What can you do?

I can’t say it any better. Let Zig tell you and perhaps you can feel better.

“There are going to be times in life when you do everything you’re supposed to do, and somebody else drops the ball. That’s life.” – Zig Ziglar.

This may help you feel better on days when you are one of the guys who drops the ball.

What if you did nothing? 

Zig Ziglar passed away two days ago on Wednesday 28 November

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How to invest in your brand?

We meet a lot of small medium businesses who are keen on branding their products and services. A lot of these have huge potential but almost always, the brand owners are nervous about spending. No matter how you try to convince them that it’s really an investment in their brand; they will still be skeptical.

I don’t blame them. After all, branding cost money. Cold hard cash these brand owners worked hard for with their bare-hands.

Starting a branding exercise is like sparring for the first time in a ring. To be good at sparring you need to do these:

Get into the ring

To learn to spar, you need to get into the ring. You cannot shadow box day-in day-out and expect to be good at sparring. You need to step into the ring and face your competitor.

Feel the fear and do it anyway

No matter how fearful you are, step in and feel the fear. Of course you are going to be nervous and you feel anxiety. You heart will be palpitating and your hands and feet cold. But once you get started, everything will be in motion. You will adjust, dance around as the case maybe, or in fact you may be surprised yourself, that you aren’t half bad at this.

Get into the zone

As time goes on, you get into the zone. After a few sessions, you may even like it. At times, when you get into the zone and is in the flow you are even good at it. That’s when you know, your practice and parking your fears aside - works.

Bruise and learn

Just as in anything you do for the first time. There will be mistakes and lessons. So, take some bruises. A torn lip or a swollen toe teaches you lessons to be better.

Reflect and improve

Reflect on what happened during the session when you get home from your sparring. You will see what you did right, what you could have done better and what you should stop doing. That’s how you improve.

That’s how someone who takes up self-defense becomes proficient. That’s how your brand will be strong too.

But first, you must get into the ring.

Are you up to it?

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What should you have first?

Just because you are the most passionate football fan you know doesn’t mean you will be successful running a business that has to do with football.

Do not confuse what is needed to be successful as a marketer. You may not have a passion for philately but you can be very proficient at selling stamps.

Proficiency and passion. One is an expertise, the other an intense love.

It certainly helps if you are passionate about bath tubs and selling it. But it’s not a must.

In fact, it maybe detrimental. If you are a passionate fulltime traditional Shotokan instructor you won’t want to do business with moms and pops that walks in with their cute softie 8-year old. In which case, your dojo needs a proficient marketer. Not a passionate instructor to be successful as a business.

Which combo do you want?

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Why aren’t you doing what you love?

Because you are poor in time; “I have no time” to whatever.
Because you are poor in know-how; “I don’t know how” to whatever.
Because you are poor financially; “I don’t have the money” to whatever.
Because you are poor in courage; “I am afraid if I fail” in whatever.

Good thing though. You have a wealth of excuses. Congrats.

What's a good reason?

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Do you recognize your inflection point?

Andy Grove in his book “Only the Paranoid Survive” said, "Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction…" He went on to explain "Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure…”

How paranoid are you?

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What is your right size?

We are small on purpose. That’s because the people at Roar Point knows what we want and we know what will make us happy and the clients happy (well, at least most of the time.)

I am not saying don’t grow. I will be stupid to say that. Every business strives to grow. Bigger profits, bigger market share, bigger share of wallet, more share of stomach, more share of throat.

I am advocating the right size. Right enough for your customers to be well served, right enough that it does more good than harm. Right enough that it is sustainable for you, your people, your environment.

Eventually everything that grows breaks down. Knowing your right size allows you to develop new avenues. Breed new things.

More and bigger doesn’t always mean better.

How big do you want to be?

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Do you see what I see?

You don’t always see what you need to see. That's why you need mirrors.

Sometimes mirrors come in the form of comrades, competitors and consultants. 

Don’t break them. They show you your ugly side so you can be prettier.

Unless of course, you are setting out to be ugly.

Who’s bringing you silver and gold?

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What are you doing with Google?

Google is becoming "Godgle". You already know that. You use it every day as a consumer.

So, how is the brand you are handling using Google and its services? Oh I see, your consumers don’t use Google. Hmm...

Is your brand out Googling your competitors?

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Who can hurt you the most?

YOU.

