Marketing - The Bold Approach Method

Big Events May Damage Your Brand But Little Things Kill It

My five year old daughter noted while we were driving that the pizza delivery person next to us was smoking in his car with the windows up and with pizzas on the seat next to him. Her response was "Dad, I never want to order pizza from that place because the pizza will taste like cigarette smoke."

What was interesting was that I'd never considered that a pizza delivery person might smoke in the delivery vehicle (even when they use their own car) with my food. Smoking isn't allowed in restaurants here nor in the kitchens, logic would extend that to delivery vehicles.

I reported this on my facebook page and nearly universally people agreed with my daughter, don't order from that place. Some pointed out that the bags that keep the pizza warm are mostly sealed so not a lot of smoke would get in. Yet others recounted horror stories of tainted food (Think Dominos (in)Famous Pizza Video)

But whether or not the pizza is tainted by the smoke (and I believe it is) the bigger issue is that neither I nor my daughter (who has now told her mom, her aunt, and the neighbor) will order pizza from this particular company because PERCEPTION IS REALITY.

I recently traveled through Montana interviewing business owners and met some amazing people and I also observed people being very difficult to do business with . . . and I heard them talking about how tough it was to make money in this economy. Again, perception is reality, if I feel it is difficult to do business with you I probably won't or at least not again. 

A big hit to your brand is most likely surmountable but the little things that you don't notice or ignore are chipping away at the foundation of your business and will destroy it.

What is it that you are not attending to that is chipping away at your success?

Look around and fix it.

In branding yourself or your business, Perception IS reality.

How To Fame - Richard Laermer Shares Secrets Of How To Be Seen To Excel On First Of Its Kind Teleseminar Today!

Today I'll be interviewing Richard Laermer author of Punk Marketing and Full Frontal PR about How To Fame. How to fame is not about how to become the next Paris Hilton or how to do traditional PR, it is about how to be seen so you can excel. More about Richard here
and here.

DETAILS: Call Time Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, Noon Pacific, 1:00pm Mountain,
2:00pm Central, 3:00pm Eastern.
Dial-in Number:       1-218-936-4700         
Participant Access Code     366143
*If Richard allows it, I will record the call and post at: http://www.boldapproach.com/replay but I recommend you attend live if at all possible as we will take questions live.

Fame is no longer about Paris Hilton fake-famousness. Instead it is about the way people view you minute to minute and second to second. People are always watching. Faming is about creating and maintaining a consistent image (both through actions and communications) that reinforces credibility and professionalism, and that builds confidence
in others about your ability to get the job - any job - done.

How To Fame means gaining Pragmatic Notoriety(TM)!  It is being known for all the right reasons and becoming a true go-to person. Or try this: "This is how I'm different and this is why you should know me."

How To Fame is getting a special edge on the competition, because everyone wants to feel special but no one has taken the time to demonstrate how to be special.

How To Fame is not a fix-all. It won't keep you from getting laid off if your company goes under. In the same vein it won't get your girlfriend to take you back and it won't stop the ozone from eroding. (We think not.) What it will do is show you a systematic way of
taking the challenges you face each day and turning them into opportunities by making sure that your daily activities are purposefully moving toward the goal.

Each day that you are Faming, you will be increasing the personal equity in your career and your personal life.

Remember. Life is a competition now, especially in our totally networked world, an all-access-information society created by our need to be connected.

I'll see you on the call today!

Go GIvers Sell More - A Great New Book From Bob Burg

I just finished reading an advance copy of Bob Burg and John David Mann's Go Givers Sell more. As most of you who read this blog often know I'm not a huge fan of parable style books but I read The Go Giver and was a convert . . . at least in a small way. Well, Bob and John have carried on the exceptional lessons in The Go Giver and shown how to apply them to sales. In case you aren't familiar with the five laws of the Go Giver they are:

The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other peoples' interests first.

The Law of Authenticity: The greatest gift you have to offer is yourself. The most significant way you have of adding value to others' lives is by honoring your own nature—by being genuine and not trying to be someone you're not.

The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Now these are not physical laws like gravity does the book ever intend to promote that some mystical force or law controls the outcome of your sales. Bob and John have done an amazing job of showing how simple ideas which he refers to as laws can change the way you react and interact in a sales setting with your customers while providing more value and increasing sales.

Do yourself a favor and grab this short book and read it, then read it again. Bob and John are two of my favorite writers and I'll be they become two of your favorites as well.