Book Summary:
Jump Start Your Business Brain:
Win More, Lose Less, and Make More Money
By Steven Presar
This article is based on the following book:
Jump Start Your Business
Brain: Win More, Lose Less, and Make More Money
by Doug Hall, F & W Publications, ISBN: 1558706070, 2001, $24.99, 336
pages.
Here's a great how-to book that offers small businesses a
road map, as the title states, to "win more, lose less, and make more money".
The author, Doug Hall, is the founder of the Eureka! Ranch,
a Cincinnati, Ohio based research and training firm. The Eureka! Ranch works with some of
America's top corporations and helps them create breakthrough ideas for new products and
services.
Through his consulting at the Eureka! Ranch, Hall has
developed some business concepts based on actual data and research instead of his opinion
alone.
While that may sound like a boring read, his passion for
turning dreams of success into reality is evident through-out the book. His friendly,
down-to-earth style makes it an easy and interesting read.
Hall makes a simple argument, that when it comes to
introducing new products, services, or business ideas, most business people play a game
with low odds of success.
The goal of his book is to improve those odds with his six
laws of marketing and creativity. The first three laws are what he calls the "Laws of
Marketing Physics" and the remaining three are the "Laws of Capitalist
Creativity".
The Laws of Marketing Physics:
Law #1: Provide an Overt Benefit
Your odds of success nearly triple, according to Hall, when
you are blunt and unquestionably clear about what benefit or benefits that your
prospective customer will receive from your product or service.
Your prospects are overwhelmed with marketing messages. To
break through the clutter you have to be brash, bold, and overt regarding your customer
benefits. These benefits are the "juice" that will make the prospective customer
want to do business with you.
If you have any doubts about this law, keep in mind
everyone's favorite radio station -- WII - FM (What's In It - For Me).
Law #2: Give your Customers a Reason to Believe
There is a relation between what your prospective customer
believes and their willingness to buy. You can double, according to Hall, your odds of
success at closing the sale when you give prospects a real reason to believe in your
benefits and then deliver on your benefits as promised.
Law #3: Offer a Dramatic Difference
It is your "Dramatic Difference" that gets you
noticed. You must offer a meaningful difference versus the status quo of your competitors.
Think about what is hard to do -- that you or your business does particularly well.
To be effective, all of your dramatic differences must be a
direct and logical result of your combination of your Overt Benefit (Law #1) and Reason to
Believe (Law #2).
The Laws of Capitalist Creativity:
Law #4: Explore Stimulus
By adding external stimulus from other business
applications into your brainstorming process, you are enabling your brain to work like a
business computer. Instead of using your brain as a source of ideas, use your brain to
link, associate, connect, and piece together the stimulus into ideas that are at once
relevant and unexpected. The process of exploring stimulus sets off a chain reaction in
your brain that brings new thoughts and ideas to life.
Law #5: Leverage Diversity
Stimulus is the catalyst that sparks the reaction that
creates ideas. Diversity is the fuel that turns the spark into a sequence of continuous
idea creation.
The greater the diversity of opinions and perspectives you
gather, the more effective you will be in creating ideas that may grow your business.
Law #6: Face Your Fear
It is absolutely essential for you to face your fear. The
depth of Stimulus (Law #4) and the breadth of Diversity (Law #5) fuel your ability to
imagine great ideas. These ideas only come alive in proportion to the extent that you are
able to face your fears. Fear destroys your ability to create and craft new ideas.
Copyright 2002
Steven Presar is a recognized small
business technology coach, Internet publisher, author, speaker, and trainer. He provides
personal, home, and computer security solutions at www.ProtectionConnect.com. He provides
business software reviews at www.OnlineSoftwareGuide.com.
In addition, he publishes articles for starting and running a small business at www.ABCResults.com. |