A Furniture Shopping Trip Any Kid Would Love

As a kid, I remember being carted around by my parents on various weekend shopping sprees that I absolutely abhorred. Every time we would head out to the grocery store, the greenhouse, or the auto dealer I would wince at the thought of spending hours tailing along behind my mom or dad, bored out of my gourd, wishing I could have stayed at home.

Perhaps worst of all were trips to stores filled with room upon room of bedding and casegoods. Boy did I hate those furniture-buying trips! With so many interesting places to run and hide, it's not that I disliked the furniture stores themselves. It was the scoldings I got from my parents, who quickly grew tired of "losing" me in labyrinths of sofas, bookshelves and dinette sets. As much as I disliked the experience, I know now that it's a parents' nightmare to have to try and keep sight of their children and focus long enough to make a decision on which floral pattern best matches the drapes.

This weekend I learned that at least one furniture store has found a solution to this common family problem. Ashley Furniture on Capital Circle NE in Tallahassee, FL has set up a counter lined with television monitors and game systems, and stocked it with the latest video games. While parents shopped, kids were quietly and intently focused on the games, under the watchful eye of a store employee who gave parents an added sense of comfort by making sure that the kids stayed where they were supposed to. Parents shopped; kids played. For a brief period of time, as is well in the world.

This makes great sense, and I predict that we'll see a lot more of this and time goes by. Stores that cater to buyers' needs will do better than those that fail to lower shopping barriers.

Need Leads? Try Sticking It To Homeowners.

Shortly after moving into my new home, I returned from the office to find the following sign stuck in my lawn at the end of the driveway:

I wasn't the only one, either. All up and down the street I could see several of these stuck into my neighbor's lawns, as well. While most people likely either called to inquire about TruGreen's lawn care service or threw the signs away, I was struck by the ingenuity of the approach and took mine inside to study it more closely.

This is a clever lead generation idea for several reasons. First, it delivers the message in a way that makes it stand out from the stack of direct mail offers already filling the mailbox. You simply can't overlook these signs. They demand some sort of attention, if only to pull them out and toww them into the trash can.

In addition, this kind of promotion is highly targeted, inexpensive and easy to do. You can focus in on precisely the neighbourhoods and specific homes you want to reach without the cost of having to blanket a larger area than you intend to reach.

Finally, the row of signs up and down the street make quite an impact not only for the targeted homeowners but for anyone who drives up the street. Think of it as a series of mini billboards places exactly where you want them. There's no way you can travel on the street and not get the message.

TruGreen's yard signs are a truly great example of streetsmart targeted lead generation.

But that's not all. TruGreen's approach is just the first part of a well-composed lead generation system. In addition to simply providing a quote, the sign lists the address for the company web site. A visit to the site shows that they have their act together when it comes to lead management as well. They do a great job of engaging visitors with tips and resources for better lawn maintenance, and position themselves as experts "in the field". (My apologies for this opportunistic pun.)

The TruGreen site (http://www.trugreen.com/) is clean, attractive, and easy to navigate. Information is well organized and a rotating series of images of beautifully-kept lawns help to maintain the perception that TruGreen knows how to care for lawns.

Located prominently on the home page is an offer promoting a free lawn care analysis. The copy reads, "Start your service with a thorough evaluation of your lawn. Get a FREE Lawn Analysis with no obligation. It's your guide to a greener, thicker lawn."

Offering complimentary services is a well-known and proven technique for qualifying prospects and advancing the sales process. Homeowners who respond and requests the free analysis are essentially "raising their hand" and identifying themselves as prospects for paid services.

TruGreen knows what they're doing when it comes to lead generation. Although it clearly works well for lawns, this technique can be used in countless other applications including all sorts of home services. Like TruGreen does, be sure and follow up with a well thought out web strategy and a web site that encourages prospects to make contact with you.

Kenny

"Hi how are you?" inquired the backpack-toting 20-something college student, while sidling up next to me in the student union at Tallahassee Community College. "Are you a student here? I don't usually see many students dressed in suits and ties."

Kenny, as I learned his name to be, then proceeded to recruit me for a "business opportunity" for which he is seeking sharp, talented business people. I told him what I do for a living.

Undaunted, Kenny went on to ask if I'm keeping my options open. Curious at how this approach would develop, I listened to his pitch and agreed to meet with him if he would call me at my office. We traded cards (the caption under his name read, "Private Business Franchising") and I asked him what year of college he was in. He told me that he's been at the college for three years, and is hoping to transfer to Florida State University if he doesn't just finish up here and then retire early.

You can't deny his spunk.

So what are lead generation lessons here? First and foremost, this is proof positive that cold calling is not dead. In fact, few other methods can give us direct access to and immediate feedback from our prospects.

Kenny also exhibited tenacity, a fundamental skill in selling. After I told him that I was gainfully employed, he opened the door for me to continue our discussion by asking "Are you keeping your options open?" Brilliant! Never turn your back on a potential deal. Let your prospects make the final decision about whether or not to move forward.

I have no doubt that Kenny will do just fine in business and in life. He's personable enough, bold enough, and driven enough to succeed. It doesn't hurt that he's still a very young man and has his whole life ahead of him, either.

We can learn a lot from the Kenny's of the world.

