Hire Brighter!

Are you hiring the brightest people you can find? Or are you worried that they will replace you and don't hire them? Successful leaders don't let their fears stop them! They are brave, optimistic and full of positive beliefs. They know what David Ogilvy knew and hired the best.

*Each of the 217 times David Ogilvy opened a new office for Ogilvy & Mather he’d leave a set of Russian nesting dolls on the desk of the incoming manager. When the manager removed the top half from the largest of these bowling pin-shaped dolls, he or she would find a slightly smaller doll inside. This would continue until the manager came to the tiniest doll and retrieved from its interior what looked to be the note from a fortune cookie: “If each of us hires people smaller than ourselves, we shall become a company of midgets. But if each of us hires people bigger than ourselves, we shall become a company of giants." — David Ogilvy.

Better advice could not be written. This shows vision and strength of character and will help you grow like no other thing you can do. Good luck this year.

*Found on The Monday Morning Memo for Nov. 5, 2007 - Ronald, Bill and You

Hiring is Marketing - Look for Those Who Can Make an Impact

Impact
The person with each of these skills will make an impact on your business. They will help you and your customers. They will find solutions to the problems you didn’t even know you had. They will be able to see things through and make things happen. And they will be able to lead others to do the same for you.

If this type of person become one of your managers they will be able to teach and inspire other to greatness and some of them will stay longer at their jobs than they normally would helping you lower costs.

If you are hiring young people, they may have some of these skills but they may not be fully development yet. You will need to mentor them to focus their passions and skills to work the way you need them to, for now and into their future. You can do it. They need you to be a mentor every bit as much as you need them as an employee and leader.

The person who possesses these seven skills knows how to make change happen. By the way we educate people in our public school system though, they most likely don’t know that they have these skills. You see our public school system is designed to produce workers that will follow the status quo and do what they are told to do. And our system of public school does this very well. This is their goal and its outcome is different from the model found here, which is fine, you need people who don’t fit the mold. Those who fit the mold will not have these skills. Compare the skills of those employees you’ve already have to those mentioned here. They will be different and you need to find different if you want to succeed.

I think that you should also be aware that you may see in people with these skills signs of rebellion form the pressure to fit into the social structure of our public system which teaches contrary to the skills revealed in this report. That’s OK. These peoples natural leadership ability has been squelched or even negated by the public school system. Be aware and don’t be afraid. Most people reject great ideas because they are not normal. Know this, these are the skills you need in employees if you want to grow your business. These and only these are the skills needed to make thing happen. Without these skills you may get someone who will come to work because they need the money but you won’t get someone who will go out of their way or as Tom Gagax said, “run through walls for you.”

I’m sure that you can imagine what you can accomplish if you have had employees that “run through walls for you,” especially if you have or have had warm bodies working for you in the past.

After you’ve gone through this process and hired a person, whether the person works for 6 months or 16 years, do whatever you can do to keep in touch with such an achiever. This person has the skills to lead and make thing happen. A person like this is worth rehiring at some future point, if you can!

Do what you can to encourage and support such an employee, in the end, you will agree that they were a God-send. And remember, “Your Employees Are Your #1 Asset!” Until you start finding employees of quality, and treat them as if they are, your business will never reach the potential it could.

Hiring is Marketing - Passion

Passion
If you ask the question, “What are some of your passions?,” you will begin to see how this person will perform while working for you. If their passions have taken them far and wide they will do the same for you. Even if they are young, as they share their passions you will begin to see how these questions reveal more than the questions you’ve here to for been asking.

You will begin to see what this person is capable of and what they have done and will do to achieve it. They will be able to move mountains for you. Satisfy your customers. Help new employees and even motivate others to excel.

Following questions will help you draw out more on how their passions govern their actions.

1. Show me examples where you have committed yourself to the pursuit of lifelong learning?
2. Describe the process you would go through to gain a through knowledge of a subject.
3. Explain in detail something that you are an expert at.
4. Tell me of a time where you have successfully persuaded others to adopt your point of view.
5. Tell me about two memorable projects, one success and one failure. To what do you attribute the success and failure? And what did you learn from each?

Hiring is Marketing - Commitment

Commitment
If you’ve been successful in determining whether your candidate has the skills that make a person of action by this point you’ve been though a lot already. And as you’ve noticed, you’ve learned a lot about these people already. Next you’ll want to determine what commitments they’ve made and kept in their life.

Commitment is an essential skill if you are looking for someone who can make an impact on your business and on your customers. Lets explore what commitment is for a moment so I can impress upon you how important this skill is.

Commitment is having a sound set of beliefs and faithfully adhering to them with ones actions or behaviors. Inquire about the commitments your interviewee has had in their life. For example, if you want to know about their feeling on self-improvement, ask questions that show how they have improved themselves or their actions. You can start by finding out what their commitment is to self-improvement. Ask questions such as the following:

1. How do you improve your skills?
2. What are some of the most important commitments you have made in your life?
3. How do these commitments effect your daily decisions?
4. What do you do in the community?
5. What are some of your passions? How do you pursue them?

As you can imagine, the answers you get to these types of questions will show a lot about the persons commitments or lack their of. Never the less, such answers will give you confidence in this person or not.

My point here is for you to develop questions to ask your interviewees that will reveal commitments made in their life so you can see the strength of their character.

Hiring is Marketing - Integrity

Integrity
You will be able to tell the integrity of most people by the way they describe the things they do or have done. As explored in those whose allegiance is to good they have experiences that have helped them develop more character; making them better candidates.

Inquire as to the character of the person you are interviewing. Ask what they would do in certain situation? Ask for examples where they have done such.

Ask questions to determine if they are flexible, positive and have a can-do attitude. Do they make excuses for mistakes made? Do they do a great job every time? And do they genuinely try not to make mistakes?

Do they, and how do they, ensure that they remember every detail of what they are supposed to do? One way to help your employees with this is to provide a detailed job description—a living document that can be added to by you and the employee.

Will they be part of the solution, not the problem? Are they a team worker and will they be on time ready to work every day? You need to let them know these things are required of them. And find out what their stand on gossip is! This is a no-no and must not be tolerated in any form.

As you can see, there is a lot to consider. The consequences are expensive if you make a wrong decision. Spend the time needed to develop documentation that you can give to your potential employees before they come in for an interview. This will help you get more qualified candidates.

