The Image Foundry

Axio Security Business Card and Letterhead

2012-01-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Letterhead and business card for Axio Security. Updated logo and design.

How-to Apply Vinyl Graphics

2011-12-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

Download file here

Custome Lettering: Vinyl, Plastic, Acrylic, and metal

2011-11-03T10:55:00.001-07:00

Custom Acrylic lettering $99

Approx. 9" x 36" $36

Approx. 10.5 x 13 $30


Approx. 14" x 6" $18

Approx. 4" x 30" $16

Approx. 4" x 18" $14

Online Portfolio

2011-10-06T17:47:00.002-07:00

I've added some portfolio pieces at thumbtack.com. If interested, you can see, print work, logo work, and ad work at thumbtack.com.

I've gotten a few jobs from thumbtack so far. It is always good to have a viable revenue stream. Thank you thumbtack. I look forward to more work.

Signs, Marketing Tools & Graphic Design

Fish or Starve The Brand

2011-10-04T10:28:00.001-07:00

Fish Or Starve Icon/Logo

We helped Bobby Jensen develop this logo with a couple of designers he gathered together. As a result, the brand Fish or Starve was born. Below are a couple of shirt from their 2012 line of Shirts.

Check out their full line on facebook or online FishOrStarve.com

I got The Real Deal on a red t-shirt. Get yours.

QR-t-shirt Designs. Fully Customizable

2011-04-20T07:28:00.004-07:00

This QR code says, "I am defined by the books that I read!

This QR code quote says, "“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Here are some of our newest t-shirt designs. QR codes of customized quotes.

You can have one made with any quote you'd like. Just call us 435-754-3060. Tell us the quote, the color ink, size & the color shirt and we'll make it for you.

Business Card Printed This Month

2011-04-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

Logo: Progressive Landscapes

2011-04-03T07:41:00.002-07:00

Here are the logos we created for Progressive Landscapes. After we completed this we make letterhead, postcards, & business cards.

Future project in the works are vehicle graphics, thank you cards, envelope to complete the business system.

Advertisments that we have done for the Food Pantry

2011-02-14T11:35:00.007-07:00

100% Recyclable Booth

2011-01-10T17:13:00.002-07:00

We printed all of the surfaces for this booth for Owen Mortensen at Phylum Design on 100% recyclable booth on cardboard. His booth was the talk of the show and received a lot of media attention.

Smithfield Chevron Storage Sheds Sign

2010-12-31T16:41:00.003-07:00

We updated some of the signage at the Smithfield Chevron that lets the public know that there are new storage sheds available on their property.

R & S Pool School

2010-11-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Rick Skinner Handyman Business Cards

2010-10-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Scott Bradley For US Senate - It's About Your Freedom

2010-08-14T20:29:00.003-07:00

It all started with the logo. The Bradleys were frustrated with what they had for their campaign. They had plenty of good volunteers, everyone is a designer at heart, but weren't happy with what they had.

The came in and we asked a few questions about what look they were looking for and we came up with this in less than half an our. They were thrilled.

We went dramatic on these shirts. So often politicians are stale when they create their marketing materials. We helped create a strong logo for "Freedom." It needed to be more dramatic that plain jane political paraphernalia

The yard signs and the flier below were the second and third projects.

RRR Auctions & Boutique

2010-08-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the RRR Auction sign we designed per Carolyn Pease's direction. Below is the sign on the building.

We often use hidden mounts on our outdoor signs it is nicer looking that screwing bolts into the corners of the signs. We consider it art not plainly function.

Cache Community Food Pantry Flier

2010-08-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is a flier we created for The Cache Community Food Pantry. It was a mailer to thank customer for support and to ask for additional donations.

Energy Wise - Plasmacool Portable Airconditioner

2010-08-07T20:47:00.001-07:00

This was the graphic we created for Energy Wise's Plasmacool portable air-conditioner.

Eco System Pest Management

2010-08-04T23:44:00.001-07:00

Here are the graphics we made for Eco System Pest Management. They are in Arizona and Northern Utah.

Oboma T-shirt Design

2010-08-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Everybody seems to by on one side of the president or the other. We thought we'd put in our two cents.

Recent Ads

2010-08-01T23:54:00.001-07:00

Here are a few of our most recent ads. These were done for local advertising in newspaper in the Cache Valley.

Headlines are very important in ads such as these. Often people want to lead with their logo. It is difficult to explain that non-customers don't care about your logo or brand. They only care about the offer you are willing to make.

After that and only after that are they interested in your logo. They say, "Now that I am interested in their product who are they?" When they ask that question that is the time to answer it, but never before they answer.

Business Cards

2010-07-31T18:34:00.003-07:00

Business Cards

2010-07-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the business cards we've printed as of late.

Obama T-shirt Design

2010-06-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

With all the pro-obama shirts out there I thought I'd give myself a real challenge. To make an anti-obama t-shirt design that still look great. Here is the first attempt.

New product not only saves you money but it is fairly priced too.

2010-04-01T06:54:00.001-07:00

By Daniel C. Felsted @ The Image Foundry

Big-O-Tires has a new product that not only saves you money but it is fairly priced.

It is always fun working with our clients and learning what they do. Such is the case with Big-O-Tires new product, Nitrogen. Nitrogen is an air replacement product for the inflation of your tires.

There are many benefits to adding Nirtogen to your tires. First, you can extend the life of your tires by up to 30 per cent because adding Nitrogen to your tires reduces the friction caused by either too much air in your tire or not enough air in your tires.

The second benefit is an increase of up to 3 per cent in gas mileage. This is because of the fact that Nitrogen molecules are larger than air molecules, thus they leak out of the tire at a much slower rate. When you keep your tires properly inflated you get an overall increase in gas mileage.

