Email Auto Responders

I love email auto responders.

When I am travelling they give me a chance to let clients and prospects know what I am doing and I can set them up so they are almost self service.  A few links here and there and clients can get what they need.

They are great marketing showing your contacts the development and work that you are doing for others or the growth you are experiencing yourself.

I got an auto responder message from a client today and I loved it. It is so cool I just had to share it.

"Thank you for your enquiry. We are currently travelling in the Arctic Circle in pursuit of the Northern Lights. We will be on email though so should be able to respond shortly to your enquiry."

How fantastic is that!!

Better make sure my autoresponder message is that cool for next week - shoot me an email next week and test it!

What is Your Backup Plan?

When everything is going fine, we don't spend time thinking about what could go wrong. But it is when everything is going fine that you MUST consider what happens if things go wrong?

Yesterday Wifey and I were out for lunch with friends celebrating Wifey's birthday this week. It was lovely place in the Yarra Valley wine region. A hot (33 C) and windy day, but comfy in the air-conditioned restaurant.

Then the power went out.

As they have electric doors, the first response is that the doors automatically open. This let in the blustery warm wind. We ordered food and were told that they can't start cooking it yet. One of our party went to the toilet and came back quickly saying there were no lights in there.

Fortunately they had a backup generator so after a little bit, the power came back on and all was ok. Then just as our meal was served the power went off again (doors opens again too!). This time it didn't come back on. After desert, a waitress came over to ask us what we had so she could prepare the bill.

Essentially they had a backup plan but not a secondary backup plan. It seemed that their generator was enough to help shut things down but not enough to run their operations on an ongoing basis.

What about your business?

What would you do if your power was out for the day?
What would you do if your computer hard drive crashed?
What would you do if you could not issue invoices?

Now is the time to have a plan in place and then follow it when you need to.

So what is your backup plan? 

Have You Exercised Your Slack Muscle?

Have You Exercised Your Slack Muscle?

Wifey and I are into investment properties. We like them and they work for us.

Late last year a tenant advised us that someone had broken in and done some damage. It turned out the damage was smashed walls, windows and a massive mess. The neighbours advised us that within weeks of moving in there was a huge party and the cops had to be called. In fact, the party made the local paper. Personally, I suspect the damage was more "party" related than "break-in" related.

Anyway, the landlord insurance covered the replastering of the third of the house and we took the opportunity to repaint the entire inside of the house and re-carpet it. That is not us hiring painters, that is wifey and I spending three 14 hour days washing ceilings and walls and then giving the ceilings, walls, door frames and doors two coats of paint.

To be honest, I was physically shattered!

I am used to speaking on stage, strutting around trade shows, talking on the phone or working at my computer. I have all these muscles that had gone slack in my body. An intense painting work out reminded me they were still there.

It got me thinking about some of the muscles I used to exercise in the workplace but haven't for a while. I haven't done cold calling for quite a while, I haven't done random networking for a while and I haven't called my old clients to see how they are for a while. Like my slack painting muscles, when I do this it may feel strange, hurt a bit, make me feel exhausted or even turn me off doing it ever again. It is so important to exercise the slack muscle in your business. To do the tasks that pay off, even if you don't want to do them.

Have you exercised your slack muscle recently?




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What About the Little Guys?

In the last couple of weeks I have been on three different airline; Qantas, REX and Jetstar. The service I got varied with each one. More importantly, it varied against my expectation.

The first flight was Qantas. To make things easier for them they now have autobaggage book in. In fact, it is ok for the traveller too, unless you have unusual luggage. I had a guitar with me. The auto check in wanted to charge me an extra $30 as I had an extra bag. I spoke to the assistant (when I could find her) and had a conversation about luggage andwhat was allowed in the cabin etc.  This was from the premium airline. I had 25kg allocation and still I was hassled.

Compare that to REX airlines. When I booked I noticed that the luggage allowance was 15kg. I knew I would be over with the guitar, amp and other things I had so I rang them to try and buy more luggage allowance as it is usually cheaper to buy beforehand than at the airport. I was advised that I could only get it at the airport. I steeled myself for the $5.50 per kilo extra I would have to pay (I guessed about $40) and then checked in when I was in Sydney. At check-in the bag and guitar weighed a total of 22.5 kg. As I waited to be told "That's $40 please" he actually said, "Let's say that's 20kg and there is no extra charge. By the way, would you like an exit row? It would be more comfortable for a guy your height." I was stunned.

In an age where the focus is cost cutting and bottom line focussed (particularly in the airline industry), it was a delight to get great service. This service continued on the flight - but that's another story.

As a small to medium business, how can you beat the big guys at their game? As a big business, what can you learn from the little guys?

Are You Ready?

Based on last week's Get More Goer, it seems like most of you are back at work this week. This email is probably just one of the many in your inbox - hopefully it is not buried! Some of you have been back on the job for a week or more so this is a quick reminder.


But are you ready?


Is your desk all clean, your in tray empty, your mindset clear, your enthusiasm fired up and all ready for a cracker of a 2012?
If you are not quite ready, don't forget to use the Regular Results Review to get your focused. You can get a copy here 
If you need some music to focus your self, here is a song I recently discovered that inspired this post. Are You Ready? by Fatty Gets A Stylist 


Now you are ready, LET'S GO!

 Image: Flikr Dru Bloomfield

What's the Theme?

Happy New Year! 


I hope that this year is full of success, fun and happiness.


Did you make a New Year's resolution? I think New Year's resolutions are too hard. Too many things to remember, too easy to get side tracked, too easy to go back to old habits, too similar to last year's resolutions (or is that revolutions), and too easy to simply lose interest.


So for this year, I am having a theme.  It is something in addition to the goals of my business and my personal goals but it is the essence of my focus for the year. It is something to keep me on track and progressing.  It is one simple statement; in fact it is three simple words. It's easy to remember, easy to focus on and easy to adjust my course when I stray.


My theme for this year is

MAKE AN IMPACT

What's yours?

What About This Weather?

Whew! It was a SCORCHER here in Melbourne yesterday 40 C. Overnight it got down to a low of 24 C and we are up for another hot day today. I could whinge and whine about how hot it is. I could complain that I don't deal with the heat well. Just so you know, I am a son of a farmer so I know how to complain about the weather with the professionals!

The weather is something I can do nothing about.

The saying "it's not what happens to you but how you deal with it that counts" is best represented by the weather.
In business it may be you main customer no longer buys from you, your key employee resigns, someone else owns a trade mark you were after or some other unfortunate event.

So today, I am not going to say anything about the weather. I will simply do what it takes to make sure my needs are met. It could be going to the cinema, it maybe working out of an airconditioned cafe, I may even need to go and hangout in the freezer section of a supermarket. 


It is the action I take that will determine how well I deal with my situation.