Hope is a very powerful thing. In fact, I’m not sure there are many things that can trump it. I have read stories from those that suffered great atrocities at the hands of captors in POW or concentration camps and the reason one person made it and another succumbed was a matter of hope. Hope that tomorrow would be better; that there was something at the end of the rainbow, that all the pain and suffering was somehow worth it.

I wake up every day in pain. I had a football injury in high school that resulted in having to have 9 levels of my spine fused and 8 ribs reattached all together with 7lbs of rods, screws, bolts and other miscellaneous hardware. It was a 17 hour surgery, with two teams of world class surgeons.  I had very little doubt I would live, but whether the rest of my days would be spent in a wheelchair was a serious consideration.  I think back to the recovery, the week in intensive care, the countless hours of therapy and remember the driving force getting through it was hope.  Hope that each day would get progressively better. 

Hope, Faith and Love.  There is quite a bit floating out there on the latter two, but without the former, faith and love fall flat.  One of my favorite songs at the moment is Dream Big by Ryan Shupe.  Despite its title, it is a song more about hope than dreams (well, to be technical having dreams are a function of hope).  At any rate I hope it gives you a boost to your day -

Dream Big
Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband

 When you cry be sure to dry your eyes,
cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile be sure to smile wide,
and don’t let them know that they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride,
and don’t show the hurt inside,
because the pain will soon be gone.

Chorus:
And when you dream, dream big,
As big as the ocean blue.
Cause when you dream it might come true.
So When you dream, dream big.

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty
all around and in yourself, it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength
to help to carry on when the troubles come your way.

Chorus

And when you laugh be sure to laugh out loud,
’cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty all
around and in yourself, and it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength to
help to carry on when the troubles come your way.

The key to successful relationships with buyer is getting to know their specific needs
by asking the right questions.

Here are some questions to get you started during your
consultation with prospective buyers.

To download this week’s tool click here

Every once and a while I get something that is just too good not to share. Dean is a fellow Master’s Program Graduate and is the CEO of one of the finest Ad agencies I’ve ever been exposed to. I received this article last week from him and thought it dovetailed into the branding series I wrapped up this last week. I hope you enjoy Dean as much as I do -

If you have a desire to improve your brand identity in the marketplace, step one is to accept that times have changed.

Fifty years ago, you could advertise your brand on a game show and six months later, Presto! – a 30% increase in market share. Those days are long gone. Today, in our over-communicated world, your target market mindset is busy, distracted, and on to the next thing. In essence, your audience’s minds are like dripping sponges – leaving little or no room for another “average” brand message. Feel familiar?

For starters, what is your brand? Aside from the foundation of your business net worth, your brand is the real estate you own in the mind of your prospects and clients. For example, when you think of tissues, does Kleenex come to mind? Golf – Tiger Woods? Car safety – Volvo? Regardless of your business size, your brand is somewhere between front of mind and nowhere to be found in the mindset of your current or potential clients. The goal is obviously for your audience to think of no other business but yours. It’s called dominating mindshare and it’s a discipline practiced by few.

In contrast to yesteryear, where branding was the color of your package, the consistency of your graphics and the face of your product, branding is now the comprehensive experience one has with your company. Today’s branding is a combined effort of how you are selling and servicing your markets. Your brand is comprised of how you promote and persuade, how you care for your customers, and what you stand for within your target market(s). How you sell and service must be audited, stratified, planned, and integrated to ensure repeatable positive experiences. And for your brand to stay intact, the experiences must stay perpetual with every prospect, every client, every business partner, every investor, and every employee. It’s a bold philosophy that will position you as the leader in your category with a brand that has staying power – if you have a commitment to brand.

Selling, as it relates to brand development, is simply how you get the word out. Either through advertising, direct selling, channel selling, direct mail, public relations, etc. The key to effective selling is to first find out what is relevant in the mind of your consumer. Best guessing, by the way, is not a good method for finding the hot buttons.  Research is. For example, one of our clients in the financial services business sells loans to brokers who, in turn, sell those loans to end-users. After some cursory research, we determined that speed of approval (most important), ease of process, and attention to detail were this client’s key points. We built our entire brand platform around simple, accurate loan approval in seconds vs. hours, even days. Every ad, every show, every sales rep, direct mail piece, every phone call, and every detail is built around this message. The brand is speed. The discipline lies in keeping the message consistent, not changing it after three months because the phones aren’t ringing off the hook.  Adjustment is fine, but be consistent with your message, because branding is a process, not a singular  event. You can see again why research of market relevancy is so critical up front. Branding is tricky business, and as a major investment, it’s vital to get it right from the starting line.

It’s a little known fact that the biggest brand opportunity lies in how you serve your clients, not just how you sell to them. Nordstrom’s service excellence has allowed them the luxury of spending less on advertising because their employees’ commitment to excellence has strengthened their brand to near perfection. Every phone call, return, consultation, and purchase is handled so well, that for some, the idea of shopping elsewhere is ridiculous. So while others are spending big to steal Nordstrom customers with advertising, Nordstrom spends more money on training and rewarding their employees to serve clients more effectively. The result? Customer loyalty is sterling and word-of-mouth accolades are perpetual and potent.

Remember, when it comes to branding, the discipline is in the details. Your sales calls, presentations, follow-ups, how you handle client conflict, marketing tools, your building, lobby, dress code, etc., etc., etc all make up your brand. So rest assured, a strong commitment to a comprehensive and strategic brand initiative is your assurance for success.

“If you see a snake, just kill it.  Don’t appoint a committee on snakes.” – H. Ross Perot

When running the broker side of the desk, you are sometimes called on to make difficult decisions.  As a broker/manager/owner you are responsible for office culture, casting vision and most importantly, profitability.  Most leaders who have come through the ranks tend to be quick to hire and slow to fire.  Problems tend to drag themselves out.  Take a ruthless policy on snakes (whether they be people or problems) they don’t get better and they only hurt you in the long run.

1.            The first “D” represents “Do it.” These are the things you want to accomplish during the next few weeks. After identifying these tasks, prioritize them so that you start with the most important task first.

2.            The second “D” represents “Delay it.” These are things that you want to do, but can delay until later.

3.            The third “D” represents “Delegate it.“ These are activities and tasks that you can get someone else to do.

4.            Finally, the last “D” stands for “Delete it.” This is stuff you don’t really need to do. Cross them off your list.