Tend to your garden

I used to hate the garden. It represented work. And at 12 years old, there was always something better to do than work.

I saw my dad and my grampie tend to it with surgical precision.
They prepared the soil by fertilizing the land, loosening the dirt and then planting their seeds.
Once seeded, they pulled and hacked at weeds giving the seeds space to grow.
They turned over the dirt, aerating the soil to keep the nasty weeds away.
They warded off pests who thrived on the juicy leaves, knowing that pests would kill the vegetable if given enough time and space.

Then they harvested after a full season to enjoy the fruits of their work to feed their families through another winter.

There's nothing new about growing a small garden to feed a family. My dad does it the same way today as he did 40 years ago.

We've all heard about the analogies of gardens when it comes to sales.
I'm hopefully going to give you a new analogy.

Your minds are like gardens.
You plant seeds to be able to feed yourself in the near future.
Those seeds are the wants and desires in your life.
They are the positive things going on.

My dad will tell you that weeds can grow anywhere.
They take no time to grow.
They don't need any work.
If you want to live off the positive things in a garden, you have to remove as many weeds as possible.

Weeds are the negative thoughts in your brain.
They don't take energy to grow.
You have to be aware that they can take root at any minute.
They will drain your resources away from your positive thoughts.
Too many weeds, the fruits of your desires cannot take root.
The seeds can not grow and produce.
You cannot achieve success with so many weeds.

It takes a lot of energy to remove weeds.
You have to be aware that they can come at you from any angle.
But if you fend them off long enough, the positive thoughts were surely grow through to your harvest season.

It takes less energy for a weed to grow, but it doesn't give you what you want.
Don't give space for the weed,  when you want the growth of a seed.

There are two types of customers; only one is worth your time.

Advertising is like dating.
Tell enough people you are available and you will find someone you want to spend a lot of time with.

Customers will try your product.
They are curious.
They may or may not buy again.
It may or may not fit their lifestyle.
They may or may not want what your offering.
You may be too far from their home or work.

Long distance relationships don't work!

There are two types of customers for your product.
Relational and Transactional

The relational customer is looking for a relationship.
The transactional customer doesn't want a relationship. They want a deal. They go out of their way to buy the cheapest possible product in the category.

The transactional coffee customer doesn't go to Starbucks.
The transactional computer customer doesn't buy a Mac.

Both companies price themselves to avoid those people.

Marketing tactics focused on a transaction will have a limited time offer with a special discount.
The transactional customers flock to a strong offer.
The relational customer will wonder what happened to the magic as customer service suffers when traffic increases to lesser profitable transactional customers.

A neighbouring furniture store uses the transactional approach.
Every week, there's a new special, a new flyer, a new traffic generator.
It's the same wolf, dressed in different clothes.
They instigate traffic with low price offering, through a door crasher, low payment options or some special giveaway.

This strategy has the same problems as cocaine.
In small doses, it can make a business feel great.
But over time, it has a lesser effect.
It requires greater dosages to get the same initial effect.
Eventually, too much of it causes the business to die.

The transactional customer is an important customer.
Just not a profitable one in the long term.
When you chase the transactional customer with a competitor, the customer always wins.
So as you both fight for the transactional customer,
Someone wins the relational customer when no one is looking.

A transactional customer is not a bad customer.
It's just one you don't want to focus on.
If they come in to buy, it's your job to sell to them.
If they buy, we call that profit.
They probably don't buy twice...

A relational customer with cars may be a transactional customer with toilet paper.
A transactional customer with computers may be a relational customer with coffee.

It's not up to you to decide who is which.
It's your job to find the relational customer for your product.

Some of you may be wondering how to find the relational customer.
Are you ready for it?

You find them by telling stories that they can RELATE to.
You find them by telling them what you BELIEVE in. If they BELIEVE in the same things, they will buy from you.

My 10 year old once told me, if you don't tell someone what you believe in, you're silently telling them you only want their money. That will be seen as selfish. And no one wants to buy from someone who is selfish.

I agree with his first two points. However, transactional customers DO buy from selfish merchants if it's the cheapest.

Walmart has perfected transactional buying. We don't buy from Walmart for relationships. We buy because it's readily accessible and the price is usually the cheapest.

Even for giants, the transactional buyer will flee. Walmart closed 269 stores in 2016. Half of them were in the United States.

Why does the giant close stores?
My theory is that Amazon is killing Walmart with online selling.

Jeff and Bryan Eisenberg with Roy H. Williams just wrote a book called, "Be like Amazon, Even a Lemonade Stand can do it".

If you want to know how to how to appeal to the relational customer, you should read this book.
Here's the link at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Be-Like-Amazon-Lemonade-Stand-ebook/dp/B06XXT8LRP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497297534&sr=8-1&keywords=even+a+lemonade

Occam, Jobs and The Wizard

I try to make sense out of the insensical.

