Fighting the Big Boys...

BusinessWeek had a great article story about how small, local, coffee houses were competing with Starbucks. And not just surviving, but thriving. While Starbucks is its own worst enemy (although they are at least taking the right steps to right the ship) in a lot of areas, including here in Southern Oregon, they are getting their butt handed to them by local, or regional chain.

So how do you compete with a behemoth?

• Zig to their Zag - Competing directly can be suicide. If they are trying to expand into other areas, focus on your core. Or, Muffins vs Cookies. Pleasant people vs the not so nice (at least here).
• Know your niche - They grew because they became an authority on coffee. If you are gonna compete find your niche or sub-niche, like fast service, special Teas better loyalty rewards, etc.
• Work Harder - Howard Schultz works very hard, but the bigger you grow even a 1% bad apple quotient is gonna creep in (if not higher). Be prepared to personally out-work them. I have tried a lot of new places because they were, well, open! Hire other hard workers. Pay them more then the competition and only hire the best. If they aren't fire them and do it yourself. If you can't outspend them (and you can't!) Gotta make this step!!!

This applies to any business. If you say you can't compete, you can't. You won't buy better then them no matter how hard you whine, so work hard, work around them, and know your business and I guarantee success!

A Tale of Two Salesmen

Sales and Marketing generally doesn't get along. If sales are going hot, they are obviously the most skilled person to scale such heights, and if sales are bad, marketing didn't find the right message. Now remember though this is coming from a marketing guy, not a sales guy. I think we marketers are perfect...OK I don't, but I wanted to set this story up so you would understand that when I say, "You Have to Be a Great Salesperson in your Career." You'll know I am not just drinking the sales Kool-Aide. I will get to the why in a bit. This story takes place when I was just starting out in my career, but I was a Merchandising Buyer. Only the names have been changed to protect the stupid :)

This story involves two salesmen. Let's call them Bobby and Buzz. They have both been in sales for years, both had risen to top sales posts had all of the contacts needed to generate their quota.

Bobby would call at the end of every month, or 3 days before the end of the month at the end of his quarter, half or year. Every call went something like this:

Bobby: "Whatcha got for me this month Racer?" "Well you better get some of my new 'Y' on order now we are running out!"

Me: "Bobby shocking to hear from you at the end of the month, but we are good, thanks."

Bobby: "Come on Racer, I need $100k to make the month. I'll give you an extra 3% off."

Me: "Well, Bobby," I would say smiling on the other end of the phone, "I don't need $100K of your widgets, that would be 4 months supply, so it would take getting another 10%, not 3%."

Bobby: Silence..."OK, let me check, we normally can't go that low." Then he would call back and say, "OK, I can't go 10% but I'll go 8."

Me: "Fine", I'd say, "I need terms then, 60 days."

Bobby: "Done" said El Bobby faster than a fox running from the Chicken coup...

Problem was Bobby thought he really got one by my because he would have gone to 10%. Well...not quite. I needed the goods anyway, plus I got terms which were worth about 1.5% then. I would have ordered, but I knew he would call and offer a discount. The nice thing was I only had to talk to Bobby 12 times a year, and then I would light him up like a Christmas Tree.

Let's Contrast that with Buzz.

I talked to Buzz 4-8 times a month. He never asked for an order on any call. He would ask about my wife, kids, dogs, music, etc.. He knew my favorite lunch place, my favorite dinner spot, what were the good times to call, and what were the bad times. He would ask me how things were selling through, did I need to return anything, how was my stock levels...Buzz always made his numbers and he never had to discount. He knew our business as well as us.

