Article Overview: The Australian Government is currently and desperately trying to make law what they think people need in immigration, dealing with climate change, gambling, and in a host of other areas. They are failing miserably because they do not listen to what stakeholders actually want.
I am staggered by the amount of business owners I meet who try and build a business around what they think people need, rather than providing what people want.
Free Download - Change management is an oxymoron By Ian Berry
Are you providing what people want or are you trying to provide what you think people need?
The Australian Government is currently and desperately trying to make law what they think people need in immigration, dealing with climate change, gambling, and in a host of other areas. They are failing miserably because they do not listen to what stakeholders actually want.
Numerous groups are suggesting to the Government to listen and collaborate and they just plough on doing their own thing!
I am staggered by the amount ofbusinessowners I meet who try and build abusinessaround what they think people need, rather than providing what people want. The bestbusinessto be in today is clearly about providing services/products for customers, rather than trying to find customers for our services/products.
What kind ofbusinessare you running? Are you providing what people want or are you trying to provide what you think people need?
You will go broke if your answer is the latter.
The great thing about providing people with what they want and buildingrelationshipswith our customers over time, is that we can end up providing people with what they need as well.
Since 1991 I have partnered with passionate and enlightened leaders in changing what's normal for the good of yourself, other people, our planet, and for profit.
My specialisations are:
Change people can actually
believe in and make happen
Change where everyone can win (the technical term is creating
shared value or CSV) a business growth strategy referred to in a recent
Harvard Business Review article by Michael E. Porter and
Mark R. Kramer as The Big Idea.
My fourth book changing what's normalcontains 58
sparkenations.
A sparkenation is a word I created to denote:a spark that ignites passion that leads to action that changes
what’s normal.
You can check out my books outline,
download 3 sparkenations with my compliments, or purchase here.
Related Forum Posts Re: SEO and Ken Evoy
- [quote="Takuya":17og8zyo]I remember when I first read books by Ken Evoy, he talked about the ultimate SEO should be to generate good content and gain natural links coming from different websites.
This was new to me and thought it was very deep since many people focused on beating Google and not focusing the long term effect.[/quote:17og8zyo]
Couldn’t agree with that more.
By providing great content you’re given those people who read it a reason to come back.
You’re giving a reason for people to add a link to your site. Which not only helps with ranking in Google but brings in people from other sites.
Over time this will build up your page rank and get you ranking in Google.
I think most people try to “game” Google are those looking for a quick fix. Ultimately their going to have to do more work than those that provide good content because Google will always fix any leaks they might have in their engine and then you’ll have to figure out a new way to game Google and this cycle will just keep repearting.
Re: How do you earn trust with an online business?
- Be as transparent as possible. Let people know who you really are. Don't hide behind your website. Make yourself known. This builds trust. And I agree, honesty is a must. While letting people know who you are certainly helps with credibility and establishing a relationship with others, honesty really goes a long way.
When I write reviews for a product or program, I provide both the pros and cons. There's always going to be cons, so there's no point in sugarcoating something. You're just going to damage your reputation by making something sound better than it really is. No one likes a liar, and in the end, you're only lying to yourself.
A blog really helps because you can be more personable and "talk" to your readers on a personal level. I have a picture of myself on my website and blog, and I provide contact information with my name, so people know who I am and know how to contact me.
Simple way to avoid Cold Calling
- Gary,
A chiropractor I work with hates cold calling (me too!) and he uses a technique to warm people up to using his services - it's so simple!
In Sales your dealing with 3 pools of people:
1. Strangers
2. Prospects
3. Returning Customers
You need to move people from one pool to the next. We'll concentrate on #1 and #2 as it's most relevant to your question.
My Clients does the following (you just have to tailor it to your situation - be creative).
My Client (we'll call him Bob) Bob leverages his time and resources to only get people that need his offer (pain relief) to put their hand up. Dealing with Strangers can get expensive and they don't like to be told what to do as they have no trust or relationship built with him.
So to get Strangers to put their hands up he writes up an offer with a free report on a particular pain relief - let's say lower back pain (note: he can simply just change lower back pain to neck pain and have a new report). and uses multiple marketing vehicles to promote the Free report - magazines, newspaper, forums, postcards, private clinics etc.
The only people picking up this information are the very people Bob would like as customers as they have Lower back pain. Bob's Free report ends with him stating his services and includes a Free in-house Consultation with no obligation.
You'd be surprised at how easily Bob converts Strangers into Prospects. Note: They become prospects when they ask for the Free Guide and in exchange provide their contact details. This gives Bob unlimited opportunity to contact them for the Free in-house consultation with no obligation to continue using him.
At this stage Bob's ability to close the sale lies in his office providing good customer service, Bob's ability to help the prospect and provide value at the free in-house consultation.
Notice, he hasn't had to pick up the phone to COLD-CALL his Stranger pool or his Prospect pool.
Hope that example helps to increase your prospecting!
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today?
- [quote="christew":jd3bkcbd]There is more writers than writing jobs which creates a competitive market which keeps prices pretty low.[/quote:jd3bkcbd]
Very true. Just go to any freelance site, and you'll find a ton of freelancers bidding on projects. Because it's so competitive, the price ends up being very low. Most of the time it's people from India that get the job because they're willing to do it for almost nothing.
The question of quality comes into play at this point. If you can find a writer that's willing to write an article for you for say $1, what kind of quality do you think you will get? I personally wouldn't expect much, but then again you never know.
There's no way I could afford to spend that much time on a project and get paid very little. I just can't compete with the competition, especially on GetAFreelancer. That's why forums are a major source of where my jobs come from.
There are people that may be cheaper with the services I provide, but that's okay. I've proven that I can provide a very professional and quality service, and a lot of the time people are willing to pay more knowing they're going to get that quality of work.
Re: Getting the most out of Facebook, Twitter, Blogs etc.
- Hi Ringo,
Thanks for providing these social networking resources. I agree that not everyone utilizes these avenues, but unfortunately, not too many know how.
The articles you provide are greatly helpful, and I know that I personally will be able to make good use of this information.
Happy New Year to everyone! Let's make 2010 a great year!
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