Make An Impression That Really Sticks

Val Fox is a Licensed Massage Therapist in Tallahassee, Florida, in the U.S. Like many professional services providers, Val has added vinyl graphics to her vehicle (a very eye-catching bright yellow Scion) that display her business name and phone number.

What's unusual, however, is that she has also plastered the back of her vehicle with business card-sized magnets listing her name and contact information. Of course she knows that people will take them. In fact, I'm sure she also parks in the most visible, accessible parking spaces she can find in order to maximize visibility of and access to her mobile billboard and business card dispenser.

Very clever, Val.

An Oldie But A Goodie, Baby!

Looking through some things I had stored away I found a small blanket box containing a soft knit baby blanket. On the box cover was a beautiful soft-pencil sketch of a mother and father holding a baby. Bold text beside the sketch reads:

To You

and

Your Family

with best wishes

compliments of

Brockville Drugs Limited

My mother had given me this many years ago, and I had completely forgotten about it. Presumably, this was a gift from the drug store to my mother at the time I was born.

Think about what a sensible thing it was for the drug store to give these blankets away. Hospitals seldom allow commercial advertising to be placed on their premises. But this is different. It isn't really advertising; it's a gift. Like a Trojan Horse, the gift box penetrates new mothers' defenses and introduces them to the drug store in a way they may never have thought about prior to becoming a mother. There are few better ways to reach new moms at the exact moment that they are likely to be thinking about all of the blankets, bottles and bottom-wipes they suddenly realize that they'll need.

In addition, as persuasion expert Dr. Robert Cialdini would point out, the approach takes advantage of the principle of RECIPROCATION. People tend to give back the kind of treatment that they receive. Even a simple gift has the power to ingratiate the giver in the mind of the receiver, causing them to want to reciprocate.

Do today's drug stores continue this approach? I don't know. Most of the old-time corner drug stores have disappeared, and the big box stores that have replaced them seem so corporate and impersonal to me. It's seems unlikely that they would get this involved with individual customers or families.

It's a shame, though. For those who want to reach new mothers, however, a short visit to the maternity ward with a present like this would seem to be a practice worth adopting.

Book 'Em, Dano

It's common knowledge that third-party referrals and testimonials have greater inherent credibility than company-sponsored advertisements. That's one reason why product placements in movies and TV serials have become so prevalent of late.

While product placement on the Big Screen and television are typically only viable options for larger companies with deeper pockets, there are ways for smaller firms to get company or product mentions. Why not offer to pay authors to place your company, product or service in their book?

Although product references can work well in novels, you're not limited to the fiction racks. In fact, non-fiction titles can give you great targeting capabilities. For example, if you sell a product that would be perfect for antique automobile restorers, try negotiating a deal with an author of books for that market.

Whatever market you are trying to reach, there are books that can help get you in front of prospects. With the right references in the right books, you and your products can be positioned better than nearly anything you can do on your own.

Here's to your lead generation success!


Robin.


ps - If you're looking for another way to generate more referral business check out my $14 Guidebook "Building a Referral Machine", available on my website (http://www.robinjohnston.com/books.htm).

Is Your Addiction Eating Away At Your Business?

As Americans we love our junk foods. So much so, in fact, that our blind obsession with all things sugary has earned us the title of "World's Most Overweight Nation."

Recently as I was waiting to board a plane, a very pretty woman sat down across the aisle from me in the waiting area. She was twenty-something, fashionably dressed in faded bell bottoms and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots, and had a slender figure.

In her hands was a cup of Edy's ice cream: Vanilla. With chocolate sprinkles. And she was engaging it with the commitment of a chipmunk packing away the last acorn of Autumn.

In this day and age, the consequences of poor dietary choices and bad eating habits are well known. "A moment on your lips," the old saying goes, "A lifetime on your hips." Yet, with spoon after yummy spoonful, this woman seemed oblivious to the long-term effect such indulgences often have.

Don't misunderstand me; I'm not against a treat now and again. And I'm certainly not the health and fitness fanatic my wife would love for me to be. I enjoy a candy bar or chocolate chip cookie or six at least as much as the next guy. But it was obvious watching this young woman devour her cup of ice cream that for her this was more than a passing fancy.

This woman was clearly addicted to sweets.

What about you? Is your business addicted to sweets? Are you, as a professional, addicted to sweets?

What I mean to say is, "Are you engaged in some indulgence or activity that, while thorougly enjoyable today, is gradually eroding your business or professional health?"

We are all suscepible to this. Every one of us has a time-wasting achilles heel; a soft spot or vulnerability that can bring us to our knees and render us ineffective from a time management perspective.

Among other things, I'm a competetive chess player. This means that several times every year I travel to play in weekend-long state or regional tournaments. I absolutely love the game. The history and dynamics of one of the world's oldest strategy games has a positively intoxicating effect on me. At times, with a strong player across the board from me, my heart can get to racing like that of a twelve year old on a sugar high.

But tournament play isn't my problem. I also have an acknowledged weakness for online chess. For me the temptation of always-available chess is a strong one. Sometimes the pull is incredibly strong. If I don't exercise discipline and self-control I can quickly pass a whole day away getting little else accomplished.

So... what's your addiction? And when are you going to belly up and do something about it?

Think it over. There's help out there.