The third benefit is for those with new cars. Newer cars have an air pressure sensor in each wheel. When your air pressure gets too low the sensor let you know that you need to add air to your tires. When there is excess moisture in the air of your tires these sensors can corrode and no longer work and need to be replaces.

To eliminate this problem of corroded sensors add nitrogen to your tires. This alone will save you the replacement cost of each sensor at $90 a wheel.

Finally, Big-O-Tires offers free top-offs for the life of the tire. Nitrogen in your tires has lot of benefits. My favorite sub-sequential benefit is not needing to add air to my tires as we are heading out of town on family vacation…

You know how it goes, you forget to check the air pressure the day or week before your vacation and as you are heading out of town you have to stop by the gas station in search for air. As you check the pressure you get dirty from the dirty air hose and you may get dirty knees from kneeling on the dirty ground.

Then in that state you head out of town vowing to never do that again. You can eliminate all these frustration just by visiting Big-O-Tires and asking for Nitrogen to be added to your tires.

What does it cost? Now this is the best part. Some dealers charge $59 for 4 tires, others charge $29 a year. Big-O-Tires only charges $40 and will fill five tires for that price, plus you get free top offs for life. Well worth the price and peace of mind.

One of the most exciting things about our job is finding out the details that make our clients successful. When we know our clients better we can better serve them and help them sell their products better.

Customer Spotlight

2010-03-01T07:05:00.006-07:00

We have found that the most effective way to network is counter intuitive, nevertheless, it is the most effective way to network!

Many of our best clients have recognized that we have give them business just because they are our client and they love it.

Just ask Scott Johnson of Bridge Plumbing, before he was even a paying client we passed his name on to a client who owns 6 apartment buildings and he landed a good customer. Thus, becoming a good customer of ours.

One of the first ways we network is through our "Customer Spotlight" flyer. We ask each of our clients to give us a double sided flyer with a few special offers on it.

We, inturn, use that information to talk about you. Depending on what you give us we can do a number of things to promote you and your business. 1. Write a press release about you. 2. Write a blog entry. 3. Post your flyer on our "Community Board." 4. Mention you in our email newsletter. 5. Add links to our website or to your facebook or other social media page. 6. We tell our clients about what we really like about you.

This has been a very effective way to grow our business and know that it inturn will be an effective way to grow yours.

Download a "Customer Spotlight" template here and get started in some easy self-promotion.

High Score Board

2010-02-11T10:03:00.004-07:00

A client and friend, Mark, an avid gamer, wanted a scoreboard for his family to show their skills via high scores.

Mark documented the whole process on his family blog. Check out the whole process at his link.

Thanks for sharing.

Blue Flame

2009-12-12T20:04:00.001-07:00

Here is a t-shirt design which will takes you back to your youth. It does for me every time I see it.

Stew Morrill Coaches Show

2009-11-07T11:31:00.001-07:00

The Image Foundry is proud to announce that we were chosen to print the signs and banner to promote the Stew Morrill Coaches Show. Good luck this year.

Working with the cache valley radio group posters and banners are hanging at Bajio's in Logan and Macey's in Providence.

See TheImageFoundry's website for new products and designs.

U-Find It Packaging

2009-10-12T10:41:00.001-07:00

Packaging & Logo development for U-Find It. We provide a large variety of design options. From a logo to a trade show booth. From business cards to full packaging design.

Use our years of experience to put your best foot forward. We have had packaging in almost every sporting goods and automotive retailer in America. We've also had products in Sam's Club and Costco to name a few. We look forward to helping you develop your next product.

See The Image Foundry for Signs of all kinds, marketing tools and graphic design.

Darrell's Appliance In Beautiful Downtown Benson, UT

2009-10-02T11:18:00.004-07:00

We created the three dimensional sign for Darrell's Appliance in beautiful downtown Benson, Utah.

The letters stand off the background 1.25" from the background. The snowflakes stand off the background about 3/8". The sign hangs in their new "freezers" section.

We at The Image Foundry make Signs of All Kinds. This is a perfect example of bringing a clients ideas to reality. Thanks Betty for choosing The Image Foundry to make your sign.

Stop by and see the largest marketing and design/sign showroom in the state.

Utah State University Athletics Banner

2009-09-13T21:18:00.004-07:00

This year The Image Foundry was selected to create the banners for the Gary Andersen Coaches Show. We made a number of banners and stickers for each sponsor the radio station, 610 KVNU signed up.

Sophisticated Labels

2009-09-01T21:08:00.001-07:00

Our client, Mark, owner of Sweetly Divine, had a great project for us. He was making four jalapeno jellies for a distributor and wanted labels that were fun and elegant. After much discussion and direction these are the four labels we created for them.

Mark was pleased as were we. It is always nice to create a relationship that brings the whole experience together. Thanks, Mark.

Paid In 14 Days.com

2009-08-23T21:21:00.002-07:00

We had a wonderful opportunity to create identity and tag line for PaidIn14Days.com They are an exciting company that scours the web for new and exciting tools and then teaches businesses how to grow their business with these tools.

Check them out! In our town, the first lesson alone could make a huge difference for every Realtor that is struggling to stand out and sell homes. I'd check it out if you want to sell more than the other guys.

SlowJuicer.com - Example of success!

2009-08-13T21:27:00.001-07:00

SlowJuicer.com came to us with a need for graphic for a tradeshow. They wanted to make an impression with a new product. The time line was impossible, the task seamed greater that we could handle.

Fortunately for us they has good graphic/photography on hand. This is often not the case. All to often we are asked to create a product with inferior graphics.

To all who want to make an impression with their marketing materials. Plan ahead and take the time to get quality products. It will go a long way to making the impression you want to make. In fact, it will help you sell more.

