creating achievement & success...

Creating Achievement & Success Harmoniously

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What people are saying about C.A.S.H.

Creative, Affirmative, Savvy and Helpful to anyone desiring to transform their personal and professional lives and live more abundantly. Dr. John F. Demartini Bestselling author of How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven. Creative Awareness Serving Humanity Dr. John F. Demartini The Secret As the Chairman of one of the largest independent advertising agencies on the west coast, and founder of several other successful ventures, I was pleasantly surprised by Julie's book, CASH. It reminded me of the importance of applying spiritual principles in my efforts to ensure a healthy financial outlook for all of my business affairs. CASH is a veritable treasure trove of applicable tools and positive insights for anyone seeking a deeper level of achievement in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Mark Davis, Davis Elen Advertising, Los Angeles I've just finished reading CASH. I enjoyed it -- especially Ch. 31 "Sexy" and learned some new things about what sexy is. I'm glad I have a deep, sexy voice (smile!) CASH is filled with many helpful anecdotes to encourage readers to utilize positive


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mental conditioning for achieving success. As a Buddhist, I totally get it and I don't doubt that anyone who reads it will "get it". Allison Queen AQ PUBLIC RELATIONS I loved your stories. CASH gave me insight and examples that I will incorporate into my business and life for a long time to come. I will recommend this book to my clients with joy. Jeff Baietto President and CEO Radiant light Media As an owner of a multi-national company and member on the board of directors of others, I find C.A.S.H. to be a refreshing tool and reminder of the importance of balance in business and life. I really appreciated that the Author broke down the tricks of the trade, tools of marketing, in such an accessible form. I will gladly recommend this book to both my employees, associates and friends. Jamie Majeski Majeski Foundation CEO (Prior to his charitable work, Jim was a founding partner of Cydcor Communications, a global leader in direct sales and marketing with offices in twenty-three countries) Julie, CASH is a perfect reflection of your spiritual greatness and marketing genius. It will be a book


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that I recommend to my friends and clients. I know it will help them to grow by teaching, inspiring and empowering their personal lives and careers with accessible tools. Kevin David Wiggs Lifecoach CASH, a gem of a book outlines, in detail, the simple and applicable tools necessary to help you manifest wealth on all levels of your life. It is the perfect blending of spiritual insight and marketing know-how. This book could only be created by an author who possesses the unique blending of 25 years of brilliant high powered marketing experience with a lifelong dedication to the journey of spiritual awareness and healing talents. A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN CREATING C.A.S.H. IN THEIR LIFE! Dr. Elizabeth Lambaer Entrepreneur C.A.S.H. offers a unique and entertaining blend of spirituality, motivation and business sense in an alternative approach to navigating the often treacherous waters of today’s marketing and advertising industry. The author’s natural effervescence bubbles to the page as she applies her C.A.S.H. philosophy, weaving in some of the industry’s best known success stories and her own professional and personal experiences with wit and wisdom. Annie Moore-Serlin, Media Director, NYC, 2007


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I read CASH and was delighted to see a self-help book that balanced spiritual thinking with marketing concepts. I feel that your examples and information made it easy for me to put into action. I know that since you have achieved success and achievement harmoniously, I can too. Every business owner should read CASH. Karen Collazo Owner, Great Wraps Upon reading this book you will feel and see it is a definite design for all persons that are willing to say “Yes, Yes, Yes!” CASH hits all the right stuff to keep us moving forward to achievement and success! I really think Julie Cohn presented it in a way that will impact lives positively. Calvin IDRIS Hester IDRIS DRUMMUNICATION IDRIS HealthRHYTHMS Facilitor, LIFE COACH, SHAMAN Everyone talks about quick CASH. That's just how Julie takes care of business in her new book. She gets straight to the point with real examples and quick lessons you can apply in your business (and life!) immediately. It's a book you don't just read once but keep nearby as reference. Donna Sozio, Author, Never Trust a Man in Alligator Loafers, Citadel Press


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Finally!!! An author that combines marketing experience and expertise with integrity and ethics as the core through-line, expressed with such cohesion and clarity that one can actually understand and apply the concepts and practices, both in business and in life. The author shares her life experiences in a way that is endearing and fun, even funny. She provides a personal touch that conveys a melding of straight forward concepts as they relate to marketing, while incorporating varying means one can apply the concepts spiritually and ultimately, universally, thereby Creating Achievement & Success Harmoniously. Krissen D’Yer Assistant Asset Manager, Universal Properties Inc.

C.A.S.H. is very exciting! I'm very glad you made the time to write it. Reading the first chapters, so many of the situations you recall were part of our industry and I related. Then as you explained and wove in the concepts of C.A.S.H., I continued to relate and absorb them. All the iterations of C.A.S.H. are the hot topics in today's business environment. We all want to find and keep customers, understand them and serve them and I am very pleased to find in your book actionable ways to make this happen. In my client service role, taking a few steps back, taking stock of our current attitudes towards


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'customers' (where everyone in or outside the company is really a customer) and evaluating our effectiveness is something we are just beginning to do. While reading your book I found many points of action to assist me in positively motivating myself and, hopefully, my coworkers. You cite examples without too much detail (yes, you KISS it), intersperse enough spiritual guidance to lighten the read and most importantly, condense some very practical ideas into a short read so I can easily refer back for guidance. I will certainly buy your book. It has something for everyone. If you don't buy into the spiritual aspect, then read around it. If you are looking for ways to improve your personal life, the same ideas apply as in business. If a stronger business is your goal, keep reading because it's all connected. Lonnie Yenny, Manager Client Services Renowned, multinational Systems Integration Company, SRC


