My Million Dollar Day
Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous on February 5, 2010
or, How I spent two days of my life and created more than $1,000,000 in value.
How can you increase your sales potential without doing any sales? Here is how.
Today I took some time to increase productivity. Every day I spend about half of it on the phone talking with clients about growing their business. Yesterday I received an email from someone that had an Excel file with data (on one spreadsheet) for many clients. The idea was that I would have to split up this data into the 27 files needed and Email it to each of my clients.
Wait a minute. Split into 27 files?
Wait another minute. I was receiving this from someone whose job was to notify the clients with this information (not my job).
The problem was that she had 16 people she was sending this information out to. She had mailed all these clients before, but what was the problem? The problem was creating culling data and creating files for over 400 clients.
For me to do this would have taken probably two hours, not counting mailing it out. So, it was equivalent of about 2 person days worth of work for our team.
You are probably thinking: Oh, why did she not first create an analysis program that created 400 separate files? I do not know. Having worked with analysts that create these programs (and having been one), at some point you realize that creating one big file is not going to work, since the readers only can see one part of it and there are many readers. You create multiple files. In most cases, this happens because a) the creator of the program is not talking to the user of the data, and b) the user of the data does not know how to create this program or even ask for it.
Instead of just doing it (or more likely, forgetting about the file and waiting until someone asks for the data), I remembered something. I had written a program a couple of years ago that allows you to split data from one spreadsheet into multiple files at the touch of the button. Why had I written this? At that time, I was getting similar files that needed to be broken up.
So, today I opened up that old program and upgraded it to work for Excel 2007 and added a few bells and whistles that made it more user friendly. Furthermore, it would be able to handle some of the quirks in the data file and still work.
I emailed it to the sender of the file; and told management that they now had the capability of sending that out directly to the client without bother us.
What did I really do? I eliminated 2 days per month of my team’s time. That comes to 24 days, or approximately 1 month, or 8% of a yearly cost of an employee. 8-16,000 dollars. Not bad, need to put that on my resume somewhere…maybe.
However, on our team that extra month of time can translate into a lot more revenue. Our focus us to create more revenue, so, 1 month could be worth … another million dollars? That is not really that much of a stretch when you consider that the combined efforts of our team tally up to a lot of revenue.
So, today I possibly created somewhere around $1,016,000 in value by working on that program and enabling people on different teams to focus their time elsewhere. The cost? One day today and about one day before initially creating the tool. Two days. However, I already had the tool, so that first day was a sunk cost.? The investment of today enabled it for this company.? One day.? One Million Dollar Day.
Of course, the program works on many other types of data…even more savings in time…and more creation of value.
Best Places to Launch
Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous on February 4, 2010
This article is a resource article (quicky way of getting you needed information found elsewhere).
New article up today on CNN called Best Places to Launch.
http://money.cnn.com/smallbusiness/best_places_launch/2009/snapshot/241.html
The article provides you a list of 50 places and why each place is important, statistics about each location, and resources for getting help in that location.You can organize the information by what is near you, lending hot spots, business climate (growth), and costs (example: wages).
I came up with several ways to use this article.
1. Find resources to get assistance.
2. Contact these resources to learn about networking groups in your area.
3. Identify other cities to launch your products and salespeople.
4. Identify locations to make your products/services.
The idea is that this is a starting point to get more information.
Getting Voice of the Customer for Web design
If you only had a few questions to ask a client prior to making a recommendation for their website what would you ask?
I recently found myself in this situation. I am assisting a group of people in creating their new website by developing the design document. Their business has multiple divisions and each division in located in a different part of the Dallas Metroplex. Furthermore, while they have a commonality that brings them together (the company), each division owner has a certain autonomy that allows them to do what they want.
Given a short amount of time and a lot of people to interview, what questions would I ask? I hit upon just a few:
- What is the mission statement of the organization?
- What is your mission statement as it fits into this organization?
- Who is your audience?
- How do you use the web site, and how would you like to use it?
- What would you like to see on a web site?
- Who will maintain it?
Very simple questions. The first few questions puts me in the context and mindset of this particular person. Questions four and five get into the type of product they want to see. Finally, question six really tells me how interactive they will be with the web site. Combined, this tells me how they see the web site as an extension of themselves.
The answers were very surprising.
I could ask a lot more questions and will probably follow up with them. The point of this exercise is to get started and understand the customer and their fundamental approach. As any company developing a new product, you need to get into the mind of the customer get the voice of the customer in your design. This is one technique I am using now to hear their voice.
