Video Transcript:

Welcome to the final episode in our three-part series called, “Should I Sell My Business?”

In this wrap-up, I just want to talk briefly about possibilities; the possibilities that exist for you out there in the great world beyond your everyday life.

In his original email to us, Greg Taylor talked of selling his successful power sports business but he’s apprehensive, saying he’s 54 years old.

Greg: You’re 54.  You’re just getting started!  In this day and age, 54 is on the young end of middle age.  And if you make the right choices for good health – physical and mental – you have another lifetime in front of you.

Stop thinking about age as a number and start thinking about possibilities.

A recent poll conducted by Merrill Lynch and the Harris Group showed that only 7 percent of people age 55 are looking to completely retire from working.  Forty three percent say they see retirement as a combination of work and leisure.  And a full 50 percent say they are looking forward to trying out the career they always dreamed of or starting a whole new business.

If you feel your passion lies elsewhere, start exploring ideas that get you charged up and make the day fly by.  Look at the practicalities of how you can transition, such as financial needs, and then start planning for your next adventure in the business world.  A comprehensive planning phase will be the proof in the pudding as to whether or not you’re ready and willing to start something new.

So there you have it – passion, practicalities, and possibilities.  It’s a world of global opportunity and life balance.  Which will you choose?

We’d love to hear of your business adventures – if you have a “Main Street” business question for us or wish to share your personal story, email us at ask@WonderBranding.com.

When I was seven years old, I held my father’s head in my hands as he took his last breath and died.

A thing like that stays with you. It helps you understand that relationships – people – are what life’s all about.

You gotta tell ’em you love ’em. This is J.R. Dunn. So now you know why I became a jeweler. Fine jewelry is one of the ways we tell people we love ’em.

When I got older and fell head-over-heals for Ann Marie, the love of my life, I didn’t have enough money to buy her an engagement ring. She married me anyway. Go figure. But I can promise you this: If you’re thinking of getting engaged to the love of your life, come to J.R. Dunn Jewelers in Lighthouse Point. No one in Florida, no one in America, is going to give you a better engagement ring for your money than me.

One of the great joys of my life is to make it possible for guys to give the woman they love the diamond she deserves. There was nobody there for me when I needed an engagement ring. But I promise I’ll be there for you.

First Mental Image (FMI)

A seven-year old boy going through one of the hardest things imaginable – witnessing the death of his father.

Boy, oh boy – what a riveting first mental image. Absolutely riveting. You just don’t hear stuff like that in advertising.

This is important to note because your customer is exposed to 5,000 advertisements each day – most of them sounding similar and bouncing off his memory like an overinflated basketball.

So it goes without saying that your opening line must grab your customer’s attention.

Well, heck. This ad’s FMI arrests your attention.

Frankly, it may be too captivating. But skillfully, the ad’s next line affords your mind a moment to recover, and eases you into the message.

Most importantly, the idea introduced with the FMI is one of a caregiver – someone who will be there for you through thick and thin, and right up till the end. This mental image sets up the rest of the ad beautifully, as you’ll soon learn.

The Message:

Looking for an engagement ring? J.R. Dunn has one for you, and promises no other jeweler in America can give you a better value for your money.

What is the ad really selling? What is it promising?

No matter your financial situation, J.R. Dunn will sell you an engagement ring that will properly express your love.

But what makes this ad truly convincing … what causes it stand out from competing ads and jolt the customer from his indifference?

Credibility.

By sharing personal stories about his father and wife (a credibility investment of power and control), J.R. Dunn (business owner) adds a heaping amount of believability to the ad.

No one would now dare doubt J.R. Dunn’s sincerity when he promises to be there for you and give you a better engagement ring for your money.

Stylistic Signature:

No musical backgrounds … just J.R. Dunn reading the ad copy.

For this ad to hit emotionally hard as written, J.R. Dunn had to voice the ad himself. It just couldn’t be done any other way.

Many radio commercials use musical backgrounds – most of which are too loud and distracting. This contributes nothing and reduces the recall of your ad.

The J.R. Dunn ad avoids this trap. It contains no background music, allowing the listener to fully concentrate on the message. It feels as if you are sitting across from J.R. Dunn himself, having an intimate conversation with the business owner.

Oh – and I almost forgot. Notice the ad often breaks grammar rules. This gives the ad a conversational sound, and speaks to the customer in his every day language. Probably a good idea if you want to persuade someone to buy something, right?

Last Mental Image (LMI):

When you need the perfect engagement ring, J.R. Dunn will be there for you.

The ad culminates with a flawless LMI, which circles back to the caretaker idea introduced with the FMI.