The Top 10 Employee Essentials
1. Attitude of Gratitude 6. Ask Engaging Questions
2. Service 7. Build Value
3. Eye Contact 8. Schmooze
4. Communicate 9. Adopt a Positive Attitude
5. Be a Good Listener 10. Never Gossip About Others

Commitment is a byproduct of the person who has the right allegiance and shows integrity.

Hiring is Marketing - Allegiance

Allegiance
This is an intriguing topic, yet essential to your overall success and reputation. Without careful consideration you can open your business to devastating effects from an uncaring employee.

There are only four allegiances. They are:
• To self
• To others
• To evil and
• To good

Each of these four allegiances say a lot about the person you interview. Are they honest? Are they going to steal from you? Are they going to support the values of your business? Are they going to help attract new customers and build relationships with current customers? Are they an asset or a liability?

Are they open to learning or afraid of change? Are they a smooth talker or a character of record? Will they come to work in rain or shine or will they call in sick whenever they want to go to the lake? Will they run through wall for you to solve a problem a customer faces?

Questions we all wonder about and even worry about. Delve into the allegiances of your potential employees, you will never regret when you have chosen one who’s allegiance is to good over any of the others.


To Self
You need to expose those selfish people as quickly as possible. The first tactic is to weed them out before they come in for an interview. This is accomplished in the way you advertise the positions you have available.

Describe the person you want to attract in your ads and you will see a marked improvement in those who apply. Better yet, post on your website or attach to all resumes some basic criteria gleaned from this report. Talk about the values and goals of your business. Let it be known your standards and expectations and those who know they don’t adhere to your view of the best employee will not apply.

Things to look for is the person who has an allegiance to self:
• Are they a good listener? The person who isn’t a good listener will more than likely worry about making sure their point is made rather than one who listens to make sure they understand what is being said.
• Do they have convictions? A selfish person usually looks for consensus before they can make a decision. If you notice it you can easily make your decision. I recommend that you teach them a quick lesson on what you need in an employee and move on.
• Are they worried about what others think or say about them? Look for signs of self-consciousness and indecision. Note that everyone is self-conscious to some degree, but those who cannot make a decision without reassurance from others is not likely to be a fit.


To Others
You’ve seen this type of person, they worry more about pleasing their friends or looking good to the correct people than anything else. They won’t easily fit into an organization that is customer focused. In fact, they will detract from it. This type of person is focused on self and can’t easily step aside from their problems let alone help one of your customers solve theirs.

Things to look out for in the person who has an allegiance to others:
• Try to find out where their loyalties lie. This will help you discover what they may do in a given scenario.
• Find out what they do in their free time-on their vacations, on the weekends, at night, and at lunch. When you are hiring young singles this make it more difficult. You will have to train yourself to read between the lines.

What you want to look for are times when they do things for selfish reasons as compared to unselfish reasons. Do they ever volunteer? Do they do activities with family? Do they ever do things that they might not want to do but feel are important to do nevertheless? If they never do any of these things you might get the indications you need to see their allegiance.


To Evil
I won’t say much about this other than you may come across someone with such tendencies. You’ll have to teach yourself to read this type of person. They will show their allegiance.


To Good
Those people whose allegiance is to good will stand out. They will care about other people—a skill you want—someone who will be willing to help your customers and build relationships.

Their experience will involve working with others. They may be helping in the community or simply be willing to stay to get the job done when it is needed. Another good sign is volunteering. Whether when asked or using their initiative to seek volunteer opportunities this is a good candidate.

Things to look for in the person who has an allegiance to good:
• Someone who has had a lot of experience working in or with large groups of people. This may indicate that the person has been exposed to the needs of the group and has first hand knowledge in stepping up to fill a need.
• Willingness. This indicates that this person is open to changes and can go with the flow. If extra effort is need, here and there, they may be willing to step up and help carry the load.
• How are their communication skills? Reading, writing, speaking, listening and non-verbal communication all tell how they will be able to perform on the job. Look for candidates who are the best at as many of these as you can. These skills will prove invaluable in the end.

Stress on these skills should also be placed on all job descriptions, but much more than stating that they are needed. Give specific examples of how you expect them to hone their communication skills.

Let them know that you expect them to work on their reading, writing, speaking, listening and non-verbal communication skills by reading, writing, speaking, listening and practicing these skills. Then give them assignments and resources to accomplish this. If you don’t, they will know that you are only giving lip service to the subject.

Some questions you can ask to help determine the allegiance of your interviewee are:
1. How have you been a mentor towards someone else? Tell me what you did?
2. How often do you set goals? And how often do you review your goals?
3. Discuss the last book you read. What impact did it have on your life?
4. How have you worked on your speaking &/or presentation skills? Share a few examples of each.
5. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done.
6. What have you done to improve your leadership skills?
7. What was the last thing you wrote? Why did you write it?

Hiring is Marketing - Ingenuity

Ingenuity
Inventive or resourceful employees are worth their weight in gold. They are clever and imaginative and will work at a problem until they can solve it. Work is where this skill is needed at all times.

If your employees deal with your customers — every customer needs a problem solved — they need ingenuity. What happens when an employee doesn’t have this skill? You will most likely loose the customer. And lost customers will cost you your business. And loosing customers in this way is unacceptable.

Consider the following:
1. High Concept – The capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new.

2. High Touch – The ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch the quotidian [daily routine] in pursuit of purpose and meaning.

These are the skills of those with ingenuity. These are the skills you need your employees to have! These are the skills you really need to be looking for in an employee. You can teach an employee to do just about anything you need them to do, but, without, these skills it is useless….

Ask questions like the following to help find employees with ingenuity.
1. Share with me an example where you have used your abilities on the job to define a problem that you saw. And how did you solve it?
2. Tell me of a time where you challenged prevailing assumptions and asked hard questions to facilitate change.
3. Describe a time where you worked by yourself to accomplish a project—a project where you took full responsibility for its completion.
4. Tell me about a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done.
5. What was a major obstacle you faced at work that you were able to overcome in the past year?

Prize the employee with ingenuity, they provide the passion that keep customers coming back. Treat them as the #1 asset they are and they will rarely disappoint.


