I happened upon this Waffle truck in NYC the other night when out with some friends. In addition to having waffles that are positively fabulous, the service was stellar and they’re doing all the right things online.
I am a big advocate of teaching others how to do what you do, particularly when it can result in a measurable improvement in the quality of someone’s life.
Nick Reese has done just that (with some help from Chris Brogan) in his ebook that was just released, called How to turn Traffic and Trust into Sales (aff) and I hope you’ll take a look.
I’ve had a copy of the book for a while, so I can give it my enthusiastic endorsement without reservation. What also makes this post easy is the fact that Nick and Chris are living success stories when it comes to significant returns on affiliate marketing.
Plus they are both top-notch humans, which is actually what this post is about.
When people are getting their product or service off the ground, they often take to various social networks with commendable zeal. The trouble is, they go about it with a “Hey guys, look at me!” approach that quickly gets old and causes people to tune them out.
If you look at the most successful bloggers on the web, you notice something interesting about the material on their sites: they highlight other people. And ideas. And helpful resources.
This is in stark contrast to what we see plastered on various social networks, isn’t it?
I work with lots of individuals with products, services, and ideas to promote.
Invariably, they want as many people to know about them as fast as possible. I always struggle with explaining the harsh reality of marketing: effectively spreading messages doesn’t work like that. It takes work. And patience. And time.
Sometimes lots of time.
Connecting with as many people as possible on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter is not going to result in legions of raving fans overnight. As a matter of fact, you’re going to be largely ignored by most people (save for the once who are using you like you’re using them).
Even the mightiest army is comprised of individual soldiers.
Start by helping someone. Then help nine more people. Give them a place to learn more about the help you provide and the problems you’re solving and the ideas for which you stand. Keep doing that long enough and you’ll never have to worry about marketing again.
I saw a Tweet yesterday that made me smile and think at the same time (a dangerous combination). Jamie‘s son asked if the logo on the side of a truck indicated that it was a toilet paper truck.
Click to see what Jamie's son sawLater that day, I had a great conversation with a graphic designer at a coffee shop who was working on an amazingly ornate digital tire tread for a client logo and she asked for my feedback. (more…)
This is a quick note to highlight the outstanding service I received today at Enterprise Rent-A-Car (ERAC) in Boston, Massachusetts today.
I spotted the ERAC shuttle in the distance and wondered if I could make it. I started towards the shuttle after stepping outside and tried to make eye contact with the driver, who had already closed the doors. To my delight, he spotted me and waited.
As we pulled up to the ERAC office, the driver instructed us to leave our bags where they were and that he would unload them for us. As we stepped off the shuttle, a cheerful young lady greeted each of the customers as they stepped onto the sidewalk.
Stepping into the air conditioned lobby, the same young lady who greeted customers passed out cold water bottles and maps to individuals waiting in line. As ERAC employees became available, they walked up to the person waiting in line, shook their hand, and introduced themselves. After finalizing the reservation, the employee walked out to the car with the customer.
I noticed that the young man helping me (we’ll call him Samuel, since that’s his name) was moving slowly, seemingly in a bit of pain. His supervisor actually instructed him to take a break after assisting me. Despite this, he made conversation with me as he assisted me, and offered to take my luggage as we walked to the car. I declined of course, but the gesture was appreciated. I found out after inquiring that Samuel was suffering from a blown back, a bad hip, and a hurt ankle. He still walked me out to my car and actually upgraded my vehicle since the class I booked was unavailable.
Outstanding.
Contrast this with my experience at Hertz last week:
The shuttle driver only permitted customers who had pre-existing reservations, as they were out of vehicles.
It took almost 30 minutes to get the rental that I reserved online.
The line was out the door in the lobby and moved abysmally slow.
The self-service kiosks were unable to complete transactions for anyone who tried them while I was there.
I signed up for their Hertz #1 Gold Club this weekend to avoid the ridiculous wait, only to find them out of cars this week.