10 GREAT IDEAS FOR YOU AND/OR YOUR BUSINESS

Since April this year, I've passed on some tips and ideas that would help some of you with your businesses.

Most of these tips are things I've done or learned along the way.

I started a 'service' business where I performed a service and sold a product. I bought an engraving machine and started a trophies and engraving business in my garage, built it up

to a full time business with 3 employees and then sold it off 9 years later for a profit.

Everything went with the business so when I wanted to start my present business, Winning Fairways Inc. Promotional Products, I had to litterally start over. New suppliers, New Clients, New Products and a new way of selling.

I've looked back over my blogs and listed out the following,

10 Great Topics to help you with your business.

-The Ideal Customers

-The Theory of Recognition

-Timing, Timing, Timing

-The Next Great Idea

-Inspired

-Need to Succeed

-Networking

-Ideaspotting

-How to differentiate yourself

-It Takes a Community to Build a Business

I keep thinking that there has to be more to it

but I think if you keep doing the right things,

your business will grow.

Focus on your business. Don't get strung out with

more new ideas than you can handle with ease.

Have fun, network, get other people to help you

while you are helping them. Build your community.

call me anytime for promotional products or just to ask direction.

rod@winningfairways.com

rod.winning@gmail.com rod-fairways@hotmail.com

NETWORKWORKING USED TO BE FACE TO FACE - Email and the Internet have changed that..

Network marketing was generally face to face.

This is changing with the times.

Network marketing has taken on a whole new look. You may not even know your network contacts personally, only by phone, fax, email, etc.

Internet & Email puts you right in your customers home or office. Now of course you can put your picture on your correspondence and even describe yourself if you like. You can put your full profile and let out all or some ofyour 'secrets' right on your website 'blog' or 'ezine'.

The good part of this is that you become a real person to whoever reads it. They can already relate to you in one way or another. Good or bad.

People doing business with people. Let's get back to the topic.

I spent a long time in the Steel Service Centre industry and did big business with steel mills all over the world. I recall meeting and dealing with managers but often my own buyers would not meet the suppliers office salespeople they were dealing with on a day to day business. The only thing they had in common was the product and the fact that they both new their manager managers had met and made an arrangement.

Often times a company will have a relationship or contract with another company for supply of goods & services. This would appear to be company doing business with a company, but it is really people doing business with people. If the people can't make it work, the contract ends.

A great portion of your business can be done with your Long Distance Contact. Someone who trusts you do live up to what you've said. Business will often follow the contact person when they leave the company and go to a competitor or start their own business.

Live up to their expectations. Give them more than they asked for, more than you promised, more than they expected.

Networking! It's all about people helping people.

I'm Rod Winning Winning Fairways Inc. Promotional Products

rod.winning@gmail.com rod-fairways@hotmail.com

RECOGNITION and the PROMOTIONAL PRODUCT

THE THEORY OF RECOGNITION -

Promotional Products help!!

Recognize and be recognized.

Wear a name badge wherever you go. Let other people know who you are

and what you do. Make it easy for them to remember you and your business.

Make it easy for them to approach and talk to you.

A little recognition goes a long way.

Whenever you give someone the 'pat on the back' attention, you will be remembered for giving the recognition. The event will pass and be forgotten but the gesture will remain.

When you help someone, you help yourself.

The importance of recognition.

Pay attention to the recognition process and it will take care of you.
Recognition causes friendly ripples in the pond of life. I think here, we are saying the same thing differently but the importance is there. It works for all concerned.

Recognition of an employee or a friend flows in every direction,
as does the imprinted promotional item.
It flows:
-Forward through the recipient to whoever they meet and talk to,
-Sideways to all the peers and fellows,
-Backwards to you,
-Friendly ripples.

Call Rod Winning for Promotional Products to assist in the success of your event.

info@winningfairways.com rod.winning@gmail.com rod-fairways@hotmail.com

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF? 1 customer at a time!

19,200,000 that's the number when I google 'promotional products' even if I narrow it down to Vancouver BC 945,000.

How do I differentiate myself? How do I build a data base of customers? A clientel list?

Well the best way is to start with 1 customer and do a good job. If that works, we do the same for the next customer. Hopefully my customers will actually mention my name to other prospects and they could become customers.