This text is taken from an upcoming report called Hiring is Marketing by Daniel C. Felsted. Send an email to request the full report. danielbbq@gmail.com

Hiring is Marketing - Initiative

Initiative
If you’ve ever hired an employee without initiative, you know that most of the money you paid that employee was wasted. You spent all too much time telling those employees what to do when they are doing nothing. “Why can’t they just do their job and be productive?” you say to yourself over and over again.

All too many employers underestimate the power initiative has in an average days work until they’ve gone through this scenario.

There are many reasons why employees don’t step up and do the work that is needed. The biggest, however, is that they have not been taught how to take the initiative and therefore can’t. If you want your employees to take initiative you’ll either have to teach it or hire those with it.

One way to overcome it in your current employees is to create a detailed job description, which lays out in clear details what is expected of them on an ongoing basis. I clearly remember my second job in high school. My boss told me that the most important thing to do was to never let the customers wait to pay. So I hovered by the cash register.

He never told me his second most important job function…. So, after two weeks, he wanted to fire me because I was just standing by the cash register. Even though I thought that was what I was supposed to do. I was wrong. I didn’t know that I was supposed to use my initiative.

After we had a talk, another employee told me “Don’t just stand there, look busy. Sweep, dust, arrange, clean and/or organize.” Oh, then I got the big picture. I learned his system. It would have been much easier if he had it documented.

As you talk to potential employees, listen for instances where the interviewee showed his/her initiative. Ask questions that will bring this out.

Some examples are:
1. Tell me of a time when you used your initiative and worked independently to either create a plan or make something positive happen?
2. Discuss a situation where you have shown your ability to conceptualize an idea[s] and reorganize information into new patterns.
3. In your last job, what kind of things did you do when you were slow? What kind of things were you supposed to do?
4. When you see that something isn’t getting done, that is supposed to, what do you do?
5. Share with me a time where you went out of your way to complete a project because it needed to be done.

I’d suggest you also create/give a scenario and ask what they would do in that situation. The scenario that I like to build off is: "If you see the problem you have to see it fixed!" In fact, this should be the first line on all job descriptions! Leaving no question as to what the employee’s responsibilities are.

Initiative is the first skill to look for in a successful employee. All of the other skills that you might find important hinge on the initiative of a person.

How To Get Your Employees To Run Through Walls For You

Since I was 16 I have never been trained to do the job I was hired for! Since then every employer has relied on the training of a previous employer! Do you give your employees special training per your business’ needs and your unique customers?

My experience poses a fundamental flaw in the system of employee training. Inadequate training leads to excessive employee turnover and directly affects your customer base, which erodes your profits substantially.

Without effective screening, and selecting and daily coaching, training, mentoring and teaching you cannot reach the profits you wish you had, and, in fact, believe you should have.

Too many employers hire on the premise of “lack of noticeable weakness” instead of proven strengths! This report is designed to help you find the strengths your potential hires have and must have.


This report identifies the 7 characteristics possessed by a leader—you are looking for leaders in your hires aren’t you? Consider these characteristics as you interview. You will find that each section has a number of questions that will help you discover if your interviewee has these characteristics.

The potential employee that has the most of these characteristics will have the skills needed to make an impact on your business. The dirty little secret in corporate America is that they don’t have the depth of knowledge they need to move them forward and really grow their business*1.

Character Traits*2 To Look For In Potential Employee
1. Initiative
2. Ingenuity
3. Allegiance
4. Integrity
5. Commitment
6. Passion
7. Impact

Over the next couple of weeks I share my thoughts on each of these points. Do you see the power if each of these traits? What standards do you hire to?


*1 - Aneil Menon, IBM
*2 - Character Traits – take from Oliver DeMille keynote address at the 4th annual Thomas Jefferson Education

How to Get Someone Qualified Who Will Run Through Wall For You!

I've been working on Special Report #4 — Hiring Is Marketing: How to Get Someone Qualified Who Will Run Through Wall For You!

My objective are:
First, help you separate the exceptional potential employee from the average warm body.

Second, it should be used to let future potential employees to know of the standards and values of your company—what you expect, at a minimum, from your employees.

Third, it is designed to convince you that your employees are your #1 asset. If you wish to have great customer service you must start with who you hire and how you train them, on a daily basis, to become great employees and then great customer service providers.

Fourth, I wish to show how vital hiring is to the success your marketing plan.

Over the next several weeks I'll share my thoughts in their entirety. Remember:



“Your Employees Are Your #1 Asset!
What are you doing to make and keep them that way?”
—DCF

What do you consider the basic of your marketing plan?

Service

Service:
The most important tool in your marketing plan is service.

Begin by being more customer service oriented towards your employees—help them learn first by example and second by training, then apply this to your customer interactions. You will find that you lose yourself in this endeavor and your attitude will be more positive and contagious.

The result will be more sales from your current customers and more referrals from them too.



Taken from the guide: How to Get Your Employees to Work Harder and Love Doing It! by Daniel Felsted

Your Customers Have Questions…

Strategy 13: Your Customers Have Questions… Do You Answer Them In The Way They Want Them Answered?

Your customers have questions. A certain percentage of your customers don't like to ask you questions. They prefer to answer their own questions. You can take advantage of this with a better understanding co-production.

Guide customers to areas where they can have their questions answered. Co-production is getting customers to provide part of the workload. So whenever you can have them answer their own questions you save man-hours and can help more customers at any given time while letting some of your customers help themselves just like they want to.

Many catalogers do this with callouts throughout their catalog. You can apply this to cover a broad area of topics. Refer to articles, recommend books, maps, links to areas on and off your site or in and out of your town. The goal is to provide relevant materials to your customer base that helps them buy and use your products and services.

Examples of Have a Question
Amazon.com does a good job of recommending relevant materials. To do this in your shop create posters that say, “Visit our ‘how-to’ section at the end of the aisle.” or on your website, “Visit our recommended resources section—click here.” You can also use this information as an approach when a sales rep approaches a customer. “If you have any questions, my name is Dana, feel free to ask me or you can use our reference center found at the end of each aisle.”

For one client we created documents that answer the questions they are asked over and over again. The document is available to all customers. Many read it and find the answers they are looking for before they make a purchase.

For another client, we are making in-store materials that explain all of the services they offer. The plan is to have 6-8 different brochures that customers can read at their leisure to better educate themselves of the services our client offers. This is an inexpensive way to inform your customer, plant seeds, and strengthen relationships with them.

