They may write it themselves or they might hire a ghostwriter to do the job.

A Publisher is the person or company that takes responsibility for getting the book printed, promoted, distributed and hopefully sold.

In my case, I do all three. I envisioned the book, wrote it, and have all the responsibility for printing, promotion, distribution and sales.

How you choose to Author, write and publish a book is up to you. Just know that each choice along the way has its pluses and minuses, so look at all your options.

Here are some tips should you decide to self publish.

1. To get started writing a book, probably the hardest thing is to pick a topic you are interested in and narrowing it down.  A key point to remember here is to identify your audience. If you expect to have any commercial success with your book, you need to know who is likely to buy your book and why.I can tell you from experience, your chances for immediate success are much higher if you can identify a tightly focused niche market. Here’s what I learned the hard way. 

   After having great success with my first book on CNC programming, I decided to write a book called the PC Easy Reader: Because you are NOT a Dummy or an Idiot. 

   I thought this was a great idea. Give people a very easy book on PCs without implying they are dummies.

   The problem with my idea was that, everybody in the world has written an introductory book on computers. Not only was the competition extremely high, but I couldn’t possibly afford to play in such a large market space.

   The CNC books by contrast have a very narrowly defined market. I can find my market, appeal to them and afford to market to them.

   With all of this in mind, here are some ideas to help you pick a topic.

   Make a list of all the ways you help people? Most people have developed some expertise that others admire and continually ask them about. If you are a Realtor, it maybe about doing a market analysis.

   List the subjects that you are interested in but have a hard time finding books and information you need.  

   Research libraries and the Internet on some subject that interests you. Use Wikipidia, Google answers and blogs to gather as much information as you care to about your topic. 

    

 

 

2. When you think you have enough information to inspire you and get you started, write the back cover of the book first. This is very important. A well written back cover is like a mission statement. It is the promise to the reader of how you are going to inform or entertain them.
     

    

 

 

3. With the back cover in mind, outline your topic.Think in terms of flow. Identify what a person needs to learn to understand the next step. Continuity is very important, especially with fiction.  

 

 

4. Fill in your outline with the text to refine and support each thought.  

 

 

5. Read you manuscript out loud to a friend, spouse, child or just yourself. You will be amazed how much editing you can do on your own by just reading the words aloud. Poorly written sentences tend to really stand out when you read them aloud. 

 

 

6. Turn your manuscript over to an editor or person you know well that is brutally honest and is more interested in helping you improve than stroke your ego.

 

 

7. Choose a title and design or hire a graphic artist to design your book cover.You have to be a little careful here. Book covers are very important. An unattractive cover will turn potential readers away. Also, just because a person is a good graphic artist, that does not mean they can design a compelling book cover.Go to a bookstore. Look at all the best selling books on your topic. What do they have in common? What makes their titles compelling? 

   Come up with a number of mock up book covers and do some testing. Give a person a choice between two covers and ask them which one of these would you be most willing to pay $10 for? << (insert your price) 

   Continually test covers against each other until you find the one that pulls the highest response.

    

 

 

8. With your best cover and well edited manuscript – select a printer or printing method that best suits your budget and marketing plan.
   

 

Obviously I have left out a lot of details. But the point I really want to stress is that writing and self publishing a book is not that hard.

One thing people tell me all the time is, “boy I wish I had your talent, I have always wanted to write a book.”

I always tell them the same thing.

The only difference between me and everyone else that has ever wanted to write a book is, I just did it.  I committed an hour or two a day until I was done.

It is a lot more about discipline than talent.

There are so many reasons why you should start writing a book right now. Even if you never make a dime off your book,

• you will earn considerable respect from your friends and family.
• As a calling card, your book can set you apart as an expert in your field.
• If you do find a good niche, you can make a lot of money.
• The discipline of writing a book will forever change the way you approach other challenges.
• Your writing in general will become much easier and much better.
• Your book can open up speaking opportunities that may otherwise have been unavailable to you.

But the single, most important benefit of writing a book is the incredible self esteem and sense of accomplishment you get from doing what most other people only dream about doing.

So pick up a pen (keyboard)  and change your life.