The ball is rolling now so don't get in the way. Be a part of the prospects solution and they will become customers too.

Look after them all. We used to have a little poem

Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall,

Big or Small, we look after them all.

Well it's not shakespeare but you get the idea.

Look after the small orders and the big ones will surely follow. Then when you get big, remember who got you there. Still look after those pesky small orders. That's where you really help the client.

-Take care of the clients needs.

-Make it easy for the client to deal with you.

-Be up front and tell the client what you're doing.

-People dealing with People.

So when does it change from customer to client? Good question.

I think the customer evolved from being a prospect and then they finally bought something and became the customer.

Then a funny thing happens. You get to know the people you're dealing with and they get to know you and comes an intra-trust between you and your customer which I believe brings about the feeling and change from customer to client.

In the same way I think the client will no longer think of you a supplier but as 'our promotional products company'.

PROSPECT - CUSTOMER - CLIENT = Clientel List

Always keep the pipeline full of propects so the customers can find you and the clients evolve.

Easy? No but it will happen with some steady effort on your part.

I'm Rod Winning

At http://www.winningfairways.com/ we try to do all the above. It's working. Please check us out and put us on your list to be your "promotional products company".

rod-fairways@hotmail.com

WHY WOULD PEOPLE BUY FROM YOUR COMPANY? There's lots of companies competing for the business.

My Company provides quality imprintable promotional products, from qualified manufacturers and suppliers with excellent delivery records.

My Company is ready to serve customers with quick, quality work. With personal visit and catalogs we continue to be competitive.

Why should you consider My Company?
There are many promotional products companies all competing vigorously, many offering the same products with excellent prices and service.

What does My Company offer that the others don’t?
The short answer is nothing.

There are many similar companies that are just as good as My Company, by any objective measure.

But bear in mind the following. You didn’t search the world over to find your best friends. Your best friendships are fundamentally happy accidents.. chance combinations of compatibility, shared experience and time.

Likewise, it is meaningless to try & search out the “very best” possible promotional products supplier. A more appropriate approach is to verify that the company meets your technical & financial requirements, and then use your intuition about who you will be comfortable with.

Many business relationships are long distance affairs, by phone, fax and email, sometimes doing business for years without the people actually meeting face to face yet forming strong relationships.

At My Company a primary goal is to do business with people we like and respect.
Our plan—‘give the customer more than they expect’.

How does Your Company stack up?

My Company is Winning FairWays Inc. We sell Promotional Products for Success.

Yours in Networking

Rod Winning
President
www.winningfairways.com rod-fairways@hotmail.com rod.winning@gmail.com

Idea Spotting - Tightly linked to Networking

While looking at new products & suppliers, and gathering speed for our Promotional Products business, I came across a neat book at Chapters.

I've been reading this book called - 'Ideaspotting' How to find your next great idea, by Sam Harrison.

It's one of those little books you can read and keep handy as a manual. 18 chapters with several sub chapters each, filled with life experience, how to, suggestions, self tests, pictures and diagrams, this book will be on my desk for a long time.

Sam's opening page is 'Be an Idea Spotter not a Trainspotter'.
'You can drift toward becoming the trainspotting type by sitting where you are, doing what you're doing and getting what your getting.
Or you can start becoming an IdeaSpotter by climbing aboard. Because this train is leaving the station.'

The first chapter (like all chapters) has a unique title.
NOBODY SPOTS HOT IDEAS IN COLD OFFICES. SO WHY SIT THERE?

Where, Why, When, What & How.

Even some encouraging words in the title of the last chapter. YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.

I'll keep this book handy for ideas on how to get new ideas. The promotional products business is everchanging. Our customers are forcing us to change as most customers want something different than the last order. What's new?

Any way I look at it, we'll always be looking for that new idea so I guess we'd better be looking around at all times. If we get complacent and comfortable with our current successes, we could find ourself slowly drifting out of the loop.

Surround yourself with the right network of people you require for the particular service or product you have.

It is important to know that you can have several networks going at the same time. Not everybody is interested in everything you do just like you are not necessarily interested in everything all your network people do.

ie You may have a musical interest & business and have created a network which works very well for give and get.

You may also be involved with a multi-level sales organization and find that your products / services aren't suited for everyone in your 'musical' network. Simply start another network of people for that interest. Your data base for each network could include some of the same people but each network would be a different list.

