MANAGEMENTAppoint an Idea Champion
Ideas are easy. Implementation is the tough part. It’s why top sports marketer Jon Spoelstra argues so fervently for appointing an “idea champion” to pursue the fruit of your brainstorming sessions. “Ideas and projects can get away from you, but if you make someone the idea champion, they’ll passionately breathe life into the idea,” he says in his book Outrageous Marketing. The person doesn’t even need to have expertise in the field — just a belief in the idea’s potential and the support to pursue it.
SELF-MANAGEMENTCome to Terms With 2024
Regret is a common emotion as one year ends and another begins. Karen Ogden of Envest Asset Management says it’s crucial not to dwell on feelings that arise from decisions you wish you hadn’t made and now can’t reverse. “It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback and say, ‘I shouldn’t have done that,’” she told Bloomberg News. “But it’s wasted time.” Instead, Ogden recommends finding lessons learned and taking solace in positive developments. For instance, in her field, higher interest rates mean savings may have gone up at least a little, she says.
SALESChange Your Shoes
Do you unconsciously assume that your customers have your financial limitations? Do you secretly believe that they should do what you would do? If so, these are likely the reasons you struggle as a salesperson, writes Roy H. Willimas in his MondayMorningMemo. “You believe you are being empathetic, but you are not. You aren’t putting yourself into their shoes; you’re putting them into yours,” and that’s limiting what you can achieve in sales.
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MARKETINGPair With an Upmarket Rival
Many successful businesses follow a curve in which they pursue ever-more lucrative customers as they become more established. This makes sense. The best customers are usually at the high end, and it pays to develop a business model that responds to their needs. But it also means other customers get left behind. If you have a more upmarket competitor in your area, why not offer to buy the names of its “inactive” customers? This could give you access to customer lists that were built up over decades for basically nothing, marketing consultant Jay Abraham says.
MARKETINGGet on the Map
Google Maps regularly updates its “satellite views” of urban areas in North America, although it rarely publicizes the schedule for its flyovers (the images are actually a patchwork of mainly aerial photos). In this age of mass access to intelligence data, your rooftop is a billboard. What does your roof say about your business? How about: “PETS LOVE US!” in 6-foot lettering.
SELF-GROWTHMake Better Resolutions
Americans’ No. 1 New Year’s resolution — “I’m going to lose weight” — illustrates what’s wrong with most people’s vows to improve some aspect of their lives: It’s too vague and too all-encompassing. According to Lifehacker, a better resolution would be, “I’m going to lose 5 pounds by going to the gym at least twice a week.” So if your resolution for 2025 is to be a “better boss,” you’ve got work to do.
HIRINGFind Former Corporate Talent
If you’re trying to keep payroll expenses down but are still in need of high-quality staff, here’s an AllBusiness.com strategy: Look for smart women or men who’ve left corporate life for a better work-life balance. They can make excellent part-time specialists, especially in areas such as technology and marketing.