Bill Gluth's Creative Business Strategy Blog

The Flexible, Creative Mind

If something is not working, what do you do?

A. Keep doing the same thing and hope for a better result

B. Change, do something different, compare the result with your current effort and go with the better result.

B is the correct answer of course. BUT it takes a flexible, creative mind to do it.

It also take courage. Courage to do what may seem strange or unfamiliar. Courage to go against the grain of the past to create a solution for just right now.

Since right now is all we can truly count on and impact, creative thinking in any given moment is an enlightening thing.

Now go out and do some today!

How to Fail Miserably Every Time

Of the thousands of possibilities, what are the steps that create failure and what are the steps that create success?

1. Success has a can do/I'll figure it out or get help and make it work attitude.

Failure embraces I'll hope for the best, try to remain positive and wait for an outcome kind of thinking.

2. Success sells products clients want to buy. Success finds that out through polling and asking clients what they want.

Failure sells products it thinks people want to buy. Failure never asks a client what they want or why.

3. Success creates a business around a talent or passion that is exciting and motivating. Inherent strengths and personal genius are used as competitive advantages. Success easily stands out from the crowd.

Failure builds a business around past experience. Failure feels it's stuck and has no other choice but to do what it has always done. It wakes up each day in an anxious state, hoping the day goes all right but feeling deep down disaster may be just around the next corner.

4. Success loves the people it works with. It is there to serve them in the highest and best way possible.

Failure often offers high quality, lowest prices, integrity, and honesty. Failure sounds a lot like everyone else. Long sales cycles, cutting prices and a lot of open sales that “are going to close really soon” but never do are common.

5. Success knows it will be great and come out on top. It feels accomplishment in the smallest things and is grateful and highly motivated every day.

Failure wishes and hopes things will get better. It keeps doing what it has always done and expects a different result. Failure never steps outside of its comfort zone, even though that comfort zone has long since proven ineffective.

You, as a small business owner or Solopreneur are the future of the American Economy. Opportunity abounds, but only if you take action to live the life of your dreams rather than staying stuck running in the same circle over and over again.

Genius Thinking Worth Seeing

My friend and colleague Otto Seigel is presenting his Biology of Business half day seminar again on June 27th. I attended a few weeks ago and I'd highly recommed Otto's ideas. This is well worth your time.

Here's the details:

The Biology of Business

Gut Level Introduction to Achieving Prosperity
1/2 Day Workshop

You NEED to attend if you wish to:

• Live in the state of accomplishment versus chasing success.
• Own and run a passion based business.
• Work smart and have a life too.
• Learn revolutionary solutions to common entrepreneur challenges!

Learn new tools to amp up your success while decreasing your stress.
Explore ways to understand business at a “gut Level” and translate that to financial gain.

Discover new ways to increase your value to your customers.

Register Today:

www.geniuscoaching.net

623-594-2715

June 27, 2006, 4 – 7 p.m.

3:30 p.m. Hor D’Oeuvres/Check-In

University of Phoenix

Raintree and 101

Pre-registration required

$99 per person.

This type of training was a well kept secret of major corporations. Now, for the first time it is available to the small business owner.

Genius Coaching, LLC. is an internationally renowned organization that specializes in advanced coaching for action-based leadership and increasing individual performance by leveraging one’s innate physical intelligence.

How to Penetrate a Golf Key Account

In working with my golf company project, this process was successful for penetrating a key account.

This was a 5 top manufacuter in the golf industry and their golf school and retail store in Las Vegas

Step 1: Find the Decision Maker and get permission to communicate - Marketing Touches 1 and 2

5/31/06 Called Corporate offices, talked to the Executive Assistant. Found out the name and title of the Decision Maker for my category.

At the same time confirmed that they would be interested in my story. Got permission to use executive assistants name when calling the Decision Maker (DM).

Called DM and left a "what's in it for them" message developed with the Irresistible Offer Process

Sent email that I'm trying to reach them for the benefit to them reason.

Step 2: Reengage: Left message. Sent direct mail card "Bright Idea". Marketing Touches 3 and 4

6/2/06 Called again, same message, sent a marketing card restating the benefit of the Irresistible Offer with a front that had a light bulb that said "Bright Idea" (see photo)

Step 3: Final attempt. Marketing Touch 5 and 6

6/9 Call 3, Left message that I don’t want to be a pest but have something of interest to talk about. Here's whats in it for you. If I don't hear back, I'll assume BENEFIT is not relevant to you. Don't have them scheduled for a call back.