Table Top Advertising

2009-08-04T21:39:00.001-07:00

Our favorite item to sell in our shop is "Table-top Advertising" It is tempered glass, with and image printed in reverse on the back then placed on table in restaurants and businesses.

This piece for Advent Creative was the first one we sold after we came up with the idea and put one of our own in one of our clients restaurants. The next time you are out go over to Pounders Hawaiian Grill and see some of our work. We love doing what we do and it shows with these pieces.

The Paradise Market

2009-07-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

A small farmers market, start-up, in Paradise Utah had the foresight to get a designer on their team. They created a wonderful logo and imagery. They then came to us to create some signage for them - Banners and Yard signs.

We were able to help them gain more attention and get better attendance that they anticipated with quality identity. A lesson to all, quality and design does make a difference.

Wise Company Food Storage

2009-07-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Our client, Plan B, a food storage/preparedness company asked us to rework this lightbox for their store. Wise Company's Freeze Dried Food Storage draws a lot of attention for Plan B. If you need food and water they are a company worth visiting. 75 W. Center Street in Logan, Utah.

Expert Author

2009-04-15T08:59:00.003-07:00

Since 2003 I've been writing about business, design, marketing, customer service and internal marketing strategies. I've tried to show how you need to incorporate all such strategies to grow your business.

I've been accepted as an author on EzineArticles.com which is exciting for me. Thanks for your support.

Paris When It Sizzles - T-shirts & More

2009-03-21T21:36:00.005-07:00

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

My friend Seth owns a direct to print garment printer and has the ability to create customizable prints on fabrics. He sells quilting squares and apparel. So, from time to time we make him t-shirt designs as shown above.

We liked this design so we placed it for sell on Zazzle's website as well. If you are interested in it let us know or click the link above.

Working With Wonderful Clients

2009-03-09T06:25:00.006-07:00

Each client has a challenge that needs to be addressed. Be it a tight deadline, a project that you have never done or an even tighter budget. How you respond to your clients needs will determine how you succeed in your business.

This project is a 36' x 42" main street banner. How do you get attention as your customers are driving by at 40 miles an hour?

Hierarchy is the most important. Giving weight to different items to move the eye across the piece (1. Event 2. Give-a-way 3. When) or adding interest (background graphic). This example is one where the client had a good idea but trusted in our abilities to strength the piece. It is always a joy to work with this type of client.

The third secret of marketing

2009-01-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

The third secret of marketing strengthening your other number one asset—your customers through Customer Experience Management (CEM).

“Bad Service is death for a Company. Not dramatically, but more like a thousand small knife cuts.”
—Dan Hill, Body of Truth

To illustrate this fact consider the following ad.
“Who’s Fault is it When Your Customers Use the Word ‘Good’ When Referring to Your Service?”

“You don’t know me. I’m your customer. I’m the customer who says “Good” when you ask me how everything was. I wanted to inform you… because it has become obvious by your poor service that you think “Good” is a good thing. It’s not!
You see, when I say “Good” I am being nice… what it really means is that I will tell my circle of influence, 52 people on average, what crappy service I really received and that I would never buy from you again.
I am willing to trade my hard earned money for your products/services but only if you respect my time and give me some “real value” for it. I am really a nice customer, but you have taken advantage of me, I will not take it anymore.
I can get similar products/services anywhere… but what I really want is a relationship. I want someone who will cater to me, someone who will remember me when I come in, someone who will make it worth my while to come in again and again and again.
But, I can see, by the way you treat me you don’t really want my money or my friend’s money either.”

Your customer

P.S. I’m off to see your competitor… And, Oh, “Good” is the most dangerous word you could hear from me. If you ever hear it again please start asking probing questions to find out the truth… which I am willing to tell you… but only after you show me that you really care about me, my money and my friends.

If you really care about your business’ success and want to avoid this from every happening to you again... immediately begin an employee training and a customer service training!

Your success depends on three things.
1. Strengthening your #1 asset—your employees.
2. Strengthening your other #1asset—your customers.
3. Rewarding your customers for buying from you.

How do you strengthen your assets? How do you reward your customers from buying from you? And why is this a valid strategy?

“The true value of the brand for the consumer lies not only in the product’s performance, but in the product’s support and service.”
—Kristine Kirby Webster

The Second Secret of Marketing

2008-05-12T06:47:00.002-07:00

The Second secret of marketing is strengthening your number one asset—your employees—through Employee Training

Though there are hundreds of topics you can and should be covering make sure you review the basics on a regular basis. Items like: having an attitude of gratitude, service, eye contact, communicating, being a good listener, how to ask engaging questions, how to build value, how to make emotional contacts with every customer, how to check their positive attitude and how destructive gossip is.

These basics will help set the stage for their other success and help make them great employees.

“Measure customer service as the most important aspect of an employee's job performance.”
—Debra J. Schmidt, The Loyalty Leader

Of the hundreds of people I have interviewed one thing stands out like a sunburn on a farmers back. Almost without exception, every boss has relied on the training of past employers rather than spend money and time on training their employees—your employees—how to excel in your workplace.

This poses a huge problem for small and medium sized businesses. You think you can’t afford to train your employees beyond “this is how to use the cash register,” “don’t be late,” “read this booklet of do not dos.” and “smile at the customers.”

First, your competition, the big guys, like LL Bean, Convergys, hospitalities (, and) know the power of employee training and the absolute damage it does to your business if you ignore it. Remember the quote that opened this special report. It was no accident that I chose it and lead off with it!

