Paradigms and Reinvention: The times they are a changin’

“When a paradigm shifts, everything goes back to zero. “ Joel Barker. In his now famous video from 1988 called Discovering the Future: The Business of Paradigms, Joel Barker introduced the concept of paradigm shifts into the business vocabulary. A paradigm is a set of rules and boundaries and the problem solving system for being successful within those rules. An example of a paradigm shifting in history was when the Japanese eclipsed the Swiss taking them from more than 100 years of nearly 90% market share in watch sales to only 33% within three years of the introduction of quartz watch technology. Ironically, it was the Swiss who had invented the quartz watch. They thought it was a novelty item and hadn’t even patented it. The Japanese saw it at a trade show and changed the way the world would tell time within a couple of years. Remember, when a paradigm shifts, you cannot count on past success. Everything goes back to zero.

Personal computers, internet marketing and websites like Facebook have changed the rules for sales and marketing completely. Tried and true marketing methods may still work, but simply can’t compete with these new ways of doing business. Are you on board? There is no slowing down change. While people are getting used to teleclasses and webinars, for example, there are new ways of learning right around the corner that will blow your science fiction mind. The world is spinning so fast with new technologies; it can be overwhelming.

These lyrics are truer now than when they were initially penned in the 1970’s in this folksy ditty by Bob Dylan, The Times they are a Changin’…

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

So the question you need to ask yourself is; are you offering something that is relevant to what the customers want and need today? Are you communicating with your customers in the way that they desire? The old paradigm was a push marketing strategy. You push your marketing stuff on them and then sell them. It was a transaction mentality. Today, it’s all about information and relationships. How have the paradigms shifted in your industry? Are you a lifelong learner that is committed to keeping up with the latest technological changes?

There is a danger in not keeping up with market realities. “People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.” ~ Warren G. Bennis. Just like the Japanese changed the paradigm for watches and computers for the way we work, your customers are changing and so must you. "You can and should shape your own future; because if you don't someone else surely will." Joel Barker

Work your Pareto Principle to find more Celebrators

I have a theory that we all can be a bit smarter about working our Pareto Principle. Remember that one? Vilfredo Pareto observed that 20% of the people in Italy in the 1904 had 80% of the wealth. Then, famed Total Quality Management Guru Joseph Juran took it one step further in the 1930’s began to observe the dynamic of the ‘vital few’ and the ‘trivial many’ and started making lots of generalized applications that basically mean that 20% of something is responsible for 80% of results. This became known as the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle. In other words, 20% of your customers give you 80% of your income.

Let’s apply this concept to your mailing list for a moment. I bet if you really looked at your list, you would agree that 80% of your list are people representing the trivial many; that is they are the tire kickers. They stay on your list, but don’t really buy much or anything at all. Then, 20% are your ‘vital few’ that we will call your paying customers. Mike Litman calls these two camps the ‘tolerators’ and the ‘celebrators’.

Let’s see if we can somehow better work the Pareto Principle? Do you always have to assume that no matter what you do; only 20% will buy? I think if we ask enough questions and begin to learn enough about our 20% celebrators, and then change our marketing strategies to reflect what we have learned about them, we can get more of them.

What do your celebrators have in common? What is their motivation? Why did they buy from you and not someone else? Ask your customers these questions often and begin to get a sense of the patterns that connect them to each other and to you. If you happen to notice that all of your paying customers are wealthy middle aged business owners, then begin to ask questions like; where are wealthy middle aged business owners right now? Are they at the country club? Do they go to an upscale salon? Do they value something in common? Where do people who value that hang out? Are they in the same online community? Are they at University Campus? Are they on a Facebook Group? Wherever you find them, meet them there. Join, participate and help them to get to know you too.

If you were really clear about your celebrators, could you change your marketing strategy to meet more and more of them, introduce them to your products and services and get more paying customers? Could 20% of your marketing effort create 80% paying customers, and not the other way around? I think so. It’s not just about working smarter; it’s about focusing smarter to get to the desired result.

What can you do to find more celebrators?

The Wisdom of Improv for Business Success

On three occasions in the last month I have met people who have referenced stuff they learned from the rules and structure of improvisational comedy. Once is rare, twice, is an interesting coincidence, but, three times is a pattern that is worth looking into. So, I researched the rules of improv comedy and learned some stuff that you may agree has an interesting application to business success.

"We discovered that not only does improvisation provide a way to understand what it takes to be spontaneous and innovative, but exercises used by actors to develop their skill can be adopted by business as a means to experience and enhance individual and organizational capacity to be innovative and responsive." Mary Crosson

There were several articles out there about the rules of successful improvisation. The following ideas were found on the www.improvencyclopedia.org website. Here are just a few key improv rules and my business applications.

Tell a story- Comedians begin with a story, the time, place, characters of a story by way of context for their message. You begin by sharing your story. Who you are and what you can do for people with your business.

Help people relate to your story- It’s only funny because people can relate to the story. You don’t actually have to be funny to be successful. The more you can relate to the problem or situation, the funnier it is to you. So, the more people can relate to the problem you solve with your business, the more they can relate to you.

Yes and- The scene is over when you reach a no. Comedians try to keep the yes ball up in the air for as long as they can so they can keep the scene going. ‘There is an elephant in the hallway’. If you said no there isn’t; the scene is over. If you say ‘Yes, but where did they find a sweater that large for him to wear”, the scene is still alive. How can you keep the ‘Yes and…’ alive in your sales conversation?

