What does framing artwork have to do with marketing?

More than you think.

I’m sure that each of you has, at one time or another, purchased a painting, a limited edition print or art quality photography.  Do you remember your trip to the frame store to get it framed?

First, the attendant helped you decide which frame fit your decor and the artwork.  Then, just when you felt that you’d finished your selection, she said “You can enhance the picture even more by adding some mattes.”  She took creme and green mattes, overlapped them and you could see the green color jump out of the picture.   Then she replaced the green matte with a blue one and the picture took on that blue hue.  The picture didn’t change.  Yet the look and feel changed dramatically with the different mattes.  That’s what marketing is.

The benefit you provide, whether it’s image, innovation or time-savings, is the picture.  That doesn’t change regardless of what market you’re serving.  How you craft your message around that benefit is the matte.  It’s how you can target different markets without changing your offering.  Let me give you a couple of examples.

Ford has recently been advertising the “smart truck.”  In addition to a host of other things this truck will help you track your tools.  Amazing!  How can Ford tailor its message for a variety of buyers.  Here’s a couple of examples.

For those buyers who love innovation and simply have to have the latest and greatest, their current campaign of brains over brawn will work nicely.  Innovation buyers typically view themselves as bright, cutting-edge folks.  The current ad appeals to these buyers.

How does that ad attract other buyers?  Let’s say that your a contractor who’s tired of the wasted time, energy and money involved in replacing tools that are either lost or stolen or someone who wants to be considered a savvy business person, will this ad attract you?  Probably not.  How could Ford use the matte concept to attract these time-conscious buyers?

For the time-saving (dependability) buyers the ad might read:

Time is money and Ford is going to save you both.   Our new smart trucks are designed to help you spend more time generating revenues instead of searching for and replacing lost tools.  You get all this and the quality you need to handle any tough job you have.

For the image buyers the ad could say:

Consumers like to buy from successful business people.  Our smart trucks let your buyers know that you’re successful, that you’re using the best tools available for the job.  Don’t leave buyers in doubt about whether they’re dealing with the best in the business, your Ford smart truck will tell them everything they need to know.

Three different messages – Ford’s innovation message and two that I’ve suggested for time-saving and image buyers.  The product, the smart truck, didn’t change, but the message has been tailored for the market Ford wants to attract.

The natural tendency is to think that we need different offerings for different markets.  It’s counter-intuitive, but all we really need to do is reframe one offering for the markets we target.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, See Similarities, to take a lesson learned at the frame store and apply it to marketing.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

On November 17, 2009, the Cottleville-Weldon Springs Chamber of Commerce has graciously invited me to present an expanded version of Common Pricing Errors at their breakfast meeting at 7:30 a.m.  For more information visit http://www.cottlevilleweldonspringchamber.com/

It’s here! The Pricing for Profit Blog.  For 20 years I’ve watched talented, hardworking people like you provide tremendous value to your customers without getting compensated for that value.  My reason for writing Pricing for Profit was to help you and others break the bonds of industry pricing so that you can get compensated fairly for the value you provide.  That’s why I’ve launched the Pricing for Profit blog.  You can find it at www.furtwengler.com. Enjoy!

Finding it yields great power…

…but you have to know how to look for it.

Recently I had the good fortune to present a program for the American Society for Training and Development entitled “Have Trainers Lost Their Way?”  In this program I asked the audience to share their thoughts on what the real purpose of training is.  They offered about a dozen suggestions.

Then I asked them to find a common thread that ran through all of these suggestions.  They found this task considerably more challenging.  Finally, I shared with them what I believed to be the real purpose of training – to build confidence so that the participants felt comfortable employing what they learned.  What was the result?

When we compared the common thread I offered – building confidence – to all of the purposes they had identified, they agreed that building confidence would achieve all of the other purposes as well.

Being able to see the common thread that runs through all things – even those that don’t seem similar, is a powerful tool for you to add to your repertoire.  Josh Waitzkin, World Chess Champion, in his book, The Art of Learning, described it this way “I often sensed a logical thread to positions that seemed irrational – playing exciting chess felt like discovering hidden harmonies.”

