Atomic Penny

What does being the best really mean? If you are the best, are you better than everyone else? Do you really believe that? Often, once one attains ”best” status, they realize that it can be a double edged sword.

Knowing you are the best is good if you don’t let it go to your head. If you do, it can make you a target. Getting an ego because of your success makes you unbalanced and easy to topple. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your success, however that pride needs to stay controlled.

Always keep in mind that satisfaction about being the best can be one of the worst things that can ever happen to you. It can become the acme of your life and career. Once you reach that pinnacle and assume that you are done, you’ll cease to learn and grow.

The view from the top is great, but lonely. Why not look around you and find others who want to succeed and achieve together?  Find a way to  get to the top and make room for more because if you do it together, you all win.

Who can you help succeed today?

POWER ON–Mark

General George Patton Jr. said, ”If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.”  Are you trying to comply with everyone else because it is the thing that everyone else does? Heaven forbid you have an original thought that you shared. What happened, was it your worst fear? Or were you dismissed, or better yet was the idea considered?

Worse things have happened than being laughed at and be considered different. It is time to think and share those thoughts. If you don’t who will? What will happen to that original thought process?

Make it a habit to come up with an original idea at least once a day, share it out, email it, or tweet it. But share just like a piece of confetti, the idea may take on a life of its own. But be creative, or accept the result.

POWER ON–Mark

Maze Dwellers, Desk Sitters, Lizard Brainers and the rest of us now have a guide to break out! Seth Godin has done it again with his latest book, “Linchpin”. Release the passion that you already have and make your passion visible to others. Seth has provided the tools and the vision to move to your higher level. Make your life your canvas and share your passion. While painting your masterpiece, you release what you can and should become. Let the real you emerge to reach your full potential, and become what you deserve. “Linchpin” will be your guide, and lead you to becoming indispensable.

POWER ON–Mark

Bonus Links:

Book Reviews

Buy the book here!

Ok we are now in 2010. As I have discussions with many people, I am somewhat confused by the reactions when one year ends and another one begins. We can all probably agree that the past year was not stellar by many measures. Unemployment, foreclosures, economic fear, and so on and so on.

By the same measure, you can get a home loan or refinance for a great rate, ”Cash for Clunkers” helped people purchase new cars, there were deals to be had in every industry, and stocks rebounded after March.

As 2010 begins, it is customary to turn the page and move on. But just because you turn the page, problems and issues don’t disappear. There is no magic wand to make the past year’s issues vanish. Maybe this makes me sound like a pessimist, but I actually look at this as an opportunity.

Look at what you learned about yourself, your business and your competition in 2009. Consider the decisions you’ve made to enhance those around you or yourself. Consider those lives you affected last year.

Most importantly, look at last year as a building block. You’ve increased your knowledge; Now get off the couch and go do it!

POWER ON–Mark

Atomic Penny, in conjunction with Adams G3 Collision Repair and UVU Athletics, is pleased to announce the First Annual Community Share Night on December 5, 2009. Community Share Night is being held to recognize the efforts of community organizations in the Utah Valley area. This event will be held at the UVU vs. San Jose State basketball game in the McKay Events Center.

The featured community organization will be Turning Point, and the Womens Resource Center a resource for non-traditional students who have faced hurdles in returning to school and rejoining the business community.

Additionally, local community organizations will be present to provide information pertaining to the services that are provided to the citizens of Utah County. Your partnership dollars will provide valuable assistance to these organizations.

As a local business, we are offering you the opportunity to be a part of this special event. Partnerships are being offered for a pre game dinner, 2 media timeouts (6 total partnerships) and halftime festivities. Partnership levels are:

• Time-out Sponsor  : $250 plus a  prize to be given away ($50 minimum value) 6 Available. Recognition during the time out, partnership information on handouts, opportunity to nominate community organizations.
• Pregame Dinner for Spotlight Organization and Sponsors: $500 (2 Available) Recognition at pre-game dinner, partnership information on handouts, opportunity to nominate community organizations.
• Halftime Sponsor $400 plus a prize to be given away ($50 minimum value) 2 Available. Recognition of Partnership during halftime festivities, partnership information on handouts, opportunity to nominate community organizations.

As partners, tickets to the game will be made available and you are encouraged to invite family, friends, and clients to this exciting event.

At halftime, there will be a special presentation courtesy of Adams G3 Collision Repair to a very deserving individual. Halftime sponsorships will assist us in bringing this presentation to reality.

All monies collected (with the exception of supply costs) will be distributed to participating community organizations.

Plan now to be a part of this exciting event. For more information and to sign up as a partner, please contact Atomic Penny at 801-995-5550 or via email at atomicpenny@gmail.com. Response requested by October 28, 2009.

Recently I  posted about the basics of email and what you should and should not do to make it a success. Today I want to talk about old school mail, you know the kind most of us grew up with? Remember looking forward to what was in the mail, a postcard, a birthday card with possibly a check in it, or even a past due notice?  The thing about mail is that is it targeted, and while it is considered junk and unnecessary by some, mail is still an adventure.

Yes, it does cost money to print the sales material or brochure, stuff the envelope, write an address, affix the stamp and go to a mailbox, mail does have its benefits. It is the way you send the mail that makes the difference.

