(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “To be good and stay relevant at anything today requires a lifetime of study and commitment.  That’s why it’s so important that you love what you do.  If you don’t love it, you won’t do the ongoing work and you’ll end up mediocre and miserable.”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Do you need to increase profitability in your business or Department?  
    
   One of my new Biz Coaching clients is struggling with profitability.  Profitability, or lack of it, is a symptom of a bunch of things that you’re doing right, or some things that you haven’t got right yet…and need to fix.
    
   So, I’ve created an insightful new Biz Tool to help him determine exactly what needs fixing in his business.  I’m sharing this important new Biz Tool with you.  To download the ‘Reasons For Lack of Profitability Audit Tool’, no charge, Click Here.  I’d love your thoughts on this.
    
3. Canada’s ‘Happiness Score’…reader feedback.  In last week’s Blog I quoted a global ‘Happiness Study showing that Canadians over the age of 60 scored 8^th globally on the ‘Happiness List’, while Canadians under 30 scored way down the list at #58.  I asked our readers if they had any thoughts on this huge discrepancy.  One insightful reader wrote…
   Donald, I have 3 thoughts on the ‘happiness discrepancy’:
   1. Housing costs seem out of range for those under 30 because they are. But here’s the issue.  Most of them want what their parents have, but they forget that their parents worked a lifetime to reach the stage that they’re at now. 
   2. Most people under 30 have never experienced real challenges. Given any historical perspective, which they lack, 5% interest rates are NOT a hardship, regardless of what they think. 
   3. These kids were raised on social media which research says leads to greater isolation and more self loathing.  Lacking strong personal connections, they don’t have the networks needed to support them in times of difficulty. 
       
4. Fun fact. The world’s longest waterslide is at Penang, Malaysia.  The 3,645-foot slide (1.1 kilometers)  sends visitors down a 230-foot (70 metre) slope through lush jungle canopies. 
    
5. How I can be helpful in 2024: If you have an industry or company Conference coming up in 2024 where my bottom-line insights on management, marketing, accountability and profitability will be helpful, I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com. Our most requested Sessions  are:
    
   1. ‘Accelerate Your Business…the ‘straight goods’ on how to sell more, manage smarter, grow your bottom line…and have a life.’
   2. ‘Create Your Compelling Service Advantage…how to amaze your customers, differentiate your business…and grow your bottom line!’
   3. ‘Winning the Talent Wars…8 essential steps to attracting, leading & engaging a top-performing team.’
   4. “Getting Stuff Done…creating a culture of clarity, commitment, urgency & accountability!”  
   5. ‘Vision Critical…how to manage, innovate and thrive in a very different tomorrow!’
   6. ‘Succession Planning & Exit Strategies…preparing your business and yourself for the most important financial transaction of your life!’

These programs can be 90-minute Keynotes, or half-day or full-day interactive Sessions. I don’t do ‘canned’ Sessions.  One size does not fit all.  Each program is customized and tailored to deliver your specific outcomes.

Here’s an attendee comment from a recent Conference session, “Best, most insightful, most ‘real’ management speaker we’ve had in 30 years! His complete set of free Management Assessment & Implementation Tools is a huge bonus!”

I’m easy to reach at donald@donaldcooper.com.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Are you the clear ‘wise choice’ for your target customers…and where’s your proof? 

One of the biggest myths in business today is that there’s no such thing as customer loyalty anymore.  The truth is that people are loyal, fiercely loyal, to what’s best for them…or what they assume is best for them.  That’s it!

So, first we must do the work to be the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for our target customers.  Then, we must prove it to them.  People are cynical and confused.  They’ve been lied to, let down and disappointed too many times.  They want proof.  Below is my list of 8 ways that you can prove your value or performance claims. 

1. Let them experience it themselves.  ‘Test driving’, sampling, ‘Try the mattress for 3 months…no obligation’.
2. Live demonstrations or videos that show the function and value. Let them look ‘behind the curtain’ to see how your product or service is made and how the quality is ‘built in’.
3. Independent, trusted research.
4. You’ve won awards or competitions. Do the work to be great…then compete and win…then brag!
5. Trusted referrals from key influencers.
6. Comments from delighted customers / clients.  This is where things like personal recommendations, social media and Google ‘stars’ are so important.
7. A strong performance guarantee…including what you’ll do if you don’t perform as promised (Delivered in 30 minutes, or it’s Free!).  
8. Your advertising claims. This is the weakest proof.  What we say about ourselves, nobody much believes…but what others say about us is ‘gospel’.

So, what combination of these eight types of ‘proof’ will work best for you?  Which ones are you using?  Which ones should you be using?  The more proof you have, the more confidence you create, the more loyalty you’ll get…and the more business you’ll do. 

A Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor recently told me that he had won the ‘People’s Choice’ award in his community for 6 years in a row, but had never bothered to put that on his website, his trucks, his business cards or his contract quotes.  This is nuts.  He had done the work to earn and receive powerful, believable proof of his value…and he did nothing with it.  Don’t make this mistake.  How will you prove to your target customers that you are the clear and compelling ‘wise choice’ for them?   And, if you’re not the clear ‘wise choice’ for your target customers, what work do you need to do to fix that…and when will you start?  

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.