From the book Benchmarked: What the best of the best do to keep customers coming. Find out more about The Image Foundry at IFmarketing.com

Get Your Customers To Product For You!

Your customers have questions. A certain percentage of your customers don't like to ask you questions. They prefer to answer their own questions. You can take advantage of this by better understanding co-production.

Have a Question?
Guide customers to areas where they can have their questions answered. Co-production is getting customers to provide part of the workload. So whenever you can have them answer their own questions you save man-hours and can help more customers at any given time.

Many catalogers do this with callouts throughout their catalog. You can apply this to cover a broad area of topics. Refer to articles, recommend books, maps, links to areas on and off your site or in and out of your town. The goal is to provide relevant materials to your customer base that help them buy and use your products and services.

Examples of Have a Question
Amazon.com does a good job of recommending relevant materials. To do this in your shop create posters that say, “Visit our ‘how-to’ section at the end of the aisle.” or “Visit our recommended resources section—click here.” You can also use this information as an approach when a sales rep approaches a customer. “If you have any questions, my name is Dana, feel free to ask me or you can use our reference center found at the end of each aisle.”

Improve Dress Code
Require your employees look the part of the professional assistant that they are. Your image is very important to how your customer perceive you and your product. When you look top notch, you will act it and your customer will think of you as a resource.

Making Your Customers More Valuable

Add a Suggestion Box
Encourage your customers to use it. Inform them that they are valued customers, and their satisfaction is important to you. Invite them to tell you how you can serve them better.

Consider rewarding them for taking the time to share their experiences with you.

What Should You Ask In An Initial Interview?

Hiring – Key elements to discover
1. Initiative
2. Ingenuity
3. Allegiance
4. Integrity
5. Commitment
6. Passion
7. Impact 

Anyone with these skills will be able to make an impact on your business for the better. Those without will simply come to work more or less on time.

When you interview someone these are the initial and key points to learn — these are the skills that leaders have. And these are the key skills that our public school system methodically eliminates from our natural beings in an effort to socialize us to be obedient workers.

Ask question to discover answers to these points. They should be the basis of whether or not you should hire someone.Furthermore you should put content like this on your website to be the first screen in the hiring process. You will attract better qualified candidates when you make your intentions known.

To Succeed Teach Your Employees To Serve

Service
This is the second most important skill to teach your employees!

“The customer just wants to be treated as a person.”2 This applies to coworkers too. Service is the most powerful marketing tool you can learn. With service, you can win hearts, soften anger, create friendships, sell more, and most of all, you can learn about yourself and how much you can really do.

If you really want to take advantage of the great tool of service, begin by being more service-oriented toward your families, friends and acquaintances. You will find that when you lose yourself in this endeavor, your attitude will be more positive and contagious.

It is a fact that when we serve others, we forget about our problems and our outlook on life becomes more positive. Psychologists have long known and used service to help abused and addicted people forget their troubles. As they think about and work with others, their own problems are forgotten and they’re on their way to being healed.

By incorporating these principles into your daily life, you will be fostering a positive workplace and be primed in creating a learning and teaching environment. When you are in this type of environment you will be more receptive to the needs of your customers. And when you help your coworkers think of your customers, you create the perfect environment for customers to seek your expertise, your assistance, and most importantly, your products or services.

Your customers are your partners in business. Treat them as valued members of your family by serving them in the best way possible. The real secret of business success is customer retention. Developing lasting relationships is vital to your long-term success.

Consider This
One of the most valuable possessions you truly have to give is service.

One way to serve others is to volunteer in your community. There are many deserving organizations that desperately need your help. There are schools, hospitals, scouts, charitable organizations, churches and even neighbors that would welcome the service you can volunteer. Time, skills, knowledge, connections and money are ways you can help others.

Look for ways you can make a difference… by helping others.

“The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.” —Heda Bejar

Answer These Questions
What types of service do you receive in a given week?
What types of service do you give in a given week?

The answers to these questions will tell you what kind of response to expect from your marketing materials!

Attitude of Gratitude

This is the most important skill to teach your employees.

Your attitude sets the stage for your life. By looking around you and finding the things for which you are grateful, a positive attitude will grow within you. That positive attitude will affect everything you do. If you are positive, those around you will be more positive. Your days will be more exciting and your prospects will be greater. It is all up to you.

To get ahead, you need to learn how to get along and help others. Show that you are grateful for your job! Acknowledge the hard work you see in coworkers and customers. Recognize contributions to your team.

Show how much you appreciate others with simple hand written thank you notes, a genuine “thank you,” a hand shake or a phone call.

The attitude you bring to work each day sets the mood for your day. I recently sat in a business’ waiting room and heard one of the employees battle with herself with her attitude. She would make a negative comment and them cover it with a more positive comment. This went on for an hour. With a little training, she would recognize her attitude and be able to keep it checked.

This skill should be practiced and reviewed regularly to make it a habit, something that is an asset. It all begins with your attitude and being grateful.

Answer these questions And then have your employees answer them too.
1. What are you grateful for?
2. How do you show gratitude?
3. Who do you show gratitude toward?
4. What have you done recently to thank a customer for coming in?
5. What positive comments have you made towards a co-worker in the past 7 days? Past 30 days? Past 90 days?

Your answers will affect the effectiveness of your staff and all your marketing materials!

Top 10 Employee Essentials

Too often in marketing we focus on the ad, the catalog, the radio/TV spot and forget about the people who close the deal. Here is a list essentials you should focus on to make your marketing materials more valuable!

Top 10 Employee Essentials
1. Attitude of Gratitude
2. Service
3. Eye Contact
4. Communicate
5. Be a Good Listener
6. Ask Engaging Questions
7. Build Value
8. Schmooze
9. Adopt a Positive Attitude
10. Never Gossip About Others

Over the next few weeks I'll define each of these terms. Then I'll discuss why you should spend as much time training your staff as you do developing your ads.

Strategy 12: Provide Objective Reviews

Seek out and gather reviews from your customers and various media sources. Ask customers to rate your products, ask about quality, usefulness, and satisfaction. Look for product reviews from magazines, newspapers, and online sources. Post them in prominent places where customers can review.

Retailers—put them in a booklet and hang them next to the product.
Online Retailers—put links to these reviews by the products for easy reference.