It’s counter-intuitive, but “harmonies” do exist in much greater abundance than we realize.  Why don’t we see them?  Because our natural tendency is to see differences, not similarities.  One of the things you’ll discover is that when you train your mind to see the common thread, life gets easier.

Imagine how much easier it is to design training programs when you know that your goal is to help participants build confidence.  In essence all that you, as a trainer, need to do is provide two or three new concepts and develop exercises that allow the participants gain experience in applying those concepts.

How do you develop the ability to find the common thread that runs through whatever you’re facing?

• Broaden your knowledge base by exploring topics outside your normal interests.
• Before you begin your exploration, ask yourself “What am I going to discover that is like situations I’ve already faced in my job, at home, during play time?”
• Enjoy the exploration.  Let your subconscious mind do the work for you; that’s what it is designed to do.

Learn to see the common thread that runs through everything and you’ll not only enjoy a simpler life, you’ll amaze your friends as well.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 6, Eclectic Education, to open the door to a seemingly diverse knowledge base and Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to help you see the common thread that runs through that diverse information. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

While alluring…

…it’s regular use invites the demise of your career.

I’m sure that each of us has, at one time or another, bemoaned the fact that we didn’t have the power to change something.  If only we had the power to…, we could solve this problem quickly.

The reality is that those who have the power and use it regularly often limit their career advancement.  Why?  There are several reasons.  Most employees:

• Hate being told what to do
• Resent not having their ideas heard and acted upon
• Despise the arrogance their leader exhibits
• Will do “exactly” what the boss requests even though they know it will fail
• May harbor desires that the boss’ idea fails or, worse yet, work toward that end

Yet, despite all of these negative consequences some people achieve lofty positions using positional power.  I’m sure each of you could point to autocratic leaders who have enjoyed great success.  Or have they?  What price did they pay for that success?

Imagine the pressure autocratic leaders must feel as they:

• Manage the most minute details of their direct reports‘ work
• Assume the risk for every decision that gets made
• Work diligently to see that blame for an errant decision doesn’t land on their doorstep
• Are constantly on the alert for potential sabotage
• Work countless hours because they don’t trust their employees

Is that the career you desire?

So what’s the alternative?  Influence!  By engaging people in the decision-making process, you get greater buy-in, quicker implementation and better results.  Indeed, a former chairman of Porsche, said that his mantra was “Decide democratically, delegate dictatorially.”  He went on to say that “a poor idea, implemented well, will produce better results than a great idea implemented poorly.”

It’s counter-intuitive, but the foundation for career advancement doesn’t lie in positional power; it lies in your ability to influence the thinking of others.  How do you do that?  Remember that persuasion is a myth.  We can’t persuade anyone of anything, they have to persuade themselves.

The best we can do is:

• Shine the light on new information
• Allow employees to process that information and reach their own conclusions
• Allow them to validate their conclusions with their own experiences

If our conclusion is correct, our employees will reach the same conclusion we have and they’ll be excited about the idea because they know it will work.  If, however, we’ve overlooked something in our analysis, our employees can pull our bacon from the fire by shining the light on new information for us.

Fortunately, as a consultant, I never have positional power.  I have no authority in any client organization.  As a result I’m never tempted to use positional power.  Instead I rely on influence.  The ability to influence others‘ thinking serves me equally well in my personal life as it does in my work.  I would never trade that skill for positional power.  Indeed, like the Chairman of Porsche, I didn’t use that power when I had it.

Do yourself a favor.  Use the steps outlined above to influence others’ thinking instead of exerting positional power.  You’ll quickly discover that leadership can be fun and exciting instead of stressful and draining.  The choice is yours.  Which will you choose?

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate the often overlooked disadvantages of positional power, Step 6, Eclectic Education, to provide insights from an incredibly successful former Chairman of Porsche and Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, to help you see how easy it is to gain influence.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment below.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

If you’re struggling to get noticed…

…you may want to try a different language.

I received a call from a woman who had forwarded her resume to me.  She asked “What can I do to make my resume more powerful?”  A few days later, a business owner told me that he was expanding his market and wanted some thoughts on how to craft his message for that market.