I wanted make an opinion about 'Ideaspottin' being linked tightly to Networking. Don't sit by the railway tracks and watch the trains go by. Get on that train. Look around, meet people and see what's out there.

At Promotional Products 101 we'll keep on 'IdeaSpotting' thanks to Sam Harrison.

I'm Rod Winning contact me at http://www.winningfairways.com/ rod-fairways@hotmail.com

You Are The Networker - how to get it done

Ready Target - Ready Aim Network
Not having any success networking?Are you actually networking or are you just going to a lot of meetings?

I sell promotional products. Virtually anything imprinted to be given to a target audience.

My customers could be literally anyone from the elementary school volleyball team to a multi-national corportation, and anywhere in between.

My target is wide to the extreme.

To effectively network, YOU ARE THE NETWORKER.

You talk to people about your business and learn about thier business. They will hopefully refer their network of acquaintences to you while you can refer your network of friends to them.

Sounds pretty easy but of course it's not. You'll collect and hand out a lot of cards.
Contact by follow ups via email or phone, and sometimes refer one contact to another contact.

It takes time but it's worth it to build that data base.

Try targeting the areas of business you'd like to attract. I don't mean that you don't talk to people who aren't on your target list, but just try to make sure you're at the right meetings, luncheons, associations, clubs, charities, etc.

Be seen and heard where ever you go.

Have your elevator speech memorized.

The 6 degrees of separation is a revolutionary concept putting each of us a max of only 6 people away from any one with whom we'd like to talk.

Plan and Network towards your Target.

Promotional Products can be used in networking. There are lots of inexpensive items like pens and scratch pads emblazoned with your name and products which say to the prospect

'Remember me when I've gone.'

While you're networking, remember me. I'm Rod Winning www.WinningFairWays.com
rod-fairways@hotmail.com

NEED TO SUCCEED? NEED TO GET NOTICED?

Do I Need to Succeed? - Get Noticed?
What do I have to do to get noticed?
Do I need a promotional product?

Tired of keeping on keeping on. Let's make some changes in the way we do things.
Let's get noticed. But just how am I going to do it?

What works best for me and my product or service?

Well, some people are comfortable to put the ad in the yellow pages, some local newspapers and set up a website, then wait for the phone to ring.

That's okay if it's working well for you but you may want to add the Networking effect where you volunteer in strategic places and network with the people there.

Strategically sponsor teams and put your business card ad in special programs.

Networking doesn't happen to you.
You have to network. Plan or just let it happen but make sure you are the networker.

When you go to a luncheon, you move around, introduce yourself, trade cards and move on.

You will soon figure out who you need to talk to in the room.

Always remember that networking is not direct selling.

You want the other person to know what you do but you must also find out what they do. The whole idea in networking is to help others while they help you.

I just about forgot... Promotional Products are always a great value for your dollar. Any item you choose (and budget) goes directly to the target.
What or Who is your TARGET?
Who is your IDEAL CUSTOMER?
I'll cover that again in another blog.

There is probably more questions here than answers but if you're like me, you probably already have the answers, you just have to remember to ask yourself the questions.

Ever go to a motivational speaker event and find that everything the famous speaker
said, you already knew. Common sense is everywhere. Ask yourself the questions, you'll surprise yourself when you find out how much you know.

If you have any questions or would like to contact me, email rod-fairways@hotmail.com
That's Rod Winning

Who or what inspires you.

Inspired

From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin Sharma

When I first read Robin Sharma book, I more like studied it
rather than read it. There is a nice little story in there but
there is much more wisdom than you can pick up just reading
it like a novel. No other book of mine has so much markings in it.
Not to mention the lists of info I wrote separately.

This quotation from the book became my mantra.
I have an engraved plate which I keep close, just in
case I need a little more inspiration.

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some
Extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their
Bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your
Conciousness expands in every direction and you find
Yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant
Forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover
Yourself to be a greater person than you ever
Dreamed yourself to be."

Patanjali – A Great Indian Philosopher

Wow, wasn't that worth it?

Rod Winning Winning Fairways Inc. promotional products for success

info@winningfairways.com rod.winning@gmail rod-fairways@hotmail.com

The Next Great Idea - Cheap, Different or useful (choose 2 ?)

