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7 Techniques to Overcome Adversity – Don’t Let Fear Stop You or Force Rash Decisions

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 17:00:10 +0000

FDR said at his 1932 inauguration, deep in the great depression, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It’s only natural to feel anxiety, uncertainty, and apprehension when you think of possible negative consequence of any business venture. It’s easy to worry about sales, be concerned over the latest initiative, or freak out over the mounting bills. So why should we chill in the face of these ongoing threats to our security? Survival is the main reason.

A fear consciousness tends to create tunnel vision when we allow our fight-or-flight mechanisms to take over. The clear path to the best solution can be hidden from view when we are blinded by negative emotions. In our desperation to quickly solve a problem and move on, we can easily make wrong decisions. Most of our worst decisions were made in a state of fear.

If you are in business, uncertainties and threats to your success abound. They’re not going away. Downright disasters are to be expected now and then. Your financial survival will be on the line. Business is always going to be risky and pop-up problems are the norm. The sooner you realize this, the faster you can get on with developing the “bullet-proof” attitude you’ll need to cope, contain, and crush these daily challenges.

Relax. We know it’s hard, especially when you can’t see the solution. But take a deep breath, take a walk, or take a break. Give yourself a chance to calm down. Your brain will work better and you’ll become aware of options you could easily miss when you’re up tight.
Believe. Even though you can’t see the solution yet, believe there is one. In fact, believe there is more than one from which you can choose. That way you will be less likely to jump at the first one you see, which may solve the immediate problem but could cause bigger problems down the line.
Allies. How can you identify your allies? Take a close look at who benefits besides you when the problem is solved. They may be buyers, suppliers, associates, employees, investors, or even competitors. Can you solve their problem while solving your own? Think about how you can enlist their support in solving your problem, and how they will benefit.
Elegance. The elegant solution solves more than one problem. To find the elegant solution, put your other problems out on the table. Examine them all and look for interrelationships. Is there one solution that solves more than one problem? With an open mind free of preconceptions, look for the clues.
Help. Ask for help from folks with more experience, or a different experience, than you own. Ask questions of people who work in various areas of your industry. Ask for help from folks at the highest levels and the lowest levels. Look to other industries, and how they have solved a similar problem. There may be a way that their solution can be useful in solving your problem. Most folks will feel honored that you asked for their advice.
Elevate. The fastest way out of any box is straight up. Look at your problem from all sides, over, under, left and right. In the process ask yourself if you are even framing the problem correctly. Can you redefine the situation? Often the best solution is wrapped in the best statement of the problem.
Patience. It takes time to calm down, assess your options, consider the consequences, and receive good counsel. It takes time to identify strategic allies and gain their support. And it takes time to consider the outcomes and make compromises. Be patient.

Just knowing that you have a systematic process to tackle your daunting business challenges will help give you the attitude of confidence you need. Fear can blind you when you need your vision, focus, and foresight the most.

When we started freaking out over the latest emergency, we all got a laugh when Bonnie screamed, “For God’s sake, DON’T PANIC!”

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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We Can’t Afford to Take a Break from Climate Change Mitigation

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 17:00:20 +0000

Why is it suddenly necessary for tens of thousands of scientists to march on Earth Day and implore us to take climate change seriously? Why do they have to insist that there is no debate and that the signs are already here? They obviously think we need a strong reminder.

The systematic dismantling of the EPA, rolling back of air quality standards and continued long-term commitment to fossil fuel are good reasons for a strong reminder. It’s not like we can take a break from avoiding this environmental disaster. The scientists weren’t satisfied with the last administration’s actions, and now they are marching!

What does it say for the level of education in our country that apparently allows this to happen in the face of irrefutable facts? Are we so short sighted and so selfish that we prefer to believe that the preponderance of science on this subject is wrong?

Will we have to get to the point of no return, have a stream of disasters hitting us regularly, and suffer vector spread pandemics before we wake up and listen to the experts? Will it be too late by the time we all get it?

