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I'm a proponent of being very specific about finding a niche in your business. Every successful businessperson has to find a niche and they have to get great at it. Then, they have to exploit it in every way that they can. The businesses that are the least successful are the ones that are sloppy about finding their niche.

It's impossible to be ampicillin online everything to everybody. But many professional people are afraid of taking a niche because they believe that they'll leave crumbs on the table. They worry that deals will not come to them because they want to be able to pinch a few dollars from every opportunity.

The truth is that precisely the opposite is true. When people know you for one thing and they're able to put you in a box in their mind's eye, they may not think of you every day, but when an opportunity crosses their plate to make a referral to you, you'll be the one they call. You will be the one who stands out for solving the particular problem that someone has.

The other benefit of being in a great niche is that you tend to be worth more than a generalist is worth. Somebody who is specialized and is able to solve a specific kind of problem is always harder to find, and therefore, this person is more highly compensated than a generalist. But, what if you're having a hard time picking your niche? Or what if you think you can't make money in the niche that you've picked?

Then you just have to be more creative. Consider Roger Owens.

I have a friend who has worked at Dodger Stadium for almost all of the 40 years that the stadium has been around. Roger works just one section over from where my seats are. He's the man in Section 101 who sells peanuts to the buy cheap acomplia online prescription fans who sit in his section. Many years ago Roger started having fun selling the peanuts to his fans. He thought that instead of just passing them down the row and collecting the money that he'd help to deliver somewhat of a show to the people who come to the stadium.

Roger started throwing the peanuts - first overhand, then backhand, then under his leg, and then around his back. His precision and accuracy was so terrific that he never misses a throw; and fans soon started buying tickets in his section, more to see Roger the Peanut Man than to see the game that was being played on the field. Roger became a legend.

Incredibly, Roger is known the world over as the Peanut Man at Dodger Stadium. Roger recently wrote a book, an autobiography about his life, growing up very poor to now being successful as the Peanut Man at Dodger Stadium. Roger has been on television. Roger has been on the field. Roger is well-known by everybody who goes to the stadium. I've had the honor of becoming friends with Roger, partly because of my contact with him at the stadium, and partly because we've actually hired Roger to come to parties that we've held and have asked him to pass out peanuts in his unique and fun way to the guests at our parties.

If Roger could become famous as a peanut man throwing bags of peanuts to fans at Dodger Stadium, and if he could stand out among all the peanut-throwers in the country, of which there must be thousands, then can't you stand out in your business? If you think that it's hard for you, think about how hard it would be for somebody like Roger.

Think about what it is that you have to do in order to be successful in your niche. The most important thing is that you have to be great at whatever it is that you're doing.

So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, think about Roger. Think about what you have to do to be great in your niche so that people the world over know who you are and call on you for the kinds of problems that they have when they have them.

About Joel G. Block

Well known in the business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist. Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses.

Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details.

Also, be sure to check out our newest project: a blog to organize the blogs that cover entrepreneurship: http://www.entrepreneur-hub.com

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Recently, I attempted to hire a consultant to do some work for me. I had clearly defined the problem at hand as well as the specific outcomes that I required, and I posted a solicitation for bids on one of my favorite resources, elance.com.

As a result of the posting, I received quotes from a number of prospective service providers, and I identified two people, both of whom indicated that he or she had the ability to solve my problem in a creative and effective way.

I initiated telephone conversations with both of these people to get a better idea of what they had to offer. The first gave me a very good "song and dance" about how she could help me solve my problem and address the issues that I'd identified in the solicitation. Her credentials looked good, and she was very enthusiastic, but I wasn't getting specific information from her as to how her background and credentials would allow her to address the problem that I had posted in the solicitation.

I asked for more detail.

She responded by referring me to a web page that belonged to a marketing guru with whom I happened to be acquainted. I told her that I didn't want to know about the process that she would use - I happened to be well-acquainted with the guru who wrote the process - rather, I wanted to know what she was going to do for me.

The answer she gave me came straight from the writings of the marketing guru. Using his words, she told me that she would perform X number of procedures and apply X systems exactly as the guru she had identified would.

