Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em
I've spent a lot of time contemplating how major companies decide when to keep slogans and images and when to ditch 'em. Think about it: "You're in good hands," "15 minutes can save you 15%," and the large, smiling Mr. Clean have all persevered. Meanwhile, "you deserve a break today," "good to the last drop," and "get the Maxx for the minimum" are history. Long gone.

State Farm stays a "good neighbor" and Lowes continues to "improve home improvement", but while GE keeps "bringing good things to light" and, to many any time is still Miller time, these two giants and many others have decided to head in different directions with new approaches and tactics. 

Sometimes, you have to be yourself and stay the course. Other times, you have to know when to fold 'em and change your strategy. And it's not always as simple as choosing the path less traveled. 

Great Advice From The Culligan Man
If you remember the Culligan man, you may remember him because of his ad partner, the Culligan lady. She came on the scene in the 1950s ending commercials for the water treatment company with the easily recognizable yell "Hey, Culligan Man!"

Well, she's back.

Soon you may see new TV spots and her signature tag line. 

Says Curt Hillard, Senior VP of Marketing, "the slogan is deeply embedded in our culture but the image of the Culligan Man was not representing our dealers services. Hey culligan man is our brand. We're never going to have enough money to rebrand ourselves again."

A really astute observation, if you ask me. Not an easy decision to make, especially if you're trying to change your image and appeal to a new demographic. But after a diagnosis of the situation, Hillard settled on the best bang for his buck.

Helping You Decide If You Should Stay The Course
Hillard's decision is precisely the sort of thing I see my clients struggling with when they call me. 

Whether your interviewing skills (on either side of the interview) are stale or your strategy to transition needs to be revisited... if you want to cultivate stronger relationships with those you serve in order attract more customers  or if you want to revisit your decision to stay at your current job… life coaching can help. 

I can be your sounding board, your facilitator, your awareness raiser. It's not about "what's in YOUR wallet," but about what's in your message. And the process that leads to the decisions you make is endlessly important.

And that leads me to the Piano Man, well, the other Piano Man.

A Simple Addition Makes A Big Difference
It may have been Paderewski, the talented Polish pianist, who arrived in a small western town one day and decided to take a walk. While strolling, he heard a piano and, following the sound, he came to a house on which was a sign reading: "Miss Beatty, Piano Lessons 25 cents an hour."

Pausing to listen he heard the woman unsuccessfully trying her hand at playing one of Chopin's nocturnes. Paderewski knocked on her door and Miss Beatty, recognizing him at once, invited him in. He sat at the piano, played the nocturne as only he could, and then spent an hour with her correcting her mistakes. She thanked him as he departed. 

The next day as he again took a walk past her house he saw a new sign: "Miss Beatty, Piano Lessons $1.00 an hour (Pupil of Paderewski)."

In my line of work, I get to see both sides of the hiring coin: those intimidating hiring folks who wordsmith these incredibly verbose, extensive, and overreaching job descriptions, as well as the intimidated, apprehensive, and nervous job seekers who have rehearsed every possible interview question while changing their wardrobe at least three times. 

This has allowed me the acute perspective of both finding the right people for the right job and convincing the decision maker that she/he has found the right match. 

For those doing the hiring there are two specific strategies I advise you to implement. (For job-seekers, this is important for you as well as you can learn what should be going on behind that desk you are sitting in front of.) 

Go beyond a job description with measurable goals and ideal qualities
Most job descriptions aptly explain what tasks the employee must complete. But there is a world of of measurable metrics beyond the "to do" list. 

GOALS and EXPECTATIONS. What should this employee be accomplishing in 30, 60, 90 days? Explain the vocational trajectory to potential employees: where the job will begin and how this can lead to a rewarding career.    

In most vocational careers, personality is an integral part of the job. Employees need to work with internal teams, outside vendors, and customers. 

Be completely aware of the ideal qualities you desire in your candidates. I saw one CEO, George John of the startup Rocket Fuel, say that, "The most important characteristics to me are intellectual honesty and courage--meaning, in a start-up there are things that are going to go well and things that aren't.  But, there's another flavor of the ideal employee--someone who is very intellectually curious."   