Conclusion:

As I’ve said before, the persuasiveness of your ad will largely be determined by its amount of relevancy and credibility. To be convincing, an ad must contain both.

Well, the J.R. Dunn ad contains both relevancy and credibility. But make no mistake, credibility is the linchpin of this ad.

The ad also expends every ounce of energy to deliver you single, powerful promise.

On a related note, it’s worth talking a bit more about credibility as it relates to the message and customer experience: J.R. Dunn must walk the talk. There cannot be a single drop of disconnect between what he is saying in his ad, and who he is being once you walk into his jewelry store.

In other words, he has to be willing to sell you an engagement ring – even if you have only pennies in your pocket. Otherwise, his credibility will crumble.

So always remember, if you can’t support the message you’re sending, then don’t send that particular message. Redirect your resources.

Want us to deconstruct one of your ads? Willing to sit on the hot seat?

Email us your ad, and we’ll analyze it in an upcoming post.

Video Transcript:

Hi, Michele Miller here again with the second in our three-part “Quick Take Video,” addressing a recent question from Greg Taylor.  Greg is 54 years old and owns a profitable power sports business that’s taken a lot out of him.  In Episode 1, we talked about the difference between a simple need for vacation vs. actual passion for a business and knowing when it’s the right time to sell.

Today, we’re going to look at three practical questions that you should consider if you’re thinking about making a major change in your career or business life.

How Many People Depend On You?

If you’re single or an “empty nester,” making the decision to pack up the business and move on to a new challenge is easier than if you’re still caring for children, parents, or anyone else in your life.  Looking at future needs for which you will likely be responsible (such as college tuition) is going to have a significant impact on how you answer Question Two, which is…

What Is Your Staying Power?

You need to spend time figuring out a financial number which is essentially your “staying power” – the amount of money you’ll need each month to meet basic obligations.  Of course, the fewer people depending on you, the lower your number can be.  And the more you have saved in advance, the easier it will also be.  Coming up with your staying power number can take awhile but can also be an eye-opening exercise.  It’s funny how once you see how little you could survive on, you sleep much better at night.

How Will You Exit?

There is no right answer here because situations are subjective.  But make sure you do all your homework to ensure that your exit is planned well in advance and provides the most “walking out the door” money possible.  For some, it will be selling the business outright – but make sure you’re exploring all options to sell at the highest price.  In this day of the Internet, don’t limit yourself to posting your business locally or regionally.  There has to be someone in a distant state who’s looking for the kind of opportunity you’re offering.

These three practical questions should help get you on the track to exploring the future in a logical, realistic way.  It may take some time, but it’s worth it.

Stay tuned for Episode 3 of this “Quick Take Video” series.  I’m Michele Miller – if you have a question for the WonderBranding team that you’d like to have help with, send it our way at ask@WonderBranding.com.

Video Transcript:

Hi, I’m Tom Wanek. Welcome to WonderBranding’s Marketing Quick Take Q&A, where we answer your specific questions about marketing and advertising.

Today’s question comes from WonderBranding reader, Duane Christensen … Duane says:

“I’ve been pondering this comment a local lawn fertilizing client of mine told me the other day.

He said something like, “We don’t do social media because even though we may take the utmost care in providing great service and products to our customers, mother nature may have a different plan for their lawn. Or they forget to water through a month-long drought. And then they’ll complain to us publicly on Facebook that we suck or something.”

What advice would you give?”

First, let me say that your client’s fear is understandable. We sometimes fear that which we cannot control … and – unlike mass media advertising – we have little control over social conversations.

But we can choose to participate in them.

You’re client should look at it this way: Would you prefer that these conversations … conversations about your business – occur without you? What’s more, what does your absence say to your prospect?

Duane, I recommend your client takes the same approach he would take when he speaks to his customers face-to-face. In other words, what would he say to a customer who is upset about the condition of their lawn, despite the fact that this person neglected to water it properly?

I trust your client would handle this crucial conversation with complete grace. And I predict others will be impressed by his professionalism.

It’s also worth mentioning that social media is a terrific place to share tips and techniques with customers. Doing so will transfer confidence and demonstrate the value your client brings to the table.

That said, I want to make sure your client has the right expectations about social media.

Social media – while sexy and powerful – is not a panacea for a broken business … a business that lacks a solid strategy. Social media works best as a tool to deepen relationships, and it’s unrealistic to expect for it to be a substantial traffic-builder for your business. Here, traditional mass media is still your best bet.

Duane, I really appreciate you sending us your question. Thanks a bunch.

