Doing the right thing allows you to stop spending money on advertising.

Dan Roach, Roach-Lamburg Roofing

Dan came highly recommended by my realtor, who only recommends the best. Nearly all his work comes from referrals. That’s much more important than repeat business for a roofer — seeing how he sells a product that lasts for decades.

Dan started his roofing company ten years ago, knocking on doors and hoping to drum up enough work to keep him in business before the money ran out. Since then, he’s built a reputation on doing quality work, staying on budget, and giving customers more than they asked for.

Knowing that contractors often require some payment up front, I offered the check (enough for the whole job) that I got from the lawyers when I closed on my new house. “No thanks,” he said. “I’d rather not get paid until you know the job is done right.” If that’s not proof that he knows what he’s doing, I don’t know what is.

But Work isn’t the problem for most people I know. Most people I know are perfectly willing to do the work. The more frequent challenge I see is the need to focus what they’re working on so that they’ll get the results they want.

My third year Latin teacher gave me a pin that said (in Latin) “he who chases two leopards catches neither.” She knew what she was talking about (and as testimony to the gift’s aptness, I had to ask her to translate the pin for me.) Chase one leopard at a time and you may soon have a cage full of them. Chase two at a time and you’ll have none.

By the way, this lesson does not apply if your business model is to chase after things like grubs and bugs that you can pick up by hand in quantities sufficient to keep your belly full. If that’s your business model, you don’t need much focus at all. It’s not a very exciting business model (to me) but you’ll survive. On the other hand, if you want to do more than survive — if you want to build something sustainable and interesting — you’re going to be chasing leopards, and that requires focus.

Berkshire Hathaway is the big exception at No. 13. Holy ugliness, Buffetman! That is one wretched website, but it’s attached to some beautiful smarts that are the only thing that count in his world.

Just for grins, do read the Message from Warren Buffet:”Fine jewelry, watches and giftware will almost certainly cost you less at Borsheim’s.”

One of Ted Williams’ principles of hitting was that an average hitter swinging at a good pitch to hit is better than a great hitter swinging at a bad pitch to hit.

– Reggie Jackson in Sixty Feet, Six Inches, by Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson (2009)

One of my former clients had an above-average sales staff who were prone to chasing after clients who weren’t a proper fit. The mis-fits would be harder to sell to, and harder to make a profit from if they did make the sale. My client’s CEO wasn’t a baseball fan, so he used a different analogy: “Our target clients are horses. We have to quit chasing zebras.”

In a remarkable display of interest, 200 readers completed the survey within the first 24 hours. That’s 200 readers out of a typical 1,000 readers per day. Twenty percent. By the time we closed the survey, we had more than 250 responses, which adds up to more than 40 hours of effort donated by readers to the news blog they love.

Do your customers have that kind of stake in your business? Yes, you can entice them with a small prize. But from reading the hundreds of long text responses to our survey questions, it’s clear that the respondents really wanted to share.

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We used SurveyGizmo.com. It’s free for short surveys with fewer than 250 respondents. We paid $19 for a month’s worth of surveys with up to 1,000 total responses.

1. How likely is it that you would recommend Verizon Wireless to a friend or colleague?

I clicked on “extremely likely” and added a comment why:

Great signal.  That’s the one important reason.  The surprisingly friendly and efficient service was a bonus.

After I submitted my response, I got a Thank You screen that said, “may we quote you?  And if so, how would you like your name to be written?”

End of survey.  Cool.

• downloaded data from ReferenceUSA with contact information for 500+ potential qualified clients for one of my clients (criteria: plumbing companies with revenue >$5MM, “A” credit rating, sorted by metro area).

• copied sample business plans and checked key business ratios for a retail client who wanted to set reasonable targets for sales per employee, advertising expenditures, etc.

• searched several hundred online business journals for background information to fuel a proposal.

All free, of course.