Seek a prospective staff member with inner character. Discover what motivates her to succeed, what excites her. How to discover this, you ask? The interview, which brings me to the second bullet.   

Ask the right questions
You know all of those old standard interview questions like, "what are your strengths and weaknesses," "where do you see yourself 5 years from now," and "describe your management style."  Well, according to Kevin Kelly, a CEO of an executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, you can forgetaboutem. 

There are only three true job interview questions: a) Can you do the job? b) Will you love the job? and c) Can we tolerate working with you? Pretty simple, isn't ist?  Ask them these questions, and you'll learn everything you need to know. 

If that's a little out there for you, then just think about the point behind the questions. Ryan Mack, a partner at TruYuu, an online service that helps people present themselves as more than just a resume, suggests that "a good interviewer gets the applicant talking about what he did, how he did it and why he did it that way." 

This is accomplished by asking open ended questions ("describe what your primary responsibilities were in your last position," "give me an example of how you exceeded those responsibilities," for instance) that require the applicant to paint her experiences in detail. 

You should be looking for personal experiences and perspective. Does he fit the organization as well as the position? Will he be a superstar? If not, then keep looking. 

The best interviewee I know, my friend Eddie Stark, was once asked in an interview: "Can you talk to me about how you deal with rejection? We both know you can't make every sale, that you're going to lose some, that you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink it. So how DO you handle rejection?" 

Said Stark," Sir, I mean no disrespect to you, but my job is not to make that horse drink, it's to make him thirsty!" He told the employer everything he needed to know.

Please share with me how you identify the best talent for your organization.  

A New Business Opportunity....My Way
Years ago, in the 1980s, I was considering opening a laundromat. The company I researched was a franchise so many of the logistical decisions were inherently made by the franchisor, the parent company. Still, I had much flexibility when it came to the actual business decisions.
 
Many of those I lean on for advice, my "kitchen cabinet," advised me NOT to make the decision I eventually made. You see, I have a rigid personal inclination - some may call it a compulsion - to conduct business only through relationship cultivation and management.

It was simply contrary to my uncompromising mantra and instincts, and against every fiber of my being (at my age I really hate using that particular f-word) to open up a laundromat that didn't have a personality, a way to connect with customers, a feeling that this one laundromat, above all others, was homey, was someplace special.
 
Differentiating From The Competition
Conventional wisdom says that people are very goal oriented when it comes to washing and drying clothes...that they do not need to pay extra for bells and whistles (I did charge 10 cents a load more)...that they have a one track mind: to get in and get out, their chore completed.
 
Unconventional wisdom says that every customer that walks through the door, even the doors of a laundromat, is a relationship-waiting-to-happen. I invested more in my laundromat for specific, seemingly small things, like nice carpeting, a pool table, arcade games, "things" that I knew other competing laundromats strategically did not have. I invested in comfy sofas in a large living-room type atmosphere with a big screen TV. I envisioned people literally doing their laundry and hanging out. I called this mundane experience of washing clothes " having good clean fun."

Punctuating Your Signature 
The cherry on top of it all was my excellent staff, who were trained to help our customers carry their baskets of laundry to and from their cars, to help fold their laundry, and to wipe down each machine when one customer was done and the next one was ready to wash and dry. My staff smiled, made conversation and grew to know - by name and face - their regulars.
 
Business boomed.
 
I look back with so much fondness and warmth on my days in the laundromat business. I had a vision and goals. And I stayed tied to my message no matter what. Because business is about opportunities.
 
What Obstacles Are In Front Of You?
And it led directly to my decision to become a Life Coach. I now help people like you clarify their visions and goals, whether those goals are business or personal. I can help you decide when to stay on or off message and help you remove obstacles in your way.
 
That's what coaching is all about. That's what I do. That's how I help. My focus is on your vocational or personal well being, how to help you do your job better, how to attack specific challenges or struggles in front of you. My focus is on your agenda, an agenda that you set.
 
And just as any agenda or strategy can be refined and re-envisioned, so can yours. Which brings us to the blind man.

A Matter Of Perspective
He was sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: I AM BLIND, PLEASE HELP.

A woman walked by and stopped to observe. She saw that the blind man only had a few coins in his hat. She dropped in a couple of coins and, without asking his permission, took the sign and rewrote it. She returned the sign to the blind man and left.

