Improving your fortune factor
Progress at the White Hen Pantry had
stopped dead leaving a line of anxious patrons snaked around
the soda display along the newspaper rack and all the way to
the coffee bar.
The cause? A fortune hunter at the
register was feverishly scratching lottery tickets in hopes of
uncovering a winner.
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The thought of improving one’s
fortune is not a bad idea, but there certainly are better ways
to accomplish this goal than by playing the lottery.
You’ll be a lot luckier if you seek
fortune in areas more likely to pay off, such as seizing
opportunities, having an edge in your business dealings or by
developing a reputation for consistently excellent service.
In fact, making good fortune strike
repeatedly will have other cleaners thinking you’re the
luckiest guy in the world.
This month’s article is more about
developing and applying winning mental attitudes than about
implementing a particular marketing technique.
The first way to enhance your fortune is
to build risk muscle. Did you know that in most people, the
fear of loss is a much stronger motivator than the desire for
gain?
Try this. If you want to get a bigger
response for a service you offer, tell your prospects what
they’ll lose by not taking advantage of your deal. This
very same fear, however, can also work against you in that the
risk of failure may keep you from experiencing success in a new
venture or branch of the business.
The risk muscle, like any muscle, needs
to be exercised in order to get strong. Start by taking small
chances. You’ll soon work your way up to bold adventures
with big payoffs.
Fortune favors the bold, so if
you’re feeling up to it, make the most outrageous offer
you can think of to your prospects, one that only a fool would
refuse.
In one daring stroke you can have a
blast, steal business from your competitor, create momentum,
initiate fantastic word-of-mouth advertising and uncork a
virtual geyser of new business.
The second way to enhance your fortune is
to be persistent. Make persistence part of your job description
as well as those who work for you.
I just got off the phone with a
drycleaner from California. In addition to a successful retail
operation, this cleaner also has five pick up and delivery
routes; one in particular is outstanding. It happens to belong
to a Korean route driver and salesman affectionately known
throughout the company as “The King.”
According to Grant, the owner, this
driver is successful because of his sincere persistence. He
fails to acknowledge the word “no” when he calls on
new prospects, especially if he thinks they have drycleaning.
It’s not unusual for him to call on a prospect 9 or 10
times before they decide to give him their work. Very likely,
the customer reasons that anyone who works so hard to get the
account will likely work just as hard or even harder to
maintain and keep it.
As a test, early in his employment,
“The King” was given a gated community of 300
high-income homes, which were being serviced by two other route
cleaners at the time. Through persistence, he converted 135 of
them to loyal customers.
It was President Calvin Coolidge who once
said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of
persistence.” Not talent, not genius and not even
education.
A third and most important factor for
improving your fortune is first to have a clear goal and then
be able to visualize yourself achieving it.
Far too many drycleaners have no goal for
being in the business they are in. They have no business plan,
no marketing goal and no short-term sales targets to achieve.
It’s little wonder they fail to hit the mark because, as
the Zen master said to his archery student, “If you
aspire to hit a target, you must first see it.” So, too,
if you wish to reach a goal, you must first have one.
In every major activity, it’s
important to devote a few moments to clarify and clearly
picture your objective. When you are crystal clear about what
you want and then envision success vividly and repeatedly, all
of the universe conspires to help you.
This is because your mind is like a
powerful radio transmitter, and when you mentally broadcast
with clarity, regularity and vivid imagery exactly what you
want to experience, the whole universe is listening. Forces
seen and unseen respond to help you achieve your desired
outcome.
At one time or another, you’ve
probably heard how important it is to have a positive mental
attitude. That’s part of what’s going on here.
Psychologists say the reverse is also
true. When you broadcast negative images such as worry and
fear, you will attract these to yourself as well. Therefore, it
is important that every day, before any major undertaking,
remember to imagine with clarity exactly what you’d like
to experience. You’ll be amazed how your fortune will be
improved.
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