My answer to both was exactly the same, “Talk about the results you’ve gotten.”  When I see a resume that doesn’t highlight results, I question whether or not the person has produced any.  When I see marketing materials or a website that talks about what the business does I can’t help but wonder “What did the customer get?”

While both of the examples above relate to business, the universal language of results applies to all aspects of our lives.  If someone offers you child-rearing tips, advice on how to bring romance back into your life or ways improve your health, you’re going to discount that advice unless the person can demonstrate that he or she has gotten results.  And you should, after all it’s the result you’re after.  As the old adage says “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.”  But we’re not interested in any road, we want to reach a specific destination – to get a specific result.

It’s a natural human tendency to want to talk about what we do.  That’s the way we’re wried.  Unfortunately, it’s not what potential employers and prospective customers want to hear.  They want to know, “Can you produce the result?”

It’s counter-intuitive, but if your message isn’t helping you get noticed, your probably speaking the wrong language.  You’re speaking the language of process instead of the language of results.  Whenever you’re asked “What do you do?”, pause a moment and think about the language you’re about to use.  If it’s the language of process, shelve that commentary.  Shift gears and tell that prospective employer or customer what results you can produce for them.  That’s how you stand out from the crowd.  That’s how you get noticed.  That’s how you get hired.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, Seeing Similarities, to determine that the employment situation and the shift in market focus were exactly the same situation.  Then I used, Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to determine what these folks were doing that caused them not to gain the interest they desired.  Finally, I used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that results is a universal language.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

A dilemma…

…or an opportunity for enlightenment?

A friend was telling me of an opportunity that presented itself.  Someone, who had a lot of very attractive contacts, wanted to do some joint marketing.  My friend then said that his potential partner, at their first meeting, had launched into an hour-long presentation of what he did and how valuable it was.  My friend asked for my thoughts regarding this opportunity.

What would your response have been?  Should he pursue this opportunity?  Is further exploration warranted?  Or should he forego this opportunity?  Regardless of your response, I’d like you to take a moment to reflect on the rationale for whatever advice you would have offered.  What were your reasons for the conclusion you reached?

Here’s how I responded.  I told him that I didn’t feel like there was much promise in this potential partnership.  Why?  Because I saw incongruities in what my friend was being told.  First, his potential partner claimed to have a lot of very attractive contacts.  If he was that well connected and had that many people who valued his offerings, why would he need a partner to market his offerings?

Second, during the first meeting with my friend,  his potential partner did an information dump that indicated that he wasn’t very adept at sales.  All of the effective salespeople I know tantalize prospects and potential partners by offering glimpses of what they’re offering without divulging much about the offering itself.

Finally, the potential partner did little exploration of my friend’s background, skills, abilities, interests or results.  His focus was on convincing my friend that he would be a valuable partner.

What was the result?  My friend came back to me and said that my assessment was right on target.  During his second meeting with this potential partner he asked for examples of the results and successes the partner had achieved.  He asked about the strength of the potential partner’s relationships with his contacts.  Finally, he inquired about the potential partner’s knowledge of his business.What my friend’s inquiries uncovered was that his potential partner’s business was built on a very shaky structure.  Not one on which he wanted to invest a lot of time, energy or money.  He ended this partnership exploration after two meetings.

It’s counter-intuitive, but we can’t discover the truth in what we’re being told until we’ve investigated the incongruities.  In every misrepresentation, whether intentional or not, the truth can be found in the incongruities.  If you’re looking for a way to assess what you’re being told, compare the behaviors the other person is exhibiting against what you’re being told.  Then ask “Are this person’s words and behaviors aligned?”  If they are, you have good reason to move forward.  If not, the incongruities will lead you to the truth.  Once you’ve discovered the truth, you’ll know whether or not to proceed.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, See Similarities, to show that the absence of similarities between behavior and words is a cause for further investigation.  I also used Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate that incongruities should be a cause for celebration, not consternation – a source of truth, not a dilemma.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, was released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  It’s available in all the major bookstores – Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Is social networking the latest business tool?