Her answer troubled me. Although this marketing guru has an outstanding approach, I had no idea how well this woman could implement it. I didn't know if she would mechanically apply the steps of his process - or if she even understood the steps that need to be applied.

The bottom line: I was unable to hire this person because she didn't succeed in communicating to me that she had the competence necessary to take ampicillin generic on my project. She didn't demonstrate to me how she would apply the marketing guru's techniques, nor did she explain how her personality and style would enhance the use of a methodology with which I was already familiar.

So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, take ownership of the approaches that you embrace. If you wish to use an approach, style or methodology that has been put out by a guru in your field - that's great. Just make sure that your audience, prospective clients or your boss knows what you bring to the table, too. Otherwise, anyone who has taken a course, read a book or studied a process will be able to say that they can do the job.

Buyers, whether they are prospective clients or your employer, buy your ability to solve the problems that they have, not the process that solves the problems. In the personal services business, it's not the process - it's the person who applies the process - that makes the difference.

About Joel G. Block

Well known in the business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist.  Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions buy generic acomplia of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses.

Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details.

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Every now and then, what happens in Vegas gets talked about and shared with others. This is one of those times.

Below is the first part of my personal reflections from the Real Estate Deal Making And Syndication Symposium that I just held in Las Vegas. My comments are directed toward the other people who attended this live program, but I chose to share them on my blog for the benefit of all real estate professionals and experienced investors.

Driving back from Las Vegas, I had lots of time to reflect on the experience that all of us had over the last several days and I can't help but think that there were many connection points for all of us. We had opportunities to make new friends, take in new material, and grow individually. I hope that one or more of these points resonates for you because they're all part of the experience that made the symposium great. I welcome you to add to this list, but these are a few of the items that I came up with when I looked back on the week.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

The cocktail party that we opened with was fabulous. Everybody was a little bit reserved as many people began meeting strangers for the first time — but these strangers would soon become colleagues with a lot in common and the possibility of doing deals together.

The Mint Lounge saw a lot of action from our group of syndicators. At the end of every day many of us capped off the evening with an hour or two in the lounge with beverages and other indulgences. We closed out the night by talking about more deals and getting to know one another both professionally and personally.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Russ Frandsen, our resident SEC attorney, opened the morning with a talk that was frightening to some and overwhelming to others. One person came up to me and actually said that as a result of that talk they wanted to throw their hands up and not do syndication at all. Luckily, I think I talked that person out of it. I know from following up with many of our attendees that Russ' speech provided the wisdom necessary to keep our syndicators out of trouble.

I felt that the audience was riveted as I talked about Guru Marketing and how to become a guru in your particular field. I ampicillin 500 mg dosage know that from my conversations that most everyone took away the lesson of putting themselves squarely in the middle of their own guru niche. Whether you write your own blog or license material from me, many of our attendees took home a critical lesson and I hope that you personally get your blog up and running soon. If it is, please be sure to add Matt and me to your distribution list.

Ron Golbus, my dear friend from Aspen Colorado, is the framed art and mirror guru of Las Vegas. He shared just a taste of how he has used his guru expertise in the niche that he's developed to create a multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind business. He passed out a little bit of his trade materials so that each of us could see how he puts lipstick on his products and services. Nothing sizzles more than the way that Ron lays out his materials. That's a critical take-away for syndicators: we have to dress up our products so that they get the attention of our prospective investors and demonstrate our seriousness and success attitudes.

Cost segregation is a tax concept that syndicators need to understand because it helps their investors by forcing cash flow forward in time. Garry Adams explained this concept masterfully. And although it's fairly technical in nature, he made it as easy to understand as possible for our attendees.

Finally, we transitioned from the meeting room to having dinner together at Nove, which is the Italian restaurant on the 52nd floor of the Palms hotel. Our dining experience was fabulous. We had several private groups and each was able to have intense conversation and enjoy lots of relationship building.

That's all for today's post. Be on the lookout for Part 2 tomorrow. Also, if you are interested in attending our next Real Estate Syndication And Deal Making Symposium (http://dealmakingsymposium.com/) at more than 50% off the price, participate in our special Cyber Week Offer by telling us about your current business situation with the simple form here:

http://www.joelblock.com/contact.htm

After you fill out the form, someone from our office will be in touch with you very quickly.

