I’m A Lucky Guy!
July 21, 2010
By David Lawrence, Pangea River Rafting
Michael J. Fox wrote a book entitled, Lucky Guy. I’ve got to say that if you wrote a book about my life right now, you couldn’t pick a better title. I’m one extremely “lucky guy!” Ten years ago I got into the professional recreation business (yes, it’s actually a “real” career opportunity) as a freshly minted college graduate with an English Literature degree and a burning desire to see the West.
For a native son of Virginia, the West meant the Rocky Mountains. When a friend called and asked if I wanted to take a job at a resort in Washington State, my first question was, “Does Washington have mountains like the Rocky Mountains?” Not only did it have big mountains and massive, glaciated volcanoes, the state offered a firsthand degree in outdoor recreation.
Washington is where I got my whitewater rafting start, on the Methow River. The waters of the Methow led me to the Spokane River where I worked as a guide. Those waters led me to Montana and the Clark Fork River, where my wife, Brooke, and I own and operate our own rafting company, Pangaea River Rafting.
I’m one lucky guy because I spend my summers as a raft guide in Montana and my winters in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State as a cross-country ski instructor. Making that kind of lifestyle work as a single twenty-three-year-old was pretty easy when you live on a tight budget. But how do you make a nomadic, recreation-based lifestyle work in your thirties, married, with one child, with hopes of having a couple more, and wanting to own your own house, actually two, one in each state?
The answer is pretty easy: you learn what business you’re really in. At the America Outdoors trade show last year in Reno, NV, I heard Ron Rosenberg present his Outrageous Marketing strategies. I learned from Ron that my business isn’t rafting and skiing; it isn’t even entertainment and teaching – it’s marketing and customer service. The customer service part we got in spades, but the marketing…
I joined Ron’s Inner Circle, read his newsletters, listened to his audio CD’s , reviewed the manuals and supplemental materials, and completed all of the requirements from Ron’s incredible new “Business Self-Defense™ Program.” And I became this weirdly voracious student of marketing!
Because of this, our sales at Pangaea River Rafting increased 15% in one summer. But what’s more amazing, we did this despite losing a whole month of revenue because the rivers were too high to raft! And on top of that, we, like everyone else that summer were battling outrageous fuel costs and operational expenditures. I would have been ecstatic just to duplicate the previous season’s totals, but we blew those numbers away by 15%!
I came back to the America Outdoors show this year because I wanted to see Ron and I was able to schedule a one-on-one meeting with him to review my web site. That one-on-one time with him discussing various marketing strategies was worth the fuel costs to drive to Knoxville, Tennessee; it was worth the cost of registering to attend the show; and it was worth all of the membership fees and educational resources I purchased. Because all of this will offer me a return of more than 10 times their value.
The best part, while I was at the America Outdoors conference and attending Ron’s program, he personally presented me with my Black Belt in Business Self-Defense™.
Brooke and I aren’t anywhere near our financial goals, but every day we get closer to making our outdoor lifestyle more financially viable. I know I’m a lucky guy, and I’m also a hard working student of marketing with a great teacher.
Brooke and I want to meet more of Ron’s Inner Circle Members. Just go to this special web page and tell us your story. There’s a special offer waiting there for you…20% off any rafting adventure and a free waterproof camera! (http://www.leaveboringbehind.com/ron.htm)
While you’re there, tell us how you met Ron, a funny joke, or whatever “floats your boat.” We’d love to meet more of Ron’s clients who are pushing the marketing boundaries of their businesses.
Nothing Happens ‘Till Someone Takes Action
June 30, 2010
We had our Swimming Boot Camp class on Monday this week, and it was a tough one. A 400-yard warm-up, 300 yards of the “pull buoy” (a small flotation device you put between your knees so you’re only using your arms), four 125-yard “snakes” (swimming to the other end of the pool, then going under the lane divider to swim back in the next lane – this simulates actual race conditions for a triathlon with a pool swim), eight 25-yard sprints, and then a 100-yard cool down.
