Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a very competitive person. I have always needed something in my life to balance with work and family. Age and years of competitive softball, taekwon do, racquetball have caught up to me and after surgery to fuse my spine three years ago, I had to give those things up. In the Spring of 2007, I decided that I would try to play golf as my main recreational activity. How hard could that be?

After playing more than I ever had, I got a little better. I was playing well enough that I thought that I could compete in the City championship in the “C Flight” (Golf puts players in different categories based on their average score to give everyone a chance to compete). On the par 71 course, I shot a 126. (That’s 55 shots OVER par in one round of golf). I finished the tournament second to last and just to add insult to injury, they published the complete results in the local newspaper for all of my friends, family and clients to read. Luckily, newspaper circulation and readership is down.

I was devastated. I had not so completely failed in my entire life. I have been successful at virtually everything that I had attempted my entire life. How could this happen? I know, you are thinking that it is a golf tournament, get over it. I’m not wired that way, sorry. After wallowing in self pity for a few days, I realized that I had not applied to golf the steps that had always made me successful. So, while taking off from golf from September through March to rehab another back problem, I put my plan together. Following are the steps that I am using. Apply these in your life and I am sure they will help you as well.

SET A CLEAR GOAL “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” From Alice in Wonderland.  If you do not have a specific goal to always refer back to, you cannot be sure if you are making progress. Everything that you do has to ultimately stand up to the question, IS THIS GETTING ME CLOSER TO MY GOAL? My goal for golf is to finish in the top 3 of the same tournament that I finished second to last in July of last year. (I didn’t set my goal for first place because I can’t control what golfers sign up for flights below their ability just so they can win)

GATHER KNOWLEDGE &  GET TRAINING – Seek out successful people that can help you get better. Don’t wait for someone to come to you and offer. It usually doesn’t happen. Throughout my career, I have always tried to get knowledge from other successful people. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. As a matter of fact, some say it is the ultimate sign of strength. For my golf game, I read several books that were recommended and took lessons for the first time in my life. I had played golf off and on for 20 years and never had a lesson. I highly suggest it. Within 15 minutes, I had the first things that I needed to work on and sound fundamentals on a golf swing that would be best suited for me.

MENTAL PREPARATION – Visualize what success looks like for you. See yourself in that success. I will close my eyes in bed and picture each hole that I play and how I could play it better and then see myself doing it. I picture myself playing the rounds of the city tournament and writing down my winning scores. You must first see it in your mind before it is possible to accomplish it.

PHYSICAL PREPARATION – Is there anything physically that is holding you back from your goal? If you do not feel your best, your goal will be much more difficult. I decided that I was to heavy and my endurance was not good enough to be at my peak for an entire round of competitive golf. I immediately began more exercise and a sensible eating plan. At the time of this writing, I have lost 23 pounds and feel much better. Even if your goal is not a physical one, feeling good is imperative. How can you improve your physical self?

PRACTICE – Jack Nicklaus is widely considered the best golfer in history (prior to Tiger Woods). In the foreword to Jack’s instructional book, “Golf My Way”, Jack’s golf coach, Jack Grout writes:

Today Jack plays such sensational golf with such apparent ease that many people who watch him probably gain the impression that his skills are heaven sent rather than self developed. That isn’t true. No one ever worked harder at golf than Jack Nicklaus during his teens and early twenties. At the age of ten, in his first year of golf, Jack must have averaged three hundred practice shots and eighteen holes of play daily. In later years, he would often hit double the number of practice shots and play thirty-six------even fifty-four-----holes of golf a day during the summer. I have seen him practice for hours in rain, violent winds, snow, intense heat---nothing would keep him away from golf. Even a slight case o polio failed to prevent him from showing up at Scioto for a golf match. With this kind of dedication, and all his other assets, it would have been surprising if he had NOT become a great player.

I set my practice routine to go to the range every day that I am in town and don’t have an appointment during lunch. I hit at least two buckets of balls, chip a bucket and putt for 15 minutes. I practice in the cold, wind, light rain or whatever. I play after work once a week and early mornings on the weekend before the family wakes up so that I still have my family time.

