Wizard Wisdom

Always great stuff complied by Craig Arthur:

Dear Scott, "Business owners who avoid selling end up with skinny children." - Wizard Partner Chuck McKay In this issue: The Most Powerful Word in Sales... ASK Patience With Branding Brings Rewards PS I promised this week to give you my views on media "Branding Campaigns". However due to an extremely busy week on the consulting front that story is not yet finished. You'll have my views posted early next week on the Chronicle. A Wizard Academy Workshop: Learn how to engage your customers online, build credibility and trust, raise search engine rankings, attend the Blog and Website Workshop Nov 11-12: Presented by Wizard Partner Dave Young! Venue: Wizard Academy, Austin Texas. Rooms are free in Engelbrecht House! The Most Powerful Word in Sales... ASK They always say a goalie’s best friends are his goal posts. Well sales folks have a best friend too, and it’s the word ASK! ASK for the business. ASK the customer to move forward. ASK the customer to buy from you. Just ASK. What’s the worst thing that can happen when you ASK? Maybe, the customer will say no. In sales, never be afraid to ASK. It’s central to your success. - Dan Hollis, Wizard Partner & Author of The Magic of Selling Patience With Branding Brings Rewards By Wizard Associate, Sonya Winterbotham It’s a year off 40. Yep it’s been 39 years since we first heard a tune that’s drifted into our ears, under our skins and onto our ring tones… that damn Victoria Bitter Jingle. Some people call it annoying; some people call it an Aussie anthem… I call it a pretty solid branding effort. Click here to watch a VB ad from 1974. But how many others stick it out that long? Even half as long? Even a 10th as long? How seriously do you take branding? Brand language doesn’t become iconic overnight, it takes much longer… still the number of businesses who want to constantly change style, change language, change slogan, change everything black to white blows my mind. These are businesses spending hundreds of thousands on getting a message out there, only to pull over, drop off the message, do a sharp U turn and start again with a new one at the same pace as the last one. And this sudden U turn can quite often come from a shift in upper management. So beware of the ego. Here is a VB ad from a couple of years back The world’s strongest brands do not live through a state of constant change, they progress, they evolve yes, but they maintain the foundations of solid branding. It could be as simple as three words – “happy little vegemite”. (The link will open a new window where you can hear the original jingle) NOTE: The billionth jar of Vegemite was produced in October 2008 The now ubiquitous “Happy little vegemite” first hit our ears in 1954 and we haven’t seen the back of it yet… You can bet every manager through vegemite head office has said at some point “I’m so sick of hearing it” but would you ditch it because you’ve heard it over and over and over again? All the more reason to hold onto it. I’m not saying don’t change a thing, I’m saying don’t change everything. Rather than let boredom get the better of you… think about how you can evolve and involve language so that it becomes intrinsic to your brand. VB’s daggy jingle from the 60’s has been revamped over the years – its fame has been talked about in VB ads, it’s been hummed and it’s played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Meanwhile Vegemite has turned those three unforgettable words into the name of a children’s award program. So… Do you really think you should wipe the branding board clean and start again from scratch? Or do you have patience to stick it out until you too take ownership of something truly iconic. Some things… are worth the wait. Previous stories, just in case you missed them: Curse of the Cold Feet… Booking Long-Term Media A Crisis! Time for the Brave to Prosper The Brain... a Lazy Piece of Meat? A New Partner... A New Book Now is No Time to be Timid A Closing Thought "Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage." - Ralph Waldo Emerson See you next week. Craig Arthur Wizard of Ads PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business? Australia Call (07) 4728 4866 or email craigarthur@wizardofads.com North America Call 308-254-2732 or email daveyoung@wizardofads.com Call 440-610-9746 or email tomwanek@wizardofads.com We will never try and sell you. You may punch us in the arm really, really hard if we do. Call or email to book a FREE alignment meeting. No obligation. No pressure. It is at this meeting we both decide if there is a fit between our 2 companies. It is only then can we explore your options. We will never try to sell you. Call (07) 4728 4866.

Wizard Partners Australia. Call Us: (07) 4728 4866

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