“For every five sales you make, another nine customers who had hoped to buy from you will leave your store disappointed and empty-handed. This means your existing store traffic can give you 2.8 times your current sales volume, if you sell only those customers who are ready to buy. The only thing more expensive than hiring a sales trainer is not hiring one. Any investment in sales training is an investment in your own gross profits.”
—Roy H. Williams

LL Bean trains each new employee for 40 hours before they ever are let to deal with a customer! Why is that? They know that to be successful at business, not just making a living, but to be a business that makes every leader wealthy, training is the first rule of marketing.

Take the time to prepare your employee to meet and greet your employees. It will pay in huge dividends.

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part V

2008-04-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

• The fifth thing to look for is a commitment to Lifetime Learning or Self-education.

“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.”
—John Locke

What has your potential employee done in her life that proves her commitment for lifetime learning? What does he read? What does she study? What are his long-term and short-term goals? Answers to such questions will reveal how much they will contribute to your business, your company culture, and your success!

Determine if your interviewee has the right attitude by asking questions as these that will show their character,. This is the best way to separate an average employee from a great employee.

How To Keep Them
Remember a great employee is worth 1,000 times more than an average employee! Consider that in your hiring, retention plan and pay.

A recent study states that it costs in excess of $13,000 to loose an employee, Money lost in productivity, experience, customer relationships, retraining and expertise. This is startling, an area where all can improve.

It is in your best interest and your customers’ to develop or extend your retention plan and provide incentives to keep great employees longer. Most employers tell me they can’t afford to pay their employees more… I believe they can’t afford not to pay a great employee more and the statistics prove me right.

This secret of marketing, hiring attitude not aptitude, sets the stage for all other interactions you have with your customers. Ignoring your number one asset—your employee is tantamount to ignoring your business!

“Winners create their own atmosphere.”
—Gerhard Gschwandtner

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part IV

2008-03-24T07:47:00.001-07:00

• The fourth thing to look for is Commitment.
How does your potential employee define commitment?

Com·mit·ment
•The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of
action or to another person or persons.2

You can easily determine how a potential employee will perform by assessing their commitments to things and people in their life. Ask questions that show their commitment or lack there of.

For example:
1. Where did you work the longest?
2. How long were you there?
3. Why did you leave?

more later...

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part III

2008-03-17T22:46:00.002-07:00

• The third thing to look for is Initiative.
“Employees with initiative are needed, they are needed badly. They are needed in every business in America. They are needed because they find solutions for the problems pointed out by the merely ambitious. They are the glue that hold a business together.”
—Roy H. Williams

This skill is invaluable. A resume can show it, but only if the employee recognizes it as being important. Probe to find if your interviewee has initiative.

What To Look For:
• Try to discover what he/she has proposed without being asked
• How does he feel about putting forth an idea?
• Ask what steps she would take to get her idea accepted in a bureaucracy?
• Ask about planning and goal setting

More later...

Secrets of Marketing - #1 part II

2008-03-10T07:04:00.002-07:00

Last week we started talking about secrets of marketing. This week we continue discussing what I consider the first secret of marketing - Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.

• The second thing to look for is Servitude.
This can show itself in many ways. Does this person participate in the community? Does she volunteer her time anywhere? Does he use his talents to help others? Does this person like to help others? Ask questions to draw this out. Does this person plan on offering such services? Knowing how they feel about service will tell you all you need to know about how they will work with others, especially your customers.

“Show me someone who things he is too important to serve, and I’ll show you someone who is basically insecure. How we treat others is really a reflection of how we think about ourselves.” - John C. Maxwell

“The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbors as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant of others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.” -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

This is a vital step in the hiring process. You must find those who are secure with who (or know who) they are and are willing to go on from there.

More next week.

Secrets of Marketing - #1

2008-03-03T07:04:00.001-07:00

The old rules of marketing are as dead as the once great societies of Greece and Rome. The consumer has stolen them from you. They wield the power now, you have seen it too, know it or not. You can choose to ignore the future and do the same old things or look into why things aren't working so well.

To sell more stuff to more people more often for higher profits you must apply the marketing secrets ignored by all but the most savvy business owner. Which are you?

1. The First secret of marketing is Hiring Attitude not Aptitude.
A great employee is worth 1,000 times more to your businesses success than an average employee! Invest the time necessary to get the right employees the first time.

Few employers take the time necessary to weed out employees that do more damage to their organization that help. The most important thing to do when hiring is to find people who have the right attitude!

What To Look For:
• The first thing to look for in an employee is Teachability.
Is he willing to do what is required of him? Will she accept advice from peers? Will he find out the answer to a question he doesn’t know or just give up? Will she seek advice from you or others when needed?

You can teach the skills that are particular to your business, but you cannot easily motivate the unmotivated! “It’s easier to teach data than to change personalities.”1

Focus your attention more on this and the following unseen skill-set. These unseen skills affect your bottom line more than any other decision you make.

Consider this, the average consumer has a circle of influence of 52 people. One poor experience with your staff can have devastating repercussions to your business. If that one person tells 52 people never to do business with you again and each of those tell 52 in no time 2,704 people have the message that you are not the place to take your business. Compound that with a blog and one poor staff experience can turn into a disaster.

More on this next week.

Create and Use a Database

2008-02-18T07:07:00.001-07:00

Do you know as much about your customers as you know about your inventory? You know certain customers are worth more to your business than others, right? Why are you treating all customers the same? A database will allow you to effectively grow into areas you were not aware of. It is the goldmine hidden in your business.

Discover RFM segmentation. Who to market to next!

Employee Essentials—Attitude is Everything!

2008-01-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Employee Essentials—Attitude is Everything!
I'd like to share with you my Top 10 Employee Essentials - essential skills to being
a great employee. Skills that if your employees have will increase profits for your company and make each employee more valuable.

NOTE: This is written to the employee.

