Paul Cummings

Zip Lining in South Park

 Marketing, Zip Lines  Comments Off on Zip Lining in South Park
Apr 242012
 

Zip Lines have officially hit pop culture. Last week, the latest episode of the cartoon South Park did a not so nice parody of the boys going on a zip tour. While they say that any publicity is good publicity, the episode actually pointed at some of the weaknesses in the average zip line experience.

If you want to see the episode, you can find it online. I’m not going to provide a link due to the crude nature of the show, but if you really want to see it you can find it. Let’s just say that their experience is not what they expected it to be.

While I was watching it, I was struck by how I have actually had many of the same experiences when I’ve gone on various zip tours. I’m not going to name names, but feel free to ask me if one of them was at your tour. Here are some of the take-aways:

  • The anticipated experience – The experience you market must match the experience you deliver. If you don’t know, hire a secret shopper to evaluate it.
  • Feigned enthusiasm – Clients can tell if you are being fake with your smile, your manners, and your enthusiasm. Be real.
  • Branding Image consistency – Nothing screams adventure like an airport shuttle bus. (This is sarcasm, although Stephanie has quite a story about a recent Super Shuttle experience…)

So, what can you do to improve the delivery of your services so that they are genuine, consistent, and enticing people to come back for more?

Paul

What do you do?

 Outcomes, Value  3 Responses »
Apr 182012
 

How do you answer someone when they ask “So, what do you do?”
Do you say:
-that you are a facilitator? (which in some countries means that you arrange illicit encounters…)
-I am a zip line operator
-or worse, that you are an Experiential Educator (and follow that by trying to explain what experiential means.)

Try this instead – answer with the outcome of what people get from working with you.

My answer? I help business owners make more money and serve more clients.

Now tell me, what do YOU do?

Paul

3 Ways to Improve Your Proposals

 Proposals  Comments Off on 3 Ways to Improve Your Proposals
Oct 262011
 

A common mistake in delivering a proposal, is to send one before you truly know the needs of your prospect. Before you write that proposal, be sure you have first performed a thorough needs assessment.Now on to the proposal! Here are a few things to make sure to include in every one you send out:

  • Client Overview – During you needs assessment, you should have discovered several facts about their company. How many employees do they have? What challenges are they facing? What does their organizational structure look like? This section of your proposal lets the prospect know that you were paying attention,  and that you understand their company and their situation.
  • Options – Offer three options to your prospects. Each one addresses the clients situation, just increasing your involvement in the solution.  Start with the highest priced option first and remove services and/or products as you decrease the price. This shows your prospect that you have several levels of service and that you can take care of their needs.
  • A Call to Action – Have a page in the proposal to for the prospect to sign and give to you if you are in front of your client. If not, they can immediately fax/mail it back to you. If you have accurately described their need and proposed an acceptable solution, the signing of the proposal should be a natural act for them.
Put these into your proposals and watch your conversion rate soar!

Paul

5 of My Favorite Needs Assessment Questions

 Needs Assessments  Comments Off on 5 of My Favorite Needs Assessment Questions
Oct 262011
 

I like  to have a list of questions in front of me when I’m doing a needs assessment with a potential client. This helps me make sure that I’m not forgetting to get any key information I need to develop a solution and helps make sure that my client is able to vocalize their exact need.

Here are 5 of my favorites:

  1. Whose budget is going to support this project?
  2. On a scale of 1-10, how urgent is the need for a solution?
  3. What is your ideal outcome should we work together?
  4. What is a question I should be asking but haven’t?
  5. Why?

I’ll admit, #5 gets me the best results when I’m trying to dig deeper. It also satisfies my inner 3 year old…

What are some of your favorites and why?

Paul

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