If you have an opinion or thought on this topic, please write a comment by entering your thoughts in the form below. Let us know what you think and if my thoughts resonate with yours. Our readers enjoy reading what others think. Send a link to this blog to one or more of your friends and get them to become one of our subscribers. This will help us to expand our circle of influence and allow us to share this and other great material with your friends.

We are in the real estate syndication business. We invest in properties and we offer seminars to assist others in acquiring the skills needed to raise capital to purchase real estate and to syndicate properties. Syndication is very relevant for helping you in raising funds or investment capital for any real estate investment, whether it be for commercial property or another kind of investment property. It also works to raise venture capital and for capital to finance an independent film

Thank you for being one of our loyal readers. We appreciate you and we are rooting for your success.

About Joel G. Block, President of Growth-Logic, Inc. Often dubbed a "Growth Architect" by order acomplia online his clients, Joel Block advises companies on explosive growth strategies by driving revenue and sales. Well known in the capital markets, Joel is a successful entrepreneur, speaker, advisor and faculty member of the iLearningGlobal community.

To bring Joel into your company, please visit http://www.joelblock.com. Also, we have expanded our focus to include the purchase of real estate assets. Please see http://www.bullseyecap.com/ to learn more.

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I love to deliver simple business messages on topics that are timeless and valuable to my readership and my fan base across the United States and around the world. Sometimes we forget that the messages we put out, which are generally applicable to most kinds of businesses, diet pills online pharmacy aren't always received as universally as we deliver them.

I was reminded of this today at lunch by my good friend and long-time client Gerald who is in the architectural design business. Gerald's an avid reader of this column, and he regularly calls me and gives me feedback on issues that I put out into the marketplace. Today over lunch he asked me if I would write for his new blog, which he will publish at www.architecturaldetailgroup.com. He asked me if I would provide material for his blog, and I told him that it would be very simple for him to plug my RSS feed into his blog. He thought that was a good idea, but he really wanted more targeted material. What he wanted was material that was specifically applicable to designers, architects, and people who were involved in the construction business - particularly as it applies to homes and hospitality environments.

What Gerald got me to realize was that everybody thinks their business is unique and different from every other kind of business. The truth is that most business principles apply across all sectors of the marketplace, but we have to market to people on an individual basis because nobody appreciates the fact that in the broad perspective all business problems are similar.

The truth is actually that business is very simple. It's about solving a problem for someone and them giving you money in exchange for doing that. But people don't operate in the macro world; they operate in their little micro environment. For that reason, we always have to remember who the audience is.

Much of the material that I have developed over the last several years — although applicable to lots of different people — has to be re-tooled and re-purposed once in a while for new audiences. I want to thank Gerald for helping me to remember a lesson that I put out all the time.

That lesson is that we have to be experts in our marketplace. We have to be gurus at what we do. Sometimes even the guru forgets and needs to be reminded because sometimes it's hard to see the forest through the trees. And remember…that's the reason that doctors don't operate on their own family members. And it's the reason why even I need help with my own marketing and I ask for help to put my own plans into place.

So ampicillin acne be sure to reach out for other people to help you and to remind you when you need to reposition material that you think is working. The truth is that sometimes it takes an outsider to help you see exactly what's going on.

So as you're working hard to build your business or your career, remember to reach out for help, focus on your guru niche, and reposition material again and again – because that is the way that you're going to make a lot of money and solve the most problems for the most people.

About Joel G. Block

Well known in the business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist. Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses.

Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details.