• Hand write the address on the envelope, it shows the recipient that you took the time to personally address the envelope.
• Use a real stamp, once again it shows that you care when sending something.
• Make the message stand out! A red, green, pink or purple envelope grabs more attention than a white one.
• Create a call to action, it can be as simple as a “freebie” inside the envelope, or an offer that is different than all the other junk the recipient is getting.
• Target your audience, if you look at this recent posting by Seth Godin , you will see that choosing the right audience is essential to your mailing or emailing success
• Follow-up, if at all possible, call recipients (after checking the do not call list) to ask if they received the information. Do not assume that the customer will see your mail and rush to buy.
• Follow-up with an additional mailing at some point within 3 weeks. Consistency is key!
• For residential customers mail on Thursday evening, so receipt is on Saturday, when the prospect has more time to peruse the mail.
• For business and commercial customers mail on Saturday or Monday to insure delivery on Tuesday or Wednesday. That way your message is not lost in the Monday rush.

Snail mail can be an effective sales and marketing channel. The issue is that there tends to be a shotgun approach just like email. If you do it correctly and consistently, it will pay off. Do not assume the mail piece will do the work all by itself.

POWER ON–Mark

As marketers, small business owners and  employees, obstacles are an everyday occurrence. I have another challenge for you that is not an everyday occurrence, but possibly an everyday dream.

We all have wish lists, they may contain dream cars, travel destinations, fitness goals or a myriad of other personal wishes.

Do you have a wish list of people you want to meet? Do you want to meet people for personal or professional reasons. Why is it a wish list, when was the last time you tried to turn a wish into reality? Why not try now? It is reflective of the phrase known as “Six Degrees of Separation”. The theory is that you can contact  anyone in the world through six people. Whether it is an actor, a famous businessman or a sports hero. Six people is all you need to contact that person. Thus the six degrees of separation.

My challenge to you is to this week think of a person you want to meet. Think of who can refer you closer to that person and ask. It needs to be a challenge, or it is not worth it. Think big, think award winers, presidents of countries or corporations, MVP’S or anyone considered unreachable.  Think of the relationships you have built over the years. Make a call to someone who can introduce to another person, and so on.

The higher the better. Once you have found a way to contact that person go farther and think who that person can put you in contact with and how it can help you and your business.

POWER ON–Mark

Have you seen this Discount Tire commercial? It has been running since 1975 and holds the world record for the longest continuous commercial. When you watch it remember that the message is; If you are not satisfied, bring it back!

Keeping the message simple and direct is one of the easiest ways to reach your customers. No fancy contests, no techno glitz, and no highly paid spokesman. Simple direct and memorable.

I believe that we become too conventional by trying to hard to impress or overwhelm. Be unconventional by doing and saying less. As President Teddy Roosevelt said, “Walk softly and carry a big stick”. Simple enough, but today’s marketers want to put flashing lights and a stereo on the sick, and somehow make it work by remote.

Like the commercial, the message is in your marketing actions and your delivery. Save money by doing it right and repeating the action, customers will understand.

POWER ON–Mark

In marketing, knowledge is essential to making the correct decision. It is easy to assume that you know what your buyers need, but what do your prospects need? Asking the right questions, knowing where to look for customers and knowing what not to waste your time on make a marketers life just a bit easier. As you can see from the following story from KBI Group, knowledge is essential.

Confounded by a defect in a complex system of
machines, General Electric’s experts called upon
retired electrical engineer Charles Steinmetz for
assistance. After walking around and testing various
devices, Steinmetz produced a piece of chalk from his
pocket and drew an “X” on a specific part of the
machine. GE workers disassembled the machine and
found that the problem was exactly where Steinmetz
had marked the “X”.

Knowing where to place it – $9,999

Becoming the expert will lead others to ask for you to help instead of asking your price.

Be unconventional, find where to put the X, and back it up with knowledge. Take some time to read a book, article or a white paper. Sign up for a class. Learn 1 thing that your competition doesn’t know.

Become the expert, the one who accepts the call, not the one who calls someone else.

POWER ON–Mark

Confetti is fun stuff. It is used in celebration and special events. It is gawked at, chased and caught by young and old alike. It is cursed by clean-up crews, strewn about by the wind and used by birds to line their nests. But it is remembered. Not because it was a special color, or had a shimmery surface, it is remembered because it is used in celebration.

Do you have confetti in your organization? Are events for stakeholders, customers and employees remembered or dismissed when the next phone call or email comes in? Do you work to enhance experiences with “confetti” or do you create confetti with shredded emails, memos and documents?

The point is to put some confetti in your marketing. Be a bit unconventional and buy a confetti cannon. They are readily available on the web and easy to use. Use the confetti when it is least expected. Use it after a dismal quarter, because someone did something right regardless of the numbers. Celebrate a bit. Have your customers celebrate with you. Can you imagine the look on a customer’s face when she is greeted with confetti by being the 37th customer of the day? It’s not about the numbers, it is the atmosphere.

Whether it is confetti, Silly String or balloon animals, create a positive environment. Be the Difference Maker in your marketing. Make the effort to put a smile on the face of a customer, employee or someone passing by.

And do it the right way. Get a confetti cannon that shoots high in the air, invest a bit more, it will be worth it!

POWER ON–Mark