“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.”
—George Herbert

Consider This.
• What skills do you have that an employer needs? How do/did you get these skills?
• Do you have confidence in those skills?
• What are the basics you need to know to get your dream job?
• What skills does your current job require?
• How do you get those basics?
• What price needs to be paid to get the skills needed?

“Your job is to make something happen.”
—Seth Godin, Free Prize Inside

Download and read: AttractTheBest.pdf before you go on to the following section.
Keep in mind it is the way you attend to the needs of others that directly affects you success in your career. Even if you haven’t started you career it is these basics that determine how successful you will be.

What do you consider to be the Top 10 employee Essentials? Make your own list before you read on. Then compare it to the following.

In following posts I will give definitions to each.

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

Change

2008-01-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

When I lived in China, it was rural. But over the five years that I lived there, great changes happened. The country went from very rural to the feel of a large city. The average home went from having no ice or refrigeration to almost every home having both. The country went from 25-50 motorcycles for every car on the street to 5-10 motorcycles for every car on the street. This entry is about change, being ready for the inevitable—Change! Those that can change will be ready for the future! Those who cannot change will be left behind.

You must embrace change…you must do things to be a valuable asset to your boss, your job and the company you work for.

Consider These Questions
Honestly ask yourself the following questions:
• Who likes change?
• Do you like change?
• How do you feel about change?

Most people don’t like change but it needs to happen for us to be successful and for us to remain competitive. This entry will require commitment from you, especially in the area of change. What you learn might go against many things you have been taught. But it is all-important for your growth. These things aren’t hard, but they are difficult! What does difficult mean? It means that it takes guts to accomplish.

Many people feel that changing is not effective because they are “just one person.” In a recent, hotly-contested local election, one candidate won by just 53 votes. In another one candidate won by just 3 votes. That is a very slim margin and it goes to show that all of us can make a difference. We can and must make a difference! Each of us has the capacity to make change happen. Just like 53 and 3 people changed these elections, you have the power and ability to change your future.

• We must always be ready for change! We must facilitate change. You can.

To make a difference, there are basics we must cover first.

For those who are leaders now, to facilitate change in your workplace, you need to make your employees experts in all of the products or services you sell. You need to establish reward systems that foster excellence and you must prepare for excellence.

Some of you are the leaders of the future. You might not be today, but you are a leader in training. We need good leaders. The only way to get there is to learn about change and how to promote it within yourself and in those around you. You need to learn strategies that engage and inspire yourself, your coworkers, and your customers.

For those future leaders, you need to become the expert on all of the products and services you sell. You may even have to create reward systems to reward yourself, if you need motivation.

“Your greatest opportunity as an employee is in making things…something…anything happen.”
—DCF

Hiring is Marketing - What skills should you be looking for?

2008-01-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Spend a little bit of time contemplating the many skills an employee needs to be successful at your business. You should keep a list of the skills you feel are most relevant to the position you are trying to fill.

Then when you write your ads describe the person you need to fill the position. Don’t waste your time listing the skills you think you need in your ad. You need people with strong character traits! Such a person can quickly and easily learn a certain program or procedure.

Nadji Tehrani wrote an excellent article called Effective Hiring And Keeping “The Right People”—44 Characteristics Of “The Right People.” In it you will find what he considers to be the 44 most important characteristics of “the right person.” (Find the article on www.tmcnet.com)

The most interesting thing about this list is that the majority of these characteristics I consider to be basic human decency. But since he found a need to write them down they are no longer the basics you get from your talent pool. Making it all the more important to the success of your marketing plan to find people with strong character traits.

Hire Brighter!

2007-12-31T06:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-12-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-12-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-11-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

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

2007-11-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-11-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

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

2007-11-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

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…

2007-09-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

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.”

2007-08-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

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

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

2007-07-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

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…

2007-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-06-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-03-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-02-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

"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

Hierarchy of Recognition

2007-02-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

The effectiveness of graphic design is easily seen when you recognize the power that the hierarchy of recognition and icons have on the buying decisions of your customers. Following describes the hierarchy or recognition and defines each of the elements of it.

Hierarchy of Recognition
The human mind recognizes items in distinct patterns and order. Failing to know and utilize them will diminish your ability to sell your products and services. Ignoring the hierarchy will dramatically decrease your pieces productiveness.

In a crowded market place it is vital to own a color, a shape, a number and a word! The first item of recognition is color. The second item of recognition is shape. The third item of recognition is numbers. And the last item the mind recognizes is words. Use color, shape and numbers to intrigue the mind before you use words.

Read more about the five key factors of the hierarchy of recognition.

images found at MeccaW.com

The Circle Of Marketing— Relationship Building.

2007-02-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

The final strategy in the circle of marketing is relationship building. This is how you can build relationships with your customer that can last years.

“on average, you have a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of doing business again with a current customer, a 20 percent to 40 percent chance with a former customer, but only a 5 percent to 10 percent chance of ever doing business with a non-customer.”
—Steven Yanovsky

This is where most business owners don’t understand the reach of marketing. Do you also spend most of your advertising dollars on new customers when that is the least cost-effective form of advertising?

A study by Bain and company found that “a 5% increase in customer retention improves profitability by 25% —100%, especially where customers have ongoing purchasing relationships.”

This study confirms that the most profitable untapped marketing opportunity at your hand is focusing on your current customers. This article should help you to begin to market more effectively to your current customers. And when it is in combination with all the other strategies in the circle of marketing you will begin to see the power marketing can have.

Hint: use their loyalty and knowledge of you to grow your business.

Currently you have two main types of customers—transactional customers and relational customers. For this discussion we will discard the transactional customer because they shop on price and they are not loyal customers. But relational customers are those customers who keep coming back to you time and again. They value the relationship (quality service, attention to details, personal conversations and the extras like remembering their name) more than the price. Most of the time your customer won’t admit this but their actions show this to be true.