I wasn’t the fastest person in the pool by any means, but I wasn’t the slowest either – and I was able to do the whole thing.
And that’s the most important thing about this story. Because, as some of you know, the first time I attempted to actually swim laps in a pool, I got to the other end of the pool, turned around, and about halfway back to the other side, I was gasping for breath. I don’t mean I had to stop for a second, I mean I was completely winded – after only 75 yards of swimming!
It certainly wasn’t a matter of fitness – I’m in pretty good shape. It wasn’t a matter of endurance – I can bike 100 miles. It was simply a matter of technique – I had to learn to swim properly.
Now visualization is a good tool, but you can’t “visualize” something and get the same results that come from deliberate and focused effort, any more than you can “visualize” a new car and one appears in your driveway without actually going out and earning the money it takes to buy the car.
The bottom line is that despite your best intentions and best-laid plans, nothing is going to happen until you take action on these plans.
Make sure you do something every day – no matter how small – that helps you achieve your goals. When it comes to achieving success, taking action really is a “sink-or-swim” decision.
For Every Headwind…
June 10, 2010
I love cycling, especially when the weather is beautiful and you get out on the country roads we have north of Raleigh. If you go out in mid May, the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine is overpowering – almost intoxicating.
That’s the good part. The more challenging part of riding on those roads is that they’re, well, hilly. And I’m not talking about pleasant rolling hills, I mean hills – long stretches that go up and up and then up some more.
Generally speaking, though, the rule that “what goes up must come down” applies on the road, and when you get to the top of the hill, there’s usually a downhill stretch you can use to recover: for every uphill, there’s a downhill…
But there is another challenge on the road that can be just as bad as a big hill: the wind. Depending on the weather conditions, you can be facing winds of over 15 mph sometimes, and despite being in an aerodynamic position, or riding in a group, the wind does take its toll.
But, you’d think that if you have a headwind in one direction, then you’d have a tailwind in the other direction: for every headwind, there’s a tailwind…
Unfortunately, as often as not, just when you get to the point on the ride where you’re going to change directions, the wind seems to shift – now coming from the opposite direction, giving you a headwind all over again for the ride back home!
The expression all cyclists know is actually this one:
For every uphill, there’s a downhill; for every headwind, there’s a…headwind!
The road itself doesn’t vary – if it increases in altitude today, it’s the same tomorrow, and the next day. The wind is another story altogether. It can be strong or weak. It can be constant or gusty. It can be consistent, or it can change direction on a moment’s notice.
In business and life, there are constants, and there are variables. The success you have depends not so much on the road you take, but rather on the way you anticipate, plan for, and adapt to the unpredictable, unforeseen, and often invisible obstacles that crop up on the way.
It’s your response to these conditions that determines whether your ride will be a good one.
I Can’t Walk By a Piano
June 10, 2010
Life goes in cycles. There are ups and downs, periods of prosperity and scarcity, and events that end up becoming defining moments in your life.
So with all that uncertainty and constant change, wouldn’t it be great to have something you do that continually charges your batteries?
I found an example of this last week when I was listening to Pandora on my computer at work. (Pandora is a very cool music program that constructs custom “radio stations” based on the music you tell it you like – it’s free and worth a look at www.pandora.com.)
A song came on I really liked by a man named Jon Dahlander. Wanting to learn more about this artist, I did a quick Google search, and found this biographical sketch:
Jon Dahlander can’t walk by a piano. He has to play it. It’s why he’s been kicked out of countless hotel lobbies, bars, and restaurants throughout his life.
This was followed by a quote from Jon himself:
“To me, every piano has a story where it was made, who made it, the kind of shape it’s in, who played it before and what it sounds like now, particularly with one of my songs. So, if I see a lonely piano, I have to play it. It’s like finding a new friend with a common interest.”
Wouldn’t it be great to have something you do – a hobby, an activity, even something at work that gets you this motivated and excited?
Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Make this summer the time you find something new to be passionate about.
The Check’s in the Mail
June 1, 2010
There are a lot of ways to present an offer to make it appealing to your prospects. The best and most effective of these focus on the benefits you’ll bring to the customer and the reasons they should select you as the provider.
