You go in with your plan, you start to discuss the issues on your list … and somehow the focus of the meetings gets chopped and splinters into a thousand tangents. Surely, you’ve encountered this before?

At that point you have to make a choice. You can be the bad ass and slam your fist on the table and say “ENOUGH! Let’s focus” or you can sit back hoping that all the bantering and meaningless small talk will end shortly. The problem with the latter is that it just never seems to end and time continues to tick-a-way.

So unless you’re hardcore enough to jump right in front of that out of control train and tell it to stop … well, you’re pretty much screwed.

I’ve jumped in front of that train several times over the years when my blood pressure couldn’t take listening to that bantering buzz any longer. The train has also flattened me like a penny on the tracks.

There’s got to be a better way. Someone should come up with a word that everyone knows that can quickly diffuse the situation when meetings get off track. It’s got to be a bit funny and not too blunt … but clear enough that people know when they hear it it’s time to get back to the real business on the table.

Or maybe, just maybe, more of us just need to start slamming our fists on the table to save time and keep everyone sane.

Most of my writing these days has been up on Business Consulting Buzz, so for the latest articles on being a marketing consultant and the consulting business be sure to check that out.

I’ll continue to post here as often as possible. Stay tuned. Cheers!

You can check out Business Consulting Buzz for the latest articles from other consultants and yours truly.

I’ll also be attending several events in October before heading to Japan at the end of the month.

1. BarCamp Vancouver on Oct 2-3
2. Observer Launch Party on Oct 6
3. Web Biz Meetup on Oct 15
4. Connect09 Conference on Oct 19
5. Vancouver Enterprise Forum Oct 27

Let me know if you’ll be attending any of these…

Also more exciting news coming very soon on a new project…stay tuned.

Here’s the skinny on TalentZoo:
Talent Zoo is the leading communications executive recruiting firm and online job board. Consistently called upon by top companies across North America, the firm is the hiring solution for communications industry talent. Named by Forbes as Best of the Web for niche job boards, TalentZoo.com is currently approaching 1,000 authentic jobs daily, helping employers reach out to their next scintillating superstars.

The article explores why too many business owners and professionals focus on the wrong metrics and have forgotten the key to real business success. Check it out at “What if Google Died?” on TalentZoo

For the record I’m a big fan of Google so don’t let the title get you all worked up.

Make it a great day!

Michael

My excuse, is that what you want to hear? Okay, it’s not that exciting though … I’ve been extremely busy.

Between client projects and helping a new venture get off the ground I’ve been neck deep in a swamp of work.

A always I’m making time to enjoy with family and friends – no email, no computer – but granted it’s less than optimal. I’ve also had less time to read. However, I’d like to share something with you from one book I’m just about to finish – Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success.

This is a fascinating book. And what I’d like to share with you comes on page 246. Gladwell has just finished telling a story about a girl that spends 22 minutes trying to successfully complete a match question. And how most people give up after only a short while.

He then writes “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”

That’s it, that’s what I wanted to share with you. It sounds simple enough, plain, maybe even boring. But the power of those words is immense.

If you’re working towards achieving success in a new venture, marketing project, personal goal – whatever it may be, this is the key to success. It’s right there in those words.

Be prepared to work your ass off … go beyond where others stop and if you’re determined enough – as long as you have access to the right information and are going about things in an effective manner – you’ll reach success.

There are too many people out there, and I’ve been guilty of this too in the past, that work hard to achieve a monumental goal but fail simply because they don’t give it their all.

If you truly want success, march on. Be prepared for tough times. You’ll have lots of uphill climbing too do. That’s why it’s so important to be passionate about your journey – because if you’re not it’s that much harder to get through the tough times.

Push forward, climb up one mountain after the other – and at some point you’ll leave all the others behind – and then my friend, you’ll reach the top of the mountain they call success.

I’ve improved in this area over the last year or so … but I must admit it’s hard. Especially when your brain is wired for continous improvement and on-going development.

There is a wonderful story about business and living life. If you’ve heard it before, I doubt you will have forgotten it. Nevertheless, it’s the kind of story that you enjoy reading from time to time. If you’ve never heard it before, I think you’ll enjoy it.

It goes like this …

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The tourist then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The tourist then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The tourist scoffed, ” I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

The tourist replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

Worthwhile to reflect on, wouldn’t you say?

The author of this story remains unkown from what I can tell. Yet there are many versions of this story floating around in cyberspace.

Wikipedia describes this day as:
” Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day, is Canada’s national day, a federal statutory holiday, celebrated on July 1 annually by all governments and most businesses across the country; the date, though, is adjusted in cases where July 1 does not fall on a working day. Canada Day observances take place not only throughout the nation, but also internationally. ”

Best wishes to all.

Michael Zipursky

(If you didn’t read the last post, you can check it out here: Post: The Fastest Way To Gain Your Business Advantage)

I’m happy to do so Jordan. The reason why keeping your customers happy is so powerful is because your current customers, the ones that have already made a purchase from you, are many times more likely to purchase from you again.

Plus it is much easier for them to take out their money and put it in your hands. Customers have far less hesitation, and give much less thought, to buying from you again and again. Once they’ve made the first purchase, and have gone from being a prospective customer to a customer that is.

