Perspective

 Photography, Project Management, Zip Lines  Comments Off on Perspective
Nov 192012
 

I was having a wonderful conversation with a fellow photographer the other day and we were discussing how our perception of our surroundings have changed since we started our journeys as photographers. How we notice the changes of color in the clouds as the sun rises and sets in the sky, and know how long the color will last (20 minutes at most…) How the right angle can make a rather boring scene more interesting. How leaving an element out of a photograph can have more impact than having it in.

I was brought back to this conversation this morning as I was reviewing some financials for a client. They have been struggling a bit with their profitability and hired us to do some investigative work for them to see what might be the cause. Just as I was getting ready to close the file, a number hit me as out of place. There it was, just like the moment when the lighting is just right for a photograph, I knew I found what I was looking for.

Just as a rock climber cannot look at a cliff without trying to figure out a route, or a cyclist cannot drive up a hill without imagining the ride, you have a unique perspective in your work and your hobbies. That perspective helps you do whatever it is that you do better. How has your perspective changed as a result of your experience?

Paul

Adventure Business Questions

 Marketing, Questions  1 Response »
Jun 272012
 

Recently I guest wrote a newsletter article for the Training Wheels newsletter and offered to answer some business questions from their readers. The response was so good that I want to offer the same thing to our readers here. Here was the first question I received:

Hi Paul,
For the last 5 years we’ve being focusing a service and we’ve done pretty well, but I feel we might be missing something. What different strategies should we consider when selling a service versus selling a product?
 -Graham
Graham, that’s a great question!
The first thing to know is that a service sale typically has a longer sales process than a product sale does, unless you are needing to have a plumber come and fix a leek or some other emergency service. It is important to be able to talk to the individual who is looking at your service. Most services aren’t purchased with the click of a mouse! Which means you have to have a way to get him to contact you, such as a website with copy written to get the prospective client interested enough to call or email you.
Often the biggest mistake that a service provider will make is not being descriptive enough about the service in their marketing material. If the phrase “custom designed” is on your webpage and you aren’t selling furniture, odds are that you aren’t selling much of your service either.
So now readers, what else do you see as the difference between products and services? Comment away!
Also if you have a business question for us, shoot me an email! paul@strategic-adventures.com
Paul

The 4 things every business owner must know – Parts 3 & 4

 Marketing, Value  Comments Off on The 4 things every business owner must know – Parts 3 & 4
Jun 142012
 

#3

You must communicate the idea of an Ideal Client Relationship. What is an Ideal Client Relationship (ICR)? Well, it’s different for everybody. It consists of a series of behaviors that you want your best clients to exhibit in their relationship with you. Think of the way that your very best clients interact with you. These interactions are the basis of ICR.

Here is our ICR behavior list for Strategic Adventures:

  • They see the value of a long term engagement with us
  • They provide us with a testimonial
  • They follow our advice and recommendations
  • They experience a measurable outcome
  • They use us multiple times for different services
  • They respond to proposals in a timely manner
  • And they refer others to us

Now, I have yet to have a client fall into my lap that did all of these automatically. It would be nice if the world worked that way. So how do we get clients to start behaving this way? We let them know that this kind of relationship is possible.

Ultimately, the responsibility is on you. You have to make the relationship happen, it is a two way street after all. Let use the our second ICR characteristic as an example: They provide us with a testimonial. In order to get a testimonial you have to do at least two things.

1. You have to do great work for your client that is worthy of a testimonial

2. And you have to ask your clients for the testimonial.

You have to do the work to get ICR’s.

#4

You must communicate the possibility of an ICR with the Qualified Prospects we identified in #2. That’s all there is to it!

 

What are your ICR characteristics and how are you communicating them?

 

Paul

http://www.strategic-adventures.com/content/business-plans

The Business Creators Poem

 Uncategorized  Comments Off on The Business Creators Poem
Jun 052012
 

Not just for chocolate makers… it’s also very entrepreneurial. One of my favorite poems.

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

-Arthur O’Shaughnessy

 

Paul

The American Flag

May 302012
 

American Flag

 

 

 

This is a photo I took over the weekend at a Memorial Day service held in Norton, Kansas. The team at Strategic Adventures would like to thank every service man and woman for the dedication they give to protecting our country.

Normal blogging will resume tomorrow!