Or simply the new backyard?

When I was a kid (yes, I can remember that far back), we didn’t have air-conditioning so the neighbors would sit out during the evening and visit while the day’s heat dissipated.  As air-conditioning became more affordable, those evenings under the stars ended and the close relationships we had with neighbors declined.

Many of us of that generation are using the social networks to reconnect with the people of our youth and experiencing great joy at finding long-lost friends.  Even those too young to remember the backyard visits appreciate the relationship building power of these social networks.  Facebook, Twitter and a whole host of social networks have become the new backyard.

Yet many of us in business keep trying to convert these tools for business purposes.  A few have done so with great success.  Most of us, however, are struggling to make effective use of these tools.  Why?  Because it seems to take inordinate amounts of time to sift through the backyard stuff to get to the business stuff.  That will continue to be our dilemma until greater segmentation occurs within the social networks.

It’s counter-intuitive, but most of us are not going to be successful using social networks until we separate our social contacts from our business contacts and consciously decide how much time and energy to devote to building each type of relationship.  The more conscious the choice, the greater success we’ll enjoy in both arenas.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 4, See Similarities, to relate today’s social networking rage with the mechanism used decades earlier.  Then I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to see what we’re doing that contributes to the problems we’re having converting this tool to business purposes.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at amazon.com, borders.com and barnesandnoble.com. Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why some authors are so mesmerizing…

…while others are so easily ignored?

Mesmerizing authors offer a glimpse of what’s to come – tiny tidbits of information that grab your attention and build anticipation.  You want to know more, but the author makes you wait knowing that joy lies in anticipation.

If you doubt that, recall a book that you were enjoying when the author telegraphed the ending.  Remember your disappointment as you waded through the last fifty pages or so knowing what the ending was, but afraid not to finish the book in case you were wrong.  When your suspicions were finally confirmed, you felt cheated.  The author just wasted your time by “forcing” you to read those last fifty pages.

From the author’s vantage point, the only thing worse is having you decide within the first fifty pages that his work isn’t worthy of your time.  Ouch!

What’s this have to do with you?  Whether you’re a business owner, a career business development specialist or someone with a great idea who needs the approval of others to move forward, you need the skills of a mesmerizing author to attract new customers or champions for your cause.

What are these skills?  How do you develop them?  Our natural tendency is to think that we’re logical human beings who, when presented with all the facts, make reasonable, informed decisions.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  You don’t have to trust me; simply recall the last time you presented a well-thought-out idea and the reaction you got.  Remember the dismay you felt as your audience’s eyes glazed over.  You’ve just experienced the “ouch” the author feels when his work is discarded after fifty pages.

How do you avoid having this happen to you?  Learn to think like a mesmerizing mystery writer.  Learn how to craft messages that engage others with intrigue and anticipation.  Specifically you want to frame your messages to:

• Avoid telling them anything – allow them the thrill of discovery
• Don’t be afraid to use misdirection
• Use language that triggers an emotional reaction
• Leave them wanting more – even when they’ve already bought

Imagine how exciting it will be for your customers and champions if they always have something new to look forward to when dealing with you.  You’ll be this endless font of wisdom from which they’ll drink without ever being sated.  That’s the feeling others will have of you when you develop the skill of a mesmerizing author.

Let’s take a look at each of the above components of an intriguing message in more detail.  First, avoid telling them anything.  All great authors use questions or innuendo that give their readers a glimpse of what’s to come without letting them know what the outcome will be.  Indeed, many will employ the magician’s art of misdirection to cause the reader to vacillate between a number of alternative outcomes none of which will be the ultimate outcome.

Use language that elicit emotions.  Logic is BORING!  I know that exercising thirty minutes a day is good for my health.  Boring.  But exercising so that I can continue to scuba dive into my eighties, that excites me.  Make sure that your language targets what they want, not what they need.  I need to exercise, but I want to go scuba diving.

Finally, leave them wanting more.  Even though you know where your idea is headed, don’t share any more than absolutely necessary to get the sale or the approval you need.  Leave a few things hidden so that you can continue to wow them well into the future.

