Would You Push Him Off The Train?
September 20, 2007
A friend of mine works for Virgin trains. All the Virgin staff I’ve met wouldn’t work anywhere else, and they worship Richard Branson like he was God.
But, curiosity got the better of me. And I had to ask the question. “What would you do if there was a suicide bomber on the train?”
“Don’t say that,” she said. “You’re scaring me.”
“Would you push him off?” I asked.
” I couldn’t. The doors are locked when the train is moving. I would have to tell the driver to stop the train.”
” Then would you push him off?”
“No way,” she said, “I’d get someone else to do it.”
“And would they know what to do?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But, I’m definitely going to find out on Monday.”
Now, you’re probably wondering what a suicide bomber on Virgin trains has to do with your business. Well, the point I’m trying to make is that you have to have a plan in place for when things go wrong in your business.
And I know what you’re thinking. It’s always the things you don’t expect that happen anyway. But, you can still plan and document what to do in an emergency. Remember, it’s best to document it, because people don’t always think clearly in emergencies.
Ask yourself the following questions:
What would I do if myself, or a key member of staff ended up in hospital?
What would I do if my business premises or equipment were rendered unusable?
What would I do if we received potentially damaging press?
What would you do if your entire team went down with flu?
I bet you can think of plenty more. So why not plan out now what you’d do in business emergency situations and write a contingency plan. It may seem like a drag now, but it could save your business from disaster in the long run.
And for the record, I’m sure Virgin trains do have a contingency plan for dealing with terrorists. They probably just don’t want to terrify every single member of staff by broadcasting it.
What Motivates You?
September 19, 2007
Do you struggle to motivate yourself sometimes? I know the feeling. And I’ve been having one of those bad weeks too. Luckily, there’s plenty of wonderful people on the internet to give you encouragement when you need it.
Sean at Warrior Blog has been struggling to motivate himself recently. But instead of feeling sorry for himself, he is talking about it openly on his blog. And he also shares some great tips to deal with the problem in: 5 Steps To Get Motivated When You Are Feeling Down.
Now if your business was on the verge of bankruptcy, you would be feeling pretty unmotivated right? Well this is the situation that Ian Denny of Phoenix from the Ashes was in. But instead of letting it get him down, he fought until the very end and managed to stop the bankruptcy at the 11th hour.
Plus, now that the company is safe, he’s embarked on an intense marketing campaign. And you can read about it here. And amazingly, while Ian was doing all this, he also managed to help me with some marketing challenges and even wrote me a new sales letter. Thanks Ian.
I also read Carl’s posts regularly on TypeCarl. I like the way he shares his evolving views on business, and today he has a great motivational post for those who feel like giving up on their fledgling business:
Success Is Hard and That’s Beautiful.
The visitors to this blog and the encouraging comments also keep me going when I’m feeling down. So, I’d like to say a big thank you to all of you. And rest assured, I visit the great blogs of every single contributor on a regular basis.
What motivates you? Please share in the comments section, and please feel free to provide the links of any posts that have motivated you.
What You Can Learn From The Woman With The Little Black Book
September 18, 2007
The woman with the little black book has written 25 best selling books, and is estimated to be worth $200 million.
She’s not only the queen of raunchy fiction. Jackie Collins is an expert at creating a huge buzz to sell her books. And here are 3 methods she has used that you can apply to your business:
Involve People Who Will Spread The Word
Many years ago rumours spread that Jackie’s characters were based on real life people. She had a little black book, giving details of all the “real” characters of each of her novels. And the contents of the book would be revealed after she died.
As a result, Hollywood’s rich and famous flocked to Jackie to share their most intimate secrets in the hope of becoming “a star” in one of Jackie’s books. They told all their friends, who also told the media, which persuaded thousands to buy the books so they could guess which famous star they were based on.
How You Can Do It: Give a key group of your customers an incentive to spread the word about your business. Make sure you focus on a small, influential group of people who will benefit from spreading the word in some way.
She Helped Her Customers to Create an Identity Legacy
The average human being wants to be remembered after they die. And by including them in one of her novels, Jackie is offering them this chance.
How You Can Do It: You don’t need to write a best selling novel to offer your customers an identity legacy. Consider the popularity of companies who offer to name stars after people. And have you seen all the bricks on the walkway with names on them in Walt Disney World? The company made a fortune selling those bricks. Think about what you can do to offer your customers a chance to have their name live on after they die.
She Created Controversy
Jackie claimed that a famous rock star had threatened to sue her, because he believed her novel - “Rock Star” was based on him. Nobody would know for certain whether her claim was true, as obviously, the Rock Star could not be named. But people flocked to buy the book in the hope of guessing who the rock star was and discovering what juicy gossip he desperately wanted to hide.
How You Can Do It: Can you make a controversial claim about your product or service that will attract people’s curiosity? Perhaps it has a secret ingredient? This works particularly well for the world famous Grasmere Gingerbread shop.
Joanne Wilson who manages the shop says that the gingerbread has a secret recipe and she sleeps with the only person who knows the ingredients (her husband makes the gingerbread!)
These three powerful marketing ideas have helped Jackie Collins make millions. And I hope they can inspire you too. But spend some time thinking about it and don’t expect ideas to come overnight. Remember, you just need to come up with one amazing marketing idea to skyrocket your business.
The Free Business Tools YOU Need Now - Part 2
September 18, 2007
Whilst I agree that free or cheap isn’t always best, there are some free business tools you’d be mad to miss out on. Here’s 3 of them that you can get now.
Free Business Cards
What are they? A small card with your contact details that you can give to people you meet.
Why You Need Them It makes it easier to remind people of who you are, and how to contact you. And it also makes it easy for them to refer you to others.
Where Can You Get Them? I got mine from Vista Print. They produce professional results; you can upload your own logo, or use one of their templates and they’re currently offering FREE business cards. Click here to get your FREE full colour business cards for your business or personal use — an $85 FREE gift.
An Online Store
What is it? A professionally built, easy to use online store.
Why do you need it? If you want to sell several products online, this brilliant tool keeps it as simple as possible.
Where Can You Get It? Try it out first to see if it’s right for you. Click here to get a one month free trial of ProStores.
Free - The 21 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Money CD
What is it? A free CD by Brian Tracy - international speaker and sales superstar. It is based on studies of successful business owners and self made millionaires. And it will show you: how to become a money magnet, increase your income immediately and learn the secrets to building wealth.
Why do you need it? The best way to learn how to build a successful business is from people who’ve already done it. Brian’s books and products are fantastic. I have several myself and I’m amazed that he’s giving this CD away free. Click here for your Free CD of 21 Success Secrets of Self Made Millionaires
Related posts: The Free Business Tools You Need Now - Part 1
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