7 Ways to Do More With Less

“Too much money, not too little, is a bigger problem for most small businesses,” says Paul Hawken. “In a business, money does not create anything at all, much less ideas and initiative. Money goes where those qualities already are. Money follows, it does not lead.”

Here are a few ways to pump up the initiative.

° Create attention-getting devices. Your business name, tagline, or vehicle call all get you noticed for the right reasons. If you need inspiration, study how the Geek Squad did it.

° Adopt a protégé. Since we learn best by teaching, what better way to sharpen your skills than by helping someone else? The satisfaction of encouraging and supporting someone else’s success is immeasurable. Ask any teacher who’s had a student go on to do great things.

° Become a media darling. Radio, tv and Internet programs are always on the hunt for interesting people to interview. So are local newspapers. Be one. Don’t just think of this as a way to promote yourself, however. Offer useful information to the audience. You never know who’s listening.

° Join forces with a bookstore. A friend and I once spent an evening at a local bookstore listening to two women who were feng shui consultants. Although they were not authors themselves, the store had publicized their talk. A nearby table display was piled with the store’s inventory of books on the subject.

Another variation of this came from a career coach who did a reading list of books for career changes printed on her letterhead. The list was placed on a display table at the bookstore along with the recommended titles.

° Add a personal touch. In this noisy, often indifferent world, looking for memorable ways to distinguish yourself can make a huge difference. Use your photo on brochures and your Website, have a trademark color, do something that nobody else is doing…like sending handwritten thank you notes.

° Show up on stage. Give talks to local groups, volunteer to be part of a panel discussion at a conference. You may not get paid for these gigs, but you’ll be creating connections.

° Participate in community events. A dogsitting business expanded their visibility and customer base by marching in a local parade wearing t-shirts emblazoned with their business name.

You might donate a prize to a local fundraiser, volunteer for a community project, talk to a local high school on career day. Opportunities exist whether you live in a small town or large urban area. Look for them.

 

Getting Noticed

When I opened my Gmailbox the other evening, there were a dozen or so messages waiting for me. One of them had a subject line that read, “Your Brilliant Book.”

Which one do you think I opened first?

What this writer employed was something I learned about in the public speaking class that I took my first year of college. One of the first lessons Dr. Meisel taught us was to open a talk with an attention-getting device.

For a speaker, that could mean starting off with a story, a joke or a startling statistic. None of this, “Thank you for inviting me here today,” stuff would do in Dr. Meisel’s class.

For a writer, the title is the first attention-getting device.

There was a fine example of that in a post from Copyblogger the other day. It said, “Do you think that Freakonomics would have been a New York Times Bestseller with the title Aberrational Behavior and the Causal Effect of Incentives?”

Children, of course, are masters at using negative means to get attention. It sometimes appears that they don’t outgrow it when they become adults. They may not throw public temper tantrums anymore, but have no qualms about shouting from our tv screens about the wonders of Oxiclean.

Fortunately, you don’t have to scream or wear clothing adorned with meat in order to get attention for your business. Here are some simple ways to add attention-getting devices to your marketing efforts.

Color. Different hues subtly or dramatically suggest the nature of your business. Some companies even make a big deal out of their signature color. (What can Brown do for you?)

Your Website, packaging and even your business vehicle are all canvases for your signature color.

Name. Business names absolutely fascinate me. A good one gets noticed, suggests a bit about the function of the business, but isn’t obviously cute or clever.

Sometimes your own name is the best title for your business, but if that’s not appropriate, coming up with a perfect name is worth the effort.

If you’re stumped, throw an Idea Party and gather a few creative friends for a brainstorming session.

I’m still pondering the name I saw on a business in Britain—Jolly’s Funeral Services. I can only assume that Jolly is a family name.

Tagline. Slogans and taglines are also unique ways to grab attention. One of my favorites came from the Saigon Cafe in Minneapolis. The owner proudly declared, “I did not come 5,000 miles to cook mediocre food for you.”

In the early days of the Geek Squad, I delighted in watching this spunky little startup employ attention-getting devices in every corner of their business. They used taglines brilliantly, including the tongue-in-cheek proclamation, “Making the world safe for technology.”

When I would see one of the Geekmobiles driving down the freeway in Minneapolis, I automatically would think, “There goes the Geek Squad making the world safe for technology.”

In fact, before they were absorbed by Best Buy, the Geek Squad was masterful in their use of  attention-getting devices. Tiny details that all delivered a consistent message added up to outstanding success for them.

Those same unique touches will work for your business, too. Notice what you notice, what grabs your attention.

Best of all, you can continue to create new attention-getters as your business grows.

Any attention-getters you’re already using? I’d love to hear about them. Post a comment and share.