It’s counter-intuitive, but you’ll enjoy greater, more lasting success in any endeavor you choose if you learn to think like a mesmerizing author.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, and Step 4, See Similarities, to demonstrate how people who make their living attracting readers can help you attract more buyers or more champions for you cause.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Good news – My latest book, Pricing for Profit, is going to be released 9.9.09 in the United States, Canada, U.K., Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands.  Prepublication orders are being taken at  amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Enjoy!

If I only criticize…

…then I’m no better than those I’m criticizing.

Those of you who have been reading The Invaluable Leader for a while have seen me rail at the media for a variety of ills – at least my perception of their ills.  I have not, however, offered an alternative – until now.

I’d like to introduce you to Community News, www.mycnews.com.   This local paper, under the guidance of Robert Huneke, publishes only good news.  It serves St. Louis and St. Charles Counties in Missouri.  They print:

• good news
• upcoming events
• health and fitness tips
• safety tips
• movie reviews
• recycling tips

and a host of other topics all designed to make people’s lives better.

Kudos to Robert and his team for showing us the inspiring side of life.  They comment candidly on the stimulus package and its effectiveness, or lack thereof, and other timely topics without either sugar coating the message or reporting with the intent to create fear or anxiety.

If you listen to most members of the media, you know that they consider Community News’ approach to be, at best, naive and, at worst, a prescription for failure.  Yet the Community News continues to thrive in the markets it serves.

The public craves good news, particularly in challenging times.  It’s why box office hits during tough economic times have historically revolved around superhero and good-triumphs-over-evil themes.  The public, at least subconsciously, seeks an escape, a respite, from the difficult reality it faces.

It’s counter-intuitive, at least in the minds of most media people, that good news is what the public desires.  Any time you, whether you’re a member of the media or not, have a chance to deliver good news, you have an opportunity to inspire others to overcome whatever challenges they face.

Isn’t that one of the reasons we’re here – to help others navigate the storms they encounter during their journey?  And if we help others in this way, aren’t they likely to reciprocate when storms cloud our vision and attempt to throw us off course?  Please follow the lead of Robert Huneke and the Community News’ staff and deliver good news whenever you can.  You never know when your message will be just what your listener needs.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, to see that my criticisms of the media wasn’t well balanced and to rectify the situation.  I also used Step 2, The Persuasion Myth, to ask a few questions to allow you to form your own judgment about our purpose in life and Step 5, Contrarian Mindset, to show how the Community News‘ approach is contrary to conventional media wisdom (group think).   For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

I’m pleased to announce that AMACOM, a Division of the American Management Association, has set September 9, 2009 as the release date for my new book, Pricing for Profit.  The book shows business owners and leaders how to free themselves from the bonds of industry pricing.  Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com are both taking prepublication orders.

Are newspapers really becoming passé?

If so, what lessons can we learn from their apparent demise?

A few weeks ago National Public Radio hosted a panel of journalists and journalism academicians to discuss the plight of the newspaper.  Most of the panelists expressed concern that readers aren’t aware of what they were giving up by not supporting newspapers.

In particular, the panelists are concerned that the public doesn’t realize that they are:

• sacrificing accuracy in reporting
• losing access to local news

The panelists saw the loss of accuracy as a byproduct of lost revenues which means that there are fewer reporters available to check the facts on the stories they cover.  The same lost revenues also result in fewer reporters available for local news coverage.  In both instances the panelists believed the public to be naive in its understanding of what it is truly giving up.

Unfortunately I was in my car driving to an appointment when I heard this discussion.  I would have loved to addressed this panel.  Here are the questions I would have asked:

• How important is fact checking when sensationalism is your primary goal?
• Where exactly does one find this “local coverage” on important issues?

My experience has been that, while newspapers may report facts, they put such a spin on them that the facts get overlooked by the readers.

I remember one particularly vivid example during the height of the economic meltdown when headlines stated that Sony’s earnings were down 56%.  While the facts were accurate, these headlines were designed to fuel the fear that readers were already experiencing.  It would have been just as easy to say, “despite a 56% decline in earnings, Sony remains profitable and is generating positive cash flow.”