Making Your Message Stick: A Formula Based on SUCCESS

If you have not read Chip and Dan Heath’s outstanding book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, perhaps now is the time.

The book opens on page 3 with a compelling story about kidney harvesting. It is a hoax, but brilliantly illustrates the point of why some stories stick. For fear of violating copyright, I will not reprint the story here, but instead use one relayed to our CEO.

———-
   Some people who feel wronged by another’s actions may  take  extreme measures to extract revenge

A colleague of ours has a friend that is a successful attorney. Let’s call him Richard. Richard recently returned from a great vacation to the Colorado Rockies.

 

 As he sat in the board room discussing his vacation sunburn and laughing about his adventures, Ed, the senior partner, walked in and quietly moved to the head of the table without saying a word.

 

 Slapping his hand on the boardroom table to get everyone’s attention, Ed, blurted out “We are Ruined!” The anger and frustration in his face left little doubt how serious he was.

 

 He let the full weight of his words settle on the room, Ed took a deep breath and continued.

 

 Richard, on the other hand was wishing he could breathe.

 

“Ok, here’s what happened. . . . Richard you weren’t here but our network was hacked late Thursday night. So, we hired an IT service to help us restore the system. As it turns out, the guy we hired was a disgruntled ex-employee of that Internet firm we sued last year. He is actually the guy that hacked the system. He showed up early Friday stating he was from the IT service we contracted.”

Ed’s  face got beet red.        Richard still couldn’t breathe.

 

“After this lowlife got access to our network, he downloaded all our case files and posted all them on a blog, along with all of our Social Security numbers, salaries, bonuses and so on.”

 

“I found out because Judge Harper called me and asked me what the hell was going on here that we would lose that kind of information.”

 

“Oh, and just for fun, this guy wiped our hard drives clean then took our back up tapes and cooked them in the microwave.”

 

“The only good news I can report is we can retrieve all our files off his blog. But, every pending case is compromised and we can expect be sued by many of our clients.”
—————

 

In their research Chip and Dan identified 6 principles that make stories stick. When you think of these 6 principles, remember SUCCES.

 

In brief the characteristics are:

Simplicity: The message must be “proverb like” simple in its meaning, simple to understand but not necessarily abbreviated, dumbed down or a sound bite. They give the example of the Golden Rule as being a profoundly simple statement that people spend their lives trying to follow.

 

   Example: Some people who feel wronged by another’s actions
   may take extreme measures to extract revenge.

 

Unexpectedness: People learn more and remember the unexpected. When A=B day in and day out, there is nothing to wake up the brain, and get past the gate known as Broca’s area. This region of the brain, positioned near the ear is a powerful filter for most types of neural information. Broca filters by screening out everything “it knows.” If it can see the end coming, it’s not interested, it doesn’t care, and doesn’t pass along the information.

 

A plot twist or unexpected outcome interests Broca, and when Broca is interested, information gets passed along.

 

  Example: A story of success and promotion turns into a
  tragedy about ruination. Curiosity is aroused . Why did the
  business fail.

 

Concreteness: The extent to which a message will mean the same thing to everyone in our audience is determined by the concrete imagery used. Think of some urban legends you have read. Computer hard drives wiped clean and computer set on fire by rogue virus. Razor blades in apples. Concrete imagery anchors the message in our minds.

 

   Example: Disgruntled ex employee, backup tapes cooked in
  microwave, red faces, inability to breathe, slapping the desk, 
  “trip to the Rockies”.

 

Credibility: The more credible the message, the more it sticks. Credibility often comes in the form of references, guarantees, try it before you buy it.

 

Example: Use of proper names, Judge Harper, “A colleague of
   ours” – Slight credibility building, but weak

 

Emotions: If people are going to care about a message, they need to feel something. To varying degrees we are empathetic creatures. Building enough emotion in the characters we describe, helps build emotions , particularly if the circumstances fit within the experience of the audience.

 

   Example: Richard’s breathlessness at hearing his dreams are
  dashed, Ed’s anger an frustration at the ruination of the
  company, Richard’s lightness and laughter at describing the
  vacation.

