Business Services | The Barefoot Spirit

Timelines Are the Lifelines of Customer Satisfaction

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:31:37 +0000

Outside contracted services do things for us that are beyond our skill set or are best done by a specialist. One frustration we, as customers, typically face is not knowing what is expected of us to get the most out of these services.

If you are in a service business, or even a production business, don’t just expect that your customers or clients know what is required of them. Let them know what, when and where they have to perform. Avoid time sensitive surprises and remove their anxiety with good advance information.

Mutual Expectations. Make it clear what you do and what you don’t do. Make it clear what your client or customer has to do. Even though it’s all spelled out in the contract, give them a quick reference, bullet point list of each other’s responsibilities.

Contacts and Roles. Just because you know who does each function on your side doesn’t mean they do. Send them a chart that clearly shows the chain of command and the division of specialties with names and contact info of all who will be responsible for their project.

Key Approvals. Identify the key decisions that need to be made in advance. Give them a list with a timeline of when their approval is required, and why. They may be new at this, or new to your company, which are even greater reasons to hold their hand. Your customer will feel you are easy to work with.

Timelines. Outline the process in a graphic form and give it to them at the outset. It should depict the duration and turnaround times for each step, the points at which their decision will be required, and the amount of time they have to make a decision in order to meet the deadline. Flesh it out early and update it often with real dates. Your client can then plan their vacations, trips and schedules so they will be available when needed.

Deadlines. In order to achieve the desired deadline that your customer desires, educate them about the milestones that must be achieved. When one is missed, immediately update your timeline with the new milestones and deadlines. It’s better to tell your customer the moment you know that there has been a delay. Whether caused by them or you, they will hold you responsible for any delay they are not made aware of.

Sole Responsibility. In the eyes of your customers, you are the one responsible for the outcome of the project – even when you sub out various parts of the job. Sub-contractors require your oversight, monitoring and vigilance. Understand your customers’ needs, what they want, why they want it, and what purpose they will put it to. Learn who their buyers are and how you can help increase their sales.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and imagine yourself as a first-time user of your own services. Then you will begin to understand what they need to give you the reputation you want.

Advance these courtesies up front with timely announcements, schedules, updates and reminders. Avoid anxiety that can taint the value of your product or service. Proactively answer your clients’ questions and concerns, and view the entire relationship as an opportunity for your company to gain and retain a satisfied customer.

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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7 Keys to Advice Management

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:32:20 +0000

We have always recommended seeking the advice of experts, but your approach will make it either affordable and effective, or expensive and unproductive. Most advisors work by the hour, so be careful you don’t run up the bill unnecessarily. Make sure you are paying for their expert advice and not for listening to your vague ideas. We call it “Advice Management” and it is made up of essential rules to follow if you want to get your money’s worth.

From our experience working with advisors of all types, we have developed a set of policies that helped us get the most from experts without wasting precious time – and money. Here are our seven keys to advice management:

1. Goals. Clearly state the outcome you want from your business idea or the actions you are contemplating. Write down your goal(s), what you intend to achieve, and your timelines. Be succinct. Practice communicating them. Don’t let your advisor make assumptions about your intentions.

2. Selection. Choose the right advisor for the job. Make sure you match the experience of your advisor with the skills you need. It’s a common mistake to ask a lawyer or accountant for business advice, for instance. They may not be qualified, but will try to research it at your expense. Don’t pay for your advisors’ education. Get someone who already knows.

3. Duration. Tell them the date by which you need the project complete. Before each meeting or telephone call, announce how long you want it to go. Get a bid for the job and limit their discussions with colleagues on your dime. Sometimes a monthly retainer buys you more than an hourly rate. If the retainer limits the hours covered, require notice to exceed.

4. Homework. Do your research on your own time, not in a meeting with them. Find out all you can before you have a meeting. Write an agenda for every meeting and deliver it in advance. Anticipate the questions your advisor might have and have the answers ready. You can keep phone calls brief by having your questions in writing ahead of time.