Relational Customers Build Profitability
The first question you want to ask yourself is “How can I encourage my current customers to shop more from me?” To answer that question you’ll want to find out why they shop with you in the first place.

How have you been strengthening your relationship with your relational customers? Relational customers want you to build a relation with them. To do that you will need to remember the first strategies of the circle of marketing.

1) Hiring,
2) Employee Training,
3) Customer Experience Management,
4) Internal Marketing Strategies,
5) Advertising/Direct Marketing
6) Relationship Building.

Each of these strategies are developed to build confidence in you as a reliable business in your customers minds. When have you successfully fulfilled the promises your marketing plan or advertising makes you begin to lower the buying risk your customers feel.

To strengthen the relationship you need to provide content. Useful content that is consistent with your brand promise. Here are a few suggestions to strengthen your relationship with your relational customers.
1. Spend time and money training your staff to be experts on the products and services you offer. And train them how to communicate more affectively with each other and your customers.
2. Create and give out useful how to guides.
3. Make “Did You Know” fliers that are relevant to each service you provide.
4. Post FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) and Q & A sheets for your customers.
5. Develop a web site that answers all of the questions your customers are asking. Don’t give them what you want to tell them! Give them what they want from you.
6. Instead of placing your ads in piece that goes to everyone in town gather the emails of your customers and send a version of that ad to them for free and test which bring in the better customers for the most cost affective price.

Items such as these help you answer the questions your customers are asking. When they feel that you are listening to them they will come to you more readily. And the more they come to you the more chances you have to increase sales.

Roy H. Williams said it best in his book The Wizard of Ads, “Any investment in sales training is an investment in your gross profits. The only thing more expensive than hiring a sales trainer is not hiring one.”

The Circle Of Marketing— Advertising & Direct Marketing

2007-02-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

“Only for a limited time!”

“While supplies last!”

“A tradition of excellence.”

“Helping you succeed!”

These are the staples of the old advertising model. Platitudes. Platitudes no longer work with the majority of your customers! The new model you should consider when developing your advertising is to make sure your customers remember you and like you! Nothing less than this should be your advertising goal, unless of course, you want to discount your wares to sell them. That conversation is for another day….

Most advertising is aimed at new customers. But studies show this is far too expensive for small businesses who have limited budgets. You have only a 5%-10% chance of ever doing business with a non-customer-1.

This isn’t a good use of your marketing dollars. If you have been following these posts over the last several months you will remember that the circle of marketing consists of:
1) Hiring
2) Employee Training
3) Customer Experience Management
4) Internal Marketing Strategies
5) Advertising/Direct Marketing
6) Relationship Building

Taken as a hole, when you have prepared your staff to meet, greet and sell to your customers your advertising works much harder.

Some things to consider when creating your advertising.
1) Use a headline.
Have a headline that clearly says the one message you are trying to convey to your customers. And use the rest of the ad to show proof that you will deliver on that promise.
2) Use callouts
Callouts - burst of information to build desire, inform and educate your customers. Callouts are the best way to quickly build creditability. Read more about callouts here.
3) Create a distinct offer.
If you are trying to drive traffic the only way to do it is to have a specific offer. Something your customers can say “Yes, I need that,” to. If you do not include a specific offer your customers will most likely ignore what you say.
4) Provide proof.
You must back-up the claims you make in your advertising. Be specific and show your customers how they can get the facts.
5) Provide more content.
Many advertisers believe that a beautiful piece is more important than the content. I do not agree in most cases. If your objective is to sell you need to apply proven selling techniques. Such as:
• writing from the “you” perspective
• using longer copy
• including testimonials,
• including a call to action
• including power words
• using emphasis tools
• making it easy to respond
• sweetening the offer whenever you can.

Remember—stories sell, facts only tell.

There are many other ways that you can improve your marketing materials and/or advertisements. Email me if you’d like to read more on this topic. But this is a good list to start with. Remember, there are many talented designers, marketers and sell reps out there that don’t have much selling experience. Find someone to consult with who has direct marketing selling experience to make your piece as effective as possible. When sales increase you will be glad you did.

Next post we’ll talk about relationship building …

1 Steven Yanovsky
2 Mike Heberling

Working With Your Staff - Employee Training

2007-02-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

Help Your Employees Excel!
If you are looking for some tips on how to get more out of your employees here is a list of links that will give you plenty of ideas.

1. Knowledge if Free - Bring Your Own Container
2. Spend Time With Your Thoughts
3. How To Read a Book
4. Start Keeping a Study Journal
5. Giving is Living. Caring is Sharing
6. Thoughts on Media
7. Your Not Learning When Your Speaking
8. Follow Your Interests
9. Start a Life File

My blog The Internet Dark Ages discusses issues that can inspire people to become more. If you have any feelings on this subject let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinion.

The Circle Of Marketing— Internal marketing Strategies (IMS) Part 2

2007-02-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

What Are Some Additional IMS?
Say you discover that your customers want a relationship with your business. For these types of customers create: Bounce-Back Programs, A Community Area, Customer Loyalty Programs, Customer Spotlights, Database Development Programs, and VIP Strategies.

Say you discover that your customers are looking for experts they can trust. Build strategies that cater to this type of customers needs. For this customer create: Q&A’s, Professional Training Programs, Reward Programs, Resident Expert Pointman Programs, and Get Expert Advice Programs.

How Do IMS Make Me Money?
As you can see, each of these IMS are created to address the specific needs of your customers. The most important thing to remember is that you want your customers to think of you and your services when they need them. The only way to do that is to consistently show them that you are the one they need to buy from.

