Catching the Innovation Wave with SuRF from Dave Cooke on Vimeo.

Strategic Resource Group announces the rollout of it latest program focused on bringing sustainability to businesses known as the Sustainable Revenue Formula, or SuRF.  This introductory video from Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Dave Cooke highlights the overall vision of SuRF.  For more information on SuRF go to the new website: www.sustainablerevenues.com.

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When you sell on price, your customers buy on price.  Once you start down this nasty road it is hard to get off it.  The airline industry has put themselves in a monstrous hole because of it.  Now, without increasing fares, which they can’t bring themselves to do because they have taught us to be price sensitive to fares, they gouge customers with “optional” costs.  Where does it end?  It may end in the toilet as any stupid price based strategy does with Ireland’s RyanAir announcing a pee-premium on its shorter flights.

What happens when you lower your price?

1. It makes it very difficult to offer good service.  People start to look at price as the differentiator and expect your prices to be among the lowest.  There is little room in these diminished margins to pay for good service.

2. People accept poor service because they bought on what was offered–low price.  Hence, what had the potential to be a differentiator–good service–now is not valued and not affordable.

3. It is impossible to continue down the low price threshold.  Eventually, some aspects of service are required to support the product. However, no one values it because it is so poor, that you now need to treat service as extras and have people pay for these extras.

4. Unfortunately, these services are not that good so most people resent and avoid paying for them.  Hence, you cause more commotion with the charges for these services than you receive in the minimal revenue they generate.

5.  Eventually everything will become an extra and there is no real service, no real value and still no real profits.  All because you originally decided that you had to lower your prices to be competitive.

If you had taken the time to understand what people would value and pay for in the beginning and made sure those services were worth paying for, this whole silly price, service, extras fee structure would have been avoidable.  Frankly, it is still avoidable.  Unfortunately they aren’t asking me, because then they would have to admit they made a huge mistake years ago.  Too bad, we could have pleasant travel and profits and everyone would win.  Time to find some change to use the restroom.

Dave Cooke has recently launched his program the Sustainable Revenue Formula™ (SuRF), which provides businesses a comprehensive formula for effective and sustainable revenue growth.  If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the white paper, “Revolutionizing the Future for Today’s Business”, please contact me: dave@salescooke.com.

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In today’s economy there are three trends that influence revenue improvements for businesses: personalization, authenticity and community.   How effectively businesses recognize these shifts defines their ability to re-capture revenues and maintain customer relationships.  Businesses and individuals are no longer entering into relationships with businesses simply because of the business; they are scrutinizing and evaluating these relationships through their sense of some personal connection to the people or the community in that business.

This trend is a seismic shift resulting from both the economic meltdown, as everyone evaluated their business and buying relationships, and the influences associated with all the social media activities and informational resources.

What does this mean to your business?

Authenticity: Jargonistic, disconnected, jingoistic pitches do not resonate in today’s market.  People are looking to understand and relate to the realism of your business.  Southwest Airlines has brought the human element into their ad campaigns with flashing baggage handlers and community serviced oriented employees.  Nothing is more authentic than that.

Personalization:  Steven Jobs has always brought a personal component to the Apple brand.  However, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in sweaters instead of ties talking at college forums humanizes two of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people.  Customers are looking to engage in business relationships with the people in a business, not simply the logo or the name of a business.

Community: Apple and Mac have always done a great job of building a community around their customers.  There is a sense of membership, attachment, or participation for customers linked to these brands.  More and more people are looking for a sense of connection to the products and services they buy.  And they are the ones who can help build that community when they feel that connection.

Social media, technology, and the maturation of a market segment known as millennials are creating a whole new revenue generation.  Understanding these shifts and applying your strategies and tactics to respond to these shifts are critical.  Traditional, old, reliable, and historic sales and marketing methods will not work in this environment.   Make the shift today or your business will be behind the curve.

Dave Cooke has recently launched his program the Sustainable Revenue Formula™ (SuRF), which provides businesses a comprehensive formula for effective and sustainable revenue growth.  If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the white paper, “Revolutionizing the Future for Today’s Business”, please contact me: dave@salescooke.com.

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I have had many conversations with people who dream out loud what they really want to do with their life.  In nearly every conversation they have something they are passionate about and rather skilled at.  Their challenge is in pursuing it and believing they can do it.

Often they begin defining their passion in terms of a job description and struggle to figure out how they can monetize it.  That thought process usually creates barriers, not opportunity.  I advise them to go through a more strategic and creative thought process that allows them discover the options for turning their passion into a business, a hobby, a cause, or a service.

