The customer isn’t always right. When people start businesses they usually will work for and serve anyone with a pulse and a checkbook. The problem with catering to everyone is that you end up not being able to say no to anyone. When you can’t say no to anyone then you’re not really providing a service, you’re just reacting to demands.
Offering a service is active, responding to demands is reactive. The difference is that your customers run your business instead of you. If you don’t feel in control of your business then it’s likely that you’re not.
My brain is changing and so is yours if you’re reading this. The internet is changing our brains. Reading full sized books is more difficult, even if you use a Kindle. Sitting in quiet drives us mad. We are constantly skimming articles, web sites and now conversations.
Today I am going to turn off my email, Skype, my cell phone and my iPod. I’m closing the door to my office and I’ll come out into the world when I’m done with my project.
The world is a different place than it was before all this technology but one thing has not changed. We get to choose our distractions. It’s not a distraction or an interruption of you leave it on to notify you, ring, ping or beep. If you want to ship then turn your stuff off. If it feels like you can’t it’s because your brain is different. You can learn more about that by reading this book(affiliate link) by Nicholas Carr. It’s fascinating and a must read if you want to understand how our digital lifestyle is changing the way we think.
Turn stuff off. Get stuff done. Ship
Oxymorons….
Amicable divorce.
Controlled chaos.
Doing nothing.
Words that exist together but don’t really exist.
“Run my social media” is another oxymoron. Unfortunately it’s becoming less of an oxymoron and more of a cliche. I help people learn more about the social media tools, lingo and landscape. There are rules to tweets, strategies for businesses to grow and tricks to navigating this new space. Never have I and never will I pretend to be someone else in social media though. Social media can be done by employees of a company but when you start paying someone to pretend to be someone else then you just whored out your social media personality.
I can’t pretend to be you. You can’t pretend to the president. God only made one of you and one of me and that’s intential.
Social media starts with the word “social”, not “delegated” so if your business isn’t finding it useful then maybe it’s because the person behind the profile isn’t really a person at all, they’re an actor playing a role.
The tools available to all of us make social media scalable in a way we never dreamed of. It is entirely possible to communicate with thousands of people through your mobile phone or using a site like http://www.Hoosuite.com. Don’t be a fraud. Find people who care about their/your company and let them interact with customers. CEOs, presidents and managers can all manage the social media channels.
Here are three steps to success in social media;
1. Listen
2. Act human
3. Repeat
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John Reh
We started off this episode thinking we were going to talk about the education system but then we got into some great stuff about job seeking, recruiting and hiring so we bagged the education talk. We’ll get there in a future episode. Here are the highlights from this episode:
- Years of experience vs. ability to do the job
- Resumes and job sites are part of a system of “not considering you” for the most part
- Companies say they want the best but then they usually don’t treat them like they are the best.
- Just because it’s not your reality doesn’t mean it’s not realistic. – AT
- Some people feel sick when they have to go to work…there’s a better way. – JR
- Linchpins are sometimes hard to employ because they don’t settle.
- People leave companies quickly because they often get suckered into it. What they told me I could do I’m not doing. – JR
- Change within companies is rarely quick because change usually comes one person at a time. Companies hire people who are just like themselves because it’s easier, just not as productive. – JR
- Linchpins love what they do because it helps themselves but more so because it helps others.
- Linchpin thinking should not be arrogant, it is simply giving yourself permission to succeed at what you were meant to contribute. – AT
“This is your opportunity. The indispensable employee brings humanity and connection and art to her organization. She is the key player, the one who’s difficult to live without, the person you can build something around.” – Page 9 of Linchpin
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Running Time:
1:04:31
Find John at:
John’s Business – http://www.dogsloverunning.com
John on Twitter – http://twitter.com/dogsloverunning
If you have some thoughts on this episode you can:
- Call in feedback to 605-610-UASK (8275)
- Email me at Feedback@LinchpinPodcast.com .
- Leave a comment by clicking on the title of this episode and looking at the bottom of the page.
Free with a catch
2010 had a lot of debate about the idea of “free” as a way to build a business, gain a following and turn a profit. One service I was using actually stopped charging me to use it (InvoiceBubble.com) while others that were free placed limits on their use and started charging (Hootsuite). One of my favorite services added a paid option for some added customization (Tungle.com).
Free and awesome
Lastly, a free service that tried to close its doors (Xmarks.com) heard the cry of their users who said they would gladly pay to keep it alive (it eventually got purchased by another company and added a paid option). I know that you can make a lot of money offering someone a “free” version and then getting them to upgrade because for the rest of their lives but at the core of “Freemium” isn’t price, it’s a great service. The key to offering things at no monetary cost to potential paying customers is in my opinion, intent. Is it bait wrapped around a hook (that makes the customer a fish and no fish wins in that scenario) or is it truly a gift?
Free and addicting
A psychologist friend of mine once asked me if I do anything with 100% pure motives. I was at a three week training to go on staff with Young Life (a non-denominational youth ministry organization) and I was fresh out of college. Without hesitating I said that I did do some things with pure motivations. She pressed me on my answer and I got very frustrated because she seemed to be insinuating that I was in fact doing a lot of things for selfish reasons. It’s 12 years later and if she asked me about my motivations now I’d have to answer differently. Everything I do (including giving away services, tutorials and advice for free) is in some way selfish. Just because it’s selfish doesn’t mean it’s dishonest. What I give away is helpful. When 37signals.com offers free versions of their paid programs people benefit from that. Is there a trick? Not as long as the version you signed up for stays free (this is where I think Hootsuite pissed some people off). Is free great for marketing? I think so.
Every week someone asks me the same question. “What advice do you have for someone who is just starting their business and needs to find customers?” My answer, “Find people you can give your service or product to at absolutely no charge.” Don’t charge them “cost” or a 50% discount. Give your service, product…whatever it is, away. This will benefit you in the following ways:
1. You’ll get honest feedback if you ask for it.
2. They may know some potential customers and send them to you.
3. They may become a paying customer themselves.
4. You will help them.
5. It feels good.
So what’s the point of “free”? I’m selfish so I give things away for free because:
1. I get honest feedback.
2. I get potential customers from those who receive my free stuff.
3. I get paying customers from the same people.
4. It helps people.
5. It feels good.
Selfish husband, awesome wife
Let’s get it out there. No one has 100% pure motives. I don’t have pure motives when I love my wife (I want her to feed me and take care of our children because she’s better at both things). I don’t have pure motives in my friendships (I want them to like me, to say nice things about me and to invite me to do stuff with them). I don’t have pure motives in business (I want to get money from people, for them to tell other people about me and I like feeling wanted/important). We’re selfish because we know that givers often benefit the most because giving feels awesome. That’s why I made my tutorials all free (http://www.AndyTraub.com/free).
my kids
None of us pure and neither is “free”. I still think it’s a great idea though.
Go give some stuff away and see what happens. Start with giving your family your time then move on to your business, I believe you’ll be rewarded for both.