That’s why…HAPPY CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR MOST PROFITABLE, MOST VALUABLE ASSET

It’s amazing how many companies spend millions of dollars every year acquiring new customers, yet they completely lack any kind of follow up and relationship management system to keep their active customers happy.

So you have customers coming in, and customers coming out.

You can think about it like having to continuously add more water to a bath…because the drain is open and lets the water out.

Put a plug in the drain (by keeping your customers happy, which means multiple communications and meeting their expectations) and you won’t need to spend nearly as much money or time filling up the tub.

The result?

Spend a certain amount of money bringing new customers in, keep more of them as long-term loyal customers, and watch your sales and profits climb many times over.

To your success,
Michael Zipursky

Today’s topic is very dear to me. In fact, I recently wrote a book that holds today’s subject at its core, Profitable Relations.

Communications, Expectations,
Relationships, And Profit

Business books, articles, seminars , and other products filled with  promises to help you grow your business may teach you an array of ideas, theories, techniques and strategies…

…But even with all that, business owners often forget one
crucial ingredient.

Differentiating your business, whether big or small is critical to success. I’m not going to write more on that topic today…we’ll leave the importance of USP statements, vision planning and all that other good stuff for another day.

You see, even more important than your mission statement, your advantage, your selling strategy, distribution plan, or marketing materials…is one single concept so powerful and easy to use, yet it is often neglected and completely misunderstood or forgotten.

This concept is an integral part of every business. Once used, it is immensely profitable. So why do so many fail at it?

Folks I’m talking about COMMUNICATION. Not technological communications. Not technical or “efficient means” of communication.

But the basic principle of managing your customers expectations with the natural HUMAN ability most of us were given when born to communicate.

I’m going to dive in and give you an example that best explains this…

A homeowner spent $20,000 or more landscaping a new backyard, complete with a beautiful pond. The pond features a waterfall and koi fish swimming around. Lovely thing!

But each year the homeowner has to have the pond cleaned. So they call a couple of companies to come out and give an estimate to do this work. The first company comes and gives an estimate of $500. The second gives an estimate of $900.

The homeowner goes with the company A, offering the service for 5 big ones. They clean the pond, make a bit of a mess, destroy some plants and promise to come by the next week to put in new ones.

They don’t come back, don’t call to apologize. Needless to say the homeowner decides to use a different company next year.

The next year, company B is called. The homeowner figures if they spend more they’ll get better a quality service and product.

Company B says they’ll come by to give another estimate. They do. They scope out the pond and say they’ll send the estimate very soon. 1 week, 2 weeks…no estimate, no communication from company B.

The homeowner wants their pond cleaned so they call the company. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll send that to you right away,” says the owner of company B. Later that evening the homeowner receives an email with the estimate for $900. “Okay, we’ll do it” they think. The pond company comes provides the service, get’s their cheque and is gone baby gone.

That’s it. The homeowner doesn’t hear from that pond company until the next year.

Hello! Yeah, you reading this. Does that sound like a relationship building business approach?

Here’s another true story:
A lawyer moves into his new office. Spends $10,000 on brand new furniture. The sales woman at the store was helpful and nice. While the lawyer was making his purchase he asked the sales woman if they had a leather chair he had seen, but in a red color. The woman said she wasn’t sure but would let him know.

Long story short, she doesn’t call. He thinks about calling her, but decides to wait. End of story.

I could keep going with countless other episodes where the lack of basic communication skills gets in the way of making business successful, or taking a successful company and making it even more successful.

But for you, this is a chance.

You see, if you’re the kind of person that follows through. If you tell your customer that you’ll be in touch by Monday and you do in fact call them on Monday. You’re ahead of the game.

You’ll stand out from the competition

If you provide a service or sell a product to a customer, and a day or a couple of days after you make that sale, you give your customer a follow up call…they’ll appreciate that. They’ll be more likely to recommend you to others.

And it’s not because what you are doing is amazing. It’s because you’re doing what most others aren’t.

Most businesses, from small companies to global corporations
don’t meet their customers expectations.

Business is about building meaningful relationships with your customers. You can’t do this by selling a gizmo and stopping at that. Well, you can, but you’ll never reach your full potential. You’ll be leaving so much money on the table…

Relationships are developed through multiple communications
and the meeting of expectations.

If either the pond cleaning company or furniture salesperson had met their customers expectations they’d have an ready to buy again customer. Keep meeting your customers expectations and you’ll have a loyal customer for life.

This is a simple, fundamental, and in my mind, essential aspect of business relationships. Yet, so many don’t understand this.

Make sure your customer communications are properly in place and used consistently. Your sales and profits will soar. Your customers will love you, and you’ll enjoy business more!

If you can see value in managing customer relationships, I think you’ll find my new book, Profitable Relations a worthwhile read. In it, I lay out action steps and techniques that show you how, in a no-nonsense approach you can dramatically increase your sales and profits by giving your customers what they really want. You have nothing to lose by purchasing this book as it comes with a 90 day money back guarantee. Have a look here >>

To your success,

Michael