 

Paul

The 4 things that every business owner must know, part 2 of 4

 Marketing, Value  Comments Off on The 4 things that every business owner must know, part 2 of 4
May 232012
 

The second thing that every business owner must know is that you must communicate with qualified prospects. Not all prospects are created equal, which means that not everyone with a pulse is a potential client. So who is a qualified prospect?

There are three criteria for being considered a qualified prospect.

1. The prospective client must have a need for the service or product that you are selling. Contrary to the teachings of many sales training programs, Eskimos really have very little need for ice…

2. The prospective client must be aware of their need for your product or service. It is often your job to give them the opportunity to become aware of their need, using a little something we call marketing. If they are not aware of their need they will see no reason to contact you to take you up on your offer.

3. The prospect must be able to pay for you to satisfy their need. This is often an overlooked component of what constitutes a qualified prospect. The true qualified prospect has the ability to make the financial decision required to purchase your solution.

All of your marketing efforts should be going towards getting your message out in front of more and more qualified prospects.

Who is a qualified prospect for you? What need are you trying to fill?

 

Paul

http://www.strategic-adventures.com/content/business-plans

The 4 things every business owner must know, part 1 of 4

 Marketing, Zip Lines  Comments Off on The 4 things every business owner must know, part 1 of 4
May 172012
 

The very first thing you must know about your business is that you are a sales and marketing firm. It doesn’t matter if you operate a zip line tour, a challenge course, a whitewater outfitter, or are an experiential trainer. Your very first priority is to market and sell your services.

“Nothing happens until we sell something”

I first saw this phrase on a sign in a clients office and it immediately rang true for me. It really begins at the start of your business. You have to sell people on the idea of your new venture… the banker, your spouse, your new employees, and especially the community! Only then can you even begin to think about marketing and selling to paying clients.

Speaking of paying clients, do you have a great marketing plan and sales process to make it easy for them to buy your services? Do you have it written down? And have you given it to your employees so that they understand what your expectations are?

If you don’t, go do it now. It can transform the way clients interact with you and re-energize your business!

In the words of Dennis Miller, “But that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.”

Peace, Love, and Marketing! (and Selling!)

Paul

3 Great Project Management Tools

 Marketing, Project Management  3 Responses »
May 092012
 

Re-branding a company, like many other business initiatives,  is a big job and keeping track of it all can get to be a bit overwhelming. Being the techno-geek that I am, I went to find some resources on the web to help. I wanted to share these with you, because now matter what you are working to achieve I believe that they can make your life a bit easier.

1. Evernote – Think of it as a virtual filing cabinet for everything and anything. I started using it to catalog design ideas for our new site. Now I use it for everything from recipes to client data management to To-Do lists. Once you get started with Evernote, it just might become part of your daily life and the best part is that it automatically syncs with your phone, ipad, and computers! Free with paid options.  www.evernote.com

2. Dropbox- A great tool for sharing large files among a group of people. We use it to collect photos for our stock photo gallery as well as keeping all of our frequently used templates and files. Like Evernote, Dropbox will sync to all of your devices and it doesn’t care a bit if you are PC or Mac. Free with paid options.  www.dropbox.com

3. MindJet- A piece of mind mapping software that does so much more than mind mapping. We used it initially to map out the structure for our web navigation and have since used it for marketing planning, document prep, gantt chart creation, and even curriculum design. Not free… but you can get a free trial! www.mindjet.com

Whether you’re starting an new Zip Line tour, building a challenge ropes course, or just wanting to streamline your operational processes in your adventure business, these tools can make a world of difference! What are some tools that you use?

Paul

Marketing isn’t a gimmick…

 Marketing, Outcomes, Value  Comments Off on Marketing isn’t a gimmick…
May 012012
 

Marketing isn’t some trick or gimmick to coerce someone to buy what you are trying to sell. Marketing is the communication of your promise to deliver a remarkable experience or outcome to your clients. There is no magic trick to marketing, it is simply putting your promise in front of people who care, on a consistent basis. When you try to use a gimmick, you get in the way of the promise, and that keeps you from developing Ideal Client Relationships.

 
Paul

Are Adventure Parks hotter than Zip Line Tours?

 Adventure Parks, Zip Lines  Comments Off on Are Adventure Parks hotter than Zip Line Tours?
Apr 262012
 

Judging by the inquiries we have received over the last month, I’d venture to say yes. We are also seeing much less push back from the surrounding communities when these aerial adventure park projects are being batted around at the county and state level, which I find interesting since many of these parks include zip lines. Has the recent negative press put zip lines and canopy tours in a defensive position? Share your thoughts!

Paul

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