5. Roadmap. Prepare a graphic plan that identifies the options you see to achieve your goal. State your intended path. If you have an example of what you are looking for, make the required changes on it ahead of time. Put your thoughts and concerns in writing before your initial meeting.

6. Hurdles. State the obstacles you see in the way of your goal. There are a ton of websites out there offering a vast array of business advice and industry know-how. Check them out. Be clear about what you need from your advisor to overcome specific hurdles. Listen to their recommendations and consider seeking a second opinion. There may be more than one way to achieve your goal.

7. Control. Get frequent updates – don’t let your advisor get too far down the wrong road. Try to pay for outcome, finished products or milestones instead of time. Ask, “When will you be getting back to me on this?” and put it on your calendar. Don’t let them seek outside advice without your pre-approval. You could wind up unintentionally paying for multiple advisors.

Have respect for your advisors’ experience, but stay on top of them. They don’t know it all, so don’t ask them for advice outside the realm of their expertise. A little more work on your part will make all the difference in getting the right advice at the right price. After all, time is money and they’re on the clock!

Who We Are

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

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B2B or Not to Be? That is the Question!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:13:01 +0000

We often hear, “Oh, we’re B2B (business-to-business), so we don’t have to worry about customers at the general public level.” The fact is, you do.

It is an erroneous assumption that B2B is somehow insulated from the source of most income, the general public. If your client goes out of business, your B2B loses that account, and you lose an income source. Of course you need to worry!

The more your company understands and assists your clients to sustain and grow their customer base, the better your chances of keeping that revenue. Don’t be the last one to find out your client is in trouble. Be proactive and help them stay healthy so you too will benefit from their success.

Here are some ways your B2B can help your client or customer:

1. Take an interest in how they make their income, including its source. Is it another business that sells to another business that eventually sells to the public? How many layers exist before reaching the end-user? Do they sell direct to the public?

2. Take an interest in their industry, including the trends that are on the rise or decline. Are your customers experiencing rapid growth, or having difficulty maintaining their market or price points? The answers to these questions can give you a big hint about how you can possibly help them.

3. Show them how to buy your products or services to best match their current needs. When they are in a growth cycle, provide them with discounted quantity purchases. When they are struggling, provide them with longer terms. By being sensitive to their needs beyond your product or service, you help them and your company succeed.

4. Provide them with information and objective feedback. Show them that you care and act like an engaged team member. Your input will be respected since they know you have an interest in their success. You may have some insight that only an outsider could have, or you may see something in the market that they may have missed.

5. Keep your eyes peeled for talent. You may have more contacts than they do, thus, you may be aware of hiring opportunities they may not know about. Find out what they are looking for and pass the word. Strong companies and strong clients are made up of strong people. It’s their most valuable resource.

6. Call for a meeting in person, if possible. Ask about their business challenges, growth, and customers. Let them know you care about their business and are interested in helping them succeed. A face-to-face will reveal lots of information that an email or phone call can never achieve. And it helps build an invaluable personal relationship.

When you think about it, there are many ways you can help your client remain viable beyond what you are selling. You will win their loyalty and increase their purchase orders by being a real team player.

No business is truly isolated and insulated from their client’s customers. As these last few years have painfully demonstrated, we are all interdependent. The more you know about your customers, the more you can help and the more your B2B will continue to be.

Who We Are

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

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5 Ways to Increase Your Service Business

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:01:04 +0000

In this two part series we are addressing service businesses. Last time we identified a way of classifying your clients and customers. This time we will offer some ways to increase your business.

Your goal is to get more referrals. These are new customers who were sent to you by your existing customers. They will only do that for you if their first experience was beyond their expectations.

How then can you ensure that their first experience is a good one and establish a great reputation right from the start?

