The PT Challenge

The second habit for marketing success, and perhaps the most important, is the habit of differentiating your product or service from that of all other competitors for the same customer. Customers only buy what they consider to be “the best” as it relates to their specific need at the moment. Sometimes “the best” is speedy delivery. Sometimes it is long-term durability of a product. Sometimes it is convenience or low price. But in every case, you must decide where and how you are going to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

This is called your area of competitive advantage, or your area of excellence. Your area of differentiation describes what it is that you offer to your customers that make your product or service superior to anything else available. How clear you are with regard to your competitive advantage largely determines the effectiveness of all your sales and marketing efforts.

Without a clear competitive advantage, an area of excellence or superiority, it is impossible for you to survive and thrive in a tough market. As Jack Welch once said, “If you don’t have competitive advantage, don’t compete.”
Ask yourself, “What is my competitive advantage today?” What makes your
product or service superior to that of any of your competitors? It may be something as simple as the location of your business. It may be something less tangible, such as the personalities of the key people who sell and deliver your product or service.

Many entrepreneurial businesses are started and become successful because of the personality and character of a single individual who customers prefer to deal with rather than with anyone else in that same field.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

The basic rules for giving praise effectively are these: first, praise immediately,
right after the person engages in the praise-worthy behavior. The faster the praise
or positive feedback, the better the person feels, and the greater effect it has in
shaping future behavior.

Second, praise specifically. Explain exactly what it is that you approve of. The
more specific the praise, the greater impact it has on the person’s self-esteem and
subsequent behavior in that area.

Third, praise repeatedly, each time he or she does what you want them to do. This
is essential for helping a person to develop a new habit of some kind.

For example, if you have an employee who comes in late, praise them when they
come in on time. Each time that they arrive punctually, or before the designated
work time, go out of your way to praise them and thank them for their punctuality.
At the same time, ignore their behavior when they come in late. This sets up a
carrot and stick dynamic that eventually leads to them coming in punctually all the

Once a person has developed a new habit, as the result of regular praise and
reinforcement, you can then move to “intermittent reinforcement.” This means
that you only need to praise the person now and then for the behavior to keep it in
force. So, praise repeatedly to help the person develop a new, positive habit and
then praise intermittently to keep the behavior in place.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

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The fourth way that you can make others feel important is by developing the habit
of giving praise and approval, whenever and wherever it can be given. This satisfies another of the deepest needs of each person, to feel valuable and respected by others.

When you praise another person, their self-esteem goes up. They are then motivated to repeat whatever it was they did that caused them to earn your praise
in the first place. In fact, one of the definitions of self-esteem is “the degree to
which a person feels himself to be praise-worthy.”

In motivational psychology, praising someone regularly for a positive behavior
develops in him or her the habit of engaging in that behavior. This “positive
reinforcement” is a powerful and proven way to motivate and manage people.
Whatever you praise and approve, you get more of.

Make it a habit to always praise and approve of other people when they do
something that is positive or desirable, and which you want to see repeated. Praise
your children for cleaning up their bedrooms. Praise them for doing their homework. Praise them for getting good grades. Praise your spouse for anything he
or she does around the house.

My friend Ken Blanchard recommends that you go around your office giving “One
Minute Praisings.” What is even more effective in making someone feel important
is to praise the person in front of someone else, or at a staff meeting. The more you
praise people in front of others for something they have accomplished, the greater
impact it has on their self-esteem and feelings of personal value. Often they will
remember a public praising for years.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

The third habit you can develop is the habit of admiration. As Abraham Lincoln
wrote “Everybody likes a compliment.” Make it a habit to admire the traits,
qualities or possessions of other people. Compliment them when they are punctual.
Compliment them for their achievements. Compliment them on their car or clothes
or briefcase. When you go to people’s homes, compliment them on their home in
general and on the different rooms, furniture and decorations.

Admire people’s accomplishments such as their degrees or diplomas. Admire their
children and spouses. Admire their offices and their businesses. Compliment the
waiter when he or she serves you quickly, “You certainly are fast today!”

Whenever you compliment a person for anything, especially their appearance or an
article of their clothing, their self-esteem goes up. They feel more valuable and
important. They feel happier. And as a result of the “boomerang effect,” you feel
happier and more positive yourself. Your self-esteem goes up in equal measure.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

The second habit you need to develop to become a relationship expert is the habit of appreciation. One of the most powerful ways of thinking you can develop is an “attitude of gratitude.” The more appreciative and thankful you are of the good things in your life, the more that they will increase and expand.

Begin each day by appreciating the fact that you are alive, that you have family and friends, that you have health and well-being. Give thanks for the fact that you have a job, opportunities for the future, and a great county to live in. Instead of complaining and criticizing, as most people do, you should focus on what makes you happy, and express your gratitude on every occasion.

The two words that most express an attitude of gratitude are the words “Thank you.” Develop the habit of saying thank you to everyone for anything that they do for which any thanks at all are warranted. Wave and thank people  for letting you cut into line in traffic. Thank your spouse for making breakfast and thank your kids for doing their homework. Thank your boss whenever he says or does anything friendly or helpful, and thank your staff for their work. Thank people in restaurants and on telephone calls. Make it a habit to generate a force field of thankful energy that goes before you wherever you go.

Every time you thank a person for anything that they have done or said, or for any quality they have demonstrated, their self-esteem goes up. Every time yo say thank you, and raise the self-esteem of another, your self-esteem goes up as well.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

There are five habits that you can develop to assure wonderful human
relationships, both at home and at work. The first is for you to develop the habit of acceptance, or what is called in psychology, “unconditional positive regard.”