When you bring all of the elements of the circle of marketing together you are weaving your brand into the relationship. You are reassuring your customers that doing business with you is a smart idea. You are lowering their buying risk. You are now ready to develop your advertising.

It may seem like a lot of work, but who you hire and how you train them and prepare them to meet your customers is the best way to ensure that the promises you make in your advertising work. If you ignore these first steps of marketing, the advertising you do will fail when the customer comes to you and doesn’t feel like you care for anything but their money. They will leave and continue to search for the relationship that they want from a business.

Next blog we’ll talk about advertising… how to make the advertising you do more powerful, more affective, and more profitable.

The Circle Of Marketing—Internal marketing Strategies (IMS) Part 1

2007-01-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

What are Internal Marketing Strategies (IMS) anyway? Roy, the wizard of ads, aptly calls them “The world inside your doors.” I call them (IMS), the first steps of marketing—strategies that lower customer buying risk, educate, and strengthen your brand by making you a destination, not just a store or business.

Simply, Internal Marketing Strategies (IMS) are the things that you do that prove or not what your advertising says about you! If you prepare your staff (your #1 asset) to meet, greet and grow relationships with your customers (your other #1 asset) IMS are the reinforcements your customers need to remain customers and/or become better customers.

If, on the other hand, you do not live up to your advertising promises those would be customers will say, "They were lying!" and not return.

Most businesses spend as much as 90% of their advertising dollars on getting new customers. You only have a 5%-10% chance of winning the business of a non-customer. Does this sound like a good use of your advertising dollars?

Instead, the majority of your advertising dollars should be spent on Internal Marketing Strategies (IMS) that are focused on your current customers—where you have a 60% -70% chance of doing new business with your current customers.

IMS make you more money by creating viral marketing (where the customer becomes your salesman) by “WOWing” your customers into buying more products, more often and for higher profits.

How Do You Create IMS?
To create IMS you must first identify the needs of your customers. If your customers want to be educated on your products or services the IMS you create should be designed to educate. Create: How-to Guides, Additional Uses Programs, Checklists, Articles, and Educational Programs to name a few. See some examples on my website. Teach these customers how to buy from you.

Educating your customers is a great way to strengthen the relationship your customers want. By developing educational materials and informational bursts you can lead your customers to an educated buying decision.

The greatest strength of this strategy is that the more educating you do, the more time your customer spends with you and your products. Their time invested with your brand substantially increases their probability of buying from you.

When you incorporate educational strategies into your marketing plan you add more reasons for your customers to buy from you and you make them more loyal. This is the goal of IMS.

Are you beginning to see the power IMS can have on your bottom line?

more later...

The Circle Of Marketing— Customer Experience Management (CEM) Part 4

2007-01-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

Customer Experience Management (CEM)
The final component to managing your customer experience is to provide quality content. Not flashy sales advertising filled with platitudes, but facts and figures that your customers can use. Create sales aids, brochures, how-to guides, top-10 lists, did you know sheets, checklists, Q&As, installation instructions, or catalogs that will add quality to your customers experiences with you.

Give quality information that helps your customers make educated buying decisions and lowers their buying risk! This is one of the most important steps in marketing and one that is all but ignored in most every industry.

Next time we’ll discuss Internal Marketing Strategies (IMS) the next strategy in the circle of marketing. Strategies that help you meet, greet and sell more to your customers.

The Circle Of Marketing— Customer Experience Management (CEM) Part 3

2007-01-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

How To Prepare Your Employees

Improve their:
• people skills
• selling skills
• closing skills
• service skills
• initiative
• management skills
• goal setting/attaining skills and
• follow through skills

This list can be daunting for sure but there are many ways to work on these skills. You can purchase books on certain topics and have employees read and submit reports on the topic. It should be written at first then given orally when approved. In doing this, you are working on a number of these skills at the same time—communication skills, management skills and follwo through skills to name a few.

You can assign employees to research a topic, find and develop resources, then teach it to other employees, You could also bring in a consultant, send your employees to seminars, create online workshops, develop roll-play scenarios, create a resource library, go on fieldtrips and observe good and/or poor examples of others people’s skills. The key is to discuss these issues on a regular basis.

I have found that a combination of each of these works best. The most important thing to remember is to create a company culture of learning, experimenting and obtaining goals. When this type of culture is established, the employee you hired will feel that they can make something happen and contribute. If this type of culture is never established, your employees will not go out of their way to make things happen! And this is the death of a company. Not a quick death, but painful and slow for everyone involved.

Consider these two quotes from Roy H. Williams:
“Employees with initiative are needed, they are needed badly. They are needed in every business in America. They are needed because they find solutions for the problems pointed out by the merely ambitious. They are the glue that hold a business together.”
—Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads, p. 92

“Always be quick to forgive the employee whose initiative causes you trouble. In the final analysis, this person is a gift from heaven.”
—Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads, p. 93

Once these types of issues have been addressed all of your other marketing efforts will go much more smoothly. As you build content for your customers, they will immediately know that they are dealing with qualified and professional people. Studies have shown that price is much less of an issue if a customer feels that they are dealing with a qualified and professional salesmen—someone who will help them make an educated buying decision.

more later...

The Circle Of Marketing— Customer Experience Management (CEM) Part 2

2007-01-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

How To Manage The Customer Experience (CEM)
There are many pieces to managing the customer experience. Once you have hired someone who is customer friendly, you should immediately start working on improving their people skills, their selling skills, their closing skills, their service skills, initiative, management skills and their goal setting/attaining skills and their follow through skills (to name a few).

Each of these areas will be on display when a customer interacts with any of your employees. If you address these areas on a regular basis. you will be well on your way to closing more sales (see below), improving profit margins and eliminating your competition from your customers mind. And when that begins to happen… look out! Your business will start to soar.

