I would like everyone to take a look at the ad I have included for a few moments. While it is normal for you to ignore ads most of it really take it in. It’s okay I’ll wait...
 Just like practically everyone in the state of Colorado I have driven by Wow! hundreds of times as it sits just off I-25 just a little north of Park Meadows mall and never considered going inside. Not once.
 My lovely wife Jane is the owner of Snob Interior Design and is in the car with me on those trips past the store. She also has never paid attention (until recently) to Wow!. Her friends in the business have not paid attention to the store and her clients who are in one stage or another of redesigning and refurnishing their homes have also not paid attention to Wow!.
 After talking to several of my wives friends and clients about the store the first reason they do not consider Wow! even though they have an incredible location is simply the sign on the building. Not to put too fine of a point on it but the logo screams low end children's furniture.
 Additionally, it could be said that the mascot has.. um ... let’s just say a certain Freudian aspect to it, but that’s not entirely the reason it’s being ignored. The branding or personality Wow! conveys to the public is essentially the same as a candy or an ice cream store. That does not appeal to the Cherry Creek or Broadmoor crowd but also does not appeal to those in their 40’s who can finally afford something better than American Furniture Warehouse or Ikea.
 Here is the tragedy. Underneath the penus in a tuxedo and the candy coated logo is simply the best furniture store in Colorado. I am not talking just a little better, I am talking about the best furniture by a WIDE margin.
 We initially went to Wow! because we finally got around to checking out the new Ikea. With no more thought than “What the hell” we finally walked into Wow! with our expectations low. We ended up spending more time in Wow! than we eventually did in Ikea. We simply could not believe what was inside because it was so badly advertised and branded on the outside. The outside sign told us to expect a Baskin Robbins and we found a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse inside.
 So this weekend when my wife forwarded me the ad I have included it made me shake my head at another missed opportunity
 Here is a little bit of free advice for Wow!. You have something very special and something incredibly unique. You have found the perfect niche above Ikea and American Furniture Warehouse but below the really expensive furniture (although you can compete on that level just fine). Running ads that proclaim discounts are going to hurt you. Your discount is directly under the words “Next To Ikea”. Really? Do you really think you can compete on price with that juggernaut?
 Branding is nothing other than accurately conveying your companies true personality to the public and in the case of Wow! if they did it properly it would have an incredible effect on their business. Focus your message on your strengths and uniqueness, but most of all start shouting to the mountain tops who you really are. Stop trying to be Avril Lavine when you are Angelina Jolie or Sandra Bullock.

 There is nothing worse that someone who complains without bringing a solution to the table. So here is my solution for you. Show-N-Tell will provide you with a free subscription of our Dialed In software for your website so that you can see exactly how your marketing, branding, pricing, sales and online efforts are viewed by the public. Use this tool for 60 days and we will come back and follow up to see if the people in my little world are the exception or the rule?
 What do you say?

1. Contact current and past clients 
You've certainly come to know that it costs about 7 times more to gain a new client than to keep a client, right? If not, now you know. Use this important statistic to your advantage and reach out to your current and past clients. Pick up the phone, send a personal email, or go visit them in person to offer your product or service. These people already know you, most like you, and many will buy from you again.

Make it about more than you though. None of us want to be sold and none of us want to feel like we're a used car salesman. To create a feel-good atmosphere, focus on asking questions about them: "How are you? What's your biggest challenge right now? Would you be open to hearing how I can help with that issue?"

Take action tip: Set a goal for yourself to connect with a certain number of past or current clients each day to ramp up your sales. Stretch yourself on this one; your bottom line will thank you. 

 2. Get better at selling or get your sales team better at selling 
Why throw the baby out with the bathwater when you're not seeing the sales you want? Why not work to improve your sales skills instead of going back to the drawing board to create a new product or service. The most successful salespeople are constantly improving their skills because they know that the better they become, the more authentic, relaxed, spot-on, and solution-oriented they'll be. All super things.

Take action tip: Work with a sales coach, read a book, pull out past manuals or training materials and build your skills. The better you become and the better your sales team becomes, the more sales you'll make today. 

3. Make your memberships count 
Are you a member of a Chamber of Commerce, leads group, or association group? Are you getting much out of your membership? If not, here are two things you can do to not only get more out of your membership but also make more sales.

First, get very clear on why you are a member. It may be for exposure, education, sales, or to simply meet new people. Regardless, you must know your purpose for being there.

Second, pay attention to who you connect with at meetings. Who do you share a sense of humor with or who do you seem to have shared interests with? Call them up and meet with them. Develop a relationship with them and, before you know it, these relationships will open doors to making more sales today.

Take action tip: Figure out today what your purpose is for each group you're a member of and then create a list of three people within each group you want to meet with by the end of the month. Reaching out is the first step to building a relationship.

Today we are very excited to roll out our new product line. Combining the best aspects of consulting, creative and software agencies Show-N-Tell now offers a powerful single source solution for small businesses. 

Over the next few weeks we will be spending more time going into detail regarding these products, but today I wanted to show off something we believe to be incredibly innovative.

This idea started from feedback from our customers and a big problem they all seemed to be facing. With limited capital and limited resources it is almost impossible to know how well you are doing. and not knowing will cost you a fortune in time, energy and effort. There are tools available from Google and HubSpot that show you the results of your website efforts, but we all know that running a business is so much more than your website. You have to factor in marketing, branding, pricing strategy, sales and then your online efforts.

 If there was only a way to know how you were doing in all of these areas in such a way that would allow to attack your greatest weakness first. Saving all the guesswork for your competition.

 That is where Dialed In comes in. Here, take a look at the dashboard...


 The idea is simple but powerful. Dialed In provides a way for businesses to know exactly how they are doing with their marketing, branding, strategy, sales and online efforts in a single easy to read interface. Using this powerful tool you will know exactly what your customers are thinking and saying about your business.

 Dialed In also gives you a second row of feedback in each category so you not only know what high level category is falling short, you know exactly what elements within each category are causing the problem.

 I’ll be back to talk more about this incredible tool, but for now go to our website and sign up for you free 30 Day Trial of Dialed In and get your business dialed in!