This week I have come into contact with two people who are going through the experience of committing to a business decision through the form of a contract, agreement  or handshake.  Which one has the greatest ability to be built on?

The first experience was of a friend who was looking at a franchised business opportunity that involved a significant financial committment but was a relatively new business model into the marketplace.  He met with the franchisor and was impressed with their desire and committment to the direction of the proposed business.  He took the step of a handshake to further his potential relationship with this opportunity.  From there he received a franchise contract which was Read the rest of this entry »

Never Assume                    

Always Presume                

When I think back over the past week most of my errors in judgement and dissapointments have come because I have assumed and most of my creativity and best decisions have happened when I have presumed.

So what is the difference?

When we assume we do so when something is supposed to be the case but without proof.

When we presume we do so when something is the case based on probability.

I look at my actions and when I base my thinking or my responses on assuming what other people are either thinking or doing then I am always going to be less certain about the way I can go about making decisions.  There are many areas of our daily lives that we make assumptions but there is a clear difference in most cases between assuming something and presuming something. 

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A famous study done by Yale University once pegged the “12 Most Powerful Words in English-language Advertising” as:

But what about in business there are 2 words which are always powerful when spoken : thank you Read the rest of this entry »

Why is every one’s household garbage bin placed at exactly the right distance from the letterbox to be able to read all the junk mail and then decide which material will go into the bin and which material will go into the house?  Have we adapted to the speed of making a decision by where the bin is placed or do we feel that junk-mail is an unimportant method of communication but still worthy of some degree of observation? 

Who is calling?

What is the value of market touch points?  Non-contact material has a 3% observation rate, so for every non-contact piece of advertising in media, on TV, in window displays and in our letterbox has a return rate that is the lowest of any point of contact.  It also makes a reputation of your brand and a call to action that may or may not be acted upon by the market.  Non-contact material should only be used for the next level of contact and not for the sale.  Read the rest of this entry »

Constantly we hear sayings such as ‘if your not moving forward your going backward’ ‘growing your business is essential to market share’, ‘growth is the only way to make money,’ ‘bigger is not always better’. Fundamentally all these statements are true – but in reality it is far more brutal ‘Growing your business isn’t just a  goal; growing your business is a necessity for your business’s survival and your economic well-being’.

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