Which libraries to visit?  Public universities with business schools have the best libraries.  In most states, these libraries (and their business reference librarians) are supposed to help the public, not only their university constituents.  Public libraries in major cities are also great resources, with free access to many of the same databases that you can’t get to without a subscription.  (Note that many of these databases are at least partially-accessible from your own office after the library gives you remote access privileges.)  They often have decent business reference librarians, as well.  Public libraries in smaller metro areas often have less, but you might be surprised at how much good stuff they do tie into over the internet.

When you need data — don’t guess.  Get thee to a library.

The top three CRM products for small and medium sized businesses aren’t just competing against each other — they’re competing against you not buying any CRM software at all.

Next time your marketing and sales group sits down to size up the competition, don’t forget to put Inaction in a class by itself.

1. The “$10 to $30+ million” mention shows that Canton Capital is a serious business, which adds instant credibility to their testimonial.
2. Redman shows how Clare is better than others. “I have worked with other designers, and I’ve been frustrated when I couldn’t find anyone who really “got it” and understood what I needed…” also shows that he understands the pain of working with a lesser agency.
3. Redman tells what kind of clients would be happy to work with Clare at Red Cap, in short, quotable sentences that are easy to excerpt for a portfolio caption or proposal blurb.

Without further ado, Redman’s tight, strong testimonial for Clare at Red Cap:

When we founded Canton Capital in 2008, we began with experienced investors and a clear focus on the kinds of businesses we wanted to work with. What we didn’t have was a good “visual brand” to use in telling our story to the public.

Fortunately for us, we found Clare Dagin at Red Cap. On a remarkably right schedule, Clare helped us identify the image we wanted to project. And then she created a logo, look and feel that perfectly represent who we are.

As a business communicator — not just a graphic designer — Clare knows that creating a strong visual brand isn’t just about making something that looks good on paper. That’s why she spent a lot of time at the start learning where we’re coming from and what we’re trying to do: We invest in regional companies with $10 to $30+ million in revenue and good growth prospects. Our firm will only look to invest in a company in which a majority of the management team will remain in place post-acquisition. While we will consider all traditional businesses, we are especially interested in companies focused on health and wellness.

In the beginning, Clare asked questions about the words and language of our business, then she helped us simplify and focus our messages. She helped us brainstorm different messages and concept statements, took the ideas we liked best, and created a set of visual designs that would best express these ideas.

We loved what Clare came up with: our logo, our brochure, our presentation portfolio and our stationery. She really brought out the best for us with a look that’s strong via understatement. It’s a look that has been well-received by our target audience, and we’re very pleased. Based on her experience and her dialogue with us, Clare quickly understood our market and our need for a mature image. And she helped us realize that we didn’t have to be fancy to show our strength and stability.

At Canton Capital, we recommend Clare to any client who needs a professional image: financial or professional services, or any organization that needs to convey a sense of trust. Clare isn’t like many other designers out there. I have worked with other designers, and I’ve been frustrated when I couldn’t find anyone who really “got it” and understood what I needed. In contrast, Clare took the time to understand what we were trying to do before she started proposing her visual solutions.

We also recommend Clare to clients who really want to understand their communication needs from different angles. Clare helped us brainstorm from our point of view, and then she gave us an outsider’s point of view that we didn’t have because we’re so internally focused. She was a good sounding board for our different ideas, and she shepherded us through the process with both speed and flexibility. Clare is a communications professional we can trust.

Canton Capital
Brian Reading, Managing Director

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*names changed to make sure that web searchers don’t come to this site when they should be going to my clients’! Ping me for the real names of Red Cap Communications and Clare Dagin. I’ll be glad to let you know.

There is never a good sale for Neiman-Marcus unless it’s a good buy for the customer.

–Herbert Marcus, cofounder of Neiman Marcus, speaking to his son in 1926, quoted by Stanley Marcus in Minding the Store (1974), quoted in Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations.

See also Selling is Serving.