That afternoon after work the woman returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was overflowing with coins and bills. The blind man recognized her footsteps and asked if she was the one who had rewritten his sign, and if so, would she tell him what it now said.

The woman responded, "Nothing that is not true; I just wrote the message a little differently." She smiled and went on her way.

The new sign read: TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT 

Sometimes we need to change our strategy, because if we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always got.

Every day, I am guided by pithy sayings. No, not the trite clichés we're overly exposed to. But short, sweet axioms that succinctly convey the sentiments that make up my signature. They are bite-size reminders that help me make decisions each and every day.

Bookmark this post, write your favorite on a sticky note, copy and paste it as an image for your desktop background. Think of it as a compendium of best practices for your direct mail letters, newsletters, cases, and annual reports, as well as your all-important digital realm.

1. People give more to people than they do to organizations.
2. Fundraisers should consider raising friends, not money.
3. Donors don't want to be seen as "piggy banks"...they want to be seen as partners in a cause
4. I agree with Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, who said that people only want two things more than sex and money: recognition and praise.
5. We are not entitled to our customer's loyalty...we must earn it and continue to earn it.
6. We, not our clients, must take full responsibility for our relationships.
7. Given the choice of selling yourself or selling your product, sell yourself.
8. Ask your clients and customers for introductions.....not referrals.
9. Howard Luck Gossage once said, “The fact of the matter is that nobody reads ads. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.”
10. Getting noticed can be positive. Sometimes impressive degrees, resumes, interviewing skills and experience won't land you that coveted job, but by writing an aggressive cover letter or unusual thank you letter, you may get the positive attention that can lead to a hire.
    

Finally, another 100% true story:

Getting noticed can be negative. Sometimes "aggressive" and "unusual" leave an unreadable signature...a really bad taste. 

Take Robbie, a guy I know well. He ran out of tried and true (and tired) ideas to "bring 'em in." He owned a carpet store and needed cash because he didn't need his accounts payable. 

He began with the usual: a Lost our Lease Sale, a Fire Sale (word is that a trash can actually lit up), a Flood Sale (honest, the toilet overflowed), a Going Out Of Business Sale (he did, for a long holiday week-end), a Stock Liquidation Sale...you get the idea? 

The truth is that he really wanted out, desperately needed cash and had to liquidate.

But how, one more time, to "bring 'em in"?   Robbie did it.   

His finale, (it's not pretty enough to be called his swan song...more like the ugly   duckling)...was...FOUND MY LEASE SALE!   And he did find it...somewhere.   But he never found his conscience.

One of my clients was recently at an impasse with his supervisor at work. They simply did not see eye-to-eye on a long-term issue. And while the disagreement could be shelved for the time being, it was bound to boil at some point. My client knew he simply could not bury his head in the sand and hope for the best.

While we were talking out the various options my client had and as he provided me with more and more background to this obstacle, he casually referenced a job opening in a different company. It paid more, the hours were better, and, at least on paper, the job description seemed ideally suited to him. I tried to probe further, but my client had a wall up about this issue. The timing wasn't right, it was a new environment, and a longer commute. In his mind, he was not applying for this job.

Now, as a life coach, my job is not to instruct or direct. It is not my place to advise him to look for other work. My job is to talk out your options with you and help you form an aggressive plan to overcome your challenges.

We continued to talk out his options, to figure out how to move past the clash of two divergent approaches. A week passed and, after an illuminating session, my client came to the conclusion that pursuing the new position was at least worth a shot. Let the chips fall where they may, but he's putting himself in a position to make a decision.

And that reminded me of Benny.

The Trouble With Opportunity Is That It Always Comes Disguised As Hard Work
A very close friend of my dad's, Benny, asked him to be on the lookout for a "good line" to sell on the road since he couldn't make ends meet on the men's underwear line he was currently peddling.

It just so happened that my Pops had heard of an opening with one of the most popular and best-selling sweater lines in the country. "University Sweaters" was interviewing the next day in Cleveland, which, in the early 50s, was a four-hour-drive from Benny's home in Pittsburgh.

