It is Friday and I have had quite a week.  Long hours, moments of joy and sadness…and I loved every minute of it.  I have hit hyper speed in my personal journey…yes, I do have my seat belt on

 

I thought it would be fun to get some facts from a business that is all about being different and providing its customers with a great shopping experience…

 

lululemon athletica

 

You can read more about this company by visiting www.lululemon.com as I don’t want to take a long time to make an intro here.

 

I visited this store on my trip to Boston back in September.  I have to say it was quite the experience.  Everyone there was ALL ABOUT the clients.  If you are ever in a town where there is a retail store you should stop by.  Rumor has it, the Milwaukee “sstore front” will become a full fledged shop so you can visit it locally!

 

Here are 3 takeaways with some HUGE lessons:

 

1.  The company refers to its “store clerks” as Educators.  This is a big positioning shift.  These individuals are now valuable versus being a pain in the butt (“Can I help you find something?” – you know the typical drill).  How do you refer to yourself and your support team?

 

2.  Lululemon’s brand personality has tended to be a bit “cheeky.”  The company thumbed its nose at the Vancouver Olympic committee with a clothing line inspired by “A Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011.”

 

I love that!!!  Reminds me of the pompous, arrogance of the NFL saying advertisers cannot use the term Super Bowl.  Well, how about using it in your marketing the same way lululemon has…

 

In honor of the “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place for the 46th (XLVI) Time in Indianapolis February 5th, 2012…” we are having a VIP Event (blah, blah, blah).

 

That’s fun, interesting and controversial.  My kind of marketing edge!

 

3.  Lululemon’s corporate manifesto it printed on its bags.  The company’s recent decision to include a reference to Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, which advocates self-interest as the path to a better world, has raised eyebrows with some of its hard core, loyal customers.

 

Once again, I love it!  Who cares what the minority thinks.  Be confident you can express your own opinion when it comes to YOUR business.  Take a stand.  Be controversial.  My kind of company!!!

 

I love finding these examples.  Now, take this and take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Can I enhance my business by infusing more of MY personality?”  I think you already know the answer.

 

I recall the first time I met with a client of mine after she was a guest at one of the monthly business meetings back in 2008. The focus was how to grow her fitness business that was in its early stages.

As per the usual the brain storming session resulted in more ideas than time would allow, but that shows the immense possibilities that lie within a business. The most important opportunity came after I asked her two questions…

What is your closing percentage and what is your closing script?

After watching her just one time I was able to fix the real problem, which wasn’t needing more leads, it was how to offer her services and the structure of her pricing.

After a number of months testing the pricing and the offer it is now completely rock solid. This also is a lesson in testing, written about here as bonus.

My point is, try to take a step back and see if there is another way of looking at a challenge you are facing. Get someone else to look at it and give you feedback.

It’s all about perspective. This one idea could change a big challenge in your business to a huge opportunity. Try it out. You may just like it!

I was sitting at my kitchen table enjoying a steaming hot cup of coffee reading the latest edition of Fast Company (April ’11) magazine when I came across an interesting article titled, “The Kids Can Create” by Linda Tischler.

To summarize the article, middle schoolers were asked how they would redesign elements of the school experience like lockers, chairs, desks, etc.  The results were staggering.

The kids made comments about how the chairs were uncomfortable making them fidget around more often, their lockers were their “bedrooms” for the year so they wanted them to be more functional and personal, as well as, having a place on their chairs for their backpacks so they wouldn’t clutter the aisles.

When was the last time you were in eighth grade to know these challenges?  When was the last time you bought and used your own product or service?  Do you think it could be enhanced to meet the needs of today’s consumers?

One volunteer for this project did.  Jerry Helling, President of North Carolina based furniture company Bernhardt Design, found some amazing ways to enhance the design of school furniture and will be displaying prototypes of the middle schoolers’ concepts at an upcoming international expo.

Rinat Aruh, of New York industrial design studio Arulidan, said, “The kids had come up with some mind-blowing ideas.”

I am writing about this topic here because it is a reminder that sometimes you are too close to your own business to understand the fundamental flaws that exist without you even knowing.  A fresh set of eyes is vital to keep up with the changing times, specifically to understand how consumers are making decisions to spend their money.

I challenge you find a group of consumers you target or peers from outside your industry to have them “redesign” your business from a completely fresh set of eyes.

Once I understood how important this concept was, I immediately sought out my group for ideas and then decided to start my own mastermind group for Milwaukee entrepreneurs so I could lead the charge for them getting a fresh perspective each and every month.  The results have been outstanding.

Don’t get caught doing the “same-‘ol-same-‘ol” in your business without getting some unbiased, real, raw opinions from individuals or groups that could give you that idea that could lead to a breakthrough in your business.

Who would have thought it would be good to go back to eight grade?

Let me start by saying this post has nothing to do with politics (for those of you who remember the “lipstick on a pig” comment).  What this has to do with is addressing the common questions and objections your prospects have when buying from you.

Hopefully you have heard the phrase, “…the elephant in the room…,” if not it just means there is something that is so big it stands out and cannot be missed.  In your business you have “elephants” just like the rest of us.  So, what do you do?

I have always been a big proponent of addressing the common objections that people have about your product or service.  I believe the sooner you can get those out of the way the better.  If you voluntarily answering these objections it will leave your prospect with very little ammunition to come up with reasons not to buy.

Here is a very simple exercise that will help you sell more effectively and get more clients and more referrals.  First, write down the questions you answer on a regular basis.  “Your cost is too high.”  “Your store is too far away.”  “How do I know I can trust you?”  “How do you know this will work for me?”  You get the point.