That’s why the scientists are marching! They know enough to be scared for our health and welfare if we continue down this path. They don’t believe they did a good enough job getting the word out.

They thought, because they were scientists, that they would gain a certain level of respect above and beyond politics and not have to make a big demonstration. They were wrong!

Now we need scientists to really turn it up a notch. National Geographic’s last edition was on climate change. They had to write the article as if it was to a person who had been duped or wanted to believe that climate change was a hoax. Their article began with three highly substantiated statements: climate change is real; it’s our fault; there is no debate.

When our grandchildren ask us, “Why didn’t you do something?” Will we say, “We thought the only way to have jobs was to take your environment away from you”? Will we say, “Nobody knew how fast it would change” when in fact all the scientists knew and begged us to take it seriously. Or will we say, “We chose to get our news from sources that played down or denied climate change and scientific facts.”

It’s clear that the only industry that benefits from the denial of climate change is the fossil fuel industry. Even their relatively short-term gain will be a long-term loss due climate caused disaster to our economy.

Climate change is not political. You can’t vote, ignore, or argue it away. It’s happening regardless. The scientists are telling us that every minute we continue to increase emissions puts us closer to the tipping point of no return, and closer to run away warming. Are we really so foolish as to let this continue without making changes to mitigate it?

We believe the moves to dismantle the EPA and roll back emission standards are bad for business, bad for our standard of living, bad for our quality of life, and bad for our health. At their core these steps protect a has-been, buggy-whip industry which is using the government for its own selfish and shortsighted immediate gain – at the expense of our own, and our children’s, welfare. In short, these moves will be shown to have been on the wrong side of history. Let’s listen to our scientists!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Sell the Positive Emotion Your Product or Service Can Bring

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 18:00:31 +0000

In this digital age, when so much is sold on line, we are in a race to the bottom pricewise. All we want to know is, “Where can I get it for less?” Once manufactures get swept up in that game, the features and benefits of their products seem to get reduced to a set of bullet points with the price as the main attraction. Are they missing something? We think so.

If it is true that people buy with their hearts and justify with their brains, then shouldn’t we address their heart felt positive emotions first? The modern simplification of the selling process has created an opportunity for an old-fashioned, but classic, approach to sales, “How will they feel when they buy your product or service?”

Is it freedom, confidence, strength, or security? Is it health, wealth, power or satisfaction? Or is it frugality, popularity, fun, or admiration? What is the positive emotion you are offering your customers? Once you can define those feelings, you have the key to their first decision – the one that comes from the heart. This can be stronger than the features, benefits, and yes, even the price!

When we started in the wine business, it was staid and standoffish, isolated and insulated. We were outsiders and didn’t think about it as the “wine” business. Because of all the controls and compliance associated with beverage alcohol, we thought about it as the “beverage alcohol business” which was broader and included various types of beverage alcohol. It included spirits and beer as well as wine.

So, we looked at the way these three types of beverage alcohol products were being presented in their marketing materials. We saw that wine was all about how the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. When we looked at spirits, we noticed it was geared to a predominately male audience, with how it’s made, and, at the time, generally portraying females.

But then we looked at beer. It was, “Just want to be your Bud!”, “It’s Miller time!”, and “The Silver Bullet!”. Not much about how it’s made, but more about how to have fun with the product. “Have fun,” we thought. Our wine sales slogan became “Get Barefoot and Have a Great Time!”

We sold the feeling of having fun in an industry that was all about how it was made. Fun was not on the agenda in those days. By selling the feeling we wanted our customers to enjoy, we had an advantage in the marketplace that wasn’t realized by the industry for nearly a decade.

Today, it’s time once again to realize that, after all, people make buying decisions with their hearts. The more we can access those feelings the greater our advantage in the marketplace. This is not to say that you don’t also have to have superior features, benefits and competitive pricing, but it is to say that all things being equal, feelings win! And lately, we’ve gotten away from selling feelings first.