A study by Bain and company found that “a 5% increase in customer retention improves profitability by 25% —100%, especially where customers have ongoing purchasing relationships.” Not bad for a little training.

more later...

The Circle Of Marketing— Customer Experience Management Part 1

2006-12-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Customer Experience Management (CEM)

What is CEM? It is the management of the impressions a customer has with all aspects of your business—from the first impression (store layout, employee interaction, satisfaction with purchase) to the last buying experience and every contact in-between.

This is an all-inclusive piece of your marketing plan. Say, for example, a client comes to your desk and finds your work area messy with piles of paperwork. Do they have the confidence that their job will be paid close attention to?

Or one of your employees is wearing a beanie in your suit shop, or the music in the background of your Pappa Murphys pizza joint is jammin Black Sabbath, or the product instruction were written by a Chinese person who can't speak English and your customer can't assemble his product as a result? What impression are you leaving? Do you care? Do your customers care?

Manufacturers can manage their customers last impression, which is most often overlooked—the assembly instructions. These should be easy to use and should put your product and company in the best light possible.

Retailers should always be working on their employee’s people skills—be they phone, written, or in-person skills. How your employees represent your business has a direct effect on how successful your other marketing efforts are.

How do you plan to manage your customer experiences?

More later...

The Circle Of Marketing - Employee Training - Part 2

2006-12-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

How To Get Employees To Run Through Walls For You

Here is a short list of ways to motivate your employee to achieve more than mediocre results.

1. Never let great work go unnoticed or unrewarded— If you don’t point out the fact that an employee has gone out of her way to succeed, they will stop giving you their all. But if you notice their hard work and reward it then you will motivate them to continue doing their best.

2. “Never let poor work go unnoticed!” *1* This too has negative effects on your business. Those who perform poorly will take it as a sign that you don’t really care and they will do less. Those who work hard see that you treat slackers well and also perform at a lower level. And that rare great employee who sees his efforts negated by a poor performer will move on costing you many times more than it should.

3. “Make it safe to fail or make mistakes.” *2*— John Wooden put it this way, “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” In other words, to become more successful you have to make mistakes along the way. It is the roadmap to succeeding. If you create an environment where an employee feels free to experiment, learn and grow—watch out. You will have created an environment where anything is possible.

4. Teach better communication skills. Listening, talking, reading, writing, nonverbal expression are all vital skills in marketing. But whose responsibility is it to teach these skills? I contend that if you need your employees to have these skills it is yours! After identifying these skills, it is really not hard to work on them with your employees.

For example, having an employee research a specific topic, write a report on it and present it to you or your staff is relevant and is addressing most of these skills. Polished or not, the skill level an employee has will reflect on you and your business. Take the necessary steps to increase your marketing efforts by working with your employees on a regular basis.

5. Look for opportunities to teach—“Catch people doing what’s right.”*3* This works like a dream with my children. It also works well with employees. When you devote more of your time to monitoring, recognizing, and inspiring, your employees you will be strengthening your marketing efforts. And when you improve your image from the inside out, the marketing you do do will be strengthened.

The average business closes just over 2 in 10 sales. By training your employees to be more effective at their jobs, you can easily increase sales by 50% and with some effort maybe more.*4*

“Encourage the people around you today, for you never know who they might become, or what tomorrow may bring.”
—Roy H. Willams

1 Dan Sakimoto
2 Dan Sakimoto
3 One Minute Manager
4 Roy H. Willams

The Circle Of Marketing - Employee Training - Part 1

2006-12-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

“I hired my employees to make things happen! Why do I need to provide continuing training for my employees?” This is what I hear all to many people say. There is only one reply to you who say this. “If you want to be more successful then you need to become a better leader, trainer, coach, and advocate to your employees.” Hundreds of businesses prove it everyday.

Tom Gegax said it this way in his book, By The Seat of Your Pants. “When people sense you’ve got their best interests at heart, they’ll rise to the occasion.” If you leave your employees to simply do their job, on average, they will only do their job, giving you a minimal return on your investment at best. But if you inspire and educate the people who work for you, they will “run through walls for you!”1

Following are just a few items to consider in your employee training efforts. Note how they all tie into the marketing of your business.

Keys To Employee Training
1. The Big Picture – Encourage your employees to adopt the creed “Lifetime Education.” In that vein, have them report the things that they have learned on a monthly basis. Not things directly related to their job function, but things they have learned about themselves, life and people. This will set the tone for “big thinking” and show that you expect them to use what they have learned to make themselves better people.

2. Detailed & Living Job Description – Never limit an employee. Let them learn and explore ways to use their skills to help you grow your business. Have them keep a living document that details ways they can expand their job function. For example, if an employee has expertise in more than one area, use their experience to help others do their job better or have them take on additional responsibilities.

3. A Replacement File – A replacement file will help you much more than you may realize. It is documentation on the various job functions performed by each employee. It is a job-training manual, kept by individual employees, teaching new employees various nuances of the job function—something that will save you headaches galore when it’s time to train new employee.

4. A Life File – A life file is a personal library of examples: how-to’s, articles, books, magazine clippings or even podcasts that show what to do or not to do to be better at your job. Say, for example, you are a consulting firm, an employees life file would consist of found articles, books, etc, that teach the employee or others about what is happening in their field. This becomes a reference library; a resource that can be used for life. Encourage them to share what they learn on a regular basis.

5. Volunteering – A key component in the development of a well rounded human being. And something I feel should be a requirement for every employee. How they serve, doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that they are learning to serve others. This experience will strengthen the employee and help them become a better person. This translates into being a better employee—more grateful and more aware of others and their needs.

Are you beginning to see that by expanding the skills of your employees you bring more to the table when your employees come to work?