My dad tells Benny about this OPPORTUNITY and Benny yells in response, "Jack, every salesman I know is applying for that job. I'll have to drive all night in the rain, wait in line to get in front of the president of University Sweaters (editor's note: that's how it was done in those days), and then hope that out of the 90 or so people in that line, he'll pick me. On top of that, after I don't get picked, I have to drive another four hours back home. No thanks!"

A Poem
Jones, beset by stress and strife
Begged this single boon of life:
"Give me half a chance!" Know what?
Half a chance was all he got!

A Salesman Is A Salesman Is A Salesman
Well, my dad was tough as nails, and he gave it to Benny. I mean, he ripped him a brand, spanking new one...something like this: "Benny, don't you ever again ask me for help. I tell you about this, the holy grail of lines, and you find every reason to say no. GO FIND YOUR OWN LINE!"

Embarrassed and humiliated, Benny gets in his car, drives the four hours in the rain through the night to Cleveland, stands in line for another couple of hours with about 70 other wet and cold aspirants with resumes in hand. Exhausted, soaked, and miserable, he hands his resume to the CEO who scans it, looks up, and says, "Mr. Stoff, your resume says that you sell underwear. The name of this company is University Sweaters. What do you know about sweaters?"

That was it for Benny. He was done, just too pissed and frustrated to go on with the interview. "I don't know a damned thing about sweaters. I don't know about yarns or dies or stitches or V-necks or Q necks. I probably don't know a medium from a large. All I can tell you is that I am a SALESMAN. That's all I do. I SELL. If the name of your company was University Hot Dogs, then I would sell your stupid hot dogs, and more of them than anyone else who has stood in line outside; if the name of your company was University Tires, I'd sell them, too. Because I am a SALESMAN, the best that will ever stand in line outside your door. Now, Mr. President of University Sweaters, I'm going back to Pittsburgh!"

As Benny was walking out, without even saying goodbye, he hears, "get your ass back in here and tell me when you can start!"

A Jack On Your Shoulder: Always Take Advantage Of The Possibilities In Front Of You
I think back to my dad's friend, Benny, often. As is always the case with good and true stories, there are several important lessons that Benny's tale demonstrated. Above all else, however, it is an exemplary case of knocking on every door no matter what. If you look for reasons why an opportunity is not ideal for you, you will certainly find them. You need a "Jack" on your shoulder to constantly remind you that opportunities barely knock audibly, let alone ring the doorbell incessantly. It's what professor Brian Wansink calls the Intelligence Trap where, "Intelligent people especially can figure out a rationalization for anything they want to believe." Benny – albeit inadvertently – seized an opportunity. The CEO recognized Benny's sales-purity and captured an opportunity of his own to hire the best salesman.

So as you proceed with in your professional and personal lives, I ask you to think hard about the possibilities in front of you before you pass up what could be an opportunity. Put yourself in a position to make a decision. Even if you get a little cold and wet in the process.

PS

Benny worked 40 years for University Sweaters. He was consistently their top salesman.

Forging Personal Connections And Boosting The Bottom Line
Let's say I'm a business owner with several thousands of clients. I'm sitting in the Kansas City airport waiting for a flight and an idea pops into my head for my next promotion. I scribble it down on a yellow legal pad, get home, make some copies, and actually send it personally (misspelled words and corrections included) to 6,000 of my most favored customers. 

Hundreds read it and respond. Some call and thank me for personally writing this to them. Many (so many more than expected) respond by showing up for this "unbelievable offer." The results are spectacular. Not only have I jolted my cash register, but I've fostered personal connections en masse to boot.

Making Your Customers Believe
When I wrote this letter, I wasn't in the Kansas City airport. Actually I was sitting comfortably in my office planning this promotion and trying to live up to the exceedingly high expectations of my cherished clientele: to provide them with value, which I did through the promotion and to make them feel individually special and appreciated, which I accomplished through the handwritten letter. I got them to respond and reinforced that their shopping experience was unique and rewarding.

Being Edgy Pays Off
You have to understand the two-fold objective. In this case, simply getting them in the door was not enough. If I get them in the door but don't impress them with a personal signature, then I have not succeeded. I wanted them to feel personally connected. Any ol' direct mail flyer cannot establish a connection.