PUT YOURSELF IN A POSITION TO SUCCEED – If you make all of the preparations, but never put it into action, you can never get there. It might sound silly, but fear of failure or rejection holds too many people back. Did you make that next sales call, that follow up phone call? I entered our country club member guest tournament yesterday with a client. Seventeen teams of pretty hard core golfers. Long story short, we won the tournament by three strokes. As a two man team, we shot a 60 after our handicap was applied. (Remember that 126 from last year)  We didn’t even play that well, but after a few bad holes, we were able to re-group and play well enough to win. Some might call your success lucky. There is no such thing as luck. Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness. Lessons are there for everyone. The driving range is always open. Take lottery tickets for example. The winning ticket is there for anyone to buy, but only the person that took the time to buy it can ever get the winning ticket. That person was prepared to win the lottery.

My journey has just begun since I have a tournament in July to place in. Progress is now measurable. What goal would you like to attain? What are you prepared to do to get there? Without a plan, a goal is no more than a dream. If you find this helpful, please email me your thoughts or successes at roncovert@wizardofads.com

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Below is an email that i sent out to the Sales Staff of our radio stations regarding a success story from a local advertiser. It was just to remind them that as good as we are at helping people build a brand, some clients have needs that need to be met today. Enjoy.

Good Morning All,

Below is a quote from a Bloomington client that ran an “action” schedule to buy gold. The purpose of the email is 1. Great job Team Bloomington for fulfilling our goal of bringing consumers to the advertisers! 2. Let’s not forget that to maximize results for our customers, we can still use this short term action type advertising to accomplish their goals. Especially if we know what they are expecting from their advertising. In addition, this will also help grow our billing if we look for long term business and also add in the short term stuff! Too many times, we are working long term and leave a ton of short term money on the table.

Jerry Zimmer (President of Great Plains Media and formerly Zimmer Radio Group) gave me an analogy years ago to best illustrate this point. We used to say that we were farmers. Planting seeds that would grow down the road (building the long term business). Well, during this one particularly slow start up, Jerry called me and suggested that we mount rifles on top of our tractors so that we could hunt for food so that we don’t starve to death(or go broke) waiting for the crops we were farming to come in!

So, in summary, please don’t let yourself go hungry while waiting for the harvest. Radio is awesome at short term action and can give your clients results better than any other medium!!

Have a great day.

From John Carter on Jack Lewis Fine Jewelry,

radio has always been hard for me to track but i started advertising gold buying JUST with those commercials for a couple weeks.  i can happily tell you that there for 2 weeks straight i did not have a single day go by that i was not buying gold.  everyone heard it on the cities.  kudos to you...you are doing a great job and i do also enjoy the plumbers that show up with everything they need...including a belt.  great ads. 

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People don’t care about you. That’s a great way to start an article. A little harsh but true. (And it got your attention)

This applies to both sales people and advertising. First of all, in sales, most reps spend far too much time talking about the products they have to sell and never really know if it is what their client needs or wants. Sales people forget that the client doesn’t want the product they are selling, but what that product can do for them. I used this example in a sales meeting this morning. Very sick, you walk into a Dr’s office and wait patiently. The Dr. walks in, writes you a prescription and hands it to you excitedly without asking a thing about your condition. “These are absolutely the best anti-depressants on the market today, but they are very limited in production. Hurry and fill this before they are all gone!“  Shocked, you reply, “But Doc, I have a 104 degree fever.” As if he didn’t care how you felt, “That’s great, but these anti-depressants are awesome, I am so excited to prescribe them to you!” Sound far fetched? Sales Reps do the equivalent EVERY DAY. Customers could care less about what you are selling unless it helps with a need that they have. Ask them and prescribe a product that can help them get where they want to be.

The same holds true for advertising. Advertisers ramble on about how long they have been in business, awards they have won, the experience of their staff. YAWN. A good rule of thumb when writing good ads is that (no matter the medium), if there is anything in it that can illicit the response, “Well, Duh”, then leave it out.  For example, a body shop that does free estimates, paint matching or we take insurance claims. Well, Duh. How about the plumber that claims in an ad that they do sewer and drain cleaning, water heaters and toilets? “Well, Duh”, you are a plumber. When writing your ads, consider what the consumer really cares about. I really just want my drain unclogged, as soon as possible so that I can finish dinner and watch American Idol.