 

Stories / Story Like: People remember stories far better than facts and data. Stories provide and enriched learning experience. The Bible is based on stories and parables to convey the messages. People who work in highly stressful and dangerous jobs learn from the experiences of others through stories.

 

   Example: The author could have listed dozens of statistics
  about hackers, and security breaches. The story bypasses all
  that and teaches the lesson through the drama of its events
  and characters.

 

This brief summary barely touches on the key points of the Made To Stick. Chip and Dan Heath have provided so many useful anecdotes and lessons that it would be impossible to review them all without rewriting the book.

 

If you get a chance, pick it up. Once you have read it, their message will stick.

“The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less.”

I highly recommend a book by Mark Joyner titled “The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less.”  This book was an easy read and at first blush, I thought well that’s an interesting idea.  In retrospect, the book really started me thinking.  The short version is as follows:

The Core imperative in business:  Make an offer.  Quid Pro Quo.  I will give you X in exchange for Y.  Do this effectively and you can quickly weed out the players from the disinterested time wasters.

Addressing the unspoken dialog:   According to the author, when a person picks up a marketing piece, meets a new person or is on the receiving end of a sales call, there are 4 questions in their mind.

1) What are you trying to sell me?
2) How much?
3) Why should I believe you?
4) What’s in it for me?

We basically have a person’s attention for 3 seconds and must address these questions or we will lose them.  The first three questions address the buyer’s logic, the last question is emotional.

The Irresistible Offer:  “The Irresistible Offer is an identity-building offer central to a product, service or company where the believable return on investment is communicated so clearly and efficiently that it’s immediately apparent you’d have to be a fool to pass it up.” – Mark Joyner

Mark’s 3 favorite Irresistible Offers:
Domino’s – “30 minutes or less . . . or it’s free.”

Federal Express – “When it absolutely, positively has to be there
                           overnight.”

Columbia House – “10 CDs for 1 Cent.”

All of these meet the criteria of an identity-building offer central to a product, service or company where the believable return on investment is communicated so clearly and efficiently that it’s immediately apparent you’d have to be a fool to pass it up.

There are three basic elements to the Irresistible Offer:

1) High Return on Investment (ROI)
2) A Touchstone
3) Believability

If you have all 3, you have an outstanding offer.  What you lack in one area must be made up in the other areas.  For example, Domino’s pizza was not perceived as particularly good in the early days.  So, their offer was low ROI but the touchstone, immediate pizza when you are hungry, was very compelling.

Let’s return to the Core Imperative.  Make an offer.  Without an offer, there is no business, simple as that.   Customers need to perceive an ROI or there is no point.  The ROI should be clear and real.    I can get 10 CDs for 1-Cent.  This implies high ROI even though the perspective customer knows they will have to buy more at a higher price . . . but in total they get cheap CDs. 

The Touchstone is a brief statement of what you do, what’s in it for your customer, and what makes it believable.   For example, Domino’s was selling fast pizza, you get it in 30 minutes or less because you are hungry.  You can believe us because, if it’s late, you get it for free.  Look at the touchstone breakdown for these offers.

Columbia House breakdown by 4 imperative questions:
1) What is Columbia House selling? -  Cheap Compact Discs
2) How much will it cost? – 1 Penny
3) What’s in it for you? – cheap music, bragging rights
4) Why should you trust Columbia House? – Not much to lose.  It’s low risk but customers are still skeptical.

Dominos breakdown by 4 imperative questions:
1) What is Domino’s selling? -  Fast Pizza
2) How much will it cost? – Not stated
3) What’s in it for you? – Immediate gratification, Pizza now when you are hungry.
4) Why should you trust Dominos? – If they don’t deliver on their promise, it’s free – -strong risk reversal.

Federal Express breakdown by 4 imperative questions:
1) What is Federal Express selling? – Overnight Delivery
2) How much will it cost? – Not stated – We believe this is so valuable; you may not care about price.
3) What’s in it for you? – Delivery is made overnight, your project can continue w/o delay.  You have covered your bases.
4) Why should you trust Federal Express? – Trust worthiness is implied in the name Federal Express.
Let’s put this in context of what Mark describes as the Great Formula.
1) An irresistible offer
2) A thirsty market
3) A second glass.