As always, if YOU have a marketing question you’d like answered, email your question to: ask@WonderBranding.com.

I’m Tom Wanek … keep moving the sales curve upward.

Video Transcript:

Greetings from San Antonio!  As you can probably see from the hotel room décor, I’m on the road again for business travel, but I didn’t want that to stop me from posting this new question we recently received from Greg.  Greg writes:

“I’m 54 years old and in the “powersports business.”  I never thought I would be at this level after working all this time in my life.  I shouldn’t complain – my net profit was about 6% in 2011, which by industry standards is quite good.  But the “Fun Factor” is gone.  I never counted on working 6 to 7 days a week and 70 to 85 hours.  I’ve tried to find someone to follow in my footsteps and become the dealer, even offering to finance 90% of it for the right person!  But no takers.  I enjoy the business… but at 70 to 80 hours – it has started taking a toll on my health.  Is it time to move on and let go?  And lose nearly everything I’ve invested?”

First of all, Greg, congratulations on the continued success of your business, even during challenging economic times.  The only way you could have achieved this growth is with nose-to-the grindstone dedication, so I’m not surprised you’ve been putting 70+ hours in per week.

Your email really hit home for me because I’ve been where you are right now.  Your question so important that I’m going to take three episodes to try and give you a comprehensive answer that I hope will help you  – and others watching this – make the right decision.

Normally, I compare honest “burnout” to the simple need for an extended vacation, but when you mentioned that it’s taking a toll on your physical health, that raised a red flag for me.

Your passion for your job is the “heart” of your company.  And if your heart is damaged, so will be your personal health.  Right now, you’re caught up in a vicious cycle of working harder to achieve, as a replacement for that drain of passion you once had for your business.

And you and I both know that all the hard work in the world can NEVER replace passion.

As Steve Jobs once said:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

Steve Jobs knew what he was talking about.  If you’re having too many days in a row where you don’t like what you do, it’s time to explore what will most likely be the most exciting opportunity of your life.  Hey – you’re only 54!  I’m 51, and I’ve re-invented myself over the over.  It’s what keeps us ALIVE, man!

For now, spend some time considering passion – it’s what keeps us young and curious.

Stick with me, Greg.  In the next video, we’ll take a look at the practicalities of making such a big change in your life, and the questions you need to ask yourself.

Till then, I’m Michele Miller for WonderBranding.  If YOU have a question you’d like the WonderBranding team to take on, shoot us an email at ask@wonderbranding.com.

See you next time!

The target of today’s exposé?

An all too common case of wearing “connoisseur goggles” best described by Youngme Moon:

“Where a connoisseur sees the differences, a novice see the similarities. Where a connoisseur can discern subtle shades of distinction based on nuanced asymmetries, a novice lacks the necessary filters to canvas, to organize, to sift an assortment in a meaningful way,” says Youngme Moon. “Where a connoisseur can navigate a category with effortless intuition, a novice will struggle to find beginning, middle, or end.”

So let’s be clear about the role you play as a Main Street business owner: YOU’RE the connoisseur … you’re intimate with your products and services … you’re steeped in your market and competitive environment.

But, your customer is NOT.

Put simply, she doesn’t have the time, energy or desire to be ANYTHING BUT a novice. Yes, a well-informed novice – but still a novice when compared to you. (Let’s face it, she’s not even close to being in your league.)

And with a mind-boggling volume of advertising messages confronting her daily – as well as a million and one other things tugging at her mind – your customer’s attention span is running on fumes.

What’s more, viewing your market as a connoisseur sends you into even deeper waters, especially when analyzing your competition.

Take my word for it:

The moment you place your time and energy into a game of one-upmanship – a game that drives you to the point of an insatiable madness where you drool, obsess and COPY every feature and benefit offered by your competition – well, YOU LOSE. You lose your identity … you lose your point of differentiation – and most importantly … you lose credibility with your customer.

Once this happens, you and your competition begin to look like drab and lifeless clones. Worse yet, you begin promoting features and benefits that your customer cares nothing about.

In other words, you’re answering questions NO ONE was asking, and you’re doing NOTHING to stand out from all the available choices in the market.

That, my friend, is a surefire way to lose sales.

So rather than drive your marketing efforts by imitating the competition – focus on providing value that plays to your strengths and speaks to the customer’s felt need. This will help you to remove your connoisseur goggles and rise above the copycat-mentality that’s pulling you under and preventing you from looking remarkable in the eyes of your customer.

P.S. If you enjoy reading WonderBranding, why not tell your friends and colleagues about us? Just send an email to everyone you know who runs a Main Street business … works in marketing … or writes copy – and invite them to visit our blog.

