Part II: The Business Benefits of Celebrating Achievements
| Written by: Hasan Luongo |
| Position: Community Leader, E-Myth Worldwide |
| Article: Permalink |
| Category: Marketing |
| Tags: |
| Published on: November 17, 2005 |
| Article: Print View |
| Trackbacks: (45) |
| Comments: (1) |
In February of 2005, I had the privilege to meet Trish and John Kinsella at an E-Myth Leadership Intensive Seminar in Sonoma County, California. Trish is the owner and President of Dauphine Press, a custom letterpress stationery, invitations and announcements printing studio.
On day two of the seminar, Trish shared her Strategic Objective for Dauphine Press with our break-out group of business owners, and we were all deeply moved by the eloquent presentation of her company's ambitious goals. In particular, the Strategic Objective was to open several retail stores and to expand their offerings to include superior quality merchandise, such as boxed cards, books, writing instruments, journals, albums, ribbon and fine wrapping paper.
I recently had the pleasure of joining Trish and John at the grand opening celebration of Dauphine Press' first retail store, located in the historic theater district of Petaluma, California. They were celebrating what John described as a major, major milestone for the company, and it was clearly a very satisfying and proud moment for them.
Buzzing with excitement
But the store was buzzing with a level of excitement that transcended beyond the owners; the retail and letterpress employees were all there, proudly talking about all the hard work that went into reaching this important milestone. Personal friends, colleagues, and neighboring business owners all shared in the exhilaration as we marveled at the eloquent store design, stunning black and white photos of vintage printing presses, and portfolio examples of the custom work that Dauphine Press has created for clients over the last six years.The event stood out for me in many ways, but most of all I was struck by the level of pleasure and satisfaction I felt emanating from one of the company's newer employees as we talked. Her description of her genuine feeling of fulfillment from planning for this event and seeing it come to fruition was made possible by Trish's simple act of creating and communicating a Vision for the company, and then taking a moment to celebrate the achievement of the important milestones along the way.
Bringing their Strategic Objective to Life
Trish and John oversaw the successful culmination of this Strategic Objective milestone by setting clear goals, communicating their Vision, and then having the foresight to take advantage of opportunities to help them meet the milestone. E-Myth would describe it as "Vision, Action, and Spirit." The underlying principles and lessons of the E-Myth Mastery Program, a strategic business development program, are alive and well throughout Dauphine Press, but the most important element is the unique interpretation that only the business leader can add. The retail store and the grand opening celebration were a result of Trish Kinsella's Vision in Action, and it was truly extraordinary and inspiring to see the Strategic Objective for Dauphine Press brought to life.Click here to watch a short video about Dauphine Press and the impact that the E-Myth Mastery Program has had on the business and the owners.
To learn more about Dauphine Press, please visit their Web site at: www.dauphinepress.com
We are interested in posting stories about other Business Owners. Have a Story to tell? Email us at communityservice@e-myth.com
*Edited at 01:07:13 PM on Feb 22 2006
Comments:
Gretchen November 16, 2005 10:21:07 PM
Andrei July 5, 2006 12:30:20 AM
A suggestion I have to follow on Hasan's comment, is to check out the work of Harvey Mackay, who is known for the "Mackay 66" and other tools to help with creating stronger client relationships. A good friend of mine who was a top financial advisor, and senior leader with a well known firm shared his work with me, and I think it can be of some help.
It is a template of questions that will assist you in systematically getting to know your clients key information. Much like the hotel story in E-Myth Revisited, it guides you to gather information that helps you know their likes, dislikes, special information, etc.... this will help support your relationship building and client engagement. The net effect will be an increase in the likelihood of referrals, provided you are also delivering the promise of your financial services work. www.harveymackay.com
Bottom line, you're interested in increasing client acquisition. What is unclear right now is whether advertising is going to be the best lead generation channel. I think it goes without saying, maximizing referrals is a key approach.
From there, what else are you doing for getting in front of prospects? Are you doing dinner events or other creative activites where your best clients bring friends and associates who have assets to invest?
Before going down the advertising route, I'd agree with you, you want to maximize your word of mouth channels, and build on the success and relationships you've built with your current clients.
Next step, how do you get in front of new audiences who have money to invest.
Your challenge is to solve a problem or frustration they are having -- either they have been reluctant to invest because of a market that's in transition OR they are currently frustrated with the level of service their currently getting from their current financial advisor. What are you going to do different, to help them create financial progress? That's the message you need to frame and be crystal clear communicating.
Hope that helps move the dial for you.
Hasan
June 22, 2006 02:30:49 PM
Thanks for your questions. You’ve got the right idea about creating a lead generation message that is relevant to the problems/needs of the client you are targeting. But you need to gain a better understanding of what that need is by talking with a few of your trusted clients. Ask them what needs you are fulfilling for them, and what their experience with your firm has been? This may sound candid but you would be surprised what a customer will tell you, especially if you have provided them with an excellent experience.
After gathering feedback from a few clients, you should have a lot of material to build your message. Let us know how it goes and what you come up with.
Best Wishes,
Hasan