On both fronts, sales and advertising, make sure that you understand the needs of your end customer and show them that you understand. For heaven’s sake, give them what they need, not what you think they need or what you need to sell!

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I surprised my sales staff last Monday Morning when I asked them to bring a copy of their plan for the week to our quick morning kick-off meeting. There are ten members to our sales team and not one of them had what they would agree was anywhere close to a plan they were prepared to go to battle with. Most planners consisted simply of scheduled appointments for the week.

Now, I could really care less about the actual "activity" of writing a plan out, but I know how important it is for people in any business, whether it be a sales person or small business owner or manager. We are all bombarded each week with routine tasks that we forget, surprise meetings and unexpected fires that pull us in all sorts of directions. If you have a good plan, it is much easier to not let things slip through the cracks and get back on track after distractions.

If all employees plan their week, it is much easier for the owner or manager to insure that employees are working on things that are most important to growing the organization and goals are aligned with activities.

I separate my week by different categories of my business. For example, I use Sales, Sales Meeting, Operations, Promotions, Client Contacts, Personal, etc. An inexpensive yet highly functional planner that I recommend can be found at www.plannerpads.com . I have tried keeping planners on desk top computer and hand held, but for me nothing works better than writing it down. By the way, my staff is welcome to look at my planner anytime. Call me if you want to discuss better planning for your staff or if you want me to send you a copy of my planner.

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After a Sales Meeting this morning, one of the members of the sales team forwarded this short movie to the entire staff. It is right on target for everyone in business and their personal life. It just stresses the fine line between winning and losing. The text is below, but for the full effect, you need the audio. Turn up the speakers and check it out here. www.212themovie.com

At 211 degrees water is hot.

At 212 degrees it boils.

And with boiling water comes steam.

And steam can power a locomotive.

One extra degree makes all the difference.

And the one extra degree of effort in business and in life separates the good from the great.

The average margin of victory for the last 25 years in all major golf tournaments combined was less than three strokes.

The margin of victory between an Olympic Gold Medal and no medal at all is extremely small.

In 2004 Men's 800 meter the margin was .77 seconds.

In the Indy 500 the average margin for victory the past ten years has been 1.54 seconds.

The winner received 1,278,813.

Second place won $621, 321.

The difference is $647,492.

It's your life.

You are responsible for your results.

It's time to turn up the heat.

To get what we've never had we must do what we've never done.

The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe it possible.

"Its one of the most beautiful compensations in life--we can never help another without helping ourselves." Emerson

Belief fuels enthusiasm, enthusiasm explodes into passion.   It fires our souls and lifts our spirits.

Having a simple, clearly defined goal can capture the imagination and inspire passion.   It can cut through the dark like a beacon in the fog.

Perseverance isn't a long race; it is a many short races one after the other.

You are now aware.   You now have a target for everything you do.

212 degrees.

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"Would you like fries with that?" has evolved to"Do you want to supersize your meal?" McDonalds does this because they know that there are only two strategies for them to grow revenue.

#1 Get New Customers. McDonalds generally does a great job of market penetration and during peak times can only get so many cars through the drive through in an hour. (that's why now they have two lanes taking orders at many locations).

#2 Sell More to (Upsell) Your Existing Customers. This can be accomplished by, either getting customers to visit more often or increase what they spend during each transaction.(or if you are really good, BOTH)

Most local, small businesses focus on getting new customers when upselling existing customers would have such an immediate impact.

We see it everywhere. From McDonalds with those supersize options, clothing stores have ties pre-matched to a shirt. shoes are displayed near the dress that just happen to "make the outfit."   These larger businesses UPSELL because it works.

Banks set goals for their executives based on increasing the number of accounts each customer has. Checking, Savings, Credit Card, CD's, Home Loans, Auto Loans, and more. Many financial Institutions now offer other services such as insurance.