The insurance business is cutthroat, with virtual “price wars” raging on TV ads between, among others, Geico, Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Nationwide, with each one discounting the others’ low-cost claims, and boasting that you’ll save the most with their company.
So in this overcrowded “he said, she said” environment, I was interested in an ad I saw for Nationwide. They claimed that not only would they give you a discount for being accident-free, but they would actually send you a check every six months.
I know, it’s essentially the same thing as offering a discount, but they recognized that people like receiving checks in the mail; it’s the same reason people overpay their income taxes (passively or deliberately) so they can get a big tax-return check the next year.
Think about it – renewal time presents an opportunity to reevaluate your coverage, your carrier, and your agent. What better way to put a quick end to that internal discussion than to send the customer a check for several hundred dollars?
Customer: Do we switch companies? Nah, they just sent me a check!
Try to identify the points where you are most likely to lose customers, and see what strategies you can develop to provide them with something extra – something special – when they’re approaching that point.
Remember, it does no good to keep adding new customers, clients, or members if you’re not keeping the ones you already have.
Why Are You in Business?
May 19, 2010
I know that’s kind of a harsh question, but answering it is absolutely central to your company’s long-term success. Have you ever walked into a business and said to yourself, “This place won’t be here in six months,” and when you come back six months later, it’s gone?
It happens all the time.
The only reason you should be in business – whatever type of business – is to offer something special to your customers, members, or clients. Something unique. Something uncommon. Something that helps you stand out from everyone else in your market.
This “something special” is your Unique Selling Proposition, and it can be based on an almost infinite number of characteristics including location, price, market segment, process, customer need, support, or guarantees.
But it has to be based on something. You have to be able to communicate it clearly, concisely, and consistently. If you’re not sure where to start, try answering these four questions:
1. What’s different about what you provide or how you provide it that sets you apart from your competition?
2. If you closed up shop tomorrow what impact would it have on your customers’ lives?
3. What could you tell prospective customers that would cause them to drop everything and come see you right away?
4. Why should prospective customers select you versus all the other options they have?
The answers to these questions will help you define a clear and compelling USP that you can use as a foundation for staking out and owning your market.
Level the Playing Field
May 14, 2010
We all like it when other people “play fair.” In sports, there are referees and umpires to make sure everyone follows the rules. In NASCAR, there are very specific and strict rules about what you can and can’t install in one of the race cars. We have lawyers, judges, and entire legal systems to help make sure the government’s rules are applied fairly.
But I have to say that in the world of business and marketing, I’m not a big fan of the “level playing field.”
I believe that if a business is better at marketing itself, selling its products, and delivering a superior level of customer service; if it invests in infrastructure and education; and, of course, if it obeys the laws and regulations that apply in its specific industry, then it should make more money.
In that sense, I wasn’t at all excited about all the government bailouts that were granted in 2009 – these businesses took dangerous, unnecessary, and, in some cases, reckless risks, and had someone else step in and rescue them from the fate they had earned.
But none of this has to affect you. Remember, you can do almost anything in your marketing as long as it’s not illegal, immoral, or unethical.
And so your job should be to do everything within your ability to create a playing field which is not level at all, but instead, tilted decisively in your direction so that all the business you want flows naturally in your direction.
You can do this by having sales letters, post cards, and web sites that are far superior – and far more effective – than those of your competitors. You can identify a unique position for your products in the marketplace that helps you stand out and avoid being perceived as a commodity. You can create a level of loyalty and long-term value with your existing customers that will help you to get maximum value from every new customer, member, or client you acquire.
I like to have a relatively level playing field on a tennis court or bike ride. But in business, I want the playing field tilted in my direction, and so should you.
Why Are They All the Same?
May 6, 2010
On our recent trip to Puerto Rico, we had the opportunity to taste some of the local food. Actually, we tasted a lot of local food, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.
One unexpected surprise was the abundance of kiosks – small stands selling different types of homemade specialties, including pastelillos, piononos, arepas rellanas, alcapurrias, and pinchones.