Facts or emotion
You can either go with facts or emotion. The problem with using too many facts is that people tend to get bored, forgetful, and unsure of how to digest all the data. As Seth Godin writes in his article, Too much data leads to not enough belief, too much data crowds out faith. Rather, too much data overwhelms and causes the listener to stray.
Going with emotion leads to the wrong choices being made because the facts are not really thought out.
If you are the persuader, then using facts or emotion does not matter as long as you get your idea across and people to your side. To the persuaded, emotion counts NOW but facts count later.
I think the best approach is a balance of the two. Carefully chosen facts that can lead to an emotional response: This choice feels right. However, if the person just chooses not to believe the facts, then you have to address the cause of the emotional need to not believe. In some cases, you just cannot win – with that person.
Move on and persuade other people.
Proper use of Fonts lends to credibility
Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous on January 19, 2010
Credibility from the beginning saves a lot of agravation and starts you off on the right foot with new customers and investors. Credibility is generated not just by your presence but also the look and feel of your marketing materials (i.e. website). According to Seth Godin in his latest article, Type tells a Story, people judge you based on the type of font you use in your marketing materials.? Before they even read it, if it looks bad, they will form the wrong opinion.
It is absolutely true.
You have seen those cheesy fliers: multiple fonts, different designs, gaudy colors. Looks like a third grader did it except most third graders probably know better. How about those awful websites: fifty different fonts, funky colors, etc.
Several years ago, I read a book on selecting fonts for marketing materials. I remember a few basic rules and its great to remember them.
First a bit of nomenclature. Serif fonts are those fonts that have the horizontal marks hanging off each letter. The New York Times uses this font. The little horizontal marks help you read across a page.
San Serif fonts are without those little horizontal marks. Arial font is like that.
- On any piece of marketing do not use more than four types of fonts.
- Of those four, only one font can be a graphic or picture type font. This includes fancy design fonts, cursive fonts, or anything that is not a regular serif or san serif font.
- Of the remaining three fonts, they can be two serif and one san serif or two san serif and one serif. Do not make three fonts all serif or all san serif if you can avoid it.
That is it: three basic rules to avoid cheesy use of fonts and make you more credible. Remember, credibility is key when communicating your marketing.
When customers know the how and not the what
When designing a new product you should listen to your customers.? This is the common wisdom today which I agree with 100%. The challenge is that when you question your customers about a potential new product you run into a couple of different situations that can make the listening experience painful:
- The customer cannot articulate the problem but says there is a problem.
- The customer tells you how to improve or how to solve the problem but they never tell you what the problem is.
Before I tackle this issue I think about why the customer hired me. Usually it falls into one of these three categories:
- They do not know how to solve the problem.
- They do know how, but you do it better.
- They do know how, but they have more pressing issues and need you to do it for them.
If the customer cannot articulate the problem I question them about time, cost, return of value, and is it meeting their goals. Usually it is one of those four.? If not, I ask them why they think it is a problem. The dialogue starts opening up the possibilities and when you understand the root cause, then you can identify goals that can be addressed with the development process.
If the customer is busy telling you how the problem can be solved then the best approach is to just let them get that off their mind. Take copious notes. If the customer is really knowledgable they may be making your job very easy and they just need your expertise in executing successfully.
Otherwise you may have to go back and explore the basic problem itself. Sometimes the customer knows how to solve the problem, but does not really know what the problem is. In other words, they want in an improvement. Often this is because someone else told them they needed an improvement but once again, they could not offer any ideas.
That is your job to get this out of them.? Realizing that, you can question the customer and get their input on the situation. This may lead to the solution. Otherwise, you might have to question other stakeholders (usually you do anyway), and this in turn will lead to the solution.
Recognizing these challenges is key to successfully designing a product with customer input.? All entrepreneurs go through multiple iterations of designing and redesigning their products and services. The problem entrepreneurs face is that customers often feel this is the best opportunity to dictate the solution which often leads to a lot of How without understanding the What. To overcome these challenges, do deep dive questions. Explore the problem itself, and get the input of the customer. With this input, you can design a better product that will appeal to more than just that one customer.
Managing the Large Client List
100 clients is a lot to manage. If you worked only 40 hours per week, you could only spend 20 hours a year with each client (if you spread it out evenly). That is a bit better than 1 1/2 hours per month. That assumes you spend every moment with the client. This does not include all the other things you have to do in your job. Say you are very efficient and can spend 6 hours each day with clients. The other time is spent getting to the client, running your business/job, and dealing with everything else in support of those clients.
Now, you only have 15 hours per year for each client. That is just under two business days. You are not going to be able to do much for each client.
