by Daria Steigman on October 31, 2008
Thinking of going independent or starting a business? Before you quit your day job, here are a few “top of mind” things to consider:
- your risk tolerance
- your comfort level with doing business development
- your level of discipline
- your value proposition (why clients should hire you instead of all the other solo practitioners in the marketplace)
As a would-be entrepreneur, you should also develop a business plan right away–before taking any other steps. Developing a business plan will force you to focus on your goals and what is aspirational, what is achievable in the shorter term, and what resources it will take to succeed.
Tagged as:
Business Development,
Entrepreneurship,
Risk Tolerance,
Value Proposition
by Daria Steigman on October 30, 2008
There’s one local candidate who lost my vote several weeks ago. I have no idea what his platform is or how he would govern if elected to the city council. All I know is that he wants my vote. His campaign has robocalled me so many times I’ve lost count.
If you really want my vote, stop using a megaphone and start engaging me and other citizens in a conversation. Find out what issues matter to me. Tell me what you’ll do for our city.
I wouldn’t do business with a company just because it wanted me to, so what makes someone think I’d pick a candidate that way?
Tagged as:
Business,
Campaign,
Strategy
by Daria Steigman on October 28, 2008
My car dealership called me to ask about my recent service experience. It went smoothly, and I told the customer rep. that. He asked me what I liked about their service department, and I gave him two specific reasons why I keep bringing my car back. And that was that.
After I hung up, I realized he didn’t ask me what I didn’t like or what I thought they could change. If he had, the dealership would have learned that I find the “miscellaneous charge” junk fee insulting, and that I tell people to steer clear of their body shop, which lost my business after they lost my front license plate and lied about it.
Are you asking your clients or customers about the good, the bad, and the ugly? If not, you’re missing a big opportunity to get invaluable feedback from the people who are already invested in you.
Tagged as:
Customers,
marketing,
PR
by Daria Steigman on October 24, 2008
I once spent almost two days in a workshop being completely ignored by the three people sitting at the same table. I’d offer input, they’d pretend I hadn’t said anything. Really, it was that bad.
Then a funny thing happened. During the final afternoon break, two of the guys started complaining that the communications staff didn’t understand the organization’s core business. Um… actually I did get it. And I interjected a comment that proved it. After that I was golden.
Later, as I was leaving the organization, one of the three would give me some great career advice.
To succeed in business, you have to know how and when to forge a relationship. Sometimes it comes easy; more often it takes hard work. But the payoffs–friends, colleagues, mentors, clients, customers–make the effort worthwhile.
Tagged as:
Business,
Independent Thinking,
Mentoring
by Daria Steigman on October 23, 2008
Estee Lauder has raised the bar on its purchase “giveaway” from $1.00 below the price of not-so-cheap-to-begin-with moisturizer to $1.00 above. Which means you either leave without the extras or spend money on something you don’t want. Or option 3: change brands. There’s a lot of competition out there.
Let’s be clear: Although cosmetics companies put a dollar value on their giveaways, it doesn’t cost them that much. The aim of the promotions is to generate sales and customer loyalty.
So why would a company risk alienating customers, especially during a recession?
Tagged as:
Customers,
Estee Lauder,
marketing,
Sales