Each person has a deep subconscious need to be accepted unconditionally and without reservations by other people. As children, our parents often manipulate us by offering or withholding love and acceptance. This conditions us to be extremely sensitive to the opinions and treatment of others toward us as we grow up. As children and teenagers, we will do almost anything to earn the acceptance of our playmates and peers, or not to lose it. As adults, the acceptance of the important people around us, and even strangers, can become so important to us that will do whatever it takes, and even give up our individuality, in order not to trigger their disapproval.

When you completely and unconditionally accept another person, just as he or she is, without comment, criticism or any suggestion that he or she needs to change in any way, you raise their self-esteem and release more of their innate potential for happiness and self-expression. In the movie, Bridget Jones Diary, her friends are all amazed when she describes another man by saying, “He likes me just the way I am.” Apparently, none of them had ever met anyone who felt that way.

The very best romances, marriages and parenting experiences are situations where each person in the relationship, especially the parents and spouses, unconditionally accept the others, with no reservations. Remember, the opposite of acceptance is rejection. The feeling of not being accepted by others triggers a series of negative emotions, fears, doubts and feelings of inadequacy. Your job is to make a habit of going through life expressing unconditional acceptance toward others. This will make you welcome wherever you go. The simplest way to express acceptance of another person is simply to smile each time you see him or her. It takes 13 muscles to smile and 111 muscles to frown. It is therefore much easier to smile, and much more effective. Each time you smile, you raise the self-esteem of the person that you are smiling at. In addition, you release endorphins in your own brain, which make you feel happier as well. Make a habit of practicing unconditional acceptance with everyone you meet, under all conditions. You will be amazed at the positive effect you have on the people around you.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

There are four great questions that you can ask and answer on a regular basis to
keep yourself growing and developing toward becoming an excellent person. The
first question is, “What kind of a world would this world be, if everybody in it was
just like me?” The failure to ask this question, and the inability to answer it with,
“This world would be a better place” is the cause of most of our problems in the
world today.

The second question you can ask is, “What kind of a country would my country be,
if everyone in it were just like me?” If everyone could answer that this country
would be a better place to live if others lived the same way they did, we could
quickly eliminate crime, alcoholism, drug addiction, welfare, corruption and all
forms of behaviors that can only exist as long as the vast majority do not engage in
them.

The third question is, “What kind of a company would my company be if everyone
in it was just like me?” If the executives at the hearts of the corporate accounting
scandals had asked and answered this question on a regular basis, the problems in
their corporations would never have occurred. Every day, you should ask and answer this question about yourself and your work habits to see if you can answer
in the affirmative, or not. If not, what could you change immediately to begin
becoming the very best person you could possibly be?

The fourth question is, “What kind of a family would my family be, if everyone in it
was just like me?” If everyone in your family treated everyone else exactly the
way that you treat the people in your family, would your family be a happier,
healthier and more loving place in which to live and grow?

When you ask this question of yourself continually, you will find yourself treating
the people in your family better and better. As you improve the quality of your
family life, your relationships at work will improve as well.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

The starting point of becoming a relationship expert is to develop the habit of
practicing the golden rule in everything you do, and with everyone you meet. The
golden rule, which is the one principle that all religions have in common, says,
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

In Buddhism it says, “Do not do unto others what is hateful to yourself.” This
principle is so simple, yet so powerful, that if everyone were to apply it, the world
would transform overnight.

The Dutch philosopher Emmanuel Kant once propounded what he called the “Universal Maxim.” He said “Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law for all people.” In other words, imagine that everyone was going to do and say the very things that you were doing and saying at that moment. When you set this kind of standard for yourself, you begin to transform your life. You immediately become a better person.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits

The second key result area, or habit that you can develop, which we have already discussed, is the habit of thinking in terms of customer satisfaction all the time. The starting point of developing this habit is for you to be absolutely clear about how your customers define satisfaction. What has to happen for your customers to be so happy with you that they buy again and tell their friends?

Domino’s Pizza is famous for having defined customer satisfaction as “speed.” Thomas Monahan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, found that when people ordered a pizza, they were already hungry. For them, the speed at which the pizza was delivered was more important than the relative quality of the food. With this single insight, Thomas Monahan built a 7,000 unit pizza empire that extends around the world, and retired with a personal fortune of $1.8 billion dollars. Not a bad return on a single insight into what customers really wanted! How do your customers define satisfaction?

Profits Are The True Measure
The third habit you need to develop is the habit of thinking in terms of profitability all the time. Many businesses focus too much on the top line, on gross sales, rather than on the bottom line, on net profits. As Baron de Rothschild, in his Maxims For Success said, “Always concentrate on net profits.”

You should analyze each of your products, services, customers and markets to determine exactly how profitable they are. Many companies today are finding that their largest customers, because of high servicing costs and discounts, are not particularly profitable at all. Many companies are finding that certain products and services that they sell in large volume, because of many hidden costs involved, are not profitable. They are actually breaking even, or even losing money, on their best selling products or services.
What are your most profitable products?

What are your most profitable services? Who are your most profitable customers? What are your most profitable markets? What products, services, customers or markets should you emphasize or deemphasize? Always think in terms of the bottom-line, of the dollar for dollar profitability of each one of your business activities.

Taken from : Million Dollar Habits