“Ma, What Happened To My Biz?”

As a marketing consultant and transformational coach, my responsibilities are simple(although not that simple sometime), I offer advise that is time tested from my experience and the experience
of others that I believe will help them growing their business.
No one can guarantee results, however we are entrepreneurs and as
entrepreneurs we thrive on taking on challenges and creating results.
Entrepreneurs don’t hide from fear, they embrace it. We don’t try to make thing
happen, we just decide and do it. There is something noble about that.

Now, the other part of my job is to be honest and frank with my customers. I will be direct
because I am not the guy people hire to be nice to them, I am here to produce results,
not only for them, but also for myself. If results don’t happen, it is both parties that need to
look at each other, and I want to be able to look at myself and feel good about it.
So, I will be giving suggestions during the process that will have one intention and
one intention only: Making money for my clients!
Ultimately, naturally, they are the one responsible to take the action.

Because our process is direct marketing, and it is not taught in schools, and not
widely applied by most businesses (because no one taught them either),
it is mainly learned in the school of hard-knocks and
I have the scars to show for it. Most people will give you the pill solution – “hey, just
advertise here and you will make money”. I hope we have learned that that is not true.
I don’t have a pill solution, we have strategies we have to come up with.

It starts with really understanding the problem.

In over 97% of the situations, what the business owners this is the problem, usually is not.
That is why I like to spend some time and energy on this point.
If we don’t know what the problem is, we can’t just assume otherwise we
will end up performing open heart surgery on a patient who may have a stomachache.

After the problem is identified, we have to act.

Usually in more cases there are three actions we have to take:

1-Attract new customers
2-Earn more money from the current customers (by upselling)
3-Keep the customers coming back for more.

Many businesses have problems in all these areas.
It must end. We must rev up the engines and quickly.

Another area a business should focus on is reducing costs. If the business
is losing money they have to ask: Where is it coming from, what is happening?
Is there a department that we need to cut? Someone we need to let go of?

The other thing that I enjoy doing is educating my customers. When the time comes to
depart, I don’t want them to look at each other saying, “what the heck do we do now?”

I want my clients to be well educated, so that they start applying these principles themselves
without paying anyone else, but become their own marketing consultant. It is not easy, but it is
worth it. The educating part is very challenging on my part to do, because I find there is so much to teach and it is stuff
that, again, hasn’t been taught to them in the past. Even in case of franchises,
I have seen that even the franchisor, doesn’t really know how to guide their franchisees.
So when a business owner hires a marketing consultant to me that means that they are serious about producing
results, and they have stepped up as leaders.

Now, here is a grave mistake that happens with most businesses when they start losing money: They Contract.

When you are losing money, it is the best time to EXPAND. What does it mean? Instead of saying, “Oh my Gosh,
we can’t afford that, we can’t do this or that.” We have to say, “I want to invest in things that will
add value to me and my customers, and bring in profits. How can I do that?”

Cut the unnecessary costs, but invest in items, services and strategies that will earn you money.

I am surprised at how many times I get hired to bring in ideas and turn things around, and when I recommend actions,
I get the “I can’t afford it” answer. That answer hasn’t worked in the past, otherwise you would be making money.
So the mindset has to change. The energy and the money has to be directed towards things that will
make more money, create a better experience and make customers say, “wow, oh my, I really like this place
and I can’t wait to come here again.”

To grow a business, takes money and energy. You need to have a monthly budget for several months in
a row and you will see that chart coming up slowly but surely. Simple as that.
I wish there was a way to grow a business without spending anything,
but if there was I would have most likely known about it.

If we think with that poverty mindset, or the mindset of lack, that is what we will get more of.
When things are rough is the best time to switch on the abundance mindset.
And it is pretty simple, if we don’t invest we will keep getting what we have gotten and
that means losing more money. No chance of winning there.

But if we invest and turn things around, there is no guarantee, however there is a chance and it is a pretty
good chance that we will make it. We don’t want to look back a few months from now, and say, “do you think we would have
made it if we had just purchased those frames, or those table clothes, or done this or that?”

Many businesses are at a situation right now that they either go ahead turbo charged, full power and take all the risks and
lay it all out on the floor, and show to ourselves what we are made of, or contract and bow down to the challenges.

I hope YOU have the Courage to look at your challenges, smile at them, and turn things around.
That will take discipline, creativity, massive action and enthusiasm.

We must expand, not contract.

The other principle that I want you to focus on right now is what I call the Value Principle.
I refuse to believe how many business owners focus on how they can make more money.
This means we are focusing on getting. However, the hard truth is that the reason
the business is where it is, is not because we haven’t gotten enough. It is because we haven’t given enough.
This usually shocks my clients. They say, “well Nik, I have given so much to the community, so many discounts,
so this so that…” I agree, that is great. And that would work great for Wal-Mart not us.

Let me explain.

You must focus on what you compete on. Do you compete on price? If you do, then sure, give more discounts like Wal-Mart.

If you are a business other than Wal-Mart however, chances are that you are competing on something other than price.

Get this: Wal-Mart adds value to those people whose main priority is price. They go to Wal-Mart not because it is
a better store, or better products or experience. They shop there for one thing only, and that is to Save Money. That’s it. Period.

McDonald is the same thing in the restaurant industry.

So can you make $.99 meals? If not, then you are not competing on price. You must be competing on something other than price.