Your customers believe what like-minded customers say over what you say in your advertising. Make it easier for your customers and give them what they want—objective/non-objective views of your products from people who own the product not just from those who sell the product.

Examples of Objective Reviews
A great example can be found online at CamelBak. They provide buttons that link to user reviews, media reviews, and submit a review. You can see what others say, which helps your customers make an educated buying decision.

Amazon.com does this very well also. Spend some time online and see how these retailers have taken advantage of social interaction. If you are not doing it on your website and in your retail store you are loosing sales.


__________
Taken from my book Benchmarked: What The Best Of The Best Do To Keep Customers Running

This >> is why internal marketing strategies are so important to your business' growth.

Strategy 11: Make a Special Occasion Section

Though Christmas is the first thing that comes to mind when I say this, my point is to capitalize on the concept, not the date. Foster the following model year round. Create a “Great Birthday Ideas” section, A “Hurray, Spring is Here” section, a “Wonderful Winter” products section, a “Summer Must Haves” section, and “It’s April” to name a few.

Set things up that way your customers buy or shop instead of what is easier for you. You can easily stand out from your competitors when you make shopping easier for your customers, because nobody else does. To do this, organize items for the individual not by brand or category like everyone else.

With this strategy, you can create countless focal points for feature products without having a sale. Many times, a shop will create a section to feature a new product. Extend this idea to any occasion you can think of to drive traffic and increase sales. Create an area where you can show off your products is ways that fit your customers shopping habits rather than what’s easy for you.


Examples of Make a Special Occasion Section
EBags.com is a great example. They have an assortment of gift options like Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Teens, Gifts under $25, Gifts under $100, Gifts over $100, and Gift Certificates. The occasion could be any occasion for gift giving.










An example of organizing your shop for your customers would be to organize all the items the shopper need for a picnic in one area. Don’t waist their time by making them wander all over your store. Place plates, cups, plastic-ware, napkins, coolers, chips, lunch meats, drinks, baskets, and various snacks in one convenient place. Even water toys, ice-cream making supplies and barbecue equipment would be appropriate close by. Imagine the opportunity for cross-selling you are missing! What opportunities are you missing out on?

__________
Taken from my book Benchmarked: What The Best Of The Best Do To Keep Customers Running

Strategy 10: It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…
Helping to ease the fears your customers may have about buying your products is always a good idea. Show them in simple steps how easy it is to use, buy or assemble your products. Whenever you can simplify the buying process you are eliminating barriers that keeps them from buying. Develop ways that explain how easy it is to make a purchase in simple easy steps.

Examples of Giving Easy Steps
A perfect example is how to choose a hydrations system found on the old CamelBak’s website. See examples below. CamelBak gives you three easy steps to buying a hydrations system. One—Pick an activity. Two—Pick your duration. Three—Pick your cargo size.

Another example is from a Wolf Automotive catalog. In this catalog I simplified the ordering process from 11 steps to 3 steps. The new page shows three easy steps to order your vehicle cover from Wolf Automotive. They consist of: 1. Gather your order information 2. Have your shipping information ready 3. Call the number provided to place your order. Download an example here >>

It couldn’t be simpler than that. When you make it easy for your customer they will come back to you who caters to their needs. Look at your competitors and use this strategy to get one-up on them.

__________
Taken from my book Benchmarked: What The Best Of The Best Do To Keep Customers Running

Strategy 7 - Use Great Descriptive Words

There is a fine line between over kill and finesse. When done well, it informs and builds confidence. Consider using words like: Original, Quality, Distinctive, New, Rugged, “Still the Best,” “Might as well have the best!,” and The ultimate…, are great words for rough and tough products.

Words Matter
Words like Soft, Plush, and Comfortable work well for towels or carpet. Descriptive words can help set the mood of your offers and can attract the right type of customers.

Our society is becoming weary of hype so when you use these words make sure you follow them with solid facts that prove it. Facts are not ambiguous. All to much marketing is fluff or full of platitudes and customers, your customers recognize them from football fields away and promptly ignore them and you if you are using them.

Honesty Counts!
Be careful how you describe your product, say it straight and say it clear and your customers will respect you with their time. If they give you their time it is easy to get their money.

Examples of Great Descriptive Words in Use
"...our materials are the very best obtainable, for we know that the best is none too good and that quality is of vital importance." C.C.Filson, 1914



This icon or callout (Improves Gas Mileage) is placed on packaging, brochures, sales fliers and websites—everywhere the customer see this product to reinforce how they can save gas.








This callout was used to show the how a tonneau can increase the security of your cargo when you cover it.








Nordstrom stands out in more ways than one to be sure their use of copy is an art. Following are lines from a recent mailing talking about shoes.

“It’s only fitting—finding the shoe you want in the size you need.”
“Sure black goes with everything, but fuchsia is so fun!”
“Going someplace? Have fun getting there,” in our shoes is the connotation.
“A little extra cushion? Whatever makes you comfortable.”

A few others that attract the customer’s eye are:
“Great products at a great price!”
“Remarkably versatile”
“Tightly woven fabric”

No matter how you use descriptive words remember this — what you say is important, but if you don't back it up it will be as if you didn't say anything!

Callouts in Action - How Are You Using Them?

Following are some ways in which to use callouts to drive traffic, sales, and interest.




























In this example, a poster was created to discuss the blog entry for The Internet Dark Ages. The callout "Truth" was use to call special attention to how truth is being used in modern society today.

This poster was posted throughout the community with two different headlines. One said, "The Truth Isn't What You Choose To Believe!" the other, "The Truth Is What You Choose To Believe!" This was done to play on the different philosophies of readers.































The Double Your Protection callout on this brochure was designed to call attention to an additional way to a vehicle cover protects your vehicle — when you cover your vehicle you protect your gear that is inside your vehicle — out of sight out of mind. This callout drives interest and intrigues.






























Here callouts were use draw particular attention to the many benefits of a Top Mount tonneau in this 7 page brochure. Available at retail and online. We discuss each point with a callout and then follow it with a short description.

Callouts are bursts of information that can be used in every situation where you want to inform your customers about something. Use them to your advantage, if you look around you will quickly realize they are underutilized. Take advantage of this and start using them today.

Strategy 8 - Use Callouts To Sell More!

Callouts are the best way to quickly educate your customers. A simple icon tells a story and builds credibility at a glance.