So, your take home assignment for the New Year and beyond is to convert your products’ features and benefits into the positive feelings your customers will have when using them. Get that feeling up front in your catch phrase, marketing and merchandising materials. Get your endorsers to say how owning and using your product or service made them feel. When you successfully communicate the feeling, your products become more appealing!

You will be delighted to have the advantage this classic idea will give you in the New Year! See? It’s working already!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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5 Barefoot Problem Solving Principles

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 17:00:37 +0000

When we took on the building of the Barefoot Wine brand, we really didn’t understand the problems we would have to overcome to be successful. We had no idea how long it would take, the opposition we would face, or the enormous hurdles we had to clear in compliance, distribution, and personnel management. Every day there were new fires that had to be put out. Everyday there were unexpected bills hungry for bucks. And every road block challenged our very approach to problem solving.

After a while we began to develop actual problem solving principles that gave us structure and a set of standards we would apply to future problems. As we solved problem after problem we slowly improved our approach to problem solving itself. In fact, we began, in a crazy way, to lose our anxiety over the inevitable problems! It became kind of a game! We were challenged with something new and unheard of, but we took comfort in the knowledge that we had a set of principles to handle it, no matter what it was.

Here are our 5 Barefoot problem solving principles:

Take Inventory. That’s right, just like a shipwreck on an abandoned island, take account of everything you have on board. Get ready to be resourceful. Think about how your assets can be used to overcome the challenges you face. Your assets are more than property, money, and products; they are also your people, your customers, and your suppliers. You may have a strategic advantage in a seemingly unrelated area. Don’t overlook any hidden assets, including your own knowledge and experience.
Get Out of the Box. And the quickest way out of the box is straight up! Take the 10,000-foot view. Look beyond your walls, beyond your business, even beyond your industry. Check out the entire landscape. Who has overcome a problem like this in another space? How did they do it? What similarities apply? Are you even defining the problem properly? We believe one way to the solution is the best definition of the problem, so look at it from every angle.
Who Else Benefits? If you solve the problem, who else will the solution assist? And conversely, who is hurt if you don’t solve the problem? By asking these questions you can discover your strategic allies who share an interest in seeing the problem solved. For instance, you may have a supplier who benefits by your growth, and may be amenable to providing additional credit or extended terms to help you overcome a hurdle or grow your business faster so they can sell you more products.
Look at Your Other Problems. If you believe, as we do, that the elegant solution solves more than one problem, then reverse the premise and put all your problems out on the table with the one you are trying to solve. By looking at them all together you’ll begin to see relationships between them. And it is in those relationships that the solution often lies. We’ve been amazed how this tactic can turn on the lights with breakthroughs we wouldn’t have considered otherwise!
Know the Need. Instead of putting your staff, your suppliers, and your associates on a “need-to-know” basis by hiding your problems under the veil of security, practice “know-the-need.“ Involve your stakeholders in the problem solving process. They have an interest in the solution and will appreciate the respect you demonstrate for their intelligence and creativity. Crazy ideas that come out of fun brainstorming sessions often result in problem solving at its finest.

So bring on the next problem and give these principles a try. They worked for us and they can work for you!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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2 Reasons Why Doing It Yourself Can Give You a Big Advantage

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 17:00:33 +0000

The advantages of starting a business when you are undercapitalized are priceless. They can force you to be creative, resourceful, and frugal. They focus your attention on sales to achieve a positive cash flow quickly, before you go out of business. They can save you from squandering cash on expenses that don’t produce income.

But there’s another big advantage to being undercapitalized. It often requires that you do many of the jobs yourself because you simply can’t afford to hire someone to do it. Sure, there’s a big learning curve, and in many cases, the job could be done much better and faster by a pro, but sometimes you really have no choice. So what are the benefits here?

