Bill Gluth's Creative Business Strategy Blog

Progress Not Perfection in 2008

There is a secret to business success that is so easy to understand and so profound in its effectiveness, a large number of people seem to find it next to impossible to grasp.

The simplicity of this business mystery makes brilliant people say, “It’s too simple, that can’t be it.” However, its value is proven everyday in businesses worldwide.

That secret is don’t get it perfect, get it done.

The most successful people merely do what it takes to get the most important things done consistently.

As one of my favorite authors, Seth Godin says, it may not be hard, but it can be difficult.

You’re the future of the American economy. I admire your courage and determination to live life on your own terms.

Focus on your goals and take small steps every day to get important projects done and you'll be more successful in 2008.

Happy New Year everyone. Be safe, healthy and prosperous.

Who Would YOU Buy From

I was accessing lists this week for my January sales launch effort. Of course I have a number of sources, but for this need I selected two competitors.

Competitor one listened to what I had to say, made recommendations and sent me sample files (about 100 leads) to check out for effectiveness before committing to a purchase.

Time to complete: Less than 1-hour. Usefulness of leads. Could load these leads into my CRM program and run a test to make sure they were on target right away.

Competitor two, listened but kept telling me why what I needed was hard to find. They told me that SIC codes was the only way to find the leads I was looking for.

I asked for samples files to test. "Impossible," was the reply. "I may be able to get you a dozen or so samples, but I can't give you phone numbers."

Time to get 6-sample leads: 2-days. Usefulness of leads. Hard to read screen shot had to be keyed in individually. Download was not possible. BUT phone numbers were included for the six leads sent.

Question to ponder: Who will I use as my sales list vendor. Why, competitor #1, who is Chad Weber of Info USA. Telephone number 866.805.1691 ext. 3816

If you give Chad a call, tell him I sent you. He'll make sure you get what you need to make your sales effort easier than it is today.

Blogging Course I Think I'll Enjoy

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Selling for People Who Dislike Sales

For many people in small business, creating sales is often a chore akin to doing taxes. It HAS to be done, but you sure don’t like it.

There are three primary reasons why you dislike sales

1. You have no system to follow. You are forced to wing it every day. This leads to overwhelm and confusion.

2. You have not found (or you lost) the passion, value and monetary worth other people find in your work. You are hesitant to tell more people about your offer out of fear.

3. You do not have a well-defined, well-articulated offer to sell. This leads to both confusion and fear. You are confused about what to say and fearful the person you are speaking to will reject you.

Develop an offer that is based on a value that your best clients gain.

Touch your prospects a minimum of seven times. The majority of your competitors stop after one or two contacts. You'll win the competitive game by touching seven times.

Put your entire sales process into an easy to follow strategy that you follow everyday.

The result will be a full pipeline of qualified prospects that values what you offer.

Why direct sales is better than marketing for small business

Direct sales requires a sweat equity effort. A solid program can be created on a tight budget.

Marketing requires money to proliferate an idea.

The problem is, small businesses typically do not have the budget required to make marketing alone work.

When you combine direct sales with marketing, you get the best of both worlds.

You get:

Immediate gains from direct contact.

Passive, ongoing prospecting to people who are most qualified.

For small business, a direct sales process that combines marketing to attract, sales to convert attraction into money and client relationship management to create ongoing backend business is the least expensive and most effective path to success.

A Cleaning Tale or How to Ensure You Lose a Client

I had the same cleaning service come in and clean my house for the past year and a half. Every two weeks they come in and clean.

One time, early in the relationship, they did a very poor job. I wasn't happy so they offered to come back at no-charge next time. No excuses, just great service.

I became a fan and advocate, told friends and neighbors about them and the relationship continued. I even blogged them for their superior commitment to client satisfaction.

Today they cleaned, per our every two week schedule.

Frankly, it was the worst cleaning job I had ever seen. It was so bad, in fact, that the house had to be cleaned again.

I called to let the owner know about the poor job done. She started making excuses and told me what they do and do not clean.

That prompted me to look at everything closer. Guess what? It was worse than I suspected. Bathrooms not done, really bad.

So, in the immortal words of Donald Trump -- You're Fired!

When you have a good client, take care of them. Don't let down because you think they will be loyal, no matter what.

Always remember, you are only as good as the last service performed. If there is a problem, fix it without argument.

The reward is a stable of loyal and happy clients who use you over and over again every year.

Remember, backend sales is where the REAL money is in business.

I Don't Want to Know

When I engage someone, like an insurance agent for example, I want them to take care of me in a preeminent sort of way.

I want them to be MY expert in their space.

I want them to advise me on what the best options are for my desires and goals.

What I do NOT want to know about is insurance.

It bores the living crap out of me. I want my agent to guide me, care for my account and make insurance a breeze.

No matter what business you are in, be the expert your clients want to deal with. Don't make me know the details. That's why I hired you.

The Creative Mind at Work

When you go to work every day, what do you take with you?

Money for lunch, papers, files, folders, your computer, PDA, cell phone and myriad of other items that will help you to get through each and every day.

The one thing that is often missing is the realization of your personal genius, the creative mind at work.

Here’s how to stop settling and easily create a new direction

First, realize you’re settling. When you consciously admit that you are settling your creative mind looks for a new direction.

Focus on the direction you would really like to head.

Just saying, “This is not what I want” will not work.

Focusing on a target, an exact place you would like to go, will give your creative mind a target to hit. Without a target, you will flounder and remain lost.

Create a strategy to hit the target you’re aiming at. Defining your direction will allow you to create a plan to reach any goal.

Follow the plan and don’t allow distractions to derail you. Take action every day to reach your new, desired direction.

Combine creativity with your conscious mind and you’ll soon find that achievement will happen all around you, consistently.

A Very Cool Idea That Activates Your Brain Quickly

My friend Mark Joyner put together something remarkable that is worth talking about. I wanted to share it with you right away.

More on that in a second ...

The new course from the folks at Simpleology is here, and it's quite a departure from what you might expect.

It's called:

Simpleology Great Teachers Series: Jacque Fresco Teaches Drawing
http://www.simpleology.com/p/drawing/billgluth

At first look, this appears to be quite extraordinary.

I've always wanted to learn how to draw (don't we all get envious when we watch someone casually whip out drawings with a pencil and paper? I sure do), and it looks like I now have
a chance - and it appears I won't have to spend 4 years at "art school" either.

I was amazed at the creative thinking benefits drawing provides to people in business.

Check it out at http://www.simpleology.com/p/drawing/billgluth

The Most Powerful Force on Earth

Arguably, there are many forces on Earth that could be considered the MOST powerful.

However, when everything is taken into consideration, the most powerful force on Earth unquestionably is a human being with focused intention.

You create concepts with your Consciousness and bring them to life with Human Subtle Energy.

If you’re feeling doubt right now you are creating another reality. It’s one you may have become comfortable with that says, “I can’t do that. It’s impossible.”

And so it is. As Henry Ford is famous for saying, "Whether you think you can or can’t, either way, you’re right.”