Look at you, prancing around, all managerial and full of efficiency.

How’s that working for you?

Do meetings start late because of stragglers?

Do staff members stare straight ahead with glazed-over cow eyes?

If you poked them with a sharp stick, would it even register?

I’ve paid my fair share of penance sitting in staff meetings and conference calls that went nowhere fast.  Want to know what hell is like?  It’s the big hand tipping over into Hour Two of a conversation that should have taken twenty minutes.  That calm demeanor on a staff member’s face?  It’s her “check-out” persona, where she can look right at someone like she’s paying attention as she fantasizes about picking up the vase in the middle of the table and shot-putting it against the wall.

Staff meetings don’t have to suck.  But here are three big reasons they usually do:

1. No set time limit for the meeting.

Average managers rarely announce an ending time. Staff members arrive later and later, thinking to themselves, “This meeting is going to go on for 90 minutes.  Why torture myself by waiting for it to get underway?”

Weekly staff meetings also don’t have to last 60 minutes.  If they do, you either have too many people in the room or one person with enough hot air to make up for everyone else.

Set a limit. Try 30 minutes. If you need more that, it could be a sign you’re relying too heavily on staff meetings to get information.  Maybe you need to remove your middle-aged spread from the bottom of the chair more often during the week and conduct more management by wandering around.

2. No agenda.

When there’s no agenda, there’s no control.  When there’s no control, there’s no buy-in.  Eventually, when there’s no buy-in, there ceases to be a company.

Kinda like the butterfly effect, no?

A fixed agenda, sent out 24 hours before the meeting, symbolizes your commitment to getting the important stuff done without wasting the staff’s productivity time.  It gives the introverts in your department time to mull over what will be covered so that they can contribute to their highest level.  And it keeps things on schedule (see #1).

3. Appropriating staff meeting time for brainstorming.

You can usually pinpoint the introverts in a staff meeting by the way they slink down in their chairs when someone says, “Let’s do some brainstorming to come up with a great idea for this next campaign/brand/magazine ad.”  The only thing worse is the phrase “quick brainstorming.”

Staff meetings are not for brainstorming, and half your staff (the introverts) are simply unable to contribute on the fly.  Brainstorming needs to be planned for, which flies in the face of what people believe it to be.  If you schedule a brainstorming meeting with the specific topic to be explored, it gives introverts the time they need to prepare themselves to contribute.  Given the right preparation, introverts can join alongside the extroverts in offering ideas.  The right setting allows everyone to play off each other, generating more mind-blowing opportunities than you could dream of.

Set a time limit.

Create an agenda.

Prepare for brainstorming in another setting.

Do you have any other pet peeves about staff meetings?  Share them below and let’s see if we can come up with some solutions that would help every business owner.

Video Transcript:

Hi, I’m Tom Wanek. Welcome to WonderBranding’s Marketing Quick Take Q&A, where we answer your most burning marketing questions.

Today’s question comes from Ed Skimin, owner of Emerge, Incorporated. Ed wants to know:

“We are putting together marketing plans for a new service, and have a long list of features and benefits that explain why our target customer should be excited to buy our service. How do we decide which feature and/or benefit should be the focus of the marketing campaign?”

Ed … here’s what you need to do. First things first, be sure to concentrate on the benefits of your service, as well as the emotions that fuel your prospect’s desire to buy from you. In other words, what does your service DO for your prospect, and how does that make your prospect FEEL?

Next … assigning value to your benefits requires that you go on a little reconnaissance mission.

My all-time favorite technique is to visit Internet forums where your customers congregate. The anonymity of Internet forums allows you to get a truly unbiased opinion and uncover which benefits are most important to your prospect. You’ll also learn the “language” of the customer, and the emotions that reside within your prospect’s heart.

You should also poll prospective customers, individually, and ask them questions such as: “If you were forced to choose between Benefit A and Benefit B, which would you choose?”

And one more thing … tap into the knowledge of your front line employees. Ask them which benefits would prospects find most appealing.

Ed, these techniques will clue you in and help you decide which benefits are the primary benefits that should be the focus of your marketing campaign.

Thank you, Ed, for sending in your question.

As always, if YOU have a marketing question you’d like answered, ask away by emailing your question to: ask@WonderBranding.com.

I’m Tom Wanek … keep moving the sales curve upward.

He built himself a small building from a kit, behind his house in Connecticut.  He filled it with the tools of his trade and added a sofa.

Lennie’s wife would look in from time to time and catch him lying on the sofa, daydreaming or napping.

“I thought you were working,” she would say.

“I am,” was his reply.

