Your Story

How do you market your company?

Direct mail is dead.  TV, radio, and print advertising are too expensive for most companies to use to develop business-to-business sales.  Email is overwhelming all of us, and the content on even the best designed websites is starting to sound the same.

Only one thing works, and will only be stronger in the years ahead:  Effectively telling your unique story.  Stories entertain, engage, and sell your company to job candidates, clients, and vendors better than anything else.

Let me tell you what we are starting December 1.  You may want to participate, or learn from our efforts to do something similar on your own. 

1. Develop Our Culture:  I will coach up to 12 companies for one year to develop their company culture according to the book we just released, The Company Culture Challenge ($19.95 on our site or go to Amazon for e-book).  We have only a limited number of openings still available.  If you want inspiration, accountability, and mentoring through the process of developing your company culture as part of this Story program then contact me immediately.  Or, follow the 7-step system in the book and develop your company culture (and your story) on your own.

2. Video:  We and our clients will be videotaping the progress of developing our cultures.  They will be submitting footage to us, and have the option of flying our video guru to their location to film employees and client testimonials quarterly for only travel expenses.  Our video guru will then edit and produce a series of videos that help tell each company's story for their website, YouTube, and our upcoming Company Culture Challenge website.
 
3. B.H.A.G.:  As Jim Collins says, have a Big Hairy Audacious Goal for your story.  For us, we want our collection of client stories to be good enough for The Company Culture Challenge to be considered for a business makeover television show.  Therefore we must be successful with our coaching and make a significant positive difference in the clients participating in this program.  What goal could a stronger story about your company help you achieve over the next 12 months?  A stronger company culture should increase your bottom line by 50-100% within 1-3 years.  What are you waiting for?

4. Reputation:  Your story is your legacy.  It is your reputation.  It is what people say when your company comes up in conversation.  I am putting my reputation the line in promising the companies participating in our Story program MUST SUCCEED... or else we do not prove The Company Culture Challenge system works.  (Certainly there could be circumstances out of our control, but... I am not expecting that.)

Therefore I encourage you to invest in your company culture in 2012.  Zappos grew from basically bankrupt in 1999 to selling itself to Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2009.  The difference:  Company culture.

Why wait?  Invest about 5% of your time in our program and we will help you develop a much stronger and profitable company culture.  Or, do it on your own, which will take a bit more time.  Either way, DEVELOP YOUR COMPANY CULTURE to live your dreams, and empower your employees to live theirs.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Develop a stronger company culture in 2012 with your team.  Here is one approach to consider the impact of improving your culture to attract better job candidates, more fully engage employees, and nurture happier clients. 1. Employees.  Ask your employees in casual one-on-one conversations, "What's a story that comes to mind when you want to give an example of what our company stands for?"  If the answers would sound weak to a prospective new employee, a client, or a vendor, then it is time to do something about it.   Then ask, "If we were truly your dream company, what would be our story then?"  The difference between these two employee stories are worth millions of dollars to your revenue and/or bottom line. 2. Clients.  Ask your clients in casual one-on-one conversations, "If someone asked you about our company, what story would you tell or how would you describe us?"  Your clients should be passionate evangelists for your organization.  If the answers would not convince you to do business with your company, then it is time to take action. 3. Vendors.  Ask your vendor reps in casual one-on-one conversations, "If you were to tell a story about our company to someone who asked about us, what would you say?"  Your vendors should be strong advocates for your organization. If the answers would not convince you to do business with your company, then you need to get to work on your company culture. 4.You.  What would be your story for your company, if everything was going right?  Is that your story today?  If you are honest, virtually all of us would admit there is work to be done on our company culture to truly have the company of our dreams. If your story today does not match your dream company then how much longer are you going to focus on adding new products or services, or improving a process rather than developing the company culture that you yearn for? Wake up!  We only get so much time to live.  Two clients of mine have had 35 year old friends die recently, yet I know multiple IT solution provider owners who have been doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result for over 20 years.  These people are still not meeting their goals.  Do you really want that to be your legacy? At least read my book to see if it inspires you to do something different.  If you need help, contact me.