In a retail environment callouts can and should be used to draw attention to specific products, offers and services. In a catalog or online callouts quickly make a point. Something text can't do.

A callouts will stay with the average customer much longer than most copy. So, when you want to drive home a point, say it with a callout and your customers will remember it better.

Use callouts to build profiles of products or services you sell. Create icons that emphasize the main features that your customers find important.

Letting your customers know about your return policy, informing your customers who their resident expert pointman (REP) is, and educating your customers are all vital to your businesses success.

People expect to be educated. Are you taking advantage of these opportunities?

Incorporating internal marketing strategies like callouts in conjunction with your marketing plan is a great way to show off valuable services. They also add value to the products you sell.

See the example on this page or visit this link for many more. They easily and quickly emphasize the point. Read more about callout in the book The power of color & shape—a logo & callout book. Click here >>

Next entry will show some callouts in action.

Strategy: 9 Your Helpfulness

Post and show how willing you are to help your customers. Many successful companies show their customers how easy it is to do business with them. They invite customers to make purchases via their store, online at their website, by phone, and even by fax. Yet others keep extended shopping hours to meet the needs of their customers.

Inform your customers that your staff is highly skilled and well trained. Hang posters and post banners encouraging customers to seek help from your staff. Train staff to cheerfully engage customers at every contact point. For example, I’ve created a job aid the help employees ask engaging question of customers. Download it at: www.IFmarketing.com/EngagingQsWorksheet.pdf

Guide your customers to areas where they can have their questions answered. “If you have any questions ask a salesperson or visit the counter.”

And get your customers to shoulder part of the workload whenever possible by encouraging them to answer their own questions, thereby freeing you up to help other customers. To do this, post FAQs and special reports that help answer questions your customers have.

You can apply similar approaches to a variety of situations. Refer your customers to articles; recommend books, maps, and links to areas on and off your store-site or in and out of town. The goal is to add extra value by providing materials designed to help them to find, buy and use your products and services.

Examples of Your Helpfulness
Online retailers—you can put your 800 number on your website to encourage your customers to contact you. Most do, but how much more effective will it be if next to your 800 number you say “Call us, we’re here to help you.” Or “We’re waiting and willing to answer you questions, call us now?” Better yet, add “live help” communication to your site for those who’d like their questions answered without having to call you.

Retailers—Wal-Mart workers wear jacks that say, “How can I help you?” This fosters interaction between customers and staff. Post FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for customers with the answers and solutions—let them know how willing you are to help them. Post and advertise comments from customers praising the helpfulness of your staff.

Check out the very helpful and effective approach used online by Amazon.com. When you are a member of Amazon.com they make suggestions that are relevant to the purchases you make. When you buy a certain book they take you to a page that says “People who have bought (your book) have also bought the following books” and give a list of recommendations. Teach your staff to use similar techniques or post such suggestions by the products you sell.

Post visual cues such as “Visit our “How-to” section at the end of the aisle.” or “Visit our recommended resources section—click here.” A sales representative can also use a similar verbal approach as an ice breaker when approaching a customer: “If you have any questions, my name is Jackson, please feel free to ask me at any time or you can use our handy reference center found at the end of each aisle, right over here.”

As you can see, there are many additional ways to engage your customer. Work with your staff to better satisfy your customers and stand out in the busy crowd and you will be able to bring more customers to your business.

For more free tips and articles visit: http://www.ifmarketing.com/resources/

This strategies has been taken from a forthcoming book called Benchmarked.

Stragety 6 - Evaluating Products

Evaluating Products
A good way to help your customers make decisions is to help them categorize you product. Some ways to segment products are: categorizing products, Good/Better/Best categories, and Step-By-Step / How-to / Don’t Forget instructions. Whenever you can simplify the buying decision you are helping your customers take on more of a co-productions position, which is when the customer provides at least part of his/her own service. You give them the power to make faster and more educated decisions. Usually resulting it purchasing higher priced products.

Examples of Evaluating Products

Example of Categorizing
Camp Chef, makers of Outdoor cookers categorizes its product line into distinct product lines. Their high-end catering style stoves are in the 1. Professional Series, their rugged camping style stoves are in the 2. Outdoorsman Series, their portable/car camping stoves are in the 3. Sport Utility Series, and their grilling/tailgating stoves are in the 4. Sport Grill Series. You can easily identify what type of stove to start investigating by your intended activity or usage.

How can you apply this to your business?
Categorize products for your customer. Make posters or brochures. Help your customers easily make choices about your product line. Say there are eight different sleeping bags to choose from. Divide the bags into logical categories that make it easier for your customer to choose a bag. Consider categories such as, If you camp in –20’ - -5’ temperatures consider these bags. If you camp in 0’ – 40’ temperatures consider these bags. If you camp 40’+ temperatures consider these bags. —or— If you car camp consider these bags… If you backpack consider these bags… If you camp in your yard consider these bags…

Example of Good/Better/Best Comparison













Look for ways to compare the products you sell. You will quickly begin to sell more of the better products because your customers will be able to see they difference.

Strategy 5 - Testimonials - Use Them In All Your Promotions

Testimonials
Sharing a testimonial is the most powerful advertising you can ever do. Many customers don’t readily believe advertising anymore, they think it is false, overstating, exaggerated and discount it. Ask your customers for testimonials.

If you have gone out of your way to satisfy your customer they will happily give you one. Post them everywhere a customer goes so your prospective customers can see how you will treat them when they become customers.

CustomInk.com has amassed 10,000+ testimonials. When they can get a customer to visit their testimonial webpage they have a five times higher chance in making a sale! Does any of your current marketing have a response rate this high? I’d suggest that you visit their testimonial page and learn from them.

Gather and post as many testimonials as you can. It will have a significant impact on your customers buying decisions!

Tip: To be more creditable use as much info about your customer as you can. Full name, city and state, photo, and even a signature.