Newspaper people tell us that sensationalism sells – that’s what the market wants.  Please don’t tell me that the readers cited above really wanted to experience more fear than they already were.  I haven’t seen any indications that we, as a society, have become masochistic.  Nor does the decline in newspaper revenues substantiate their claim that sensationalism sells.

Let’s shift our attention to the local news coverage we’re foregoing.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t tell you how many hours I spend trying to find background information on candidates and issues in local elections.  That information certainly is not available in my local newspapers.  More importantly, this isn’t a recent phenomenon.  I’ve been voting for four decades and I can never recall a time when the information I sought was readily available in the newspaper or, if I did find it, that I didn’t feel that the newspaper was pushing its own agenda.

So what’s the message for you.  If your customers are abandoning you, stop bemoaning their naiveté and start listening to them.  They’ll tell you what you need to know if they think you’ll actually change your way of doing business.  It’s counter-intuitive, but, when you’re losing business it’s not the customer who is naive, it’s you.  You’re in denial and you need to take a long, hard look at what your doing and why it’s so objectionable to your customers.  If you don’t, your business will go the way of the newspaper.

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.  In today’s blog Step 1, Contributory Negligence, was used to help you see how costly ignoring your contribution to the problem can be when you ignore the market’s messages.  For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.  Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.

Are you having a difficult time closing sales?

Do you feel guilty because you know you can help the prospect?

If so, you’re problem lies in your inability to say “No” to people. This tendency could be the result of:

• a sense of scarcity
• a passion for helping others
• a desire to please others

A sense of scarcity makes you look hungry during the sales call. Buyers sense your need and naturally withdraw. Who wants to work with someone who is struggling?

A passion for helping others often causes you to overlook the prospect’s desire to change. Just because you know that you can help someone doesn’t mean they’re interested in being helped.

If you’re a pleaser, if your goal is to make others happy and you’re willing to do whatever they ask, you’ll cave to the prospect’s demands – often to your detriment. Again, buyers sense your need and take advantage of your nature causing you to do a lot of work with little compensation and even less customer satisfaction.

Regardless of the reason, your inability to say “No” sends mixed messages to the market. If you’re experiencing scarcity, buyers sense that and find it difficult to believe that your offerings are as great as you say they are. When your passion for helping others causes you to say “My offering can help anyone,” buyers become skeptical – they know that there are no panaceas, no one-size-fits-all. If you’re a pleaser and you keep changing your offerings to accommodate buyers, you cause then to question the value of your product or service.

What’s the solution? The secret is to say “No” to people who don’t value what you have to offer. You know which of your customers bring you great joy and which drive you bonkers. Discover what those delightful customers have in common and use these characteristics to define your ideal customer. Then learn to graciously say to the others “I don’t think I’m the right person to meet your needs.”

Indeed, you can take this one step farther by telling prospects, in the sales call, who your ideal customer is. Amazingly, when I use this approach, some people have asked “Do I qualify?” This simple question allows me to have a candid conversation with the prospect that allows them to participate in a self-evaluation that helps them and me make a more informed decision about whether or not we should move forward.

It’s counter-intuitive, but if you want to:

• attract more business
• close more sales
• become more effective in serving your customers

learn to say “No.”

Buyers want to do business with people who:

• demonstrate confidence and success by their willingness to walk away from business that doesn’t make sense for them
• have a clear understanding of who their ideal customers are and communicate that information clearly and effectively
• who aren’t willing to compromise the value of their offerings to please others

The 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE program I offer is designed to help you see more effective ways of doing business – ways that dramatically improve your bottom line while making your life easier.

In today’s blog I used Step 1, Contributory Negligence, combined with Step 5, a Contrarian Mindset, to demonstrate how our inability to say “No” makes us less attractive in the marketplace. For more information on the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE visit www.furtwengler.com/7steps.htm.

If you’d like to receive a weekly email reminder with a link to The Invaluable Leader blog or if you’d like me to address specific topics, please send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com. Please share your experience with our readers by posting a comment.