Lesson #5: Change the Rules of the Game
Lesson #5: Change the Rules of the Game
Van Stolk is an eagerly sought after public speaker these days. Despite being a college dropout, what does he give as advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs? “My suggestion is to go to school. It will teach you the framework. It teaches you the game.”
He adds one caveat, however. “Life teaches you how to bend or break the rules to get what you want. If you only follow the rules of business, then you’re always going to follow what your competitors do.”
Van Stolk has become a successful businessman because he learned all the rules of the game quickly, but almost as quickly he also learned how to break them. Instead of trying to follow in the footsteps of Pepsi and Coca-Cola, van Stolk decided to do things differently from day one. And, despite outside pressures, he never gave into their trends. For instance, where the two soda giants both decided to start inserting vitamins into their beverages, van Stolk refused.
“Jones is an indulgence, and we want to be an indulgence,” he says of his higher-priced beverage. “We will try to be a premium soda and be a niche soda.”
That is all part of van Stolk’s strategy of working for the wins he can get and letting the rest go, something, he says, even the biggest companies do.
“Pepsi is bigger than Coke in a lot of ways,” he says despite outward appearances. “Pepsi is now a better overall beverage company than Coca-Cola. That’s a fact. If you look at it, Pepsi’s brands are Tropicana, which is #1 versus Minute Maid; Gatorade, which is bigger than PowerAde; and Aquafina, which is bigger than Coke’s Dasani.”
In fact, the only area where the Pepsi brand is less popular than its main competitor is Pepsi versus Coke. “Pepsi made the switch when they said they were okay with losing the cola wars. They decided to win everything else,” says van Stolk. “When they took the approach that, ‘We’re not going to play the game any more,’ they won the game because they changed the game. That’s what I think is really cool. Companies have to change the game.”
So Jones Soda might not have vitamins, it might not be as cheap as the next drink, and it might come in funky flavours, but that is precisely what van Stolk thinks he has going for him. “I think companies that spend all their time trying to figure out what the other guys are going to do will become really good at following. I will never be Coke or Pepsi in a million years, and I don’t really want to,” he says. “I’m always trying to figure out how to change the game.”
Lesson 5 Change the Rules of the Game
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“If I had the chance to do it again, I probably would have liked to go to school,” says van Stolk as he reflects on his career. “However, the benefit from not going to school is that I look at things differently and I listen differently.”
Van Stolk is an eagerly sought after public speaker these days. Despite being a college dropout, what does he give as advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs? “My suggestion is to go to school. It will teach you the framework. It teaches you the game.”
He adds one caveat, however. “Life teaches you how to bend or break the rules to get what you want. If you only follow the rules of business, then you’re always going to follow what your competitors do.”
Van Stolk has become a successful businessman because he learned all the rules of the game quickly, but almost as quickly he also learned how to break them. Instead of trying to follow in the footsteps of Pepsi and Coca-Cola, van Stolk decided to do things differently from day one. And, despite outside pressures, he never gave into their trends. For instance, where the two soda giants both decided to start inserting vitamins into their beverages, van Stolk refused.
“Jones is an indulgence, and we want to be an indulgence,” he says of his higher-priced beverage. “We will try to be a premium soda and be a niche soda.”
That is all part of van Stolk’s strategy of working for the wins he can get and letting the rest go, something, he says, even the biggest companies do.
“Pepsi is bigger than Coke in a lot of ways,” he says despite outward appearances. “Pepsi is now a better overall beverage company than Coca-Cola. That’s a fact. If you look at it, Pepsi’s brands are Tropicana, which is #1 versus Minute Maid; Gatorade, which is bigger than PowerAde; and Aquafina, which is bigger than Coke’s Dasani.”
In fact, the only area where the Pepsi brand is less popular than its main competitor is Pepsi versus Coke. “Pepsi made the switch when they said they were okay with losing the cola wars. They decided to win everything else,” says van Stolk. “When they took the approach that, ‘We’re not going to play the game any more,’ they won the game because they changed the game. That’s what I think is really cool. Companies have to change the game.”
So Jones Soda might not have vitamins, it might not be as cheap as the next drink, and it might come in funky flavours, but that is precisely what van Stolk thinks he has going for him. “I think companies that spend all their time trying to figure out what the other guys are going to do will become really good at following. I will never be Coke or Pepsi in a million years, and I don’t really want to,” he says. “I’m always trying to figure out how to change the game.”
Lesson 5 Change the Rules of the Game
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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