Examples of Testimonials
“These guys are great! It is a pleasure to do business with them, every time. I wish every e-store was this easy to work with.”
—David Rasmussen

“Brian went out of his way to give me excellent customer service and very sincerely addressed any concerns I had.”
—A. Hymans

“This shopping experience is everything a person could ask for.”
—Jaime Stanczyk

This one, and many other great testimonials, can be found on Filson.com
“I was attacked by an enraged bull. I was hit hard and thrown up about 15 feet, tumbling head over heels. I landed in front of the bull who then butted me, rolling me to my back and running over me, planting his left foot squarely on my upper chest. When he stomped on my chest I was certain that he would crush it and my heart and lungs. Amazingly, my only injuries were a broken sternum and some subluxed ribs and clavicle joints. Quite sore but alive! Next day I cleaned the muddy hoof print off the left upper chest surface of the coat I had been wearing...my FILSON TIN CLOTH PACKER COAT. I feel that the almost armor-like quality of the caped part of that coat probably saved my life.”
—Bruce Ashley West Union, OH

WOW! It is because of testimonials like this that I own a Filson product! How about you and your products… Are you using testimonials to help you sell? Testimonials are a competitive edge you can use!




This strategy was taken from my book Benchmarket: How the Best of the Best Keep Customers Running.

Your Guarantee

Strategy 4: Your Guarantee
Your guarantee is a strong selling tool. It shows your customers how much you trust your product offering. Do you have a great product or service? Use a strong guarantee to tell your customers how much you believe in the products and or services you sell. Conversely, a poor or unpopular policy will chase customers away or at least offend them so that they will never shop with you again.

Examples of Great Guarantees

Neiman Marcus’s Guarantee If you are not completely satisfied with your Neiman Marcus purchase, please return it for exchange, credit, or refund.

Williams-Sonoma Guarantee We want you to be perfectly satisfied with your purchase. If for any reason a selection does not meet your expectations, please return it to us for and exchange or refund.

L. L. Bean’s Guarantee Our products are guaranteed to give 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L. L. Bean that is not completely satisfactory. What a great lifetime warranty!

Filson Clothing’s Guarantee Our guarantee for over 100 years has never changed: "We guarantee every item purchased from us. No more, no less. Your satisfaction is the sole purpose of our transaction." —Clinton C. Filson, 1897

eBags.com Guarantee eBags.com 110% Price Guarantee appears on every page. Customers feel comfortable when buying from eBags.com, so much so that they have bought 6,322,834 Bags Since 1999.

Examples of Unpopular Guarantees
A popular online (overstock.com) retailer charges a 20% restocking fee.
An auto manufacturer charged a 25% restocking fee.
An in-home party company only gives credit for returns.

These examples produce customers that may never shop with them again because of their policies. Is it worth it to alienate customer from a lifetime of purchases? It might be, but weigh the impact carefully. If you choose to implement a guarantee such as these let your customer know up front so there is no surprise. This way your customers will be able to make an educated decision when they decide to purchase from you.

Tout Exclusive Items

Strategy 3: Tout Exclusive Items
Do you carry any items that no one else has? Many smaller retail shops do. Maybe you have items that you have exclusive rights in a given territory, that’s good enough? Let people know that you are the source for these items. Tell them why you carry such items. What are the advantages of buying these “Great” items from you? Talk to your customers. What features does your product have that others don’t?

If you don’t have exclusive items tout your exclusive internal benefits… It may be your warranty or your return policy. Tell your customers how they will benefit from these exclusive benefits &/or products? Show your customers how you have helped them make an educated decision. If you can, seek out exclusive products from your manufacturers so you can set yourself apart from your competition.

If you are a manufacture investigate this matrix. If you sell products into a number of stores in an area, what would the effect be if you gave each store one exclusive item to sell? What an advantage it would be to each shop to have exclusive items. They can tout that they are the only shop in town with the model.

If you provided an exclusive item from each class or category you offer each business could add that to their benefits list? There is no greater selling point when a shop can say, “No one else in town has this great product!”

Examples of Touting Exclusive Items
The cataloger Filson thinks this is so important that they dedicate an entire spread, two pages of their catalog, valuable selling space, on their exclusive fabrics.

The spread features four fabrics: Filson’s 100% Virgin Mackinaw Wool, Filson’s Tin Cloth, Filson’s Shelter Cloth, and Filson’s Cover Cloth covering 2/3 of the page.

The remaining 1/3 highlights 6 additional exclusive products: Filson’s Feather Cloth, Filson’s Sarari Cloth, Filson’s Brushed Twill, Folson’s Moleskin, Filson’s Rugged Twill, and Filson’s Bridle Leather. No selling only touting their exclusive products.

This strategy can be used to give more meaning to your advertising and give another reason for customers to come in and visit. Tell them what they are missing by not stopping by!



This strategy was taken from my forthcoming book called "Benchmarked: What The Best Of The Best Do To Keep Customers Coming."

Providing More Content On The Web

Have you looked at websites that want to sell products and noticed that they don't give any information for you, the customer, to make an educated buying decision?

There are many lessons to learn from these sites that do a poor job of promoting their products. And many lessons to learn from those who do a good job of using the web for what it is used for.

Here is a good example. Here you can see the additional information provided to help the customer make an educated buying decision.

Here is a typical example. Here is what most customers see. A few bullet points. A photo and a buy now button. Who can make an educated buying decision with this type of content? No one.

You decide. The web is used by most people for research! Are you providing them with quality information that they can use to make an educated buying decision? They want it and more and more people are providing it.

Ask yourself, "Does the info on our website lead our customer to buying our product?"

See some examples of ways to lower your customers buying risk here.

Another Strategy To Get More Customers

Additional Strategies to Build Customer Loyalty

Strategy 2: Comparison Charts
Do you have a great product? Should customers be busting down you door to get it? And you don’t know why they aren’t? If so, you can benefit greatly from this strategy. Make posters, banners, and tables that compare the features of your product to that of its competitor: us vs. them, this vs. that, etc. Explain to your customers how these additional features will benefit them. When your customers can plainly see why your product is superior to others, they will do most of the selling for you. Your job is to give them the facts that they can use to make an educated purchase choice. Use call-outs, such as “3 easy steps for choosing the right paper for your printer” that note benefits which both set you apart and highlight the extra services you offer—value added services. Selling is a battle of perception. What are you doing to win this perception?


Examples of Comparison Charts
Filson’s catalog does an excellent job of this. Get a copy and see (filson.com). They have a picture of one of their duffel bags with a Volkswagen Engine in it hanging from a peg followed by this copy—“Our duffel bag will carry a Volkswagen engine. Will yours?” Not that’s a comparison you can see.

On Kimberly Clark’s website www.block-it.com you will find charts that compare each car cover fabric to a number of possible damaging items to your car and it’s finish.