Yup. YOU can hurt you the most.

The things you should do but didn’t do. The things you turn a blind eye on. The ego that you did not train to shrink. The mouth that refuses to shut-up. The anger that refuses to be extinguished. The “I am staying true to myself” pseudo-logic. The “I will do it tomorrow.” The greed that refuses to be contented.

Swat that analysis. Just look into yourself.

It works for brands, people and career.

Who can benefit the most?

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How much does your brand write?

Brands want to own the experience that consumers feel about them, they want to own the personality and values that their brand reflects or espouse.

Sadly, how many owns those words on the net via the very keywords or the group of keywords they want to “own”? Especially, here in Malaysia.

Content marketing should be a key component of your communication strategy if you accept these as facts:

1.    The number of people who will look for the information via the net will increase.

2.    Content marketing is one of the more convincing forms of communications.

3.    Over the long run it delivers better ROI than a leaflet or booklet (the offline     equivalent of content marketing.)

4.    It provides a platform to when and where your consumers will sell themselves on your brand.

If your brand is not writing yet, you should start now. It takes time. But done well it pays dividends in heaps.

What would your brand write about?

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How do you learn?

Non admission to ignorance can breed arrogance.

Each time you are challenged on what you hold to dearly - for example, a marketing technique, perhaps savour that as an opportunity to unlearn what you have learned.

Just because you have been successful with it in the past:

1. Doesn’t guarantee it will work this time. Perhaps there is a reason why you are being challenged now?
2.  Doesn’t mean the person challenging you is wrong.
3. Can mean this technique is now known to your competitors.

You think you know, hence you don’t know. Ignorance breeds arrogance.

What did you unlearn? 

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Are you staying true to yourself?

Sometimes I wonder if people take this, “Stay true to yourself” to the extreme.

I mean, if you know you are an asshole, do you remain an asshole? Because that way, you are staying true to yourself even when it takes a toll on the people you work with, your love ones and more importantly the immeasurable price you are paying for it.

Perhaps these people should ask themselves, “What is my true self?” before they qualify to say “I am being true to myself.”

What lies are you telling yourself?

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How much time do you have?

You will never find time if you try to look for time to do the things that you want. You will not find time to do the things that you love, to attend to your priorities, to whatever. 

You make time. Yes. MAKE. TIME.

That’s how you get things done. Do that or stop complaining.

How do you make time?

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Can you create a new category?

Of course you can. Just don’t expect it to be a free ticket to market success. Just how do your consumers slot your product and service into his mind? The simple answer is through his world view; which is a collection of his experience that shapes how he sees things.

Of course you can create this slot amongst the masses. But you have to start with the innovators and the early adopters first. That means money to educate a whole new group of people in the hope that they influence the rest.

Having no competitors doesn’t mean it is easy. Either way, competitors or not you need to invest. Time. Money. Effort.

What new invention do you have?

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Who’s your competitor?

I am sure you are new. So new you have no competitor. Just because you feel and think you have no competitors doesn’t mean you have no competitors. In fact, it might even be a fact that you have no competitors. But in your consumer’s mind, YOU will ALWAYS have a competitor.

Why? Because the consumer asks a very simple question in his mind, “What is this?” This three word question necessitates that he slots your product and service into a category in his mind. That way he can relate to it.

So you see, once he slots you into that category a slew of competitors appear in your consumer’s mind. And that’s the only list of competitors that matters.

Do you have competitors?

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How much effort does it take?

Drop by drop an empty bucket is soon filled with water. You know that. But it’s worth mentioning again and again until it sinks in.

If you did one small thing every day, it will make a huge impact in your life and business in a year.

Eat a little more fruits and vegetables a day.
Get into the office earlier.
Leave the office on time.
Personally attend to a customer.
Resist making just one complain a day.
Give one compliment a day. 

You don’t need more examples; you need to say, “That I can do.”

But chances are you won’t. I know.

Can you imagine the impact?

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When are you walking away?

Some prospects find it interesting that we leave money on the table. They think we are cocky when we turn down their business. But I assure you not.

Sometimes, we turn business down when the values do not match. Other times, when the understanding of what branding is, the role of marketing and what advertising can and cannot do tells you the partnership will not work. Almost always, we walk away when the prospect feels only his business has the legitimate right to make money.

More importantly, we know what we want.

Do you know what you want?

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