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It is extraordinary — that a blog, which is like a diary that's kept on a public place on the Internet — could be so powerful and help to advance a business so profoundly if it's used correctly. My blog, the one that you're reading right now, is read by thousands of people several times a week, and has produced some very extraordinary outcomes. My goal here is to tell you about a few successes that I'm having with my blog, because I want you — in your quest to be a successful entrepreneur ampicillin side effects — to incorporate blogs into your marketing strategy. The whole concept of social networking and Web 2.0 requires that you interact with people. The beauty of a blog is that it allows readers to interact directly with the author, and after a while, readers get to feel like they know the blogger personally. I've had so many people call me after reading this blog for some number of weeks or some number of months, and say, I feel like I know you. I trust you. I'd like to ask you a question; I have a problem that I think you could help me to solve. That kind of interaction does not happen in any other medium aside pills online without prescription from the blog, and that's because the blog is so personal, it's so intimate, and potentially, so interactive. I've have a number of great successes because of the blog. Some time ago, I published an article on how great American Express is, and how they helped me through a difficulty that I had after I'd lost my wallet in Las Vegas. Well, one of the readers of this blog happens to know a senior executive at American Express, and they forwarded that posting to American Express. The executive was thrilled to receive the letter (i.e. the blog entry) and she responded to me and indicated "that we're happy to be able to have reduced your stress in a very stressful situation. I'll be sure to forward this to the people at the Platinum desk for their review right away." How else could I possibly have gotten my story into American Express, and who knows where it'll go? Maybe it'll go into somebody's inbox, maybe it'll turn into a commercial that I show up in some number of months or years from now. Or maybe nothing will happen. Here is another blogging success story. I recently got a phone call from a gentleman with an English accent who told me he was calling from London and represented a television reality network. He told me that they were doing a new show, and that they were looking for a business guru and after reading my blog and studying my materials, they felt that I was well-suited for the position and they wanted me to audition for the part. How else, except for the Internet and my blog, would such a producer in the United Kingdom have found me for a show that's going to be taped right here in my home city of Los Angeles? I didn't get the part, but the opportunity came from the blog. It doesn't happen overnight, but if you work the blog and you work a system, you're going to have great success. I'd say that three-quarters of all my leads for my business now come from my blog. People call me with ideas and issues that they want to discuss; not all of them are great ideas, but I can recognize the great ones from the not-so-great, and I've developed a filtering system within my company so that I don't get bothered by every possible opportunity that comes along — instead, they get filtered through my organization. So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, rely on modern techniques and the principles of marketing. Throw out the old books. A lot of what you learned in college doesn't apply anymore. You have to use the Internet. You have to use the social marketing tools and techniques that are out there. You'll be glad that you did, and if you need any help in implementing these strategies, please call our office because we'll be happy to help.

About Joel G. Block

Well known in the business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist. Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses. Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details. Also, be sure to check out our newest project: a blog to organize the blogs that cover entrepreneurship: http://www.entrepreneur-hub.com

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One of the main problems that I notice in business owners is that they generally don't understand the difference between sales and marketing. In fact, I recently had a client who hired a successful VP of Marketing away from a competitor to be his National VP of Sales. But in this new role, the poor guy failed miserably. My client could not understand why a success story in one firm could fail so prolifically in his. I saw the issue in 20 seconds:

Sellers are not necessarily marketers and marketers are not necessarily sellers. Take this maxim to the bank. Learn it or perish!

Now onto a marketing message…

Most marketing is considered successful when you bring the "horse to water" because generally, marketing is not about making the horse drink. It is not part of the responsibility of the marketing function in most businesses and it is simply, in most cases, not even possible for marketing to cause people to purchase whatever you are selling (or take whatever action you are seeking). And borrowing from the brilliant analogy of my close friend, Patrick Henry (who is one of the exceptional marketers who I have run into in my career), the trick is to do one of two different things:

1. When the horse comes to the trough, which is the goal of the marketing people, the salespeople have to somehow make that horse thirsty. And that is going to happen in one of two ways: The first way is they are going to put salt in its food and the second way is they are going to run that horse around until it needs to drink the water that they sell. Both of these plans are laborious and potentially a waste of time.

2. The alternative strategy, and a better option than making the horse thirsty, is to learn how to find thirsty horses. Thirsty horses are ready to go and it just takes a different kind of marketing and a different kind of selling in order to find them. It is a much more direct approach than the blanket approach handled by most marketing folks.

Particularly, for people in small businesses, their marketing messages are not clear enough to be able to accurately identify thirsty horses. Small business owners frequently come from the place where it is better to find any horse and bring it to the trough and take a chance on making it thirsty than spending their time looking for thirsty horses, which are almost always a sure thing once they find them.

