08.04.08
Positioning is Everything.
Roy H. Williams says, “Follow the sound of bulldozers and the smell of fresh paint. Commercially speaking, where are things happening in your town? Move to where the action is. Follow Best Buy, Home Depot, Starbucks and the other Big Boys who have already done the research. Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. Media costs are escalating and the public is hiding from ads. These are just two of the reasons why a great location is more important today than ever before. Expensive rent is the cheapest advertising your money can buy. Is Walgreens able to afford great locations because they do a big volume, or do they do a big volume because they always secure great locations? A high-visibility location communicates leadership. It implies that you do things better than your competitors.”
You are judged by the company you keep, and your positioning, packaging, and credibility should be strategically designed. The old “We’ve been around for 20 years” also refers to my dog, the homeless man on the corner, and the local lunatic asylum; it’s old hat, and it simply declares that you have no Unique Selling Proposition. Nobody wants to deal with a start-up or an unknown quantity. Location can also be seen as web presence, branding and who your partners are. Piggy-backing and using Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances, Host Beneficiary Relationships and co-branding is what smart entrepreneurs do to position themselves for optimal, fast reach, distribution, and results.
Members of DollarMakers and our DollarMakers Certified Business Mentors understand the power of positioning and they use it effectively. As we initiate and innovate and use our momentum and branding to access and pioneer new JV’s, new territories, new opportunities, they ride in our back, shouting, whooping, and making money. We don’t have the time or inclination to reinvent the wheel or duplicate already existing, successful ventures, and so the “No money, no risk” mantra gets put to work and made a reality.
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