The answer is simple: get less clients or hire another person to split up the load. Or is it that simple? You do not want less clients, because that means less business. You cannot feasibly hire another person, because that is a huge cost.
Reality check: You have 100 clients to manage. They each would benefit from regular phone calls, visits, coaching, etc to grow their business on you. How do you manage them?
The answer is in prioritization. Identify the key metrics you need. In most businesses this is revenue. Most businesses have a metric to grow the revenue from level A to level B. In reality you really have three metrics: the level of revenue, the rate of change of revenue, and the greatest opportunity for change.
The level of revenue is important because clients typically follow the 80-20 rule. Those 20% of clients represent 80% of your business. There are a lot of reasons why this happens, but that is not for this discussion. It just does. Not only do these clients represent the bulk of your revenue, but any changes to them represent the bulk of the changes to your total revenue. Lose one of these, and a lot more of the others have to grow to make up your numbers. Therefore, the answer is to rank them in order of biggest revenue to lowest revenue. Those with the biggest revenue are at the top of the list. Identify the top 20% and put them on your list of regularly contacted customers. If you are new to the assignment, you contact them first.
The growth rate is actually more important when you consider that most businesses want to continue to grow. However, an interesting thing happens to many businesses when they reach a certain point. They stop growing. They might maintain their level of business: gaining customers as fast as they lose them; but they do not grow. You might find that a lot of your top clients fall into this range. Those top clients will maintain your level of revenue, but when you are given growth goals, where do you find them?
The answer is to try to rank your clients by growth over the previous year. You will probably find a big difference in the tables with that of your largest clients. Those at the top of this list, but at the middle or bottom of your total revenue list are those up-and-comers; those clients that are rising stars and will help you in the future. Identify the top group that represents either 80% of your total growth, or 100% of your targeted growth (whichever is more manageable).
Finally, there are always exceptions. You have a client that is very small with your company, but a large customer with a competitor. There may be an opportunity to take them away from that other company. You could have a small client that is made of people from another large company. They broke away to start their own business. They have contacts, knowledge (experience) and some cash. They just need time and some help and they will grow. This third list is hard to quantify and identify. The key thing is to go through every client in your list at least once and just understand a little history about them. What is their current situation and can you exploit it? Are there synergies with your previous two lists? If not, then add these clients as special projects. You evaluate them over time, and if they prove out, then you continue to follow them; otherwise you drop them and focus on your previous two lists.
In a nutshell you have three lists: biggest revenue, biggest growth, and biggest opportunities. These clients get most of your attention. Every now and then you evaluate the other clients to see if they fall into opportunity. Remember, they are already no in revenue or growth so they have to be opportunity.
Of course, every quarter you do a check to see if everyone stays in revenue and growth. Typically, you will not see much change over quarter by quarter, but year by year you might see some significant shifts. Since you are looking at which clients switch from low revenue to high revenue, or low growth to high growth, and only concerned with the crossover you will typically only see a small percentage of clients change in this list.
This way you can manage your priorities, maintain your revenue, and grow your company.
Stay ahead of the curve, Book discussion: “Crush It!” part 11
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers on January 11, 2010
Nothing stays the same, everything changes. Everything I’ve been talking about, and will talk about in the future can and will change with time. The information in Crush It! is not absolute, it can change tomorrow or even later today. It’s up to you to stay ahead of the curve, and you need to always be willing to adapt, especially when something isn’t working. As a matter of fact, social networking and new media is a fantastic way to find out what people think of your brand.
In the past, it was very difficult for businesses (and individuals for that matter) to address criticism or feedback from the masses. With social media it’s easier than ever, and you need to take advantage of the opportunity. Look at what Dominoes Pizza is doing. It’s very impressive that they are willing to interact with their customers on a one on one basis. The new social media offers this opportunity, but far too few major companies are taking advantage of this. Think about how you can interact with individuals within your community?and you will always be ahead of the curve.
Notable quotes from the final?chapters:
- If you see falsehood, you can correct it. If you see praise, you can show appreciation. If you see confusion, you can inform.
- We’re all in the public eye now.
- Think through the consequences of every business decision you make before you actually make it.
- No matter how big you get, every email, every customer, every friend, every single person with whom you come into contact matters and deserves respect and attention.
This concludes the discussion of Crush It! It’s an excellent book and worth the read so check your local library or purchase using my shameless link.