But years of experience and research proves that targeting the right prospects yields the highest results. Don't try to market or sell your products to people who are not interested or not likely to become your customer. Recognize that not every person can be a customer — so let go of the ones who will not and concentrate on the ones who can be, who need to be, and who want to be your customer.

So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, keep in mind that if you are marketing or selling, you have to carefully seek out your prospects. Not everyone will become your customer, so be sure to exercise good judgment in who is most likely to benefit from what you sell, whether you're selling a product or a service. In the end, you'll save lots of energy because salting the oats to create thirsty horses won't work for very long.

About Joel G. Block

ampicillin gene face="Arial">Well known in the buy generic acomplia business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist. Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses.

Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details.

Also, be sure to check out our newest project: a blog to organize the blogs that cover entrepreneurship: http://www.entrepreneur-hub.com

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People ask me frequently if I know of a good grant writer. I used to think that it was possible to find an excellent grant writer by going on one of the many websites, such as http://www.elance.com or http://www.guru.com and finding someone who is highly experienced in complying with the forms, formats and the rules of the various grants that are available for businesses, non-profits, and other organizations.

But as I've gotten involved in the non-profit world, and as I've become surrounded by people who are the most outstanding grant writers (judged by their ability to procure millions of dollars) I've come to realize that it's not about being a good grant writer. If I was to go out and hire someone, I would not look for a good grant writer. From now on, all I want is a good "grant getter."

This is not a cheapest diet pill joke, and it's not semantics. The difference between a good grant writer and a good grant getter is millions of dollars and an enormous amount of experience to boot.

It should have been obvious to me, based on the way that I conduct my own business, but I somehow thought that the non-profit or grant world was different. But it's not.

In my for-profit world — including venture capital, real estate syndication, and hard money — people do business with people they know. People do business with people they trust. In the money business, it's a pretty tight circle. So why should the grant business be any different? It turns out that it's very much the same.

The difference between a good "grant writer" and a good "grant getter" is networking.

The best "grant getters" are the ones who are in the field, talking to the people who are putting out the money. Grants are not documents in libraries. Grants are placements of capital by real people at real organizations that really have an interest in doing good, based on whatever the criteria and parameters are that they have established.

The best "grant getters" are the ones who are networking with the people who have the money, just like the best people who raise business capital are networking with the venture capitalists, the angel investors and others who write the checks.

Consider Juana Lambert.  As the CEO of the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club (one of the premier Clubs in the nation), Juana is responsible for "making it happen" for the 7,000 children that the Club serves. As a member of the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club's Board of Directors, I know what Juana produces. Under Juana's grant-getting administration, the Club has taken in several million in grants from federal, state, and city agencies — not to mention private organizations.

Last year Juana helped the Club to raise nearly $750,000 to build a state of the art "Dodger Dream Field" on an acre of valuable Club real estate. Juana has also procured hundreds of thousands more dollars for upcoming renovation projects, including the repair of our Olympic-size swimming pool and gymnasium facilities. Our Board has worked in concert with Juana through our careful stewardship on the implementation side of the capital improvement projects.

It's no different in any segment of the money business. The best "grant getters" know where the money is. They know who the people are who have the money. They have a strong sense about exactly what it is that they're looking for, and as "grant writers", they know how to put together the package in a way that's compliant with the rules of the grant so that when the opportunity presents itself to ask for the money, they not only write it down accurately, but they also are in touch with the people who are giving away the money.

This helps in two ways. First, they only apply for the money that's realistically available to them. Secondly, if they have some inside knowledge about what the grant providers want to promote or accomplish, then they'll have a good shot at getting the money that they're asking for by emphasizing the right benefits or attributes.

Keep this in mind next time you need to raise ampicillin sodium some money. Does the person who you choose to help raise the capital or get the grant know the people who they're talking to? How well do they know the space? How well do they know the surrounding issues that the people providing the capital or the grants really care about?

If you don't get those questions answered in advance, then you're probably not going to succeed with your fundraising initiative.

Remember, just like good grant writing is superseded by good grant getting, good business plan writing is really superseded by exceptional fundraising. Because at the end of the day, "show me the money" is the name of the game.

