(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:
   “Failure to deal with non-performance is one of the biggest problems in many businesses today.  But you can’t deal with non-performance if you don’t measure performance.   What will you do to measure performance more effectively in every part of your business…and when will you start?”
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Two keys to improving your sales pitch.   
    
   Key #1:  Many ‘sales pitches’ include a list of features, without stating the benefit. Big mistake!  It’s the benefit that the customer wants to hear. To make sure that you’re talking ‘benefits’, every time you say something positive about what you’re selling, add the words, “Which means to you….”  and then tell them what it means to them.
    
   “Our battery- powered electric lawn mower has a 56-volt sodium-ion battery…which means to you that it will silently cut up to ½ acre on a single charge and the sodium-ion battery cannot explode and damage or destroy your property.”
    
   Key #2:  Where’s your proof?  People are cynical.  They’ve been lied to, deceived and taken advantage of way too many times to believe what you say.  So, they need ‘proof’ that what you promise is real.  So, where’s you proof?  To access my article on the effectiveness of various kinds of ‘proof’, Click Here.
    
3. Where are you going this summer? According to a recent Survey, Las Vegas is America’s #1 Summer Travel destination this year.  It offers what people are looking for in the summer months: entertainment, sporting events, and great natural adventures in the area surrounding Sin City.  But, the average day-time temp is 105^o F (40.5 ^o C). 
    
4. A free Management Webinar from my brilliant friend, Randall Craig. Randall is one of the smartest people I know.  When he offers important Leadership and Management insights for free, you should probably listen.  Here’s the info and link for his June 19 Zoom session
    
   Topic:  High-Performance Leadership.
   Date:   Wednesday, June 19 from 12 noon – 1 pm, ET.
   Register here:  https://randallcraig.net/leadership
    
5. Car facts. The self-driving-vehicle Division of General Motors has reached a settlement for between $8 million and $12 million with a lady pedestrian who was struck and severely injured by one of its robotaxis in San Francisco last year.
    
6. How I can be helpful: If your company, Industry Association or local Chamber of Commerce has a Conference this year, or in 2025, I’d love to chat with you about how my bottom-line insights on effective management, value creation, the customer experience, sales & marketing, creating a ‘winning culture’, accountability and profitability can be helpful.
    
   I deliver transformational keynote Sessions, half-day and full-day Programs complete with ‘Business Assessment & Management Implementation Tools’ that have transformed 100s of businesses around the world.  I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com.  

Now, to this week’s important topic:

 What are you doing to be the ‘Caring Coach’ for your target customers?  

Whatever product or service you sell, your target customers are confused and stressed about what’s best for them and how to wisely choose and effectively use what you sell.

The answer is to be their ‘Caring Coach’.  Here’s a few examples of businesses that ‘get it’: 

1. OFF Insect Repellant offers an online ‘Mosquito Forecast’ for all areas of North America and weekly email updates for your specific region. This coaches folks to properly prepare for the insect hazard in their area throughout the season.
2. Hues Art Supplies in Saskatoon offers classes in the various art forms, for which they supply materials. They’re coaching and empowering people to explore their creative potential.
3. On their website a Heating & Air Conditioning (HVAC) Company coaches folks on why the proper humidity setting is important to your home and your family…and they coach you on how to achieve that.
4. Each July, Staples issues ‘Canada’s Official Back To School Guide’ to coach families on what their kids need to be prepared for a successful year in the classroom.  

What might being the ‘Caring Coach’ look like in your business?  Sit down with a few of the best minds and hearts in your business and make a list of all the things that your target customers might be confused and stressed about when it comes to choosing and using what you sell. What don’t they know about you and what you sell that they should know?

Then, get creative and figure out how you will Coach them to be aware of, to wisely choose and effectively use…and, in some cases, update, maintain and eventually recycle or dispose of what you sell.  

 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.