Evaluation. When you must do the job because your finances are spread too thin, you will certainly ask the question, “Is this absolutely necessary?” And, “Is there some other way that we can achieve the same results?” With big capital and a generous “burn rate,” you might just throw money at the problem thoughtlessly as if to say, “This is just the way it’s done, right?” But is the job really required, or are you just buying into what others say you must do?

At Barefoot, we were told to advertise; spend tons of money on ads to make Barefoot Wine a household word. We simply didn’t have the bucks. But still we knew we had to get the word out. It’s just that we had to do it ourselves, and inexpensively. It also had to be very targeted and effective because one way or the other it was still going to cost us. But we had only a fraction of what was necessary to get traction with conventional advertising, making that an unviable choice.

So when a local neighborhood group asked for a donation for a kids’ after-school park, we gave them product rather than cash. Sales in their immediate area took off! Because we were broke and had to do the advertising (and everything else) ourselves, we noticed everything that worked, even off the wall stuff like this. We tried it in another neighborhood. It worked there too! In fact, it worked so well, that even when we could afford to buy advertising, we stuck with what we called, “Worthy Cause Marketing.”

Experience. When you are forced to do the job yourself, later when you can afford to have someone else do it, you are less naïve. You recognize quickly when you are being taken advantage of, and are less likely to put up with excuses. You also gain the respect of the folks you hire because they understand that you know the job because you did it!

When we started Barefoot, we couldn’t afford a salesperson. So Michael did all the sales. Talk about hard knocks! It took him years to become proficient at it. But when we did hire salespeople, they quickly learned he had done it himself.

What if we had been well financed? We would have hired salespeople without really understanding their job firsthand, and without knowing if the excuses were real or not. We would have spent tons on conventional advertising and it would have been less effective than what we discovered out of necessity.

Sometimes desperation is just the advantage your start-up needs to disrupt the established patterns that can waste your precious time and money! Here’s to the glorious benefits of being underfinanced!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Ireland Stands to Gain by Brexit

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 17:00:33 +0000

Whatever you think about the UK’s decision to leave the EU, American businesses must find a new gateway to Europe. For American’s, our ‘mother’ country has always been our foot in the door to Europe. If you could prove yourself in the UK, the door was open to the EU. Trademarks from the EU were respected in the UK and vice versa. That door may have just been closed. So now what?

Look no further than the only official English-speaking country in the EU, on the Euro, and closer to us: Ireland! Before the recession, Ireland was favored by US business for its low cost, highly skilled workforce, and business-friendly policies. Now it can add, “Gateway to Europe” with its unrestricted flow of goods and people to the mainland.

Interestingly, Northern Ireland, which voted to stay in the EU, will be more likely to stay in rather than barricading off its common borders with The Irish Republic which have become critical to families, trade, tourism, and their overall economy. Staying in the EU may likely mean exiting the UK and joining the Irish Republic. A larger EU member like a united Ireland can’t help but be attractive to American business hoping to trade in Europe.

We spoke at the World Conference on Entrepreneurship in Dublin a couple years back and were most impressed with their American-style cultural support for entrepreneurs. The willingness of the government, the business community, and academic institutions to help new ventures succeed is most attractive to new and established businesses alike.

Still pulling themselves out of recession, the Irish know that entrepreneurship is their key to prosperity. As a relatively small country, they know the world is their market… Oh! And did we say they absolutely love Americans?

Talk about winning by default! It reminds us of the way Quebec lost major business to Ontario when they tried to separate from Canada. The UK may have just handed Ireland a big break and a huge opportunity.

Whether we like it or not, we are all connected to a global market where uniform standards and business practices support commerce, and ultimately, our very standard of living. Voting to decouple from that interdependence may seem emotionally attractive at the time, but the days following that decision will educate those voters about what they sacrificed.

