(Time to read this Blog is about 3 1/2 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:
   “Everyone thinks they’re special and they hate it when you don’t notice.  What will you do to make every customer feel special and appreciated at every touch-point…and when will you start?”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:  
   You can’t grow your business without growing your people:    
    
   70% of employee development (training, coaching, mentoring) happens on the job, not in a ‘classroom’.
    
   What are you doing, on an ongoing basis, to make sure that every person on your Team is getting the skills, career and personal development that they need or want? 
    
   Studies show that companies that offer learning and development opportunities have up to 50% better employee engagement and retention.  According to a study conducted by LinkedIn, 94% of employees said they would stay longer with an employer who invested in their learning and development.   
    
   Have you sat down with each Team member to create a specific ‘Development Plan’ for them.   Then, who will track the progress being made?   And do you review and update each person’s ‘Development Plan twice a year?
    
3. Canadian tobacco companies agree to a massive $35.5 billion settlement. An Ontario court has approved a massive $32.5 billion settlement that will see three major tobacco companies compensate provinces, territories and ex-smokers in Canada.
    
   JTI-Macdonald, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada will pay about $25 billion to Provinces and Territories over a 20-year period, while plaintiffs in two class-action lawsuits in Quebec will get more than $4 billion to divide among them.
    
   Another $2.5 billion will go to compensate Canadian smokers not included in the two class-action lawsuits, and more than $1 billion will go to a Foundation to fight tobacco-related diseases.
     
4. A ‘not-so-fun’ fact. According to a Survey by the Exit Planning Institute,  76% of owners who sold their business, profoundly regretted their decision within one year.
    
   The problem is, they didn’t prepare emotionally and plan for ‘life after business’.  I’ve been through this with a number of my Biz Coaching clients as I work with them to keep active, keep useful and create purpose.  Below are 4 Tips that I share with clients:
   1. Help those in need, locally or globally. Share your talent and knowledge to make a difference.  Mentor…teach…build…encourage…volunteer.
   2. Pursue an ignored hobby or passion in your own community, or make it a global quest. Golf or trout fish on 6 continents (there are no golf courses or trout in Antarctica).   Ride on the top 5 trains in the world.   Create a magnificent garden. 
   3. Do really cool stuff with your grandchildren! If you don’t have grandchildren, borrow some.
   4. ‘Bucket List’ travel. Where have you always wanted to go and what have you always wanted to see or do?

Now, to this week’s important topic:

The simple truth about why people buy…and why they don’t buy:

You could fill a large room with all the books ever written on the subject of why people buy and why they don’t buy and, mostly, they over-confuse the issue.  The simple truth is that people buy ‘stuff’, in every part of their business and their personal lives for one reason only…to make some of their stress go away.

That’s it!  Whatever product, service or experience you sell, people buy your ‘stuff’ to reduce some physical or emotional stress in their lives. Therefore, your real job and, in fact, your only value is to be a stress remover. People give us money and we make some of their stress go away. That’s the deal.

Here’s a quick reality check from your own life experience. When’s the last time, when you were being a customer, that the business to whom you gave some of your hard-earned money actually gave you more stress than you had before you gave them your money? 

Did you think that was compelling value at the time?  Could you, in fact, hardly wait to give them more of your money so that they could give you more of their stress?  No, this is ‘goofy’…and ‘goofy is a technical term for ‘stupid’!

So, what is ‘stress’ anyway?  ‘Stress’ is any physical or emotional factor that causes tension, pressure or pain.  Examples of physical stress are disease, injury, hunger, exhaustion and pain.  Emotional stresses include confusion, fear or anxiety about money, technology, security, time, appearance, failure or relationships.  In our western society, generally, people have less physical stress than ever before…but more emotional stress.

When it comes to buying what you sell, stress is a ‘pull – push’ phenomenon. There are stresses in people’s lives that pull or attract them to buying what you sell…and then there are also stresses that prevent them from buying what you sell, or from buying it specifically from you. 

To understand your customers and your business in a whole new way, here’s a valuable little exercise that’s well worth doing.  Sit down for one hour with a small group of your brightest and most caring people. Think and feel like a customer and answer these three questions…

1. What are the physical and emotional stresses in our target customers’ lives that attract them to buy what we sell?
2. What physical or emotional stresses might be preventing them from buying what we sell, or from buying it specifically from us?
3. What physical or emotional stresses do we create for our customers when they do business with us that could prevent them from doing business with us again?

Essentially, this is an exercise in understanding what life is really like for your customers. Once you understand what stresses are ‘attracting’ and ‘preventing’ your target customers, get creative.  How can you rethink your business to dramatically emphasize the stresses that attract people to what you sell and how can you boldly eliminate the “preventors” that could be keeping them from buying what you sell…or buying specifically from you?  Think ‘extraordinary, think simple acts of kindness, be gutsy, think of what has never been done before by any of your competitors.  

Here’s a real-life example of insightful and ‘gutsy’ to show you how powerful this process can be.  One of our clients, a very successful travel agency, addressed the three questions above and came up with dozens of insights, one of which was that “fear of flying” could be a stress that’s preventing some people from becoming customers. 

One of his staff came up with the idea of offering an evening seminar on, ‘How to overcome your fear of flying’ with the help of a local psychologist.  They promoted the event with the help of local radio, TV and newspapers.  It attracted many new clients; they now offer the course twice each year…and the media coverage has helped make them ‘famous’!

How can you use this simple insight about why people buy…and why they don’t buy to better understand your target customers?  And then how can use that understanding to remove stress, deliver compelling value and clearly differentiate your business?

That’s it for this week…

Live brilliantly and be kind to each other!       

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.