I'm weird that way. 

Looking for patterns where no patterns go.

Let me explain:

The digital clock shows 5:38 twice every time the earth completes a full rotation.

I witness this number so often I wonder what message could God be trying to send me.

I've even checked out various versus of the bible to see if there is a chapter 5, verse 38 that may resonate. Nothing yet...

Chaos is a series of patterns yet to be discovered.
I don't understand what the message is but I take comfort in trying to be told something.

In science, Occam's razor states the simple answer has a higher probability of accuracy to the complex one.  Occam was probably right. hehe...

I look at the clock so often that it would be hard not to notice 5:38. And when I see it, I get excited looking for the magical message.

Although he may be right, I don't like Occam. I prefer to be a participant in the magician's act and not learn his simple tricks. It's too pragmatic and boring to hear life explained Occam's way.

Here's another example of the insensical.
I was sitting in "The Eye of the Storm", at Wizard Academy in March 2016.
Yes, I said that right: Wizard Academy.
It's a school where Roy H. Williams and his gang of troublemakers teach eager students about the art of persuasion, creative writing, art and general misfitery.

36 people were in the room with 21 laptops.
All of them were Macs.
Not one PC amongst them.

Noticing the nuance, I wondered why.
Apple holds 12% of the world market in laptop computers.
Yet 100% of the laptops in that room were Macs.
To my knowledge, the Wizard of Ads, has never publicly endorsed a Mac computer, besides owning one.

This was chaotic.
No pattern exists, with the exception that all in the room believed in the Wizard of Ads.
Each had been to Austin, Texas many times.
But why wasn't one of the 21 laptops a different brand.

Every one wore different brands of shoes, pants, and glasses.
But all the computers were the same brand.

Occam would probably say that ad people love great brands so they all buy the greatest brand of computer.
I think Occam's wrong on this one.
Why weren't they all wearing Nike's or Chuck Taylor's?

Researching corporate values this week, I stumbled on a video of Steve Jobs from 1997. Here's the transcript of the "Think different" campaign.

“Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things diffe
rently.
They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Twenty one Apple laptops weren't purchased because we were at Wizard Academy.

Twenty one Apple laptops were purchased because the misfits all believe what Apple believes.

The rebels believe they can change the world.

They went to Wizard Academy to learn how to do it.

After seeing the following video this week, I'm certain of the rebels' motivation.

Check out this video of Steve Jobs talking about corporate values and the "Think Different" campaign.

People who believe in the same things like to hang out together. Some call that friendships.

The 21 laptop nonsense finally makes sense.

Now to figure out why the clock keeps blinking on 5:38...

Restaurant Operators: Someone is stealing from you and it's not who you think...

My first year in business, a fellow restaurant owner advised me of the following:

"Trust no one in this business. The minute you think no one is stealing from you, will be the minute someone is stealing from you."

Coming from the corporate world, I thought he was overly cynical of the industry. Until I caught my first thief. It turned my stomach inside out. I never would have thought that someone could do that.

I had too much trust and one punk took that innocence away from me. Over the years, I have come to realize that those initial words of advice were more accurate than I thought.

Employee theft, customer theft, supplier theft and partner theft. It's everywhere. It seems like everyone is looking for a piece of the pie. Whether they feel entitled to it or not.

I wrote a book about employee theft. It's called "The Art of Restaurant Theft". You can download it for free at:  http://helpmeinc.ca

There's a bigger, deeper type of theft.
It isn't illegal, but it is highway robbery.
It is disguised by nice, smiling people, while they rip your bank account of all its cash.
It isn't a scam.
But it is wrong, nonetheless.

I recently analyzed two restaurants in similar markets. One restaurant had their food costs go up by 5% in 2 years. At first glance, it appeared that an employee might have been the culprit, either through theft, over portioning or waste.

The problem wasn't with an employee.
It was the food distributor.
In one year, food prices increased by more than 7%. Although the restaurant was raising prices to keep up with inflation, the food service supplier went well above inflation.
While the operator was asleep at the switch accepting the invoices without analysis.
When it was brought to the attention of the restauranteur, I was told that the folks at the distributor were like family. They would never do that to him.

A quick analysis showed that the operator was OVERBILLED by $50,000 a year for more than 4 years.
The food distributor legally STOLE $200,000 from this operator because he never thought to compare prices.

Relationships have value but not to that extent.
The distributor plays games. If they know you're watching the price of one item, they will be the cheapest in the market, while they inflate the prices of other items that are not being watched.