How to monetize your personal brand, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 10
Posted by eviator in Miscellaneous on January 7, 2010
Advertisers are always looking for ways to effectively market their products, and you have been building an enthusiastic community around your specific subject. You’re practically doing them a favor! Most people immediately flock to Google AdSense, which displays targeted advertisements on your webpage, rss feed, etc. You can certainly make some money using this, but it really doesn’t pay very well, and it can make your website look cheap. I think we can all agree that making your website look like a NASCAR driver is probably not in the best interest of your online community, so moving on…
One of the methods Vaynerchuk suggests is placing classy banner ads on your site. See this link?for an example of how to do this. You can also try cold calling companies to see if they are interested in buying adspace on your website. Sounds ridiculous? It’s not. Go to and search for your subject. See which advertisers are using Google AdSense for ads to be posted on these websites, and take note. Call these guys up, and see if they will spend money with you. Think about it, they’re already paying for Google AdSense, so they believe in advertising online. By sponsoring your page directly they will not get lost in the clutter like they would with AdSense, and you won’t look like a NASCAR driver.
One note about advertising, you should only advertise companies and products that you yourself endorse. Don’t put something on your site that you don’t believe in.
Speaking engagements
Come up with an interesting topic, then call a show or conference organizer and offer to give a free talk about your topic. This will give you a chance to discuss something you love, build some credibility, and to do so in front of an interested audience. This could eventually lead to money: You could be paid next time you offer to speak, or even better, your discussion could lead to new clients or opportunities.
Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs allow you to get a commission on products sold through links on your website. For example, if you are interested in purchasing the book I’m discussing, click this link… Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion?and I’ll get a small cut. Cool, huh? One way to go about doing this is to simply do a google search for affiliate programs; there are tons of them out there. Vaynerchuk suggests Commission Junction and Amazon. Also, don’t overlook local businesses, there could be some good money and opportunities for you there as well.
As with advertising, remember that all of the products that you link to should be relevant to your subject / topics, and should be something that you yourself endorse.
Retail
Vaynerchuk suggests that you can create a product or a service that is related to your business. One site that I’ve seen do this effectively is Open Source Marketer, which is also an excellent resource for you evil marketers out there. You could also design T-shirts promoting your site. If your community is big enough this could be profitable in the short term, and more importantly it can help promote your website to the masses.
Articles
You are an expert in your chosen subject, right? You can contribute articles to online and print magazines, and even other blogs. You’ll see some of my posts re-posted on vcplan – The Path?to Success?(you may even be reading the re-post) which is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs looking for venture capital investment. I don’t get paid for this, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t. At the worst, at least you are getting your name out there in your community.
Seminars
If your subject lends itself to how-to type of stuff, then put together an event, conference, webinar, etc.
Books and TV
Your blog and community building efforts could lead to book or television deals. Hey, it worked for Vaynerchuk. I wouldn’t?be reading his book if it didn’t.
Consulting
As my boys at Marvel Comics say, ‘Nuff said.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Be patient. In time, if you continue to hustle, you’ll grow your presence and improve your skills to the point where the fish – really, really big fish – will be jumping straight into your hands.
- Anything is better than zero.
If you know of any other opportunities, or have any other links, post in the comments, or email me at edwardviator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com
Putting it all together, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 9
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers, Miscellaneous on January 5, 2010
- Buy your domain name, preferably firstnamelastname.com When you sign up for Twitter, Facebook, etc, use this domain name (ex: )www.facebook.com/edward.viator
- Start a Wordpress or Tumblr account and host your domain on it.
- Hire a web designer to make sure your user interface is excellent. If you can’t afford one, get started anyway, but know that you should hire a designer in the future (as you can see, I can’t afford one yet).
- If you’re doing video, buy a $150 Flip camera.
- Create a Facebook fan page.
- Open a Twitter account with your domain name.
- If you’re doing video open a Tube Mogul account; if written word, sign up for Ping.fm.
- Create content and lots of it. Use personal anecdotes and let your personality shine.
- Tweet or post your content using Ping or Tube Mogul.
- Go to search.twitter and start searching for subjects relevant to your blog. Start following many of these.
- Go to blogsearch.google.com and search for blogs similar to yours. Comment and leave your name which should be linked to your webpage.
- Search Facebook for pages that relate to your topic. Join the active ones. Do the same for groups.
- Repeat 5, 8-12.
If you want to be successful, you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re content is great, you will get results eventually. Just remember, you should try to wait as long as possible to monetize your brand. Once you monetize, Vaynerchuk suggests that it is difficult to focus on content, so early on you should focus on building the community.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Don’t forget to include a list of all of your social network links on your e-mail signature, letterhead, and business cards.
- Make sure you have a big fat button on your site that says Want to Do Business with Me? or something along those lines.