Tom Adams

Anita Sharpe, a contributor to Worthwhile Magazine writes about a conversation she had with Mark Kaiser, a well respected business person, two time winner of the Forbes High Tech 50 award.

“The simplest definition of business is you solve a customer’s problem and create sustainable profits over time. Anyone with vision should understand the problem they’re solving. The problem with business today is that people think the meaning is about building a monument to yourself. The meaning of business is having
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Mark Cuban, outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks talks about passion in his online blog.

I love what he says.

A byproduct of passion is saying exactly how you feel in a way that you know will get someone’s attention, and listening to exactly how someone else feels when they need to get your attention. All of this is my way of saying that I expect people who work for me to yell at me, and I expect them to know that at
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Service market leaders have found that success begins with limiting their focus and saying “NO.”

They say…

NO to certain markets
NO to some types of customers
NO to certain categories of service offerings
NO to some service levels
NO to expansion in some geographies
NO to certain growth opportunities

Wonderfully, saying “NO” to all these means an expanded “YES” to even better opportunities.

What are you saying no to?

I have often asked my clients this question…

“If you didn’t have a salesperson (even if that person was you)  to sell your services, what would you do? How would you get new clients?”

That answer is the foundation of your marketing plan.

What steps would you need to take to identify and find clients, woo them, engage them, qualify them and ultimately close them if you didn’t have the benefit of a person to do it?

If you think this task would be
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That’s right, here’s the inaugural show of my new video show entitled,

The World’s Most PERSONAL Business Marketing Show

Thanks for joining me. Please feel free to send me your questions, comments and more below.

I read Craig Terrels and Arthur Middlebrooks book entitled, Market Leadership Strategies for Service Companies. Definitely worth the read.

I am struck immediately by the trap they say many service companies fall into, namely of “doing things better.”

The need for constant improvement in process, quality, cycle time and a host of other operational activities has not necessarily helped to improve market share and profits. It has however created a “commodity” mentality into our businesses.

I am sure that many of us have
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I rant about this regularly, but your positioning is critical.

You must create a obvious uniqueness that allows you to differentiate yourself in the market.

You must stand out.

Check out this store that is doing it.

Let it be a catalyst for you in defining your own position. 

It only sells stuff that is black and white.

If they can create a very definable position, so can you.

If everyone in your market is selling colors and shades of gray, why not be the black and
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This video might be a reminder to you that if you want to do something great, be aware that others might question you on it. Don’t let them.

Be remarkable, no matter what!

Seth Godin writes in Purple Cow

If you’re remarkable, it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise — ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.

Probably the scariest thing about putting yourself out there is the fear of what “they” might say. They might be your spouse, your parents…I’ve even had clients tell me they feared what their competitor
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