In the another case, the food distributor disguised prices by offering free vacations, rebate dollars and a free case of french fries from time to time. The second restaurant had a higher volume. In my analysis, they were overbilled for the same products by about $70,000 in the first year. With supplier rebates, the number was closer to $100,000 difference.

Over four years, the second restaurant operator lost $400,000 to the distributor. When they discovered what was going on, they were livid and refused to pay the remainder of their account of $30,000.

Their shiny, happy friends at the distributor took out their false smiles and revealed pearly white fangs as they slapped on high interest rates, threats of collection agencies and legal actions.

The food distributor used to be my supplier, until I found out they were constantly changing the prices of garbage bags to make up for the losses they were incurring on the protein I was buying. While I was watching the price of protein, my garbage bag prices were almost three times as much as anywhere else.

I felt lied to.
They cheated me.
I forgot about their silly games until I met with the above operators.

The two operators I met were both in trouble financially.
They both worked hard, every day trying to make a living.
As these jerks skimmed off their earnings.

This foolishness needs to stop.
I'm making it my personal mission to help restaurant operators from being taken advantage of by greedy suppliers.

Please share with everyone you know.
I will do a free analysis for any restaurant operator who is using one of these dirtbag suppliers.

Contact me at ricknicholson369@gmail.com.

You are capable of anything and nothing

Words can hurt.

Words that do the biggest damage are the ones we say to ourselves.
We are our biggest critics.
We tell ourselves the story of who we are frequently enough that we cannot see our lives any other way, except in a dream.

Lost opportunity is sad.
Lost potential in someone is scary.

If you cannot believe in yourself, neither will anyone else.

I've come to HATE the word, "Can't".

It's a word that doesn't belong in our world.
Even though I've used it.

It doesn't stop me from HATING it.

You tell someone or yourself you CAN'T do something.
Are you being honest with yourself?
Or is there a bigger problem?

Using the word, CAN'T, is an excuse.
It's an easy way out.
No need to explain ourselves.
We just CAN'T do it.
Discussion is closed.

Whereas the real reason we CAN'T do something is somewhere between,
We DON'T WANT to,
And we DON'T KNOW HOW to,
And we're not COMMITTED to learning how to do it.

Not wanting to do something can be viewed as laziness.
Not knowing how to do something says we're stupid.

Using the word CAN'T is a copout for ourselves.
We protect ourselves from being seen as lazy or stupid.

Or that's what we subconsciously tell ourselves before we go to bed at night.
And as long as we lie to ourselves by not admitting our weaknesses,
We can hold on to the perception that we are strong.
When in fact by telling ourselves we CAN'T, we make ourselves weak.

There is no CAN'T.
Figure it out.
There's a way.

I can hear my wise friend Michel whispering that I am wrong on this one. He has told me that I CAN'T be the president of the United States because the current laws won't allow it.

To Michel, I say, "CAN'T is not the problem. I don't want to be the President. Plus if I did, I don't know how to change the laws nor am I committed to face the challenges that would surely face me.

Can you or CAN'T you?
It's a choice that only you can make.
Pay attention to what you tell yourself,
You'll end up getting exactly what you said,

Whether you're committed and willing to work for it.
Or if you do nothing.

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right --- Henry Ford.

Conspiracy to tell a story

Conspiracy theories amuse me.
It is easy to look at a series of historical events to identify patterns, whether real or fictious.

Did JFK get assassinated by a lone gunman or was Oswald a patsy?
Did planes really cause the Twin Towers to fall or were they rigged with explosives.
Did the Gulf of Tonken actually happen?
And what about the Superbowl? Did the New England Patriots fairly win this year's Superbowl.

It is easy to associate patterns with a group people who benefit from the actual outcome.

Have you noticed the Superbowl in recent years?
There's always an amazing catch toward the END of the game to decide the winner.
David Tyree catches a pass off his forehead to force the last drive to continue and ultimately helping the New Giants to win the Superbowl,
Hines Ward tip toes at the very back of the end zone to win the game in the final moments for the Steelers,
Malcolm Butler intercepts a goal line pass to end the seemingly unstoppable Seattle Seahawks.

Almost every year, there are a new set of heroics, almost like the "best-ever" has to be outdone. It's highly improbable that best ever can get topped every year, but somehow it continues to happen.

This years Superbowl has the biggest comeback in championship history.

It was the greatest game ever.

My gut thinks it was too great to be true.

The only thing this year's Superbowl didn't have was Hulk Hogan lifting his finger in defiance of defeat.

There was a time when the Superbowl was referred to as the Superbore.  Games were decided in the first quarter because of the huge mismatch. Mysteriously enough, the game has evolved. The points have gotten closer. The game mostly gets decided in the fourth quarter.

Is it possible that million dollar advertisers felt ripped off when people starting changing the channels when the game got out of reach?
Is it possible that the game had to be closer to make more money for the league?