This is about "you," Mr. Davidson. YOU as an individual have choices to make throughout your day, and I value the choice you make to patron my store. YOU. Without YOU, I am zilch...nada. My job is to create an extraordinary experience for you. My expectation is that, by the end of the transaction, not only will we have completed a sale or exchange, but I will have empowered a new spokesman for my business.

We're looking for the subtle moments of expression, the ones where a board member surprises a new donor with a phone call to thank them for their gift or where an inspirational note is discreetly placed in a grocery bag. When you focus on delivering emotional gratification in additional to an exchange of goods and services, you start to understand that you can build an army of advocates for your brand.

Creating Your Signature, And Signing It
My signature was be "Unmatched, Unequaled, Customer/Client/Congregant/Patient/Donor Care." It's not just about raising money or dispensing legal or medical advice, selling suits or giving a sermon. It's about creating an exemplary and ingratiating environment, a warm and nurturing atmosphere. Every lawyer knows the law, every cardiologist can give an EKG. You have many places of worship and fitness centers to choose from and, excuse this expression, jewelry stores are a "thousand a dozen" (because a dime ain't worth nothing anymore).

The Real Magic of Disney World
We once took a family trip to Disney World years ago. What amazed me more than anything else about the amusement park was the authenticity of the happiness and kindness of Disney World employees. Everyone from Minnie herself to the guy working Space Mountain to the janitorial crew sweeping up after the parade wore a genuine smile and offered very real and very helpful advice with seemingly endless patience. It was years later that I learned the method to the madness.

Disney does not have "employees" but rather "cast members." They don’t interview for jobs so much as audition for a role. To them, we – the patrons – were guests, not customers. And every cast member was acting in an elaborate performance, not going through the motions of a job.

Supposedly, the janitorial staff at Disney World consists of the most highly trained actors and actresses since they are the most visible to the public and are obvious targets for questions about restroom locations, parade times, and rides.

Disney knows its signature: create a magical universe where enchantment is commonplace. They hire their employees based on it.

Your mission: find your signature and relentlessly pursue it. The next spokesman for your brand is next in line, waiting for an extraordinary experience. 

The Incredible Tale of Johnny the Bagger
Here's one that never made it to Oprah's Book Club: the book The Simple Truths of Service, which tells the story of Johnny the Bagger. It's 76 pages long, literally a 15 minute read. I encourage you to read the book, but here is a video the authors Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glantz created from the book. By the end, not only will you be smiling, but you will innately begin thinking about your personal "signature" and vocational values. 

Care Means Not Always Thinking About Dollars And Cents
I always wanted my signature to be unmatched customer care; thus, I get turned on when I see someone else with the same aspirations. All the more so when I see them achieve it.

My son, daughter-in law, and newborn grandson live in a small apartment building. Recently they saw one of the maintenance folks and chatted a bit about the new baby. A few days later they get a card from the multi-building owner/landlord welcoming their newest tenant.  The card read, "You're the person we've been waiting for." 

This gesture struck me because property management companies are not typically in the business of customer service. (I despise that word SERVICE...everyone thinks they offer it and so few deliver it or understand it. It's all about CARE.) My kids already signed their lease. There's no more business to be done, and do they think that this card is going to be the difference between the kids renewing or moving out? 

The ONLY reason for the card, the real signature, is to let their tenants know that "we care".

Your Mistakes Define You...In The Most Positive Way
Signatures can take on a couple of different identities. In the world of client/customer/congregant-care, you don't generally receive a standing ovation for doing what you're supposed to be doing. It's your job to make that hospital visit, to check the legal precedent, to call when the desired item comes in. 

But what separates you from those service providers is how you handle that "whoops." How you recoup from mistakes can be the difference between quality care and inattentiveness. 

When I had my men's clothing store, each time a customer picked up a garment, tried it on, and exclaimed that "these pants are way too tight and I don't know when I can come back to try them on again," I saw an opportunity. Here is a chance to not only impress, recover, and retain a customer but a chance to get someone to brag about me to his friends. 

By merely offering him a cup of coffee (and, let's be honest, sometimes a shot of Crown Royal) asking him about his job or his kids, and using the 15 minutes it takes to let the waist out by showing him I care, I turned the tables and turned a potentially lost customer into an ally. If the tailoring took more than 15 minutes? No problem. I would send him on his way and drop it off later at his home or office. 