1. Stop before you start. They say that 5 minutes of excellence is proceeded by an hour of preparation. Don’t open your doors until all your people know how to make eye contact, provide personalized attention, and address folks by their name. Remember your clients buy you and your people as much as the services you provide. Reinforce your staff’s positive behavior with compensation that is based on return business.

2. Be “hustlative.” They say you can tell a lot about a person just by the way they move. Are your people moving with confidence, and a lively spring in their step? Or are they sluggish? Consider how they move before you hire them. Your clients’ and customers’ first impression is made long before your people even say hello. Opinions formed at the beginning tend to be reinforced by all ensuing events. So why not start off on the “good” foot with “hustlative” body language?

3. Develop a relationship. Your customer and clients need to feel important. More than the perfunctory, “How are you today,” they want to be personally acknowledged. Remember their names and something they told you last time (even if you have to write it down). Take an interest. Let them speak about themselves. If you are interested, they will be, and this will help build the relationship.

4. Don’t just give them their money back. When folks are unhappy with your service, show them you can still make them happy. Consider giving your complaining clients free services. If you just give them their money back, they will spend it elsewhere and not recommend your business. However, if you give them free services, you can make it right, and satisfy them. They will sing your praises to their friends, family, and associates.

5. Give them a Gift Certificate they can’t use. Only their friend, family or associate can use it. People love to give things away, especially when they don’t have to pay for them. This will not only bring in more business, but it requires your client or customer to recommend your business. This builds credibility in the mind of the new referred customer, and cements the relationship with your current customer. Free services can be less expensive than advertising and are much easier to track. .

So think about first impressions. All your new first time clients are shopping. That’s how they found you. Will they stay? That’s really up to you. The way you and your people treat them will form their first and strongest impressions. You can’t unring the bell. So make its first sound music to their ears.

There’s much more to be said about service business and we will address this important part of our economy again. We hope these simple and basic steps help you get more return customers.

Who We Are

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

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How to Improve your Service Business

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:59:09 +0000

Over half of all businesses are service businesses. These industries include many professions from legal and engineering to hair cutting and plumbing. All these services require excellent management, positive company culture, and most important, return clients.

Brian Tracy says, “If you want to be successful, ask yourself this question: How can I increase my service to my customer today?”

More than any other type of business, service businesses are reputation driven. After just two years, most service businesses are fully reliant on 80% return business. Are your clients sending in more clients?

Here are four ways to classify your clients and customers to help answer that critical question and provide some insight about your ability to satisfy them:

1. New: These folks are new to your business. They walk in the door, either because of your advertising or because of the general reputation of your business. In the early days of your business, they represent the majority of your clients. It is critical that each one of these new clients, “trying out” your business for the first time, leaves with glowing reviews to pass on to their friends and associates. But new, first time clients, can’t go on forever. Sooner or later you will go through all the new clients in your area. If you are in business for even 6 months and you still have 75% new clients, you are in trouble!

2. New Requests : These are New Clients who are requesting a specific person on your staff. This benefits the overall reputation of your business, and ultimately, its very security. The requested party needs to be rewarded for this personal reputation. Conversely, your associates who never get requested by new clients may be going through the “new” clients without them ever recommending your business or coming back to your establishment. Time to review their tenure.

3. Returns: (not necessarily requesting anyone in particular): These clients are good news – bad news. The good news is that they trust your business as a whole, without loyalty to any one particular associate. They are touting the merits of your business in general. The bad news is, if they have a bad experience, they are liable to say that the whole business is going down hill and hurt your reputation. Aside from a “New” client who is dissatisfied, that you never hear from again, “Returns” are the next most likely type to disappear. Try to find someone with whom they will be happy with as soon as possible.

4. Return Requests: These clients are returning to your business, requesting a specific person. They are loyal to the person who provided dependable and added-value service in the past. If that person leaves your business, those clients will follow him. Associates who have a large percentage of “Return Requests” should enjoy higher compensation and ultimately some equity in your company to reduce turnover. Your compensation plan should encourage this type of service professional. That plan will attract and keep the type of performers you need to grow your business. It is critical that you know early and often who they are.