So what are the lessons for you, your career and life?:

1. Make it easy to do business with you - Buzz always made sure we were selling through. He knew how every facet of ordering took place so we never had an issue with his shipments
2. He made each of us feel as we were friends - Not superficial friends, but real ones. He took the time to connect with almost everyone at the office.
3. He put you over himself - You could call 24/7/365 (he insisted) but he would never do the same back. He respected your time. Our business mattered more to him then a single order!
4. He worked every day, not just on deadlines - He didn't get as big of single orders as Bobby sometimes, but he didn't need to have a fire sale each month either! No Christmas Eve calls!
5. Never an integrity issue - If we couldn't do something he would never try and go around you, to your boss, or bosses boss. Bobby did, and no one trusted him because of that.

Unfortunately there are 100 Bobby's out there for each Buzz, but whether you are in sales, marketing or any job, apply those principles and you will go far!

Get a Mentor, Be a Mentor...

If you want to be successful in budgeting, money management, cleaning up your debts or being successful in your job you really have to find a mentor.

I stumbled into Marketing by accident, as I was, of course, pre-destined to be a giant Rock Star...That didn't happen (obviously) so at some point I needed to get a job. I started at the very low-end answering phones, but eventually got to start working on our catalog and being one of the first people added to the marketing team when we brought someone into the company to lead our efforts, which were home grown only up until then.

I was lucky in a couple ways; one the person hired had an amazing resume and had worked at some great companies when they were start-ups and when they got big, so he had amazing experience. Second, the man was ego-less. A lot of time outside industry hires come in and are going to "teach" you how it is "really done." This guy was not that at all. His first comment was to me, "I know some things that might help with what you are doing here, but you know your industry and I don't, so you can help me with that!" Lastly, I was bought in and smart enough to realize this was a great opportunity for me.

He stayed for a few years then moved on , but after a few years I left and worked my way up in a different company to a similar position. I tried to remember how exactly he taught me and treated me. I don't have the saintly patience that he had, but he instilled enough compassion to care that my employees were getting mentored to the best of my ability.

When I began to really dig into person finance and budgeting, I realized I needed a mentor there as well. The same goes for my marriage and my current position at my new/old company. The same goes for Blogging. It holds true for nearly all aspects of your life.

There is a maxim that I try to remind myself of: The More you Know, the More you Know you Don't Know!

Your mentor doesn't have to be right there with you. You can be mentored by reading about someones life, or by hearing of someones life. But if you take from this well of knowledge you have a responsibility to help others as well...even if it is some kid in marketing that really doesn't know what they are doing :)

Managing your Finances: Taming Suffitis...

I admit I have terrible Stuffitis. I stole this phrase from Dave Ramsey, but it really sums it up nicely. If I am going to ever get total control over my finances, I will need to learn to curb this base instinct.

I really have no excuse, I am in marketing, I know what and how the messages are crafted, yet, like the stupid bug who watched his whole clan march into the light, I feel powerless at times! No, I haven't gone off the deep end and charged a bunch of things, but it is really easy to self-justify some of these item as needs as opposed to wants or desires.

Here is how I am making sure to keep Stuffitis at bay:

• Chop up the Credit Cards -It is really easy to say, I might need them for emergency use only! OK, that would be one...many people hold 5+ credit cards. If you have that many emergencies at once you may want to consider upping the insurance.

• Use Cash Whenever Possible - Cash is finite; when it is gone it is gone. Cannot be overspent. Its a physics issue! Yes I am foregoing 2% cash back on left-handed tomatoes, but I don't have the best track record...maybe some day I can trust me enough to do that, not yet though.

• Bad Influences - We all have those friends that are shopping enablers, or parents that say, "Oh come on, $5 won't kill you," or, "You deserve it, you work sooo hard!"

• Track Everything - I guarantee if you haven't been doing this you will be appalled. "$550 on cat toys? We don't have a Cat!"

• Try to Appreciate what you DO Have - This is the toughest, but the most rewarding. Sure I don't have the fanciest car right now, but I also don't have the equivalent of a second house payment either!

I am sure you have your own ways, but if you want to be really in charge of you Personal Finances, I agree with Dave Ramsey...you have to tame your Stuffitis!