If you have an opinion or thought on this topic, please write a comment by entering your thoughts in the form below. Let us know what you think and if my thoughts resonate with yours. Our readers enjoy reading what others think. Send a link to this blog to one or more of your friends and get them to become one of our subscribers. This will help us to expand our circle of influence and allow us to share this and other great material with your friends.

We are in the real estate syndication business. We invest in properties and we offer seminars to assist others in acquiring the skills needed to syndicate properties. This topic is very relevant for helping you in raising funds or investment capital for any real estate investment, whether it be for commercial property or another kind of investment property.

Thank you for being one of our loyal readers. We appreciate you and we are rooting for your success.

About Joel G. Block, President of Growth-Logic, Inc. Often dubbed a "Growth Architect" by his clients, Joel Block advises companies on explosive growth strategies by driving revenue and sales. Well known in the capital markets, Joel is a successful entrepreneur, speaker, advisor and faculty member of the iLearningGlobal community.

To bring Joel into your company, please visit http://www.joelblock.com orhttp://www.growth-logic.com. Also, be sure to check out our newest project: a blog to organize the blogs that cover entrepreneurship –http://www.entrepreneur-hub.com. And finally, for film makers:http://www.hollywood-dream.com/ and http://www.filmfundingblog.com — our newest projects.

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I always recommend that people and companies position themselves as world-class experts (see http://tinyurl.com/2dqrykh). Pick a niche that you can be great at, go after that niche ferociously, and make sure the world knows you're one of the best at the tiny little niche that you have picked. There's more money in niches and it’s the best way to stand out. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are nervous to limit the scope of their services because they worry they will miss out on something. But it is well known that you'll make a lot more money in the long run when you specialize, because you will have less competition, better brand recognition, and you will produce better results when you do the work that you are best at.

A great example of a company that is very focused on its niche is a company at Los Angeles International Airport called Wally Park. These side effects of ampicillin guys are in the business of parking cars and taking brilliant care of them. Travelers can park their cars at any of several dozen airport hotels. They all have a valet, they all have a parking garage, and they all will put your car in a shaded place and return it to you, probably dent-free. But, Wally Park is a cut above. It is truly a different experience. These people have mastered the art of parking cars. They utilize every trick in the book that I recommend for entrepreneurial businesses.

1. They use a Revenue Octopus™ (http://tinyurl.com/29etkck). Entrepreneurial companies need at least eight different ways of making money which are derivative of their core business — which in the case of Wally Park is fees for parking your car. Not only do they charge for parking your car every day, but they have different levels of service such as valet, self-service, covered and uncovered parking. They will wash your car. If you're a busy executive and you're traveling all week, the last thing you want to do on Saturday is spend time at a car wash. They'll handle it for you. They'll also change your oil –- who wants to spend the weekend at the oil change place? They'll do it for you. For an extra fee of course!
   
   
2. They know what their customers want. Travelers want to leave the airport fast, so Wally Park also drives their vans around the airport every five minutes instead of every 15 to 30 minutes like most of the airport hotels. They also promote their exclusive WallyGuard Door Ding Protective Pads, 24/7 shuttle service, immediate check-in/check-out, free Wi-Fi Internet in the lobby, complimentary amenities, exclusive member programs and more. They park a lot of cars and they move a lot of people, so dealing with this company is a superior experience. They get it because they are so focused on the specific needs of their customers.
   
   
3. They know how to accommodate special needs. I had a situation this week: my mother-in-law was coming back to Los Angeles after being out of town. We were unable to pick her up so we called Wally Park and asked if we could drop her car off and leave the keys for her. They had dealt with this situation hundreds of times. They told us exactly what needed to happen. The valet would take the order, they would keep the keys, and as long as my mother-in-law could show a driver's license proving her name was the same one we had marked on her claim ticket, they would take care of her -– even though she would not have buy diet pill online a claim ticket in her possession. Could an airport hotel accommodate this very simple request? It was no problem, since Wally Park specializes in parking and they do a brilliant job at it.

You need to do a brilliant job at whatever it is that you do. You need to be quick. You need to be clear. You need to be focused. You need to be precise about what business you're in, and you need to position yourself as a world-class expert. This is what we call Guru Marketing, and it is a critical success factor for your business no matter what type of business you are in.