The best time to find out what type of clients your service business is attracting is when they make an appointment or reservation. A few short questions at that point will quickly tell you into which category they fall. Constant vigilance and analysis of these four simple client types will give you the insight you need to craft compensation plans that get and keep return clients and customers.

Today there is much talk about Customer Relations Management, but it’s critical to step back and look at the big picture with these four general categories in mind, especially when you are in a service business.

Next time we will discuss some tips to attract new business, keep your performers, and increase your service to your customers.

Who We Are

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

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Achieve Your Goals by Taking Responsibility for the Other Guy’s “Mistakes”

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:24:36 +0000

Whenever you are depending on contractors, government organizations, or outside services, things can go wrong. When they do there is a great tendency to point a finger and find fault with the other guy. Here are some tips that will help your company improve and be more likely to get what you want in the future. This is not an idiot-proof plan but it is idiot resistant.

First, foster a company culture based on aim and gain instead of blame and complain. Keep in mind what you want and focus on how to get it. Don’t be distracted from your goals when the other guys make mistakes. Point a finger at yourself instead and ask how you can improve your approach to reduce the possibility of a recurrence.

Make the discovery of solutions a fun game for your people . The winner discovers and closes the loopholes that you would never have guessed someone would jump through. It starts with “You wouldn’t believe what they did this time” and goes to “Wow, here’s 5 things we discovered we can do right now to reduce or prevent it in the future.”

Don’t allow misunderstandings to get suppressed or covered up. They’re gold. Celebrate them. Tell your people to view them as precious opportunities to improve your business, reduce frustration, and achieve your goals. Be sure to publicly praise the person who improves your processes.

Second, become Miami CSI. Start with a forensic investigation. Look objectively at what happened. Ask lots of questions. How was the request made? How was it delivered? Was it written or verbal? How many layers did it have to go through in the other organization? What were the assumptions of both sides? Were there any time limits established? What were the documents involved? Email? Contracts? Procedures? Policies? Checklists? Sign off sheets? Signs? Tags? Labels? Job descriptions? Scripts? Notes, etc?

There is pretty much always a document or lack of one at the bottom of every unexpected and counterproductive behavior. Identifying those documents is job number one when it comes to tightening up your own act and reducing the possibility of a recurrence. Sometimes it takes a rewrite, sometimes a whole new document.

Aim at your own documents and gain improved performance from those other organizations you depend on. Being apparently redundant or remedial can put some folks off, but ultimately it may be just the ticket to make your requests and expectations understood. See the event as an opportunity to improve your business processes, add to your checklists, and tighten up the clauses in your contracts.

There’s a good reason why your pilot has a check list to take off and land safely. Your own checklist will get longer with every misunderstanding, false assumption or mistake. So get smart about “stupid”, clean up your own backyard, and do what you can do to make your company more “idiot resistant.”

Who We Are

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

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Making Mistakes Right

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:06:06 +0000

Everybody makes mistakes, so why not take advantage of them? If your company culture does not give permission to make mistakes, your staff will hide them.

They’ll want to ‘fix’ it fast and hope you never find out. They may be the only ones who know how to fix it, and they, or someone else, are likely to make the same mistake again. Here are some tips on how to turn mistakes into assets.

1) Give your staff permission to make mistakes – as long as they follow up in the right ways. All hidden mistakes hurt your bottom line and customer service because you don’t improve.

2) Don’t blame or complain about the other company when they make a mistake. Do all you can do on your end to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.

3) Make a big deal about discovering a glitch or a loophole, oversight or misread. Share with your staff your enthusiasm of discovery and the rewards it will bring to your company’s efficiency.

4) Have the staffer who made or discovered the mistake describe how it happened. Then discuss what is needed to prevent its reoccurrence. Once they realize you think its better to analyze than hide, they’ll view mistakes more positively.