Let’s take an example: Let’s say that you own an Italian Restaurant. Now, I love Italian food and when I go to one, I don’t go there
to save money. I go there for one thing and one thing only – to get an Italian Experience. I want to eat that delicious Italian food,
want to have that friendly always smiling, confident server or the owner who likes to greet with the arms open. That makes me
chuckle and I love it. I want to sit down at the table with the beautiful table cloths – oh the table clothes, what an important part of the
Italian family. I have been to Italy and yet have to see an Italian family or restaurant without that clean table cloth. There is something
very inviting about that. I can drive for miles just to experience that. So many restaurants settle for something more practical or less costly, without realizing that they
are not adding value to their customers by cheating them out of the opportunity to experience a Real Italian Dinner. And then
these same business owners look at me, saying, “What do we do? How can I make more money from these customers?”

See the focus is on getting. The universal laws, or God, or whatever you choose to believe in, have made it very simple: “You must first
give, and then you shall receive.” My friend, if you are not getting enough, you are just not giving enough. Period.

Now, hold on. I know what you are thinking.

When I mean give, I don’t mean give anything. Remember, you must give what your customers ( I prefer to call them guests actually) want to get.

If you go to Wal-Mart and one day they say, “hey, we decided to double our prices and make our store luxurious instead” the people that go to Wal-Mart, don’t go there
for the luxury, therefore they will feel cheated or betrayed. They won’t go there again.

The people that go to an Italian restaurant for example, they go there because THEY EXPECT to Receive a certain Experience BEFORE they have even
seen the restaurant. And they are not going there for the price, as the matter of fact I have found out the the higher the price for nice family restaurants, the more
guests they will have. Why? Because that is why they go there for, for the experience. They don’t go to save money. Otherwise they would have gone somewhere else.

So what sets your restaurant apart? If it is Greek, think of the Greek things. Don’t try to make it Italian or American.

If it is Italian restaurant you own, then what makes you Italian? If you deviate from the Italian way, you have just kissed goodbye to your
best customers. Let me tell ya, if I go to an Italian restaurant that has no pizza, no well advertised Italian wine, no happy, smiling and friendly employees,
no table-cloths, no Italian romance/experience, and no Italian music – at least these – I am gone. I don’t care if they are giving me free meals.
Everyone is giving free meals these days. The only ones that will keep showing up to that place, are the ones who don’t really appreciate the real Italian experience. Not me, I go there with my wallet full,
knowing very well that I may spend quite a bit, but I will feel like I am in Italy, even for just a little bit.

That my friend, means a guest for life. To a restaurant owner, if you provide that, that means being successful for life.

How does the owner do it? They offer VALUE to me. And to someone who wants to have an Italian experience, Value doesn’t mean a free meal, it means an Italian experience.
The more experience you can give me, the more value you have given me.

“Hug Your Customers”, is a book by Jack Mitchell, one of the most famous American entrepreneurs. It works. And that means, really caring for what they
want, not just caring for your pockets. When you give others what they want, they will be more than happy to exchange their hard earn money for it. Oh yes, they will!

Ah, I almost forgot. Here is something else that I wish I had realized when I was a server as I could have raked a lot more cashola, but I realize it now that I am a marketing consultant and a business owner:

Upselling! Oh, how kind. Quite frankly, if a restaurant doesn’t try to upsell me, I really feel they just want my money and want me out the door. They are not caring
about what would make me enjoy my meal, or have a good time. Hey, the customer doesn’t know what to eat with what. They just want to have a pretty
grand time. That’s it.

I remember I went to a family owned Russian restaurant in Campbell, CA about 3 months ago. The server was nice, but she pretty much did what she thought was getting paid to do.
Taking my order, brining my food and saying “Enjoy”. That’s it! Nothing special there.

Do you know when it got to be special? When the grandmother who was working there came out from behind the kitchen, and started greeting their guests.
You could tell the sincerity in her eyes, and her voice. She then came to our table. After greeting us, with a very relaxed confidence that had me
respect her even more she said, “You haven’t experienced this place, until you try our home made Russian cake.” I was full, and about to leave. But do you know what? How could I say No to that offer?
I could tell that she wasn’t trying to upsell me just to make a few extra bucks; she actually really and truly cared about me having an enjoyable experience there. Even as full as I was, I ordered it, because if I couldn’t
finish it, I would have taken it at home with me in a doggie bag. And I did finish it, and I did love the experience there, and her upsell was so natural, so fantastic that I sincerely can’t wait to get back
to her place to eat that special home made cake yet again, and look forward to being ‘upselled’ one more time.

Are you upselling?

Believe it or not, most of us are still looking for that nice place to hang out. We sill want to experience that favorite restaurant, or store that we can call “My kinda place”
Humans are funny like that. We like to try and test different things until we settle on one that becomes a habit. A restaurant is no different.
Remember, if someone is not calling your restaurant “My kinda place”, they are calling another one. And do you know what the funny part is? It all has to do with you and who you are being.
They really want to come to your place, just allow them to, by making it a wonderful place for them to just ‘Be,’ but you have to add that Value First!

See you at the top,

Nik D’Angelo

Nik D’Angelo is an author, a marketing consultant and International speaker who is passionate about helping business owners multiply their profits by understanding their business, their customers and
creating strategies that work. He also spends time traveling, enjoying Kay’s home made food, playing with his German Shepherd Rocko, and doing extreme sports. You can find more about Nik by calling 510-870-8438 or visiting www.NikDangelo.com
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