ProfBruce's definitions

always be closing

The three most important things in entrepreneurship are: sell, sell, sell. Good salespeople are always closing deals. They never forget to bring the contracts with them, never forget to ask for the deal and never forget to get their client's signature. They also understand that the true purpose of marketing is not really to sell anything but to build a brand and the true purpose of a brand is to build trust and the true purpose of building trust is to give the salesperson a greater opportunity to close the deal. After all, people like to buy from people they like and trust.

Here is an exchange between actor Nicky Katt in character as Greg Weinstein in the 2000 film, Boiler Room, with Giovanni Ribisi playing Seth Davis:

Greg: Now, now, listen to me. Even though you're not actually selling stock yet, I want you to remember the code we have here, okay? Did you see Glengarry Glen Ross?

Seth: Yeah.

Greg: Okay, do you remember 'ABC'?

Seth: Yeah. 'Always be closing.'

Greg: That's right. 'Always be closing.' 'Telling's not selling.' That's the attitude you wanna have, okay.

by ProfBruce April 21, 2011

Smart Truth

There is truth and smart truth. In a media-saturated world where each word is parsed by many looking for scandal, it is more important than ever to tell the smart truth. Lawyers, especially criminal law lawyers, understand the difference.

“Coca-cola proudly announced some years ago that it was introducing vending machines that would raise the price of their sodas when the weather got hot. The announcement was widely panned in the media—just when a consumer needed a break most, the company would be raising its price. The smarter play and the smart truth would have been an announcement that the company was introducing vending machines that lowered the price of their drinks when the weather got cold. It is the same thing yet it isn’t—the smart truth would have had radically different (and much more positive) PR repercussions. The end result—the vending machines never left Coke labs…”

by ProfBruce October 31, 2009

entrepreneur ethics

The moral underpinnings of being or becoming an entrepreneur include: 1. take care of your business, 2. so your business can take care of your family, 3. so your family can take care of you, 4. so you do not become a burden on your fellow human being or the state, 5. so you are in a position to help your fellow human being and 6. so they can help your business.

When you give a person a fishing rod instead of a fish, you have started him or her on the road to self reliance which is the sine qua non of entrepreneur ethics.

by ProfBruce April 21, 2011

co-branding

When brands agree to cross-promote each other. In effect, each brand becomes a separate sales channel for all the others in the group.

When a driver of a high end sedan gets out of the car wearing an expensive watch and a bespoke suit, now that is co-branding. Each of the three brands have agreed to promote each other in RL (Real Life), on television, in print, online, in social media and on the mobile web.

by ProfBruce May 14, 2011

1 sigma

It is the aim of great manufacturing companies (starting with Motorola in the 1980s) to remove substantially all error from both their fabrication and business processes—their goal is to achieve 6 sigma; that is, an error or defect rate that is equal to or less than: (1 – 99.99966%). Looked at another way, this implies that only one in every 294,118 things that a six sigma company does is defective and has to be either discarded or done again.

Now most service businesses can not possibly come close to matching a fabrication company but they should be able to achieve a 3 sigma state. Unfortunately, many service firms are in effect 1 sigma enterprises: that is, they have a level of proficiency with an error rate that is, basically, equivalent to two out of every three things they do are wrong (actually, it is 2 in 2.899 but at that point who cares, it’s pathetic.)

If you did nothing other than focus on getting your error rate down, which means doing things right the first time, practically every time, you could significantly increase your productivity and bottom line even if sales (top line revenues) didn't budge. A service business should aim to be at least 3 sigma not 1 sigma enterprise.

One way to help you get there is to start measuring things to see what your error rate is in the first place. You can not hope to improve unless you know your original state. The Hawthorne Effect suggests that as soon as you start to measure a thing, people will alter their behavior to improve their scores often resulting in significant increases in production and productivity.

by ProfBruce April 21, 2011

DIRT-FT

This is an acronym for 'Do It Right The First Time'. It is a new movement focused on getting people to increase their productivity by doing tasks right the first time. If we could get the proportion of tasks performed right the first time someone turns their attention to it, we would see a significant improvement in national productivity.

When your Bookkeeper forgets to make a bank deposit on the first of the month and one of your mortgages goes NSF, you send him or her a note. All it has to say is 'DIRT-FT'.

by ProfBruce October 3, 2009