We received referral after referral based on scenarios like this. 

Creating Your Signature
Signatures can be overt, like always handwriting your thank you notes and making them personal, or the Johnny the Bagger way. Or, they can be subtle. The important thing is that they are constant and ingrained in what you do. Paying attention to details, so often overlooked, can be the easiest signature... remembering someone's name after your first encounter or picking up from the last conversation you had with them. Making sure your waiting room has fresh coffee and a plate of cookies... making sure your store's sidewalk is perfectly shoveled, walking around and greeting all of your congregants personally before services begin (my rabbi actually does this), quickly and efficiently handle your mistakes. 

I keep thinking of my son's landlords. They clearly understand that the small touches add up to a much larger whole, that the greeting card most certainly contributes in a substantial way to an environment we want to be part of. 

Create your signature, create it from within, from whom you are. And then start signing it.  

A few weeks back I wrote about a post about preppy shirts and the opportunity to constantly create...well, opportunities. I'm staying with that theme (not the shirts, but that opportunity knockin' concept that our parents started drumming into our heads when we were nine-years-old).
 
We're Losing Market Share
The CEO of a major athletic shoe company in the good ole USA (can't say the name here, but I'd bet my wingtips that you've worn 'em and worked out in 'em) called his two best salespeople into his office in NYC and laid it out: "Men", he said, "our sales are down, our market share is down, our profits are down, our return on investment is down, our stock is down, and your income is down. The  only thing that is up is competition...and lots of it."
 
As I tracked this company and trend, I didn't see or hear anything unique about this CEO's or his company's plight. Addidas, Nike...they all were facing the same downturn.
 
"Our marketing department has identified an opportunity," the CEO continued. "It' a small developing country and I want you two, the best of the best salesmen, to travel there, spend the week gathering as much information as you can.  Come back to HQ and tell me if this is the type of untapped market potential we need and lack. Split up to cover more ground and don't come back without a thorough conclusion.
 
Recognizing Opportunity Is The Difference Between Success And Failure 
Off they go, marketing research materials in hand and head. Once in this small country, one heads east, the other west. They spend five grueling days with people in different villages. They ask questions, observe the customs and traditions, the daily life. They watch them at work, at home, at play, at school. They take notes on the weather, the foliage. They spend time in the various shops and bazaars and then return back to New York, detailed reports and recommendations in hand.
 
Even When Opportunity Knocks, You Still Have To Get Up Off Your Seat And Open The Door
Salesman #1 gets in front of the CEO and says softly, "I spoke with hundreds of villagers: moms, dads, teachers, kids, ministers. I observed these people playing sports. I noted what they wear to work and to church, in the fields and at home. I know this country's climate changes and it's landscaping. I can tell you what the shopkeepers sell and what they don't sell. And and I can tell you this: THESE PEOPLE DON'T WEAR SHOES!"

He continues, "They don't understand shoes...they don't have shoes. They run, walk, kick balls barefooted; they cook, teach and work in the fields barefooted. This is simply no market for us."
 
Opportunity Is Often Missed Because We Broadcast When We Should Be Tuning In
Salesman #2 takes a sip of water, clears his throat and begins. "I don't want to bore you, boss, with the same important and appropriate details as my talented colleague. Please understand that our model for gathering data was precisely the same and we completely agree that these are a people who don't have shoes.  They run, walk, kick balls barefooted; they cook, teach and work in the fields barefooted. But when I saw these family without shoes, a different thought than my coworker's arose. These people don't wear shoes yet! We have a totally untapped market in front of us. Let's go get there first."

If You Want To Launch Big Ships, You Have To Go Where The Water Is Deep  
I think you get the point. No matter what stage of life you find yourself, opportunity abounds. And if you can't see it, you're simply not looking hard enough.  

What challenges in your life can you turn into opportunities?

P.S. That Question Was Not Rhetorical
Leave a comment, anonymous if need be, about what struggles you're working to overcome. Tell me what situations you'd like to turn into opportunities. It can be something like "I'm having trouble finding motivation to change jobs" or "I can't seem to actually sit down and create a financial budget for myself." These are real challenges that can really be turned into tremendous pools of untapped potential.
                      