Whatever the UK voters thought they were saving by leaving the EU, they have disrupted the flow of trade and ultimately wiped out those “savings” many times over. Oblivious to consequences and uneducated about the benefits of EU membership, they were bowled over by a populist movement that promised huge savings that probably can’t be delivered any time in the near future.

Once the press becomes more entertainment than educational, the door is open for populist movements to persuade emotional and naïve voters who simply don’t know any better. This is quite a wake-up call for the US and other democracies, should they take notice. Unwarranted, but popular, quick-fix claims can now win the vote and reverse the efficiencies of scale common markets can deliver.

Meanwhile, Ireland has been waiting for a break like Brexit! Keep a close eye on their next moves. What is a great opportunity for Ireland may well be a great opportunity for US business as well.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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World’s Best Sale Pitch: “My Product will help you Increase Sales”

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:50:23 +0000

We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.”

There are many books written on the subject of sales, sale techniques, and best closing strategies. We’ve often said the best sales person is the “Assistant Buyer”. The key to sales success is simply to sincerely have the buyer’s best interest at heart.

When you produce a product that goes through distribution channels, or when you offer a service business to business, the funds your buyer has to buy from you came from the sale of their product or service. If you are selling direct to the consumer, you still have to recognize that they have to work for the income, one way or another, that enables them to buy your product.

Everybody who sells products or services wants to sell more. The ultimate question from your prospect is: “How does your product or service help me sell my product or service?” or “How can you help me make more money?” That’s why positioning your sales pitch as enhancing theirs is so effective.

Here are some ways your product or service can help your customer’s bottom line:

1. Reduce his overhead cost per unit sold. He has to pay rent, lights, power, insurance, staff, cleaning, etc., whether he sells your product quickly or slowly. If it’s a fast seller, his cost per sale is reduced. He improves his ROI on his capital investment, maintenance, advertising, and staffing.

2. Increase his profits with lower acquisition costs and, consequently, higher profit margins on your product. Give him a volume purchase program that enables a lower retail price and increased volume resulting in higher profits per month.

3. Make his retail environment more attractive with seasonal point of sale materials and promotional programs geared to the theme of the given holiday. Make your displays festive decorations to his retail space.

4. Increase his business with local promotions and support for neighborhood causes. Use Worthy Cause Marketing to bring in customers who have a social reason to buy your product. Let the membership of the non-profit you support know where your product is for sale in his neighborhood.

5. Sell him a product or service that makes him more attractive and more competitive to his clients or retail customers. Give him the best price in your category, or an area-wide exclusive for an introductory period.

6. Add value to his total sales package. Is there something you can sell him that makes what he’s selling more valuable, adds an extra feature or delivers another benefit – like a guarantee, excellent customer service or loyalty program? Does your product give him “green” bragging rights?

7. Improve his personnel’s efficiency by providing training, benefits or tools his staff can use to increase his sales. Help him find and keep good people.

These are just a few examples of how you can help your buyer increase profits and do his job more efficiently. When you focus on what your buyer is trying to do, you can quickly get a clue as to what you can do to help him increase his sales. Adding value to his sales efforts with your product allows him to say to his customers, “But wait, there’s more!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Successful Hiring takes Preparation, Permission and Patience

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:50:59 +0000

No matter what business you think you are in, you wind up in the personnel management business. Your first hires will require a great deal of your time and energy with no guarantees. Your way may conflict with their previous way of doing things.

For the most part, great employees are not found, they’re made. In order to delegate and allow your company to grow, you really have no choice.

All this takes time, energy, preparation and lots of patience, but by working together in concert, you can see wonders.

1. Good Seed. Start with people who demonstrate a high degree of integrity, take responsibility for their own behavior and have a history of long-term commitment. They should be willing to learn and extrapolate conceptual ideas and apply them to new situations. A good way to test this is to give the applicant a verbal run down of the job, the company’s challenges and your expectations for the position. Then, have them send you a one-page summary on a deadline. This will tell you volumes.