After writing those down come up with answers that will directly address why those questions shouldn’t be of concern.  This will allow you to use this in your sales presentations and in your marketing messages.

After you have come up with the main questions be sure to take note of others that come up with your clients and prospects.  Write them down and answer them too so you are ready whenever they come up again.

Put some shiny red lipstick on the “elephant in the room.”  Your product will look much more attractive now!

I hope you watch Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.”  Trump makes a bunch of celebrities do tasks to try and win money for the charities they are representing.  Watching this provides many instructive lessons of which we will focus on one.

By the way, I am not here to fire you, although for many that might be just what you need to get a wake up call!  The point is you need to be selective on who you are working with and getting referrals from.

Don’t Be Afraid To Fire Your Clients Or Referral Partners! I just heard many of you scream after reading that.  Don’t worry I promise this will be the best exercise you have done in your business in a long time.  Let me share with you a story.

Early on in my residential mortgage business I was fortunate (not really) to get a vast majority of real estate agents in an office to send me their home buyers to help them with their mortgages.  I thought this was amazing!  It wasn’t until 18 months later I sat down and analyzed this relationship.  What I found was startling.

The prospects they were referring me were challenging to work with, many never bought homes, were high maintenance and had the lowest closing percentage of anyone I was working with.  There was also a high volume of prospects coming my way that most mortgage professionals would give their left arm for.  What I realized though, was the opportunity cost and stress level these prospects brought to my business was actually costing me money.

So, one day I went into the real estate office and fired them!  That’s right, I went into the office and politely said thank you for the past business but we no longer are a fit.  You know what happened?  My stress level went down.  I started to attract higher quality prospects.  I worked less hours but made more money.  This was one of the hardest things I ever did that turned out to be one of the best things I ever did!

Take time to weed out those clients that are costing you money.  Take time to find the referral sources that are sending you prospects that eat up your valuable time and fire them!  It will be one of the happiest days of your life.  Make this a yearly habit.  A little purging goes a long way!

I remember the first time I went to a coffee shop and heard the women in front of me order her drink with 8 variables to it.  Are you kidding me?  I was stunned and then intimidated because I was just going to order a coffee!  Was I doing something wrong?  How do I learn this secret strategy so many possess?  I am outsider looking in.

It didn’t take long for me to realize how much better my favorite beverages tasted by customizing and sorting out the coffee variables to meet my exact tastes.  This experience reinforced how important it is to have this kind of attention to detail in your business.

A big mistake I see clients making before they consult with me is they are trying to sell to everyone versus selling to their best customer.  Also, they are using the same message to everyone even though my clients know they have a mix of different customers that need and want different things.  So, here are a few suggestions that will help you sell to more clients, sell your product easier and ultimately get more referrals.

Extreme List Selection. Let’s say you are composing a marketing message to your client list about coming to your restaurant for Valentine’s Day.  Instead of sending out one offer to everyone (men & women) you should develop individual marketing messages that will go out to men and women.

Your message to men is that you are helping them come up with a romantic solution for their significant other.  Your message to women is to get them to show their significant other that your place is the place to be.  You could further dissect your list by the following categories: married men, married women, married men with kids, married women with kids, single men, and single women.

You could go one step further and craft different messages to those segments above that dine with you more than 6 times per year versus those that come only 1 time per year.  Make sense?  There is power in segmenting your list to target your message with laser focus.

Give ‘Em More Than They Ever Imagined. Using the restaurant example above, don’t just offer someone a complimentary appetizer for joining you on Valentine’s Day.  Make a bold offer.  “Get the Unforgettable Platinum Romance Special Guaranteed To Make This The Most Amazing Valentine’s Day You Ever Had!”  Included would be a limo picking you up at your door step, an exclusive bottle of wine not offered to the general customers, a beautiful bouquet of flowers at a table with a view reserved exclusively for you, a personal gift from the chef, and on and on.  I hope you get the point.

You want to find those that understand there is value in an experience.  You can charge premium prices and have little to no resistance in this offer because there is extreme value and something no one else in town in delivering.

Now it is time to choose.  You can be in the commodity business or you can be in the experience business.  Which will it be?

The title of this post is a famous line from a popular song by Morris Albert in 1973.  This album and song put Morris Albert on the map for worldwide fame and recognition

So what does this have to do with Business & Marketing?  There are three components to this that are valuable to pay attention to.

First, it is very important that you understand a client’s feelings matter more than the reality of how useful your product (or service) will be for them.  More money is spent on how something will make you feel than on the logical, rational thought process of the absolute need of a product.  How many women need to get a pedicure?  Women get pedicures because it makes them feel beautiful.

Second, the experience your clients have with you during the sales process will ultimately determine how they feel about your product.  No one likes to be “sold.”  If you are doing your job right when it gets time to “sell” it should seem obvious and non-threatening to your client.  If you have to end with a strong close you will want to go back and review what that process looks like.  This experience will determine whether or not you get clients to buy from you again, as well as, whether they will refer you their friends and family.

Third, Morris Albert’s song was recorded and performed by many well known artists, such as, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Vinton and Elvis Presley to name a few.  When you take the time to make your product exceptional, sell it exceptionally well and become known for it others will want to be part of what you have.

A classic example of this is franchising.  Why do people invest money in McDonald’s or Subway?  They do it because they see the value in the business model and systems that are in place and want to become part of it for their own success.  You can do this to by private labeling your product, franchising or licensing your business model or allowing others to sell your product as an affiliate to name a few.

I cannot stress how important it is to pay attention to the way your clients react to you, your product and the experience they have.  It will determine how easy it will be to get more clients to do repeat business with you and refer more clients to you more often.  Don’t take your clients for granted.  Remember, they drive your business.  Treat them that way!