About your partner- There were a lot of rules about your improv partner. Listen to them, make them look good; give them information to help them out. In fact, it looks like one of the secrets of successful improvisation is to be more focused on the partner than on you. Too often we forget that the customer is our partner and for them to make us look good, we need to make them look good.

Have fun and relax- The audience loves to watch someone having fun. The customer wants to work with someone who is having fun. Love what you do and people will love you for doing it.

Sooner is better than later. Do it now- Great improvers see the opportunity and take advantage of it in the moment, when the timing is right and the opportunity is ripe. When an opportunity pops up, take it. Don’t talk about it. Do it!

You don’t have to be funny to be an effective improver!

Elevator Speeches are Old School-You Need and Escalator Tag

Key Steps to Dream Business Success

How to Be and Get Dream Partners for Success: Secret #26 Leverage Joint Ventures

“Joint Ventures are in, and if you’re not utilizing this strategic weapon, chances are your competition is, or will soon be, using this to their advantage…possibly against you!” Valerie Orsoni-Vauthey. If the number one way to build your business is to grow your mailing list, the number one way to grow it quickly is to employ joint venture strategies. Simply explained, a joint venture is when two or more parties agree to promote each other to their mailing lists. In some cases, the goal is to simply broaden the audience reach and grow a list, while in other cases, the joint venture may be a sales pitch in which the partner receives an affiliate commission on sales made from the mailing.

Either way, cross promotional joint venture ideas are an inexpensive way to reach more people, grow your list, gain credibility and increase your sales. Who should you partner with for a joint venture? Typically, the ideal partner has a common target market, but does not offer that market the same thing that you do. Your services should be complimentary, but not competitive. A dance studio that offers dance classes may want to partner with a company that sells dance leotards for example. They have a common audience, but serve that audience with different services or products. A personal trainer that teaches yoga classes may want to partner with a chef that teaches healthy eating to their common audience of health conscious women. What types of organizations offer services that are complimentary but not competitive in your case?

Another factor for choosing a partner is your mailing list size. If you have a list of 300 people, you need to find someone with a list in that general range. A person with a list of 5,000 won’t get a fair response from your 300 as you would from theirs. So, look for opportunities to partner with people who have similar list sizes. If you are smart about choosing the right partner, you can increase your list by a significant percentage in 24 hours with a joint venture. I have increased my list by more than 100 names overnight with this strategy.

So, how often should you joint venture? As often as possible. Starting out, you should find someone to do a joint venture with once per quarter, then once per month. When your list size grows to over 1,500 people you should be doing 2 per month and when your list is in the tens of thousands, you can do one every week.

Remember that this strategy is about partnership. So, make sure that you know who you are partnering with and that they share the same values that you have for your clients. Do your homework. You are not looking for one night stands here, joint venture partners are partners after all. As you grow your lists of joint venture partners, you become part of a support team that will have immeasurable benefits. These partners will promote you beyond the initial joint venture and you will promote them.

Get partnering and start growing!

How to Be and Get Dream Partners for Success: Secret # 25 Be the Only One

“Each one of you has something no one else has, or has ever had: your fingerprints, your brain, your heart. Be an individual. Be unique. Stand out. Make noise. Make someone notice. That's the power of individuals.” Jon Bon Jovi. Last week I was in one of those stores that had the large jungle gym for kids. There was one of those big bins filled with plastic balls for kids to jump in. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of them in that bin. Now, imagine that each of those balls represents someone who does something similar to what you do. Let’s say you call yourself something like a Business Consultant, or a Life Coach, or a Writer. There could literally be thousands of balls representing people who do those general things. OK, so now, imagine that you represent one of those balls too. And, all of the balls are blue. Everyone’s balls are blue and your ball is blue. How on earth would someone find your ball in that bin?

What if your ball was the only red ball in a bin of blue balls? Do you think people would be able to find your ball then? The uniqueness of your ball color would certainly help. Even though you may do something similar to hundreds or thousands of other people, you really do it differently. In order for your ideal target market to find you, you need to be unique enough for them to notice you.

One way to separate you from the pack is to come up with an “Escalator Tag”. An escalator tag is your unique job title. I call it that because if you do it right, you will get a prospects attention in the instant that it would take to pass someone going the opposite way on an escalator.

Which would get your attention more: a Nonprofit Consultant or a Nonprofit Doctor; a Wellness Coach or the Personal Nutrition Guru; a Small Business Advisor or the Dream Partner Catalyst? Not everyone is going to like your unique escalator tag. But the ones that really want to work with you will. They will notice you and seek you out. Don’t worry if everyone doesn’t like that you are the Virtual Ringmaster. The one’s that do like it and get it will be the people that become your customers.

Marketing in this economy is hard enough. Why make it more difficult for your potential clients to find you in the bin of similar colored balls. Stand out, be unique and help your ideal customer find you.

Want to know how to create your escalator tag? The process is simple but not easy. Brainstorm a list of the biggest words you can think of that describe what you do, for whom in the most specific way, your biggest value and the ideal outcome that you hope for your customer. Play with the words on the list, making sure that you come up with the best metaphors to describe them. Come up with 2 or three words from the list that really get at your core purpose. Ask your closest friends and clients to help you, as this is somehow easier for others to do for you than it is to do for yourself. Keep working it until you think you have it. If you want help with this ask me in the comments box and I can talk with you more about the process.

No one does what you do exactly like you. Help your potential customers see that. Be the only one!