There is a difference between sport and business.
My high school football team played a sport.

The NFL, as well as any professional sport, is a business.
Business is money, customers and entertainment.

Entertain someone and they'll give you their attention while they open up their wallets.

Because of the business aspect of professional sports, we are seeing the emergence of storyline. Business is about stories. Stories entertain. They keep us coming back for more.  Brands are stories embedded in the mind of the market.

The story mezmorizes us into thinking that everything is real, when it's not.

The New England Patriots value has increased from $571 million in 2002 to a staggering $3.4 billion in 2016. They won 5 championships in that time but it's still a growth of 595% in 14 years.

The average differential in points at the Superbowl has gone from 18 points in the 1980's to 8.28 points in the 2010's (excluding the 2014 game, which was the only blowout in 12 years).

Too many Superbowls have gone by with too many "best catches" ever. It can't always be better than the year before.

Can it?

I'm seeing the same thing in other professional sports. NFL is the worst offender, but the NBA, MLB and NHL are all teetering on the improbable forcing the final series closer to 7 games year after year.  The NBA in the 2010's averages 6.14 games in the final series. The NHL boasts 6 games in the finals whereas they used to average 5 games in the 1980's and 90's.

As long as fans believe it to be true, then it shall be.

I think about the ancient gladiators fighting in the Colosseum. Was this about sport or were the combatants fighting against a stacked deck?

I believe we are living in a time where the professional athletes of today are playing against that same stacked deck, in the spirit of wealth generating storylines.

I'm probably wrong, but the theory is interesting none the less.

By the way, I'm a huge New England Patriots fan so please no hate mail about the Tom Brady heroics. It's just an observation that gets reinforced every year.

What do you believe?

I work with entrepreneurs who want to grow their business.
Most entrepreneurs don't see the actual problem.

They struggle and call me to help them with marketing support.

We sit and discuss over coffee everything about their business.
I ask them questions not related to their business, more of a personal nature.
They look at me confused.

The real problem, in their blindspot, is what is holding them back.
In discovering their personality, the real problem is hiding in a dark corner, where no one wants to go.

Identifying the problem, I can help with a real solution.

But there's a catch.
When I find the real problem, I can't tell the potential client what it is.

Do you know why?
They won't BELIEVE me.
They are so close to their business, they aren't willing to see it, can't see it, don't understand how the rest of the world perceives them.

They are inside a bottle and can't read the label as Roy Williams, from Wizard of Ads, would say.

Although I can see the issue, I have to let them see the issue for themselves.

And sometimes it's hard.
They won't open up and make themselves vulnerable.
They are afraid the world will discover they are "winging" it and be found out as a fraud.
They are unsure of how this can help.
They don't trust me.

I ask for a set of "BELIEF" statements, which are really core value statements. They usually end up looking like something like this:

I believe in honesty.
I believe in treating people fair and just.
I believe in integrity.
I believe our products are the best in the industry.
I believe in reliability.
I believe the customer is the most important person in the organization.
I believe the employee is the most important person in the organization.
I believe actions speak louder than words.

Then I ask for non-cliche statements, which gets me an odd look.

Each business is different. Each person is different. Talk like you would with your friends about what you believe in. All these statements, although valid, don't say anything about you. They say more about what you think is important or what you've read in a book.

If the person opens up and starts writing from the heart, the beliefs come out.

Within those heart felt beliefs, we find a core value.
Using the core value, we create a message that describes the company to the core of the entrepreneur.

Most advertising fails because of the following:
1. Poorly crafted message ignored.
2. Well crafted message without TIME to work.
3. Well crafted message not aligned with the customer experience.

As the Wizard, Roy Williams, also states, good advertising speeds up the inevitable.

So if you want advertising to work, you need a well crafted message that aligns with the customer experience and is given enough time to take root with the audience.

The right message isn't a clever ad. It's one that comes from the heart. It's one that speaks to existence of your organization.

It starts with a belief.

Once I get to the heart of the beliefs, I can use examples from the business and show the client how the beliefs and the actions aren't lining up (the real problem). It's easier to sell the problem to someone when you use their words to help them BELIEVE you.

What are your business beliefs?
Don't use cliche sentences.
Use your everyday language.

Look for things that make you different.

Its hard to do.
It's a skill the Wizard teaches his clients and partners.
I'm so happy he taught it to me.
It makes my work so much easier.

Identify them and you'll discover your unique message, campaign, and advertising strategy.
And because you believe in the message, you won't switch the message too early because the cash register isn't ringing.

You won't change what you fundamentally BELIEVE.
That makes my job easier...

Rick Nicholson is a Wizard of Ads partner. You can reach him at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com to discuss development of your marketing strategy.