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We've all gotten used to the logic put out by some of the brilliant marketing people in Corporate America that their companies are too big to fail. In fact they're so big that their failure might cause a ripple through the United States and the World economies that we might not be able to recover from. This logic has gotten these companies tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars. This marketing logic has cost taxpayers enormously.

As an advocate of entrepreneurial companies, I ask this order diet pills as a follow up question: if you are too big to fail, are you too big to be in business? These companies that are so big have nearly monopolistic control of their industries. The companies that are too big to fail have so much control and domination that it's nearly impossible and certainly unfair for smaller entrepreneurial companies to have any chance of competing with them, if not against them.

More on If You Are Too Big To Fail, Are You Too Big To Be In Business?

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I have a good friend who is one of the best direct marketers in the United States. He started a catalog marketing firm several years ago — selling baby products to young families. He took his company public, exited the company and he now consults to a variety of other direct marketing firms and continues to be a very successful business person.

He and I were having lunch the other day at one of our favorite places, and in the course of our conversation, we talked about customer service issues that we've seen that are unsatisfactory. We both shared horror stories as we laughed at how much money companies were losing because they were pennywise and pound foolish in the ways that they dealt with their customers.

He told me that years before, when he ran his extremely successful company, that they performed an unscientific test. In the early days of his company, my friend and his partner used to fill every order by themselves. As the company grew and doubled year after year, they had to buy a very large warehouse and staff it with people who were far removed from the values that the entrepreneurial owners of the company possessed. As you would expect, errors were occasionally made with this new team of people.

For example, sometimes a customer would call and order something, but a different product would be shipped out. That is not so much of a problem, though. The problem really kicked in based on how the customer service department handled the constant concerns when the products finally arrived at the customers' locations. If the customer service department did a good job, it seemed that the relationship for those customers got better. If the customer service department did a poor job, it was clear and obvious that the relationship with that customer would get worse, and possibly the relationship would end entirely and the customer would go to a competitor.

So, my friend and his partner concocted a little study. Being experts in the direct marketing business, they felt that this study might have an impact on lots of direct marketing businesses across the country. What they did was to make an occasional error — deliberately. So if somebody ordered a car seat, they might send them ampicillin plates a highchair instead. If somebody ordered a set of bottles, they might "accidentally" send them a box of blankets. The purpose of the test would be to find out how the error would impact the relationship that they had with their customers.

The customer service personal were instructed to immediately ship out the correct product on finding out that an error had been made. They were to send it out Federal Express and only after the person received their new product would the company expect to receive back the original product that was shipped to the customer. Just because the company had made a mistake was no reason to penalize the customer. It was penalty enough that they would have to go and drop the package off for shipment back to the company that made an error.

What these "accidents" proved was that the customers who received an error in the shipment, but who were treated with great privilege upon calling customer service, actually became much better customers. They quantified this number at 2:1. This means that by correcting an error, the company made twice as much money on that customer as compared to customers who they treated well in the first place.

Now, this is not a lesson designed to teach you to make errors as you run your business. The lesson is that great customer service, even when there is an error, can result in the magnifications and enhancement of a business relationship with your customers.

Remember, acomplia diet people find out who you really are and what you are really made of when the "chips are down." In other words, when you make an error and you "make good on it", customers see your true colors.

So, as you are working hard every day to build your company, or as you're building your career, make sure that you spend a lot of energy teaching the people who handle customers for you and your company — because the customer is worth a lot of money to you now and in the long run. Even if you make an occasional error, it gives you an opportunity to strengthen the bond that you have with your customer.

About Joel G. Block

Well known in the business community, Joel Block is a best selling author, speaker, and business strategist. Frequently a principal in his transactions, Joel has raised tens of millions of equity dollars for his ventures, which have included real estate syndications and privately held businesses.

Joel’s career is highlighted by the launch of a financial publishing company which he grew nationwide and later sold to the Los Angeles Times. More recently, Joel works with scientists, engineers, technologists and others to help them optimize their entrepreneurial opportunities. Would you like to get a private phone consultation with Joel? Visit www.joelblock.com/capital for details.

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