Instead of dealing with traditional roadblock thinking about your passion, I encourage the following thought process:

1. Clarify your true passion.
2. Define and articulate how others would benefit from this skill and energy.
3. List options and opportunities as to how you might provide this to the world.
4. Initially avoid the traditional thoughts about whether this would make money, require money, or fit into something easily described to others.
5. Look at the options and decide which one best defines their interest and devise a plan for turning it into something.
6. Then define how passionate you are about this opportunity by taking action and “owning it” or do nothing.

This approach takes people out of the “I have a dream, but don’t know whether it would work” mindset and facilitates a “what’s possible” interaction.  For an example of this kind of thinking, read the article, “Don’t Miss That Aha Moment.”

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What exactly is greed anyway?
Who gets to decide what amount of profit is greed?

Yesterday’s blog elicited some interesting commentary.  The ones that captured my attention the most were the above questions.  I decided to take a stab at continuing the dialogue on greed.

First, greed is subject to interpretation.  Usually the person behaving in a greedy way never sees it that way or, has decided that they have earned some type of privilege that allows this behavior.  Those that recognize or experience greed are usually the people effected by its behavior.  For example, the banks that benefited from the various bailouts keep a tight reign on new loans, and declares record profits and bonuses appear greedy to the outside business world.  Banks and those in high finance defend these behaviors as not totally accurate.  To the rest, it sure looked like greedy behavior.  Perception is reality.

Second, greed is an action that hurts or adversely affects other people.  Profit taking or protecting behaviors that mollifies one party at the calamatous detriment to another party is greedy.   Partners that stick it to their partners, employees who embezzle from the company, executives who have two sets of business and expenditure rules are all greedy behaviors.  Either everyone benefits, plays by the same rules, or is minimally impacted or it is greedy.  Perception is reality.

Finally, greed is narcissistic.  As greed is subject to interpretation, greed can also be justified.  Layoffs can be and often are a downside result of a declining business.  However, massive layoffs to simply and swiftly manage to the balance sheet is greedy.  There are always creative ways to manage, contain, and control costs; however, in the recent wave of layoffs the behaviors reflected one philosophy, react to a problem with a quick solution to protect the financial health of the firm without looking at the long-term impact to the business or the short-term affect on its people.  These layoffs were simply the most expeditious action.  The people benefiting from this behavior was the ownership class at the expense of the retained employees and at the pain of those who were tossed aside.  Remember, perception is reality.

I don’t know if I have the answer as to what amount of profit taking is not greedy.  However, I do know that when profit taking is short-sighted, selfish, inconsistent, causes pain to others, and is not holistic in its process, it is greed.  When the participating community (workers, owners, suppliers, customers) do not benefit from their relationship with the organization and there is adverse cost associated with that relationship based on profit taking decisions, the related behavior is greedy.  In the end, perception is reality.

NOTE: If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the white paper on this subject, “The Sustainable Business Model™”, please contact me: dave@salescooke.com.  I will be happy to forward you the information.

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“As trainers and coaches we do bear some responsibility to help build a better future, one less dominated by greed. The world is driven by financial greed and economic dogma – one controls the earth’s resources and the others are its apologists.” ~ Dr. Henry Mintzberg

The necessary shifts in our business mindset are clear, yet complicated.  How do we grow our business, make a significant profit for our shareholders while engaging, developing, and inspiring our team to do great things?  There is a predisposed conflict inherent in businesses between the investment in it and the siphoning profits out of it; thus, ensuring and maximizing shareholder value while building a sustainable and thriving enterprise.

The power of Dr. Mintzberg’s words resonates: greed does not drive great business, it thwarts it.  As an advisor and strategist to business executives, my obligation is to help them develop a sustainable business that maximizes value for all those engaged in the business.  These participants include shareholders, employees, suppliers, and customers.  The community of any business is greater and more powerful in its totality, than simply catering to the whims and desires of its shareholders.  Businesses have an obligation to the community of all its participants to leverage their collective needs, desires, talents, skills, energy, and contribution to build a larger, more cohesive and stable business model.

As businesses begin to rebuild, recover, and grow in the rebirth of the economy, the key to the pace and effectiveness of that recovery depends on the businesses ability to invest in itself and build a collaborative, innovative community.  In this formula, greed or the recovery of lost assets or equity will only interrupt the recovery process.  Strategically focusing on the power of the community in the business creates a machine that sustains itself and feeds the needs of all its members appropriately.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the white paper on this subject, “The Sustainable Business Model™”, please contact me: dave@salescooke.com.

Note: The featured quote was taken from an article featuring Dr. Minztberg.  If you have ever had the opportunity to read his books or articles featuring his thoughts, absorb them.  Dr. Mintzberg has the corporate dilemma covered.  He is rapidly becoming my inspiration and my guide for all things business.

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