On our way back to San Juan from the east coast of the island, we passed a long row of about 60 different kiosks – these weren’t free-standing, but rather were more like stalls in a long strip-mall kind of setup. They ran the full range from nice to ramshackle, but the food we tried at several of them was fantastic.
The problem was that in most cases, the items on display were virtually identical from one vendor to the next. As we walked from one stall to the next, we both had the reaction: it all looks pretty much the same, so how do we know which ones to buy?
When it came down to making a decision, we bought the ones that had the fillings we were interested in. If one vendor didn’t have that one ready, we went to the next one.
This may work for street vendors, but it’s a death sentence for you in your business. If people perceive what you offer as completely interchangeable with other companies’ offerings, then you’re playing the commodity game – a very dangerous place to be.
Make sure you offer something truly unique, and make sure that you position yourself that way.
Don’t Overheat!
May 6, 2010
A few months ago, I wrote about a situation with an overheating laptop that caused the cooling fan to run constantly, creating a constant wind-tunnel kind of noise in my office.
I never did find out the cause, but I did discover that the overheating only occurred when I put the laptop in “sleep” mode – when I shut it down or used the “hibernate” mode, the problem didn’t occur.
So, rather than spend hours and hours trying to track down the problem, I take the simple and direct course of action: I just don’t ever put the computer to sleep.
But as I thought more about this, I realized that there was another lesson to be learned from this whole situation.
When the computer is working hard, the temperature of the CPU (the computer’s central processing unit) goes up, and you need to throttle back on the CPU by asking it to do less, or cool it off by increasing the fan speed.
The CPU is the computer’s brain, and if it’s not working correctly, something is going to break down. In fact, if the CPU starts running too hot, the computer’s circuitry is programmed to simply and unceremoniously shut down the computer – regardless of what you may doing at the time.
In much the same way, you need to do the same thing when you get overloaded – either lightening the load (even if only temporarily) or finding a way to “cool down” with exercise, breaks, or other diversions.
That’s why taking regular vacations is essential – if you just work non-stop, then your brain will start to overheat, and you might experience some kind of “personal shutdown.”
Work As a Team!
April 21, 2010
We were in Puerto Rico last week for a program, and took a few extra days to enjoy the island and have a mini vacation (one of the benefits of having both kids out of the house).
Wanting to try something different, and on the recommendation of one of our clients, we took a day trip to the island of Culebra, about 17 miles east of the Puerto Rican mainland. The beaches are beautiful, and with very little effort, you can find your own private area to relax in.
We wanted to get in some snorkeling, and since we also enjoy kayaking, we found the best of both worlds in a company called Kayaking Puerto Rico. They offered a package where we could kayak out to some secluded reefs; they would anchor the kayaks, and we could snorkel to our hearts’ content.
There were plenty of things to see including tropical fish, different types of coral, spiny urchins, lobsters, starfish, and rays.
But some of the real fun took place when we headed back to the shore for a break and some snacks. We were among the last kayaks to get untied from the anchored boat, but we were determined to be the first back to shore (this was our workout for the day, after all).
So, working together, paddling first on the left, then on the right, then on the left, then on the right, we passed the first kayak. Then the second. Then the third. In all honesty, it wasn’t incredibly difficult for two reasons. First, we’ve kayaked before, and knew what we were doing.
But second, and more importantly, most of the other people were not working together. One was paddling left while the other was going right. They were completely out of sync in their rhythm. Some of them were literally going in circles and crashing onto other boats!
So with our heart rate up and our arms and shoulders aching, we passed the remainder of the kayaks, and got to shore first. We were sitting on the bench enjoying our snacks as the other boats came in – some of them ten minutes later.
(If you want to see us in our kayak, just click here – but be warned, this isn’t what we looked like when we were actually moving – we were trying to pose for the camera in this picture!)
Some of the other kayakers were bigger and stronger than us, but that didn’t matter – what was important was working together, having proper form, and executing according to plan.
You may not be on a kayak in the ocean, but good teamwork is essential in anything you do.
