“Yeah but then I have to hire someone to man the internet station.”

I nodded.  That was true.

This bagel shop could double its business, triple its business just by asking for the email addresses of the customers that pack the place on Saturday and Sunday mornings for what’s got to be the best bagels since Brooklyn (seriously people come from Philly to get these bagels).

Are these customers hungry at lunch time during the week?

Of course they are.

If you were their favorite bagel shop and you served up a delicious lunch menu that conveniently arrived in their email just as they started to wonder about lunch . . . what do you think would happen?

What if they could place their orders on your website?

What if they could email their orders in?

What if they could call their orders in to a nice friendly employee who excitedly asks, “how may I help you?”

WOW YEAH!  

BUT NO:  “Then I would have to get someone to man the internet station,” said the owner.

And one more thing, one day I was in there, and noticed they had MENUS!   And they were excellent – lots of choices, and the perfect size to mail, postcard style.  They had a spot for stamps and labels. They were good to go.

Now that’s an idea. How about sending menus out to the local businesses in the area?  Most offices have stacks of menus held together by paper clips. Is your menu in there?  I think not!

But your competitors are.

Your competitors have your customers email addresses.

“I was wondering what I was going to do with all these menus,” said the owner.

BUT NO:  “then he has to get someone to put the stamps on, and bring them to the post office . . . “

For a minute I think about how great it would be if he optimized Facebook and Twitter . . .  

BUT NO, he would say “because then I would have to get a bird”.

******

What’s your funny excuse for standing in the way of your next level of success?

It’s what you say after you get a BIG NEW IDEA and then say “yeah but . . . ”

Wouldn’t you rather do business
with Annie Jennings PR?

The scenario:  A potentially great new client with the knowledge and experience to impact public policy in a positive and empowering way.
 
The actual scenario:  An author/expert who had bought into the premise that it was all about selling books, and the only way he could get attention was to be angry and accusatory. 
 
I knew right away I was not going to take this client.  And I knew right away that the angle that he wanted to take was wrong.  It would further divide our nation and pit one political side against the other.   But the author thought it was all about selling books and he was told this was the way to do it.
 
I reminded him it was about sharing the greater message.
 
He said but how can I sell books if I am not controversial and accusatory?
 
And I said, who cares?  Wouldn’t you rather do the right thing?  Why not use your vast knowledge in how to create government programs in a way that not only empowers people but communities as well and actually help create the policy?
 
The good stuff:  Now he opens up and says that what we are talking about was his original intent but somewhere along the way his original mission with his book was derailed.  And it became about fueling the fires that divide us.  In my opinion, what America does not need right now is an expert talking about explosive topics and blaming one person or party over another;  we do not need another accounting of who did what to whom and when. 
 
But what we do need are people who do not have a political agenda and can apply their knowledge and experience in a way that is truly good.  Empowerment is good.  And what our country needs right now is a plan to empower but not cripple enthusiasm, motivation and creativity.  He agreed.
 
He was relieved and thankful.  Thankful that I told him I could not take his account and why I could not.  Thankful that we spent an hour and one half revisiting his dream, the original one, and making it come to life in a way that does not involve mudslinging and character assassination of anyone or any party. 

He remembered. He started to think of himself as he knew he really was.  He realized he was not an author that wanted to sell books by any means necessary, but a highly qualified and experienced expert who understood through his years of hard work, dedication and studying the empowerment model of helping the poor, that he could be a voice in the national discussion of the future of our country by presenting creative ideas that could actually work.  Why not put his lifetime of wisdom to work to help?
 
“You mean I don’t have to sell books through aggression and accusations?”  I heard the relief in his voice that he did not have to go down that path just to sell books.
 
Of course not.  
 
He added with enthusiasm, “you mean, I could stand for something that I really believe in and be an independent voice that offers solutions?”
 
Yes, you can.
 
I could hear in his voice that he was happy, engaged in his future, he himself empowered and absolutely mesmerized.  He asked me in a somewhat amazed and bewildered tone:
 
Where did you come from?
 
****

In my experience, when you are true to yourself and your message, is when all the lucrative and rewarding opportunities come to you, such as speaking, consulting and more, and guess what, you sell books after all.

LOTS OF THEM.

Wouldn’t you rather do business
with Annie Jennings PR?

TODAY!

All heart, Annie
Annie Jennings PR