"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
Road Rules by Andrew Sherman -- Nov 19 was the official launch of Andrew's latest book -- and his first self-development book vs. the dozen other purely business books he's launched. As legal council to EO, regular speaker at the MIT exec programs, and dear friend I'm excited to see him share his years of wisdom on personal life balance and success. Subtitled Be the Truck, Not the Squirrel: Learn the 12 Essential Rules for Navigating the Road of Life, take this holiday season, read Andrew's book, and remember it's more about the journey than the destination!
20 Customer Calls per Week -- this has been a key to $100 million Vancouver-based Coastal Contacts' ability to innovate and differentiate itself in a commodity market. Congratulations to Roger Hardy, CEO and president, for making the cover of this month's Canadian Profit Magazine.
One Idea Increases Business 60% -- those of you that have heard me speak in the last year know that I'm pushing top executives of companies to make customer calls each week. And 99% of these calls won't result in any huge breakthrough, which is why most companies stop them. But you're looking for the "black swan" -- that one comment that increases business 60% as it did for Roger in one of his markets -- read below under DETAILS.
Using Facebook to Identify and Market to Influencers -- and here's a link to the entire story that highlights how Roger uses these calls to drive differentiation. Under DETAILS below I also share a detailed explanation from Roger how they use both NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys and phone calls to discern customer ideas -- along with how they are using Facebook to identify and market to influencers! Take 5 minutes to read the story and info below and then implement within your own firm!
Core Values Land 2 New Customers -- and this note from Erik Hinson, CEO of Tennessee-based Falcon Worldwide Distribution "Our team has read and has been applying the principles of your book since May of this year. I feel we have a clear strategic direction and have extremely effective daily and weekly meetings. And by simply having and executing our Core Values and Top 5, it has allowed us to gain 2 new customers for the single reason that we communicated those values to them during the courting stages."
Core Values Eliminated Potential Partner -- Erik continues "But I also had an experience where I shared the Core Values with the owner of a potential distribution partner and his response was to toss them aside and ask about the 'numbers' (i.e. the money of the deal). This gave me a good indication this is not a group I wish to work with."
P&G and Google Job Swap to Learn More About Targeting Customers -- and take another 2 minutes and scan this November 19 CNN/Money article. Think about job swapping with a major customer or firm you most admire -- it's all about learning from customers and others.
Join Me December 9 -- 10 -- I'm returning to the states from India to teach the last Rockefeller Habits public workshop for 2008 where I'll also share what I've learned so far on my travels throughout Asia and the Middle East.