In other words, identify your market and know who is thirsty for what you are offering, make them an irresistible offer and after they have made their purchase, reel them in for repeat business, sell them a second glass of water.  If the ROI is real as well as perceived, the second glass is an easy sell.

Believability can be one or a combination of:
1) Proof – this can be social proof (we have satisfied customers), Technical proof (independent data validates our offer), Factual proof (presentation of facts that validate our offer)

2) Credibility – are we credible, do we have the substance to make the offer?

3) Endorsements – high profile or respected people they know that would attest to our solution.

4) High profile customers – who are the big dogs they respect that we do business with?

5) Qualifications – memberships,  degrees, member organizations.

6) Awards and recognition – customers like to associate with winners.

7) Logic – rock solid logic to support an irresistible offer.

Regardless of whether or not your are trying to get a date or sell products and services as we do at EssentiaLink, finding an honest irrestible offer is . . .well . . . imperative.  

David Hayden is in charge of marketing and media relations for EssentiaLink. EssentiaLink is a business process outsourcing company that helps companies streamline operations, reduce CAPEX and transform CAPEX into Variable OPEX.

<p>I highly recommend a book by Mark Joyner titled &ldquo;<a title=”Found on Amazon.com” href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471738948?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=haydenpubcom-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0471738948″>The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less</a>.&rdquo;&nbsp; This book was an easy read and at first blush, I thought well that&rsquo;s an interesting idea.&nbsp; In retrospect, the book really started me thinking.&nbsp; The short version is as follows:</p> <p><strong>The Core imperative in business:</strong>&nbsp; Make an offer.&nbsp; Quid Pro Quo.&nbsp; I will give you X in exchange for Y.&nbsp; Do this effectively and you can quickly weed out the players from the disinterested time wasters.</p> <p><strong>Addressing the unspoken dialog:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; According to the author, when a person picks up a marketing piece, meets a new person or is on the receiving end of a sales call, there are 4 questions in their mind.</p> <p>1)&nbsp;What are you trying to sell me?<br />2)&nbsp;How much?<br />3)&nbsp;Why should I believe you?<br />4)&nbsp;What&rsquo;s in it for me?</p> <p>We basically have a person&rsquo;s attention for 3 seconds and must address these questions or we will lose them.&nbsp; The first three questions address the buyer&rsquo;s logic, the last question is emotional.</p> <p><strong>The Irresistible Offer:</strong>&nbsp; &ldquo;The Irresistible Offer is an identity-building offer central to a product, service or company where the believable return on investment is communicated so clearly and efficiently that it&rsquo;s immediately apparent you&rsquo;d have to be a fool to pass it up.&rdquo; &ndash; Mark Joyner</p> <p><strong>Mark&rsquo;s 3 favorite Irresistible Offers:<br /></strong>Domino&rsquo;s &ndash; &ldquo;30 minutes or less . . . or it&rsquo;s free.&rdquo;<br /><br />Federal Express &ndash; &ldquo;When it absolutely, positively has to be there <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; overnight.&rdquo;<br /><br />Columbia House &ndash; &ldquo;10 CDs for 1 Cent.&rdquo;</p> <p>All of these meet the criteria of an identity-building offer central to a product, service or company where the believable return on investment is communicated so clearly and efficiently that it&rsquo;s immediately apparent you&rsquo;d have to be a fool to pass it up.</p> <p><strong>There are three basic elements to the Irresistible Offer:</strong></p> <p>1)&nbsp;High Return on Investment (ROI)<br />2)&nbsp;A Touchstone<br />3)&nbsp;Believability</p> <p>If you have all 3, you have an outstanding offer.&nbsp; What you lack in one area must be made up in the other areas.&nbsp; For example, Domino&rsquo;s pizza was not perceived as particularly good in the early days.&nbsp; So, their offer was low ROI but the touchstone, immediate pizza when you are hungry, was very compelling.