Robin J. Elliott: Joint Ventures with the Prophet of Profit, Training, Strategic Alliances

Most businesses are like African baboons – these furry fellows race through the cornfields, picking corn and stuffing it under their arm. As fast as they stuff the corn under their arm, it falls out the back, but they keep on picking and stuffing! By the time they get to the edge of the cornfield, they are carrying one corncob and they’ve left a trail of corn on the ground. This is how many entrepreneurs handle customers. They’re so busy getting new ones that they neglect and lose their existing customers out the back door. Attrition spirals out of control and yet they continue to spend more money on finding new customers.

We know it’s far more affordable to resell existing customers than to get new ones. We know that it’s better to retain our customers and to encourage referrals through added value service than to spend a lot of money finding new customers. So why don’t we act accordingly? Why don’t we spend 80% of our marketing budget on our EXISTING customers? Invest in your people and they will bring you a lot of new ones. Build strong relationships with the customers you have. That will increase loyalty, reduce attrition, increase transaction values and lengthen customer lifespan. Why not put a program together to REACTIVATE inactive customers? It’s much easier than trying to buy new ones.

By redirecting our marketing dollars to our loyal clients and creating unprecedented added and unexpected value, we can engender massive reciprocity in the form of referrals and goodwill. But only strategists will understand this. Tacticians, those “instant gratification” types, will never understand this. A happy customer is good – an elated customer is better. A satisfied customer might stay with you, but an inspired and enthusiastic customer will bring her friends, family and associates. A surprise party, an unexpected gift, a personal phone call and a complimentary dinner can buy a lot more new customers than advertising.

Use Joint Ventures to add value at no cost to you. Partner with other businesses to increase the value to offer and to differentiate yourself from the competition. Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and take the time to find ways to make their lives easier and more comfortable. Look after what you have and they will look after you.

Sales Tip
Act in your customer’s best interest. Reward referrals generously. Don’t skimp on packaging. Create referral systems that make the customer happy. Protect your customers; they’re hard enough to get and they can be worth their weight in gold.

Management Tip
Teach your team to listen and to go the extra mile. When I go into Safeway and ask where the bathroom is, the employee will walk me to the bathroom. When I go to the competition, the employee points in the direction on the bathroom. Big difference. A nice bag with a pretty bow and a big smile, a follow-up telephone call and even a thank you note can generate a massive return on investment. Get creative and set the eample.

www.DollarMakers.com
Robin J. Elliott – President, Elliott Enterprises Inc.Vancouver, British Columbia
Tel. 604.945.5754 Toll Free Tel and Fax: 1.866.746.0631 (North America, Hawaii & Alaska) PST

Robin J. Elliott has been officially included in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002 and has been nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals.

Psychologists put four monkeys into a cage. In the cage, they erected a pole with a platform on top of it. They put a huge bunch of tantalizing, ripe, yellow bananas on the platform. Soon the monkeys smelt the bananas and eagerly started to climb nimbly up the pole to get at them. Immediately, the psychologists started squirting the monkeys with strong jets of icy cold water from fire hoses. They did this every time the monkeys tried to get to the bananas, and, naturally, soon the monkeys gave up trying. They sat around getting hungry. Then the psychologists removed one of the monkeys and replaced him with a new monkey who had never experienced the wrath of the fire hoses. Soon the enticing aroma of bananas assailed nostrils and he started climbing up the pole towards them.

What do you think the other furry fellows did? That’s right, they grabbed the newcomer and pulled him down from the pole, preventing him from getting at the bananas. At this point no fire hoses were used. Well, they removed another the monkey and brought in a new one. Now, even the monkey who had never been squirted by the fire hoses, joined in to stop the latest addition from climbing up the pole! One by one they removed the monkeys and replaced them with new monkeys, each of which was stopped from climbing the pole by the other monkeys, all of which, eventually, had never even been squirted with water!

That’s how belief systems and rumors work. We start to believe the myths and urban legends. We become the victims of the limiting beliefs of others and accept those lies as our own, and then we, in turn, impose them on others, believing that we are helping them!

You’ve heard the story of the woman who regularly cut off the ends of a ham before putting it into the oven, haven’t you? Well, eventually the husband asked why she cut the ends off and she said she was taught to do so by her mother, who was a great cook. The husband asked his mother in law why she taught her daughter to cut the ends off hams. She didn’t know – HER mother had taught her to do so. Eventually, the husband found out that the grandmother’s oven was too small – that why the ends had to be cut off. And even though his wife’s oven was quite spacious enough to accommodate three hams, she continued to cut the ends off.

Perception is reality. We tend to make the reality of others, our own. We say we want to learn from their mistakes, but we often learn to limit ourselves with their false restrictions. We allow fear instead of faith to guide us. Ducks fly in flocks and stay close to the ground. Eagles fly alone and high. Eagles don’t fly around with ducks, or they might start quacking before too long. When the mob runs south, Eagles stroll northwards.