Andy Warhol and Eleanor Roosevelt: Strange bed fellows! OK, not literally, but they are in cahoots here. And the two of them sum up my lesson today splendidly.

In 1990, I sent a placemat, pictured below, and promotion out to 6,000 of my customers. My men's retail shop needed an injection and I found the idea to do exactly that (and wish I could take credit for coming up with it!). 

Here's the thing: There is no Square Peg's Diner. Perception is Reality! 

It's All About The Customer
The whole idea of sitting at a diner and getting an idea and writing it down while it is fresh (as fresh as those delicious pancakes) is plausible, possible, and very real. 

I thought about what my customers would want from me and hypothesized that they'd want close, personal communication: not a lengthy, jargony direct mail letter, but something they could believe came directly from an owner of a store to their personal mailboxes. 

The placemat was that idea.  

Break The Rules...If It Pays Off
I guess we broke some marketing rules, though I haven't figured out which ones...but Eleanor Roosevelt did once say that "if you obey all the rules, you'll miss out on a lot of fun."

See, while it may not be corporate and some may classify it as "unprofessional," the placemat conveys relationship, warmth, a personal touch.  

There is certainly a place and time for professionalism, but I diagnosed my store's problem and fixed it: handwritten, off-the-cuff, I branded myself as an anti-chain. And my customers loved me for it.

The response to this "promotion" was beyond my highest expectation. We just didn't stop ringing that cash register!  

Just wait til I tell you my airport story. 

Here's What To Do Now
So, what's the take away here?

The takeaway is that I've accumulated enough stories and on-the-floor experience to work with your goals and objectives, to get people through your door, in to your waiting room, your pews, in front of your merchandise, or to keep them as loyal donors.

As a life coach, I will help you identify the obstacles, remove them, and achieve your objectives. Let me help you diagnose so I can work with you to solve.

Let's get you excited again about your goals. We have to meet at the diner to enhance and inspire, to rekindle that spark. 

Andy Warhol said it best: "You need to let little things that would orindarily bore you suddenly thrill you."  Like a placemat.

Let's have coffee, and maybe some pancakes, at the diner. I'll buy...you leave the coffee stain. (Look for it on the front of the place mat...it's real!)   

So here I am a "Life Coach"... always answering the question: What the hell is "Coaching"?!

And, as I have written previously in this blog, coaching often entails uncovering solutions and achieving goals. The problem is that these phrases often result in people thinking about pretty dramatic stuff: chemical dependency, emotional and sexual abuse, marital relationships...the stuff of therapists, social workers and psychologists. 

Let me be clear, that stuff ain't for me, the Life Coach. 

My Focus
I am about...
 * donor, patient, client, customer and congregant loyalty
 * retaining and increasing your following
 * dealing with vocational transition
 * getting started in your career

Sleep Easy Knowing You've Got A Plan
I help with your sleep-depriving thoughts from"should I get a dog?" to"I don't want my son to choose the military as a career after he graduates from high school." 

Don't laugh; these questions are very real.

A client called me for a meeting and said, "Larry, I want a dog, have never had a dog, and am scared of having a dog. The thought alone intimidates me, worries me.  But I want a dog. What should I do?"

The question seems so fundamentally different from the "what am I going to do now that I am fired" situations or the "why am I not growing my business?" dilemmas.   

There's A Root Of Every Obstacle
And it's true that while thinking out all the possible outcomes, I certainly had to consider the dog itself: will she bite, run away, endeavor to procreate...

But first and foremost, I had to consider the client. We came up with a list of things to do to determine if he was ready to become a dog-owner. 

When helping the parent of a future marine sergeant, I certainly couldn't speak for the boy (well, actually the man) himself. My focus was asking the right questions of my client, the parent. I wasn't satisfied with the refrain "my son is not mature enough to make this decision."  It's deeper than that.

We came up with a bevy of ways my client should address her struggles with her son's desire to fulfill his potential. We address the roots of problems, not the mere symptoms.  

You Are Why I Love Coaching
That's why I love coaching: dogs and the military. They seem like they have nothing to do with jobs or referrals. But, just ask me, and we'll work together to increase the loyalty of those you care about and those who care about you. 

Together, we can evaluate your options and come up with an aggressive action plan to help you overcome challenges. No matter what those challenges are.