If you are a heating and air business and go on a service call to fix a broken air conditioner, why not offer a special on changing filters, a furnace service special, duct cleaning. The list is endless. You are already there; maximize your visit to that customer and show them how it might save them money as well.

You already have a core of customers and they know that you have great products and provide at least satisfactory service. (If not, this article might not be for you) It's much easier to make sales to someone you already have a relationship with and is already doing business with you.

Use every opportunity to increase your sales volume within the customers that you already have. Do you have a product that goes with the one they are purchasing? Offer it to them at the register or when you quote a price. What can YOU do today to increase the dollars that a customer spends on each visit? If you want to brainstorm, give me a call. Be aware, the initial brainstorming is free, but I might ask you if you like fries!

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There are thousands of small markets across the country that if you listen closely, you might be able to hear money being sucked out of one town and being spent just down the highway in a bigger city.

Lawrence, Kansas is one such town. Lawrence is a town of over 80,000 people and home to the University of Kansas which swells the population to over 100,000. The state capital of Topeka is 25 miles to the west and the high end suburbs of Kansas City, Kansas are 25 miles to the East. Lawrence has "successfully" (sarcasm warning) kept out "The Mall" and other large retail on several occasions in order to protect local small business. Being protected, local businesses were not forced to deliver what their customers wanted. Unfortunately, all of that competition that was kept out set up shop a mere 20 minute drive down the highway.

The results of this decision to protect the city have been staggering. A recent study by an independent firm shows that Lawrence, Kansas is realizing just 59% of its Effective Buying Income potential. This was by far the worst performance of any of the comparable markets measured. You may read or download the whole report here.

Don't shy way from competition, welcome it. Do you want a big piece of a little pie or a little piece of a big pie....and maybe get your unfair share?

It is obvious that business owners and communities must find out what consumers want and find a way to give it to them. Do not lull yourself into a false sense of security that you have no competition. Denial is too easy and will cost you a lot of money. What are you doing to deliver a wonderful customer experience? How are you letting folks know? I am doing everything I can to keep business in my town. What are you prepared to do to keep business from leaking out of yours? Call me and let's compare notes.

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A few months ago, we had the opportunity to purchase an advertising shopper magazine to accompany our group of radio stations. It was a good deal, we bought it. We knew nothing of running a print publication. How hard can it be?

Needless to say, the customers that advertise in this publication are very transactional customers and expect instant gratification. This is a little different sale for an organization that has tried to specialize in the world of the "tell them why and wait for when" relational customer.

The following is a rough account of the follow up with an advertiser after the first run of a $70 ad that consisted of two coupons for a local burger joint that also serve breakfast.

"I am not happy with the results from your magazine, I only got 17 coupons back last week." (It was actually 34 total we find out later, 17 of each coupon. Sometimes advertisers aren't 100% accurate with the information they share.)

"I really expected a couple of hundred.: (Establishing and controlling expectations could be addressed here, but I will save that for later.) "I think I will try something else."

My rep returns very dejected and angry at the customer for not being happy with a return of 34 coupons. I counsel the rep to look at it from the advertisers perspective, he expected 200 or so coupons and got a lousy 34. Sounds crappy, huh? The good news is that all is not really lost if we help the advertiser look a little deeper. Just because we are selling print ads does not mean that we forget what we know about marketing.

This "Burger Magnate" works his own drive thru and knows his regular customers very well. "Ask him how many of those 34 customers are new." It turns out on the follow up call that an estimated 20 of those customers were new. "Assuming he delivers a wonderful customer experience, how often will each return over the next 12 months?" We found out that once a month would be a number he was comfortable with. "How much will they spend on each visit?" The average single person ticket hovers around $6.

We now assume that these 20 customers tell no one else to visit and that they dine alone each time they come in. Over the next year, these 20 customers will account for 240 separate visits and will spend an average of $6 per visit. The customers that came in from a $70 ad will spend $1,440 in incremental revenue during the upcoming year. How many advertisers would do back flips with this type of return on investment? Oh, and by the way, the burger place we refer to is still an advertiser!

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