My customers are always looking for that next great idea.
They generally want something they haven't bought or used
before so they can give thier customers or prospects something
different.

Some people want something useful as well.

The other thing they need is a cheap price.

Let me see, Different, Useful, Cheap.

It's hard to get it all. When I had the Trophy & Engraving business
we offered a choice of 2 of the following.

-High Quality
-Dependable Delivery
-Cheap Price

It's hard to pick the 2 that you want.

Let's see
-Different
-Useful
-Cheap

Same thing, hard to pick the right 2 items isn't it.

While I'm telling you this, I better let you know now that there
are products that fall into this category but once the customer has
bought them, they are no longer different.

Let's go with being not different.. Maybe we show some continuity
with the customer / prospect / staff / etc. Maybe we could use
the same item but change the logo / text / colour / etc.
Maybe the result would be an appreciation for the continuity of
item from that supplier. Get known for that item. Start a collection.
Have a contest for the complete collection. Whatever comes to mind.

How many ways can you get your prospect to look at the cheap, different
and useful item you gave them?

Call me for ideas Rod Winning rod.winning@gmail.com
or info@winningfairways.com

Help others to be ecologically friendly. cloth shopping bags

Cloth, Imprintable reusable eco friendly shopping bags
Eco friendly shopping bags - plastic bags banned. Tofino BC is looking at a plastic bag tax as a way to reduce plastic in the landfill. Leaf Rapids, Manitoba banning plastic bags.Rossland BC banning plastic shopping bags Ireland has a plastic bag levy since 2002 and reduced use by 90%. It will take a desire from businesses to offer alternatives and a desire from customers to consider how they can make a difference.

Shop owners want thier customers to walk out of thier store with the store logo/name advertised throughout the mall.

Ladner village (Delta BC) is looking at more ways to become eco friendly.

The promotional products industry for years has been selling custom imprinted tote bags which will be reusable and which will carry the logo / message of the supplier.These have always been a good promotion tool.

Imagine your name, logo and message being carried to the shopping mall, packed with goods, taken home, unpacked and put back in the car for the next trip. These could last literally forever. People will also develop their favourite bag. Just like ladies have their favourite purse.

How do you want to be seen? Like you're doing something to help? or like you don't care?

Call for pictures of bags and pricing for imprinting of logo and message.www.winningfairways.com shows some promotional products pictures.With Gratitude. Rod Winning info@winningfairways.com

Timing, Timing, Timing (not location, location, location)

10 steps to achieving max performance –through recognition, a key to promotional products 101

1. Timing, Timing, Timing. (Not Location, Location, Location)

2. Quality (not cheap, does the trick)

3. Appropriateness (choose the award to match the event)

4. First Impression, Last Impression

5. Corporate Image

6. Achievability of contests or programs

7. Image building. Communicate/advertise the program, the winners

8. Reciprocation creates obligation payoff – repayment

9. Consistency exudes reliability

10. Focus on your
- Business
- Product
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Employees.

Focus on each one, one at a time.

Remember these items as Promotional Products 101 hopefully takes us through all the reasons and results of well executed presentations.

Call Rod Winning rod.winning@gmail.com

INUKSHUKS - a symbol of dependence on strong relationships.

INUKSHUKS have become a great promotional product gift which carries many very good and intentional meanings.

Although the original sign posts are found in North West Territories and the Arctic, they have become popular all over Canada and have been adopted by
the West Coast with a giant Inukshuk in Vancouver overlooking English Bay. Even the 2010 Olympic's has chosen it as their symbol.

The most popular Inukshuks are made from frosted glass blocks and built into shape from 2" high to 11" high. They have become popular as Awards of excellence, Corportate team building, Sports achievement or just gifts from visitors.


The Inukshuks we sell are made in Vancouver BC Canada.

We always include a card which tells the story of the Inukshuk. The stories vary but have the same relative meaning.

INUKSHUK
Stone figures built to resemble humans, Inukshuks originally found along Canada’s northern shores are now popular in B.C. and throughout Canada. Built as landmarks to aid in navigation, the Inukshuk has been adopted as a symbol to remind us of our dependence on each other and the value of strong relationships.

We value the Inukshuk an important promotional product.

Call for info and pictures Rod Winning info@winningfairways.com