5) Acknowledge the person who discovered the mistake. Make him a company hero for improving the business and customer service. This sends a reinforcing message of permission to the rest of your staff to do the same.

6) Identify all the documents that need to be amended to prevent mistakes in the future (contract clauses, policies, procedures, labels, job descriptions, checklists, signage, or sign off sheets). Then immediately make the required revisions.

7) Require everyone involved to sign off on the new policies, procedures and other documents. Include these as part of all future training. If the mistake involved a customer or vendor, tell them exactly how you have implemented changes to prevent a reoccurrence. They will see your company as more of a partner rather than an adversary.

Evolution and improvement are the natural rewards of learning from our mistakes. We are all in a constant state of improvement. We can anticipate and avoid many mistakes through education and experience. So, when they do occur, let’s make mistakes right. With an insightful attitude, your company’s next mistake can improve your business!

Who We Are

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

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The Easiest Way to Lose your Customer

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:37:23 +0000

If you think all you’re selling is a product, think again. In order to continue to do business with your new buyer, you must also sell a service. The demand for customer service increases significantly after the first sale is made. That’s when your customer sees if you stand behind your products, and how you treat their company. Here are some suggestions to forge that critical relationship that will pay off with return business.

1 Thank You’s: The most effective is the simple, snail-mail postcard. It thanks her long after spoken words are forgotten and emails have been deleted. It’s personal and in your own handwriting. It passes through everyone’s hands at the buyer’s office and stays out for days.

2 Check back: Give her a call. Ask if she got what she expected and how your products are working out for her. Inquire if she would like a different configuration or quantity. Be ready to exchange whatever is necessary to demonstrate that you care about her success with your products.

3 Pay a visit: See for yourself if your products are moving for your buyer. Can her customers see your products? Are they still in the back room or the warehouse weeks after they were delivered? Are they priced right? You or your representative must take responsible for her success with your product.

4 Get the reorder: Especially when your product is new, it is easily discontinued. Your buyer and her clerk are not yet in the habit of reordering it. Your distributer’s rep may forget to ask for the reorder because he cannot see it on the shelf, or worse, want to put something new in its place. You must watch all your new placements like a hawk.

5 Sell everybody: Often you have to sell your products to everyone along the distribution chain. Remember that the managers, clerks, and even the warehouse people all represent critical links in a fragile chain between you and the ultimate user. If just one person along the chain doesn’t perform, it may never get to the end consumer. Your product will be blamed, and you will hear, “It just didn’t sell.”

6 Bring in customers: Raise local awareness and demand for your product. Don’t assume that just because it’s the best buy or delivers exceptional value, it will automatically sell. You have to get the word out. Give your buyer’s customers a reason to purchase your product.

7 Take an expanded view of customer service: If you have a product that is a profit center for your buyer, you owe it to her, as a matter of good customer service, to keep her in stock. Sometimes a month or two can go by before your buyer realizes she’s out. By that time her sales reports indicate that your product is not selling. Don’t let her discontinue your product because it sold so well! Remember, the best sales person is the “assistant buyer.”

New products may come and go without anyone really noticing. Stay on top of all your first time buyers. Deliver the expanded view of customer service and you won’t lose your customer right after you make the first sale.

Who We Are

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

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The 8 Principles of Successful Outsourcing

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 10:58:29 +0000

For the most part, there is usually no shortage of products. There is, however, a big shortage of Purchase Orders. Why tie up precious dollars in bricks and mortar when you really need to spend them on marketing and merchandising? It’s possible, and in many cases preferable, to outsource as much production and services as you can. This gives you the time and funds required to control quality, give good customer service, and focus on the real challenge, sales. Here are some tips for effective outsourcing:

Look for businesses that specialize in one or more aspects of your products production. They are either already an outsource service, or they are a business like yours that invested in facilities and needs the income you offer. (Many businesses focus on production and then try to sell their products; you can do it the other way around.) Reduce your investment risk and focus on sales.
Write your own contract. He who writes, wins. Craft a contract that pays for finished, quality products, and not time or equipment. This way you do not pay for their mistakes or downtime. This eliminates the potential disaster of producing an inferior product yourself, and either trying to sell it or losing the money it cost to produce.
Hire a cop. Even though you only pay for finished quality produces, you still need a manager on-site to monitor production. Make sure your production manager thoroughly understands the job they are inspecting. Excellent prospects can be found in the industry you need to monitor.
Alter your product and packaging to be more efficient for the producer and their facilities. Clearly identify their constraints, equipment limitations, and profit centers. Your supplier generally will be happy to work with your producer. Bring them together at an early stage to help you make the process more productive for all involved.
Don’t waste a perfectly good mistake. Make mistakes right. Start a checklist. Every time your outsourced service or producer (or even your own people or suppliers) foul up, write it down. Now, see what documents you can improve, like contracts, checklists, signoff sheets, labeling, or outlines of operations. With each mistake, you’ll just get better!
Renegotiate your contract often. As you grow, you will experience volume buying and selling opportunities that may impact production, storage and shipping. Ideally, get your producer to hold inventory at no charge for a negotiated period of time to achieve efficiencies of scale in material purchasing.
Be efficient. Work with your producer’s schedule. Make full use of your production day or shift. Get the best prices by being flexible and have all your materials lined up for last-minute shipping. Just-in-time production will save you on storage costs and ultimately reduce your cost of materials.
Look for every opportunity to outsource. Every time there is an opening in your staff, ask yourself these questions: Can this job be outsourced? Can I reorganize my business so I don’t need that position? What other aspects of the total remaining job functions can be outsourced? Your most valuable staff have good oversight skills, understand quality control, and excel at sales and customer service.

Outsourcing can free up you and your limited capital to focus on Quality Control, Sales, and Customer Service. These are three of the most important elements of success. This is what your customer really buys. Instead of being stuck with less than perfect products you produced and now have to sell, consider outsourcing, and pay only for quality.

Who We Are

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

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How to Start a Business with No Knowledge of the Industry

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 02 May 2011 08:30:14 +0000

Sometimes opportunity lands in your lap, but opportunity can be time sensitive, so sometimes you’ll have to act fast, even if it’s in an unfamiliar industry. Today the web is filled with information on every industry, but the learning curve can feel like hitting a brick wall at 60 m.p.h. But there are folks who can help you overcome the education barrier. Here are some ways to get their help:

Hire the Industry Veterans: They know how things work. They want to demonstrate their value and prove they can still make a difference. Show respect for their experience, and they’ll give you the head start you need. Their industry contacts and know-how will be hugely valuable.
Ask Your Buyers: Most of your buyers will appreciate your interest in their opinions, especially when you’re in the product planning stages. They know what will sell and what price will work best. Getting them involved in the planning process will give them a reason to buy your product when it becomes available.
Ask Your Vendors: They want to sell you their products. They see you as a potential customer. Anything they can do to help you become a success helps them, and gives you a reason to buy from them. Their knowledge about how to buy and other efficiencies are invaluable.
Ask Your Distributors: Compliance issues may change the way your product is marketed in other states and countries. It’s your distributors’ business to know the rules. They can let you in on the nuances that may seem counterintuitive at times, and they can save you time and money. They can share with you the sales programming that has been effective.
Ask the People on the Ground: Retailers, clerks, truckers, warehouse workers, technicians, salespeople, and all the other hands-on people almost never get asked their opinions. They will be thrilled to give it. Since they see exactly where the rubber meets the road, they will have practical, and sometimes surprising, takes on what works and what doesn’t, and they can give you unexpected market advantages.

It’s easy to visualize your end-user customer enjoying the benefits of your product. If your idea is coming from outside its industry, all the better. Many of the best innovations come from outside their industries – but be sure to get your insight from the insiders so you won’t be flying blind.

Who We Are

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

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