2. Good Ground. Make sure their job is clearly defined in writing and explains how your products and services produce the income to pay their salary, bonus and benefits. We used to give our people a “Money Map”. It started with the consumer and worked its way back through distribution, production, and all the payables to finally get to their check. This gave them respect for how and where the money came from – the customer, of course.

3. Care. You must inspect what you expect, especially in the first year. Once you are convinced you have “good seed” it’s worth your while to regularly spend time with them answering questions and mentoring. Listen to what’s behind their questions to discover what they really need to excel in their new position.

4. Light and Space. Give them permission to make mistakes. That’s what allows them to develop into the independent decision makers you need to confidently delegate. To “make those mistakes right,” have them write down what needs to be done to prevent those mistakes in the future. Have them make new polices, procedures, checklists, sign-offs, or whatever, but they have to document everything. Consider rewriting their job description to fit their real skill set.

5. Nutrients. Give them the training they need, in person and in writing. If a document doesn’t exist, have them write it. Create a mini manual for every job with the growing list of frequently asked questions and as many charts and graphs as are necessary to depict processes, relationships and decisions. Provide outside training with conferences, or field time with sales or production staff. The more they understand your total operation, the faster they will become invaluable.

6. Time. How much time you give them before they “get it” really depends on the position, their ability to learn, and how much faith you have in them personally. Some folks take longer but “get it” at a core level. Others may learn a specific process quickly, but miss the big picture. So it’s a judgment call based on your assessment of their progress and conceptual understandings, and the preparation, time and energy you have put in.

Even if you do these essentials, there’s no guarantee of success, but you will be much more likely to succeed. To grow those new hires into fruitful producers it takes preparation, permission and patience.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Tailor Your Message to What Your Audience Wants to Hear

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:11:17 +0000

If you want to make a statement, tell them what you want to say. If you want to make a deposit, tell them what they want to hear. Sounds simple enough, but what do they want to hear and who are they anyway?

Every successful business learns eventually that there are a whole lot of folks between them and their end-user. Each one wants to hear a different message for a different reason. Sometimes we get so excited about our new idea and how well it will go over with the general public that we forget how essential it is to get it to them. Focusing on the benefits to your end-user is fundamental, but don’t forget all the other folks in between and what each of them wants to hear.

“What’s in it for me?” is the question they all want you to address. It may surprise you that it has little to do with those end-user benefits you are so excited about. Research, experience, questioning and listening can tell you what they want to hear.

Your own staff may want to hear how they will share in your success. They may want to hear about the incentive programs, benefits, working conditions, days off, and advancement opportunities. They may also want to hear how your idea will make the world a better place. They want to hear about your previous successes and your ability to weather a storm.

All your middle men want know how your product improves their strategic position versus their competition, how you are going to help them sell it, how they can get it for less, and how much you have budgeted for marketing. They want to know who will buy it and why.

If you depend on retailers, they will want to hear how your product fits into their existing categories, what kind of point-of-sale promotional materials you have, and what kind of a warranty you provide. They want to know that you have a representative in their area. They also want to hear how you will send customers to them to buy your product.

Your idea may be a game changer, but are they ready to play a new game? Sometimes pioneering a new concept can take years to catch on. Your initial buyers may buy for reasons you never dreamed of. If you are changing the world, get ready for some missionary work and some unlikely initial customers. Be ready to change your message to stay relevant with the market as it is now and as it changes.

Does your product weigh a lot or is it inexpensive? That’s all the more reason to be ready with multiple messages. Internet product sales, with the exception of downloads, require shipping whether or not it’s included in the price. Somebody pays for it. Most heavy or inexpensive items can’t compete with conventional brick and mortar store pricing because of shipping costs. If that sounds like your product, you likely will want to go through the general retail market. Identify what each person between you and your end-user wants to hear, and give them what they want.

Don’t just make a statement, make a deposit!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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