Chronicles: Alan B. Rowley II - Success Warrior - ECoach - P90X

25% is about the product or service

Bud Bilanich wrote a blog post that fits in very nicely with this week's discussion.  In it he uses an acronym (R.A.T.E.) which describes four aspects of business success.  The "T" is for tangibles, the product or service that you are offering.  The rest of the acronym describes what we have been covering here and is worth repeating.

R - Responsiveness: How well do you meet the customer's needs?

A - Assurance: How much does the customer trust you?

E - Empathy: How much do you really care about the customer?

I've shortened up the descriptions substantially and encourage you to visit Bud's Common Sense blog for the expanded descriptions.

Except for the newest fad in products, business success is much more about who you are and how you treat people.  The Internet has opened up competition from the entire planet.  If you can't meet people's needs, if you come off as sleazy, or just don't seem to care, they'll go somewhere else.

The positive aspect for me in all of this is that we may be seeing a shift from consumer to customer.  With any luck, the days of the mindless consumer are coming to an end.  Maybe it's a sign that people are now looking for quality products and services from reputable businesses.  It's encouraging to me.

"I Got Rich in 4 Weeks . . ."

". . . While Being Lazy."

This was the headline to an ad I saw on the Internets today.  Playing on the "money for nothing" theme, it runs counter to yesterday's discussion.

All you have to do to see where the "money for nothing" mindset leads is look around.  The current economic mess was created in large part by people who found a way to get money without creating a real product or service.  It's all falling apart now that the value of the financial instruments is coming out (worthless).  A few people made some hella-money on the scam but I believe that most people would not trade their soul for money.

They might say they would and everyone would certainly enjoy the idea of having more money but if you asked them if they were willing to destroy the economy of the entire country to get rich, I think most would say no.

The current theme of this blog was brought about by my review of Magnetic Sponsoring and ensuing comments so I'll bring it back to that topic.

The title "Magnetic Sponsoring" might give the impression that you don't have to do anything.  People will just come to you for your business, magically.  If you're looking to get rich in 4 weeks while being lazy, Magnetic Sponsoring won't help you because one of the main premises behind the book is that you have to learn more than your competitors.  Learn about your niche in the market, learn about people, learn about marketing, and constantly invest in educating yourself. 

Customers aren't just going to give money to lazy people.

"He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money."

- Benjamin Franklin

Money has become such the focus of our "consumer" society that people are going morally bankrupt.  This doesn't apply only to CEOs of corrupt banks and investment companies but to consumers that borrow more than they can repay knowing that they can always claim bankruptcy to get out of paying. 

I'd rather do business with the boy scout who is putting extra effort into his hiring practice than a "money for nothing" person.