The goal of these strategies is to give your customers more information so they can make educated buying decisions. If you can successfully engage your customers spend time with you and your products you increase your chances that the purchase is made through you not your competitors.

How To Get Others To Take Responsibility

I was reading Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon. When I came to the following quote I paused and thought about it for several minutes.

"An individual without information cannot take responsibility; an individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility."
—Jan Carlzon

Upon reflection, I have found this to be true in my life and in the lives of others. I have also noticed that most are not particularly motivated to excel when this is the case.

It would be good for each of us to reflect and remember this lesson as we work with others. Especially if it is our goal to get the most out of our people.

My favorite quote is: "Inspire, not require" It says to me that if I work hard hard enough those around me will catch my vision and be inspired to work equally as hard.

Give it a try, it will make you better as well as those around you!

How to get more customers to buy from you!

Strategies to build customer loyalty

Whether you are a retail shop, a cataloger, or an online business the following tips are great ways to set yourself apart from your competition. It is more important than ever to be distinctive! In fact, if you are not outrageous you are nothing. There is just too much competition out there—you have to do something to make yourself stand out.

Strategy 1: Talk About Your Brands
What is a brand? In her book CUSTOMERS FOR KEEPS, Lois Geller explains a brand as follows: “A brand is the impression it makes on its customers.” It can loosely be described as the first impression a consumer has with your company or the experience a consumer has with your business. Most importantly it is an educational vehicle. Use your brand to teach your customers why you and your brand are important to them. A brand must stand for something meaningful. Smart branding companies identify what customers truly care about in relation to the brand itself. Successful companies use valuable space to brag about their brand. They show what their brand means and they show its benefits. They provide an experience of what the brand is and means. They tell their customers what it means to be a part of their brand. Capitalize on this. Incorporate an experience into your brand.

“There is no real tangible “brand” that you can hold in your hands and use. It’s all in the customer’s mind. A brand is like a promise, and it’s just as fragile.”
—Lois Geller, Customers for Keeps, p. 96

“People will tout a product they like, but they will shout from the rooftops about a product that also is an experience. Experience sells.”
—Kristine Kirby Webster, Principal of The Canterbury Group

We all resonate with the values of one brand or another. Which ones do you believe in? Buy regularly? Talk about? Is it your brand? It should be.

Examples of Talking About Your Brand
Nike is a perfect example of the successful brand experience. Each contact they make is a scripted experience. They have created a persona that people want to become part of. “Just Do It” reinforces what you know to be true. “I don’t have time to get out and do it”—Just do it, make the time, they persuade you. Nike set out to own the spirit and passion of being an athlete. They own it with “Just Do It.” It says nothing about shoes…. The reason why most Americans buy their shoes from Nike is to participate in their brand experience.

More tips in following posts

10 Tips To Improve Your Leadership Skills

Leadership! or is it Followership?
With or without the title of "leader" you must master the traits of a follower to become an effective leader.

Central are the mastery of the five communication skills—reading, writing, speaking, listening, and non-verbal communication.

Of these, listening is the least taught and most underrated skill. Yet it is the most utilized skill by our most accomplished leaders today. It is a pity that this is so.

Why Is It So?
It is my opinion, that it is something that is just expected, thus ignored. But to the fault of all those who expect your listening skill to be advanced (public schools, your spouse, your bosses) understandably, yet they ignorantly don't even consider that nowhere in our society is it taught.

If you want to improve your leadership skills work on your communication skills but pay particular attention to your listening skills. A great follower learns how to become a great leader by improving his/her skills.

Things to be aware of that hinder our listening are:
• paying more attention to the mannerisms of the speaker than to what is being said
• allowing your mind to wander off on a tangent
• allowing distractions to divert your attention
• overreacting to certain words and phrases
• allowing lack of interest or enthusiasm to prevent you from listening

Some skills needed to be a better listener are:
• Tell yourself to listen intently to the speaker
• Discover what the ideas being conveyed are
• Take notes
• Review your notes
• Discuss with someone that you heard and what you thought about it

Assignment:
Practice your communication skills. Pay paticular attention to your listening skills. Go to a lecture or find one online. Train yourself to become a better listener by applying the above mentioned skills. Then you will be ready to become the leader you want to be when your chance comes.

Remember: "You're not learning anything when your speaking."


Image found here

High Concept and High Touch

Hight concept is "the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. "

High touch is "the ability to emphasize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one's self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning."

Do you value these qualities in an employee? More and more people are. I'd advise that you consider these when you are looking for new employees. You'll be glad you did especially if you've read any of my post on the circle of marketing.

You can read all about it in Daniel H. Pink's book A Whole New Mind. I highly recommend that you do.

Customer Service Your Secret Weapon!

"Like it or not, the secret to good toast is lots of butter. Likewise, the secret to a successful business is lots of customer service training."
— DCF

Everyone says how important they think customer service training is to their business. But my experience shows me that this is usually lip service when it comes to actually training employees.

Whenever I ask business owners about their customer service training they usually tell me that they do it when they first hire new employees and they need to do more and assure me that they will.... I sure hope they do, for their sakes.

Cast in point, I have never worked for a company that gave me customer service training or any training for that matter. They have always relied on the training from my previous place of employment.

How many employees are in this same situation? How much goes unsaid and unlearned because this is so? I highly recommend either creating or finding customer service and employee training classes for your staff immediately.

There are many, who are your competitors, who do provide some sort of training... But, luckily for you, most do not actively teach customer service training. Now is your opportunity to stand apart from your competitors!

Reading List
• Moments of Truth - by Jan Carlzon
• Customer Service A Practical Approach - by Elaine K. Harris
• Raving Fans - by Kenneth Blanchard
• The Customer-Driven Company - by Richard Whiteley
• Permission Marketing - by Seth Godin
• The Purple Cow - by Seth Godin
• Unlease the Idea Virus - by Seth Godin
• Free Prize Inside - by Seth Godin
• All Marketers Are Liars - by Seth Godin
• Uncommon Practices: People Who Deliver a Great Brand Experience - Interbrand & fourm
• Acres of Diamonds - by Russell Conwell
• Great Customer Service: The Best Way To Avoid A Discounted Sale - by Daniel C. Felsted
• By The Seat of Your Pants - by Tom Gegax