Small elephants are tied up with a strong chain until they realize they can’t escape. When they’re grown, a thin rope that they could snap very easily will enslave them to the extent that they have staved to death and burnt to death because they believed a meager rope was a powerful chain. What is your rope? What beliefs do we have that are preventing us from happiness, health and hilarity? Are we monkeys or monarchs? Minions or miracle workers? Let’s dare to dream. Easy is not an option. Quitting is also not an option. Let’s have goals that are bigger than our fears.

Joint Ventures between Eagles create wealth and prosperity: see www.DollarMakers.com

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” ~ Helen Keller
Purpose
Do you know this person? He rises without hitting the snooze button. She works without complaining. He works longer and harder than anyone else. He always delivers on time. She gets there before anyone else. He cares little about the opinions of others. She consistently raises his own standards and expectations. He is not cowered or frightened by his circumstances – he is in control of his environment and his mind. If you know such a person, they are living on purpose. They have a Magnificent Obsession.

Paulo Coelho said, “But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you’re fighting for.” People with a very specific and definite purpose are not easily phased or thrown off course. They are utterly reliable and focused. They do not make excuses. Their lives are meaningful. They know who they are and they don’t need anyone else’s permission, endorsement or acknowledgement – only their own.

Thomas Paine said, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” He knew whereof he spoke. Purpose driven people pay the price of success gladly. They are warriors.

Unstoppable people are Eagles – they have goals and objectives and they are self reliant. They concur with Ayn Rand’s definition of Freedom: “To ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing.” And Freedom is usually their highest value. They enjoy strong self esteem and confidently pioneer new frontiers, never doubting their own ability. They don’t know how to turn tail, quit or compromise. It’s foreign to them. Eagles expect to win.

Someone without a purpose will know unprecedented peace, power and profit when they discover their own Magnificent Obsession and give themselves permission to win at all costs. They are strengthened by detours, obstructions and the mindless, seething masses. They see beyond the ordinary. They rise majestically above the quicksand of Collectivism and compromise.

Do you see this person in the mirror every morning? You can, you know.

Robin J. Elliott robin@dollarmakers.com Call Toll Free1.866.746.0631 Pacific Time
Robin J. Elliott has been officially included in the International Who’s Who of Entrepreneurs in 2002 and has been nominated as a candidate for inclusion in the 2004-2005 edition of the International Who’s Who of Professionals. www.DollarMakers.com

Entrepreneurs understand how important it is to surround oneself with strong, dependable, loyal and able people. It’s been said that, in the heat of battle, the soldiers who stand by you are not the college kids and the pretty boys, but rather the ex cons, thugs, drifters and pimps. When the bullets are flying, somehow a PhD or MBA doesn’t make much of a difference.

If you were about to trek across the ice to the North Pole, whom would you choose to be on your team? Whom would you trust with your life? Would you choose someone from Greenpeace or someone from the Marines? A “peacekeeper” or a warrior? I want the toughest character can find on my side, not some politically correct wimp who’s scared of hurting a tree or upsetting an owl’s nest. I want people who are serious about success, hungry, fearless, determined and very, very disciplined. How about you?

The team you build will mirror, or at least strongly aspire to, your level of integrity, motivation, professionalism and drive. Your “Inner Circle” should be very carefully selected, vetted and constantly trained and tested. And when you see cracks in their veneer, you should remove them from your orbit – fast. Sincerity, grit and focus should be a requirement, not an optional extra. Your team members will either carry you or drop you. They will either be the wind beneath your wings or the quicksand under your feet. And it all depends on your leadership ability.

Have you ever heard of a “Cult Manager”? Probably not – it’s Cult Leader. And the best people will follow the best leaders. So, instead of bewailing your fate and complaining about the losers in your team, go to the bathroom and take a good, hard look in the mirror. You are a magnet. You either attract Eagles or ducks. If you behave like a loser, that’s exactly what you’ll attract. If you accept mediocrity and compromise, that’s the team you’ll soon be scraping off your shoe. But if you set a high standard and strive for a magnificent vision, you’ll find strong people joining you, and the sky’s the limit. Together, we can do amazing things.

Sales Tip
Just as a leader must carefully choose his team, so must a salesperson carefully select his clients. Surround yourself with excellent people at all times. Don’t suffer fools lightly. Good people will lead you to more good people. Invest in your clients and the ROI is great.

Management Tip
A few good salespeople with serious commitment and very specific goals is far better than a big bunch of wanna be’s and has-beens. Spend your time carefully. Invest in good stock. If you’re a lifelong learner, so will your team be. Set the pace, set the standard, set the example. Be selective and demand excellence.

“Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future.” ~ Edwin H. Friedman

Contact us: Robin J. Elliott E Mail: robin@dollarmakers.com Call Toll Free in North America, Hawaii, Alaska PST: 1.866.746.0631 International Phone + 604.945.5754