For three decades, composer Leonard Bernstein crafted some of his most famous works from his tiny studio.  He could usually be found composing, orchestrating a work, or flat on his back staring at the ceiling.  Lennie understood the necessity of “making time to waste time” in order to generate great ideas.

Unfortunately, today’s culture of American business is steeped in the philosophy of hard work and focus for productivity, rather than taking time for creativity; to relax the mind so that all of those problems that have been working themselves out in the back of your brain have an opportunity to bubble up to the top.

The most common thread among great thinkers?

Taking time to waste time.

Bernstein did it.  So did Albert Einstein, with his long hikes through the mountains.  And Steve Jobs, who was known for his dedication to long, long walks.  They removed themselves from the moment so that answers could push through.  And yes, they were working.

3M invented the philosophy of “creative time” more than 50 years ago, giving each employee 15% of their time to work on a project of their own.  Google copied 3M and credits “creative time” for most of the apps and features that have made Google far more than just a search engine.

Wouldn’t it be great to take 15% of your daily work time to devote to letting your mind relax?

Let’s say you have a 7-hour day (which, if you’re a Main Street business owner is laughable).

That’s 420 minutes a day.

Fifteen percent of that is 63 minutes.

One hour a day to clear the mind and let solutions bubble to the top.

And yes, it’s WORKING time.  Don’t let traditional, old-fashioned ways tell you otherwise.

Give it a try, even if it’s for just fifteen minutes a day (some of you gotta break into this slowly, I know).  Shut the door and lay on the sofa or the floor.  Sit in your chair with your feet on the desk.  Head out the door (without your phone!) and take a walk in the neighborhood.  Try not to think about anything…. Just daydream.  If you fall asleep, that’s okay.  Your mind never stops working, even when it’s asleep.

Trust the process.  Lennie did.  So did Albert and Steven.

For more on creativity, problem-solving, and the imagination, be sure to pick up a copy of Jonah Lehrer’s latest book, Imagine.  It’s a fascinating and entertaining look at the power of “wasting time” for utmost creativity.

I’ll leave you with a short video from Jonah, as well as one of Lennie’s greatest contributions to musical theater. Be sure to comment below and let us know how you waste time for creativity – we’d love to hear your stories.

Now at the time, I was clueless as to the ad’s origin.

But that shouldn’t surprise you in the least. Just one glance at the ad and you, too, will become puzzled by its absence of brand identification and clarity of message.

Yes, this ad is a real head-scratcher. Problem is, prospects have to THINK way too much about the meaning of its message.

That said, it wasn’t until just the other day, when I stumbled across an online video promoting Yuengling light beer, that the company behind the billboard was finally revealed to me.

Why do I mention this to you?

See, I bring this ad to your attention because it underscores the deadliest mistake in advertising today: Sacrificing clarity for creativity’s sake.

What’s more, the whole vague and lackadaisical “let the customer interpret the meaning of our marketing message” approach leaves me feeling queasy.

Hell. That’s just bad marketing. Not to mention, a complete waste of money.

Maybe Yuengling – and other corporate “big boys” – can afford to piss away its hard-earned moolah on an unclear and creative advertisement, but trust me … you can’t. In fact, I’ve never met a Main Street business owner who could.

Now, please forgive me for being so direct. Honestly, I mean no disrespect. I just DON’T want you to believe that entertainment should be the primary goal of your advertising just because that’s corporate America’s shtick.

Sure – you can have fun with your marketing … you can spice up your ads with a little humor … you can even get creative with your imagery or delivery of message.

Heck – no one says your marketing has to be boring.

But you simply can NOT sacrifice the clarity of your message just to entertain your customer.

Remember, entertainment is Hollywood’s job.

Your job – as a Main Street Marketer – is to persuade. And the way I see it, no customer wants to agonize over ANY buying decision. Considering that your customer is exposed to more than 5,000 advertisements each day, does she really want to guess about the meaning of your message?

What’s more, do YOU really want to take the chance that your message is misinterpreted?

Help your customer to decide to buy from you with a marketing message that’s clear and compelling. And if you really want to set your marketing on fire, why not frame the buying experience in a way that differentiates your company and positions your product or service as the hero?

P.S. After digging a bit deeper, I discovered that Yuengling’s ads are “urging you to rethink your light beer.” This copy – coupled with the contrasting image of its rich, light beer surrounded by watered-down suds – may be a good message after all. Especially considering that light beer sales are sagging due to a possible consumer revolt against lousy tasting beer.

Again, Yuengling has a message worth sending. Sadly, I just had to work too damn hard to uncover it.