Posted by:
Troy White
June 13, 2008
Issue #438
Fellow Business Builder,
Today, it happened.
In Calgary where I live there is a shameful shortage of well-written marketing material. Business owners are scared of actually doing something that gets results - and there’s a miniscule number of people who actually understand the direct response business. (Sad for a city of a million people! - but also a good opportunity for helping them learn.)
Imagine my surprise when I opened the perfect direct mail envelope (white #10 - return address without a name – looks very much like personal mail) … and it came from a furnace company!
Headline: "Troy, Are You Thinking About Replacing Your
Furnace?"
(Hint: why can’t you replace the furnace with your business and send out the same headline to your prospects? Also note, my name was in the headline – a very good way to improve your response)
Subhead: I’ll buy you dinner at the Keg Just for Letting Me Give You A Quote - But Only If You’re One Of The Next 20 People To Call …
BRILLIANT!
A furnace company using direct response … wonderful to see.
So, what does Troy do?
Phones the owner of the company of course! :o) And he is happy to share his results so far …
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Posted by:
Troy White
June 3, 2008
Issue #431
Fellow Business Builder,
This past weekend, I spoke at a three-day small business conference in Canmore, Alberta. A hop, skip and a jump from Calgary where I live, the 45-minute drives takes you into this incredible little mountain resort town called Canmore.
The host of the event took out the speakers for dinner on Friday night to this place she had been raving about.
The Trough is an eclectic upstart that has figured this service business out. I realize last week I wrote about Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant lessons, but this weekend was a sign that the owner has maybe been watching some of the “Kitchen Nightmare” shows and learned a thing or three.
Considering they just opened last year, their two recent awards as one of the top 10 new restaurants in Canada shows how good of a start they got off to.
When you first walk in, it is nothing to oooh and ahhhh about – but that very quickly changes.
It’s unassuming as you enter (classy – but not over the top or trying too hard to be something it’s not) … and quite cozy on the inside (seating ~50 max).
The quirky guy who greeted us was the owner –
and he was a master at schmoozing.
He remembered Cidnee’s name and treated her like a celebrity when we walked through the doors. (Seriously, people in the restaurant must have wondered who this lady was, with all the coddling going on.)
So we sit down and are handed these paper menus – again, unassuming and nothing to be impressed over. The choices looking divine – but we didn’t have time to even look at the menu much before the free appetizer samplers started appearing at our tables.
The brochette – to die for. The breading was not your typical slices - they looked like half a golf ball and were stuffed with the tastiest ingredients I had ever had in brochette.
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Posted by:
Troy White
May 27, 2008
Issue #426
Fellow Business Builder,
Never before has such foul language proved itself as a major business tool.
By now, I do hope you have heard of Gordon Ramsey, host of “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen”.
If not, I would highly suggest watching the “Kitchen Nightmares” show sometime soon.
First, a WARNING: Thin-skinned folks need not tune in.
If you cannot handle foul language and incredibly abrasive personalities, do not watch Gordon’s show!
He is rude, loud, in-your-face, and LOVES swearing to get his point across (and everything is a point, so pretty well every sentence consists of swear words).
I am not going to go too much into Gordon’s past, but, rest assured, this ex-professional Scottish football player has a list of credentials that is long, and highly admirable.
He is now working on his 25th restaurant and many of them have multiple Michelin stars to their name (the most recognized and influential culinary ratings guide). He has multiple best selling cookbooks, 4 television shows and a DVD series, to name a few.
The story line behind a kitchen nightmare …
Gordon comes into restaurants that are almost ready to close their doors, for any one of multiple different reasons. He has 1 week to turn the business around and make it a success.
He is a no-bull guy and when he starts, there is no stopping him.
Why is this important to you?
Because Gordon’s formula for a 7-day business turnaround is one that each and every one of us should pay close attention to. If you are looking to increase your sales, the ideas below will help you see new ideas you have never thought of before. If you are struggling in your business or cash flow – go through each step below and reconstruct your business from the ground up.
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Posted by:
Troy White
May 20, 2008
Issue #421
Fellow Business Builder,
After being on some R&R with my family, I have come to the conclusion that service SUCKS!
Nothing revolutionary …
… I was just surprised on how BAD this is getting.
Honestly, how often do you get "wowed" by customer service?
Never?
It is amazing to me how poorly customer service people treat their customers.
They could care less that YOU are the one paying their wages.
They could care less if you have a pleasant experience.
They could care less what you think of them.
They feel you owe them a tip – for nothing in return.
They feel you owe them pleasant treatment, while delivering the opposite back.
They feel they are entitled to a successful, happy life and not having to put anything into it in return.
Why?
I have a number of theories, some of which won’t be popular.
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Posted by:
Troy White
May 13, 2008
Issue #416
Fellow Business Builder,
Tips from the road …
million dollar ideas from the twins
My daughters are turning eight in a few months and starting grade 3 right around the same time … YIKES!
Time flies.
You may have seen some of the articles I wrote about the girls (Katrina and Hailey).
They are identical twins – born almost eight years ago at a whopping three pounds each! We are blessed, and they are perfectly healthy little fireballs … always ready to get into some trouble whenever they can find it.
Anyhow, I learn a ton about life and business just by watching the two of them play.
I have written articles about my "learnings," and those articles have been published in a few different languages now.
Even a book was spawned out of my stories about them!
Some recent time off got me thinking about how much I miss writing about them, so here you go:
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10 MORE Small Business Success Tips from the Twins
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