Feb 24, 2022

Vail, COLORADO – “We just hit the road, but the highway is closed ahead due to a crash! Waiting.”

This was the message we received from my wife’s cousin. They were driving up from Grand Junction to have dinner with us in Vail. I’m thinking, how is it a 4-lane interstate highway gets closed due to an accident when the sun is shining and the roads are dry?

Didn’t happen to us on any of the 1000+ miles of road we traveled on getting to Denver and then here; despite driving an entire day through snow and ice.

(For those new to this thread, my wife and I have been traveling Mexico and Ecuador and are currently on a 2-month sojourn in the USA. You can find those back issues here.)

I guess people stop paying attention when the going gets good!?

Right on queue however, it begins snowing here in the mountains, a day after this. And it’s been snowing off and on since. We’re loving it, since one of the best reasons for coming here is to ski the ‘legendary’ back bowls of Vail. Especially since these mountains haven’t received much snow since December.

Not everyone likes it. We rescued one unfortunate soul, who was sitting in the middle of a steep slope, skis in his arms, trying to wiggle his way down. All the while, boarders and skiers were whizzing on by, oblivious to his plight.

Turned out he had twisted his knee and really needed a ski patroller.

If you’re an experienced skier or boarder, you’re probably hoping I’m not about to gloat about the ski conditions. And if you’re neither, your fear is I will bore you to tears.

Not to worry – there’s a business lesson here.

Remember what I said. Almost no one noticed the man who needed help. Everyone was completely in their own zone, paying 100% attention to what they were doing.

Which is exactly what we all do. We are mostly, 100% self-interested.

Ever wonder why you can’t get people to read your emails, ads, buy your stuff?

You haven’t got their attention and you’ve done nothing to ensure they continue to give it, once and if you do get it.

Last week I mentioned I was speaking at an event. Apart from showing the audience how they might find thousands of real, cash dollars by understanding their financials, I also spoke on the secret to good marketing.

Here are the key points:

• Market-dominating position (be unique, stand out etc)
• Conversion equation
• Compelling information offer
• Strategic  Marketing Campaign

Of the four, the first is the most important. It is also the most difficult to create.

You run a restaurant, for instance. How do you make yours stand out from all the others? More so if you own and operate a professional practice competing against hundreds of others?

Our last speaker at the event, however, told a story that should help you out. He’s a chiropractor and like many, the lockdown and other restrictive mandates from the past two years were not great.

But the past few months have been tremendous.

All it took was one negative review.

Say what? How’s that possible? Isn’t the goal to get lots of 4 and 5 star reviews? How could a negative review help?

Well, it all started when this fellow got fed up with the mask mandates. In his opinion, and experience, they did nothing. For him, in any event. If he wasn’t sick and his immune system strong – how could the mask help? When the face is so important in communication, non-verbally – he reasoned, he wasn’t serving his patients fully, with it on.

It helped that legally, his state licensing board superseded the governor’s mandates on the issue.

The negative review?

A patient was appalled that he would practice without a mask and warned people away. Naturally, many people heeded the advice.

The review, however, had unintended, good consequences for the doctor. All those who agreed with him on this issue, immediately thought to themselves, this is the guy for me. So much so, that his practice has mushroomed. He discovered that his “tribe”, his best customers, are “gun-loving, anti-establishment” folks!

Your competitive advantage, uniqueness etc., can often be best created when you make it obvious whom you do not wish to serve and those whom you do. It is more than just demographics, income and location. Work to attract the folks who share your beliefs and values and repel all others.

Try and appease everybody and you’ll please nobody.

To your health and success!

- Hugh
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert

P.S. Did you know that even tiny improvements of 1-3%, in just 12 fundamental areas of your business could give you 50% and more improvement to your bottom-line? Test out brand-new Profit Acceleration Simulator^TM  and discover the true impact of a conservative estimate of Profit Acceleration initiatives on your business and see for yourself. Head to: https://hughtafel.com/simulator/

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