Page 45 - Demo

CHAPTER 6 / MUST YOU INVENT? A POX ON CREATIVITY80 NO B.S. Guide to Succeeding in Business by Breaking All the Rules RESOURCE ALERT! You can see Parthiv%u2019s bookshelf and access free books at FreeMarketingBooks.com and watch a free video about business growth at elaunchers.com/it-takes-a-village. The Incredible Power of Doing the Ordinary WellA onetime client of mine in Dayton, Ohio, Marty Grunder, started a little business while going to college; he mowed lawns. He started out with one piece of equipment (a lawn mower), one employee (himself), and one simple marketing plan%u2014he would ask people if they wanted their lawns mowed and, if they said yes, he would do an exemplary job, then offer a continuing contract. Shortly after he graduated and went fulltime, his business did well over a million dollars in sales. His company expanded to doing everything from the simple mowing of lawns to complex landscaping projects for businesses as well as homes. In the winter, they plowed snow out of driveways and parking lots. In a very short period of time, Marty%u2019s company became the biggest and best-known landscaping company in southern Ohio.He didn%u2019t %u201ccreate%u201d anything, he studied the customer service and customer satisfaction principles and techniques used by the companies in other businesses with the most loyal customers%u2014like Nordstrom, RitzCarlton%u2014and copied those that he could. He insisted that everybody on his team be neatly attired in uniforms, that trucks and equipment be kept clean, that scheduled appointments be honored. He collected newsletters used by other businesses, then put together a similar customer newsletter of his own. Marty%u2019s business was very ordinary. He did not have any