6/9 US Mail a testimonial package of 2 name testimonials (industry people he knows), a PR piece from the industry relating to our company, a flyer of the product, an article about the product, and a handwritten note in a # 10 envelope, with a stamp. On the outside of the envelope wrote "Information about NAME HE KNOWS you'll find interesting."

Marketing Touch 7: Reengage the Executive Assistant

6/13 Reengaged the Executive Assistant, confirmed the correct person was being called, restated "what's in it for them", made sure the buying process was through the person I was attempting to call, gave her a web link to check the product out if she wants to.

Result: The Decision Maker (DM) called back

6/21 DM called and placed a trial order based on a 6-month buy back guarantee. Mentioned finally getting to the "testimonial mailing" as the reason for his call back.

The stranger became a friend and a friend became a client.

Why?

7 marketing touches, a guarantee that put the risk on me so he felt save trying it, integrated communication, an advocate inside the business, confirmation that the offer was a value they want, offer articulated in a way that took human psychology into account and a low key approach when communicating verbally.

Systems and processes make all sales efforts work better. Without marketing, sales becomes a much harder job.

Remember too: every contact to anyone in the organization is a marketing touch.

Marketing identifies, creates outreach and attracts. Sales turns attraction into money.

In Loving Memory of a Great Friend

Today we lost our girl dog, Sierra. She was 9-years old.

Pets occupy such a unique place in our hearts. There is always a void when we lose one.

Pets help us reflect on the importance of balance time. Time to pay attention to those people and things in our lives that we enjoy and love.

Be sure to always take time to care for and nurture your relationships with family, friends and even pets.

Success means very little with out them.

My wife Michelle and I are asking anyone who feels so inclined to make a donation to the Arizona Animal Welfare League - the oldest and largest no-kill shelter in Arizona.

I'll resume our normal observations later this week. But for now, take time to take care of those you love and remember those who have passed on. They are always with you if you remember them in your heart.

I Love This Post

I want to show you things that are remarkable. This post, by Mark Joyner, says it all for me. I LOVE it! I hope you do too.

Visit Mark Joyner for more of his
personal development brain puzzle cartoons.

Live with awareness and experience the richness of life.

Here are a few ideas for building awareness and taking charge of the outcomes you create in your life.

1. Learn how to play golf. If you REALLY want to learn how aware or unaware you are, golf is a great teacher.

2. Write stuff down. What do you have to do today? What do you WANT to do today? What did you do today?

3. Understand what you think, moment by moment. Hearing your thoughts, listening to your patterns of thinking and reframing thoughts that are non-optimal is awareness at its most productive.

4. Become aware of what you want and where you are going in your life. Then understand how your business supports that ideal.

The question becomes, are you aware of your thoughts and actions or do you hope for the best and accept what ever you get?

The choice is yours alone to make. Just realize that awareness it the key to the door of true life fulfillment.

Speak Up Now Please

I need my subscribers and blog visitors to please take this message VERY seriously.

The Internet is under siege and we, as citizens, need to speak up to keep it free and open.

Small business is the future of America and the Internet makes small business so much more effective.

This week, our U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. To get involved, I'm encouraging you to contact your representatives in Congress.

Make your voice and opinion count here:

http://www.itsournet.org/contactcongress

We ALL need the Internet to be free, open and unregulated by big business and the government.

Now is the time to act. So please act immediately. It will take 2 minutes or less to make sure your voice is heard.

Just go to http://www.itsournet.org/contactcongress right now!

Who Cares About You

In business, the cold hard fact is no one cares about you.

They care about themselves.

The most successful 21st Century businesses offer a value that their clients want AND the second big secret...

... They are in love with their clients and not in love with their business.

If you aren't in love with the people who buy from you, you are among the many who are selling features and benefits instead of providing an collaboration, a partnership of sorts, that lasts and lasts.

Now go out and fall in love with a new client today.

Are You Having Fun?

My colleague and friend Steven Ringelstein is. He took his passion for having fun and created a business with it.

Check out his and co-founder Dena Patton's creation.

Their next event is Spa Day. Another example of people building businesses from things they love to do.

Great work!