</p> <p>Let&rsquo;s return to the Core Imperative.&nbsp; Make an offer.&nbsp; Without an offer, there is no business, simple as that.&nbsp;&nbsp; Customers need to perceive an ROI or there is no point.&nbsp; The ROI should be clear and real.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I can get 10 CDs for 1-Cent.&nbsp; This implies high ROI even though the perspective customer knows they will have to buy more at a higher price . . . but in total they get cheap CDs.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Touchstone is a brief statement of what you do, what&rsquo;s in it for your customer, and what makes it believable.&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, Domino&rsquo;s was selling fast pizza, you get it in 30 minutes or less because you are hungry.&nbsp; You can believe us because, if it&rsquo;s late, you get it for free.&nbsp; Look at the touchstone breakdown for these offers.</p> <p><strong>Columbia House breakdown by 4 imperative questions:<br /></strong>1)&nbsp;What is Columbia House selling? -&nbsp; Cheap Compact Discs<br />2)&nbsp;How much will it cost? &ndash; 1 Penny<br />3)&nbsp;What&rsquo;s in it for you? &ndash; cheap music, bragging rights<br />4)&nbsp;Why should you trust Columbia House? &ndash; Not much to lose.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s low risk but customers are still skeptical.</p> <p><strong>Dominos breakdown by 4 imperative questions:<br /></strong>1)&nbsp;What is Domino&rsquo;s selling? -&nbsp; Fast Pizza<br />2)&nbsp;How much will it cost? &ndash; Not stated<br />3)&nbsp;What&rsquo;s in it for you? &ndash; Immediate gratification, Pizza now when you are hungry.<br />4)&nbsp;Why should you trust Dominos? &ndash; If they don&rsquo;t deliver on their promise, it&rsquo;s free – -strong risk reversal.</p> <p><strong>Federal Express breakdown by 4 imperative questions:<br /></strong>1)&nbsp;What is Federal Express selling? &ndash; Overnight Delivery<br />2)&nbsp;How much will it cost? &ndash; Not stated – We believe this is so valuable; you may not care about price.<br />3)&nbsp;What&rsquo;s in it for you? &ndash; Delivery is made overnight, your project can continue w/o delay.&nbsp; You have covered your bases.<br />4)&nbsp;Why should you trust Federal Express? &ndash; Trust worthiness is implied in the name Federal Express.</p> <p><br /><strong>Let&rsquo;s put this in context of what Mark describes as the Great Formula.<br /></strong>1)&nbsp;An irresistible offer<br />2)&nbsp;A thirsty market<br />3)&nbsp;A second glass.</p> <p>In other words, identify your market and know who is thirsty for what you are offering, make them an irresistible offer and after they have made their purchase, reel them in for repeat business, sell them a second glass of water.&nbsp; If the ROI is real as well as perceived, the second glass is an easy sell.</p> <p><strong>Believability can be one or a combination of:<br /></strong>1)&nbsp;<strong>Proof</strong> &ndash; this can be social proof (we have satisfied customers), Technical proof (independent data validates our offer), Factual proof (presentation of facts that validate our offer)<br /><br />2)&nbsp;<strong>Credibility</strong> &ndash; are we credible, do we have the substance to make the offer?<br /><br />3)&nbsp;<strong>Endorsements</strong> &ndash; high profile or respected people they know that would attest to our solution.<br /><br />4)&nbsp;<strong>High profile customers</strong> – who are the big dogs they respect that we do business with?<br /><br />5)&nbsp;<strong>Qualifications</strong> &ndash; memberships,&nbsp; degrees, member organizations.<br /><br />6)&nbsp;<strong>Awards and recognition</strong> &ndash; customers like to associate with winners.<br /><br />7)&nbsp;<strong>Logic</strong> &ndash; rock solid logic to support an irresistible offer.<br /><br />Regardless of whether or not your are trying to get a date or sell products and services as we do&nbsp;at <a title=”Essentialink.com” href=”http://www.essentialink.com” target=”_blank”>EssentiaLink</a>, finding an honest irresistible offer is . . .well . . . imperative.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>David Hayden is in charge of marketing and media relations for EssentiaLink. EssentiaLink&nbsp;is&nbsp;a business process outsourcing company that helps companies streamline operations, reduce CAPEX and transform CAPEX into Variable OPEX.</p>