May 2011
3 posts
Coaching Your Brand: Part 4 - Culture
If you missed the Intro to the series, click here
How does the culture of the Patriots organization contribute to the Patriots brand? When you think of the Patriots, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Super Bowls, Brady, Belichick, Dynasty, Winning. Winning, that is the culture of the Patriots organization. Other teams and players in the NFL know this. Players sign with the...
Coaching Your Brand: Part 3 - Resources
If you missed the Intro to the series, click here
I remember going to my first Patriots game when I was around 10 years old. Back then the Pats didn’t play in Gillette Stadium, they played in Sullivan Stadium and the experience was quite a bit different than it is now.
My first game was against Miami and it was in December, so we go into the concrete bowl that was Sullivan Stadium and take our...
Coaching Your Brand: Part 2 - Employees
If you missed the Intro to the series, click here
One of the most repeated phrases you’ll hear when people talk about quarterbacks is “the face of the franchise”. Tom Brady is clearly the face of the Patriots franchise. While Tom Brady is an employee of the Patriots (the most valuable employee, but still just an employee), he clearly encapsulates the values that Kraft has set for the entire...
April 2011
2 posts
Coaching Your Brand: Part 1- Management
If you missed the Intro to the series, click here
How do you implement your vision and values throughout your company? By hiring and promoting the correct management team who share and can implement your vision and values.
Kraft found the people who would give his brand credibility and the people who would best implement his vision. Kraft also let go the people who didn’t fit his vision. It...
Coaching Your Brand: 5 Part Series
I’m a football fan and my favorite football day of the year is quickly approaching, the NFL Draft. What does this have to do with your brand? I was watching some draft coverage this weekend and the draft analysts (what a job!) kept referring to “the Patriot way”, even when they were talking about other teams. When the analysts said “the Patriot way” football fans, coaches, players, etc. all know...
March 2011
2 posts
Exceed Expectations
On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how do you rank your company’s customer service? How many of you answered 10? How many of you know, deep in your gut, that it is not a 10? How many of you exceed your customer’s expectations?
On a scale of 1 to 10, your minimum customer service goal should start at 11 and go up from there. Most customers EXPECT a 10 when it comes to customer service, you...
February 2011
6 posts
Pricing Power
I recently read a blog post from Seth Godin (author of The Purple Cow) titled On Pricing Power . In his post, he talks about pricing, specifically not being paid what you are worth.
Godin makes a few good points. He says
“Cheaper is the last refuge of the marketer unable to invent a better product or tell a better story.”
Yes! I have had this conversation with clients many times. If the...
Negotiate Value
How often do you negotiate? I bet it is more often than you think. Negotiating happens every day and in every facet of life. Most people associate negotiating with price. How much can I get the other party to come down on price (or how much can I get the other party to pay)? While getting a good deal in your eyes may make you feel good, this type of negotiating can leave a better deal for both...
All Publicity Is Good Publicity…Unless You’re...
I’ve mentioned before that I am not the biggest fan of Groupon. As a consumer, I love them. Why should I ever pay full price for anything ever again? For business owners, I think Groupon is a terrible idea.
Quick example – I got a Groupon email that Redbones was offering 50% off your check – to 10,000 people! I love Redbones, some of the best BBQ I’ve had, they have an outstanding beer...
Opportunity Cost
How much is your time worth? $10 per hour? $50? $500? For a business owner, this is a critical figure to know. When you know what your time is worth you are able to calculate how much time-consuming activities cost you in terms of dollars and cents.
Here are two ways to calculate:
1. Replacement Cost:
How much would it cost in salary, taxes and benefits per year to hire someone to replace...
SundayDriver
Each Friday I’ll be posting something not related to business and coaching, I’ll be writing about the hot topic of week. Topics like “What did Steven Tyler say on American Idol?” The things that really keep us up at night.
This week’s topic: Super Bowl Sunday
The Packers will win 31-28. Why? BJ Raji. Seriously, he could be Super Bowl MVP. Vegas has him at 35-1 to win. Tempting….
Papa...
Coaching doesn’t come in a can
In small business I think it is important to have an enemy, the Goliath to your David. Goliath is a competitor (usually much bigger with many more resources) but is the polar opposite of what your business stands for. For example, for years (maybe decades) Apple (open, fun) was David and Microsoft (ridged) was Goliath, now those roles might be reversed. When I was at Tremont Brewery (locally...
January 2011
5 posts
ProfitDriver and the Boston Business Journal
I am quoted in this week’s Boston Business Journal. If you don’t have access, here’s the quote. (If you have a tough time reading the text, right click on image and click on view image).
While I was reading this week’s Boston Business Journal I saw an ad for Salem 5 Bank. The headline in the ad says “Because running a business is no day at the beach”. Really? Says...
7 Networking Tips
You hear it all the time “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. That’s great, but useless, advice. I think a common feeling with people who are new to networking is: What I know is who I don’t know. What I don’t know is how to meet the people I want to know at a networking event.
As a business coach and a small business owner I am always looking for new networking events and strategies. ...
To BNI or Not To BNI - Nine Networking Tips
Looking back on my career, one area that I did not focus nearly enough time on is networking. I am not going to preach about the importance of networking (it is VERY important) and I am not going to give you common sense pointers (always have business cards). What I am going to do is use my experience with BNI (Business Networking International) and provide some guidelines for picking a chapter...
Don’t Turn Groupon – Turn Groupoff
Groupon is not all it’s cracked up to be.
6 Billion. That’s the amount that Google offered to pay for Groupon. Let’s look at that figure another way. Google offered $6,000,000,000 (9 zeros) to buy Groupon. The Groupon co-founders turned it down. I sent an email to Eric Schwartz, CEO at Google, and let him know that I would take 6 billion for my company, but I haven’t heard back. I sent Mr....
The Golden Voice…what’s yours?
The homeless man with the “god given gift of a great voice” has been an overnight internet sensation, getting worldwide media attention and job offers from MTV, MSNBC, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and many more (I just saw a Kraft commercial that he did). I have been joking with people for years that everyone has one god given gift, but I do it when they do something routine. For example, when my...
August 2010
2 posts
What if it works? Inbound marketing can be too...
When speaking with business owners about marketing strategies, specifically inbound marketing, I can sometimes see the revenue dollar signs dancing in their heads. Why? First off, they think their products and message are unique and really connect with consumers. Second, they think that inbound marketing is an instant fix to drive revenue for their business. My first follow up question to...
Know all you can about your customers
Who are your customers? Where are they from? What’s the best way to communicate with them? Do you consider their ethnic background when planning on speaking with them? If not, you should take in account their culture and the cultural differences that you have with them. What is culture? Culture, as defined on Dictionary.com is:
the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social,...
July 2010
2 posts
On LinkedIn, Don't be the "that guy" guy
That’s what he told me, don’t be “that guy”. I sent him a request to connect on LinkedIn, he responded by asking if we had ever met, my response was “no, but I’m interested in learning more about your LinkedIn group (he is the manager of the group)” and his near immediate response:
“Don’t be “that guy”. We have a calendar for 100s of events in boston. Get out an event and actually meet people.”
...
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