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Copyright © 2007 by Julie Ann Cohn Cover and internal design by © 2007 by Joanne Reich & Julie Ann Cohn All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems-except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without the expressed permission in writing from the Author. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the Author is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. If legal or other expert assistance is required the services of a competent professional person should be sought. -From a Declaration of Principals Jointly Adopted by a Committee of American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

ISBN Number 978-1-933918-22-8 Library of Congress Copyright TXu1-367-746 2007


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Table of Contents Page Introduction 11

SECTION 1 Chapter 1 Confident 15 Chapter 2 Actionable 22 Chapter 3 Solutions 26 Chapter 4 Honestly 29

SECTION 2 Chapter 5 Customers 33 Chapter 6 Analysis 42 Chapter 7 Sales 47 Chapter 8 Harness Data 51

SECTION 3 Chapter 9 Contacts 59 Chapter 10 Awareness 62 Chapter 11 Support 65 Chapter 12 Health 68

SECTION 4 Chapter 13 Creative 74 Chapter 14 Advertising 76 Chapter 15 Strategy 79 Chapter 16 Horizon 81

SECTION 5 Chapter 17 Collections 85 Chapter 18 Accountability 88 Chapter 19 Service 91 Chapter 20 Harmony 94


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Table of Contents Page SECTION 6 Chapter 21 Collaboration 99 Chapter 22 Advantage 102 Chapter 23 Simplicity 105 Chapter 24 Hope 107

SECTION 7 Chapter 25 Centered 111 Chapter 26 Active 114 Chapter 27 Smart 117 Chapter 28 Hard hitting 119

SECTION 8 Chapter 29 Challenging 123 Chapter 30 Assertive 126 Chapter 31 Sexy 128 Chapter 32 Hot 131

SECTION 9 Chapter 33 Credible 134 Chapter 34 Associations 137 Chapter 35 Synergies 139 Chapter 36 Holdings 141

SECTION 10 Chapter 37 Conscious 145 Chapter 38 Assessment 148 Chapter 39 Success 151 Chapter 40 Happiness 154

A word about celebrating achievement and success Harmoniously 156 About the Author 158


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INTRODUCTION This book is designed to provide the marketing principals for creating C.A.S.H. and Creating Achievement & Success Harmoniously. As you read this, remember that harmony does not have room for the concepts of worry, fear, guilt, fault or blame. These are incongruent energies that hinder the flow. They are unproductive emotions that do not serve you in business or in your personal life. Eliminate them today. How? Begin by reprogramming yourself simply by becoming aware and when you sense one of these concepts/emotions coming up say to yourself “worry not”, “fear not” and so on. Eventually, you will be able to stop and allow the energetic flow of success and C.A.S.H. to enter your life. C.A.S.H. is wealth, health and success. C.A.S.H. is a function of energy. Everything in the universe is energy that runs along currents. Even our bodies are currents of


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energy. This is why C.A.S.H. (money) is called currency. And it goes even farther. Look at the word currency. It is a combination of current and recent. When working to make C.A.S.H. we must stay current, be present (aware) and be in the now. We must have a recent or current want, need or desire we are addressing to get C.A.S.H. Our energy must be aligned with that of which we are serving, our present want, our need or desire and our being to bring us C.A.S.H. Sections 1-3 provide the foundation on which C.A.S.H. is built. The following five sections (4-8) of this book focus on the health and growth of your success (C.A.S.H.). The last two sections (9-10) address what is necessary to maintain upward mobility and have C.A.S.H. to create and, subsequently, celebrate achievement and success harmoniously. Over twenty-five years of experience went into developing these pathways for C.A.S.H. The principals are proven to work in


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all aspects of your life. I encourage you to think about them. Play with them, shuffle them. Use them as guidelines, not rules. There are many shades of grey in this world. Explore.


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SECTION 1 Chapter 1 Confident Chapter 2 Actionable Chapter 3 Solutions Chapter 4 Honestly


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Chapter 1 Confident The first truth about creating your achievement and success harmoniously is that in order to create it, you must first know it to be true. YOU MUST BE CONFIDENT THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR DESIRED RESULT. This means that you will create your life and company in the image of success. Everything about the way you conduct yourself from the moment you open your eyes, to the way you answer your phone, to the way you dress will reflect the confidence that you have already achieved your desired result. Remember the snake oil salesman. What was he really selling? He was selling Confidence. That is why he was called a “con-man”. You may laugh, but these people were and are very successful. Take it to the positive and look at successful people in the public eye. Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton are examples. They exude confidence. They can sell


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anything. Mr. Clinton sold an entire nation that his behavior was okay depending on “what your definition of “is”, is”. And today, he is one of the most successful fund raisers in the U.S. Each one of these people knows that confidence embodies humility, integrity and gratitude. Confidence is what makes everything they do attractive. I have often seen similar concepts presented in new business pitches. All things being equal, the one that wins is usually the one with the most confident presenter (and this may or may not be the most competent one for the job. The proof will be in the doing). This is why so much focus is on the presenter, not the support staff or even the originator of the concept. Although, they are important and should be in the room to address any details that the presenter is unfamiliar with. But remember what I said about those who are successful with how they use their confidence. It is not a guise. They are


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confident, humble, honest and thankful. They have integrity, meaning that they say what they will do and then do it. Confidence without integrity is simply ego. And ego will only get you so far. If you are thinking, “I am shy, not confident”, then confidence is a skill you need to develop or hire a front person. Often there is one business partner who is in front of the scene and one who is behind the scenes, because their skills compliment each other. My father had another way of looking at confidence. He’d say “always walk in to a place like you own it”. Try it. It all boils down to the confidence you demonstrate through how you carry yourself. When I was much younger I used to go to the Forum to watch Kings Hockey games. I would buy a student seat, smile at the ushers and talk to them as if I knew them. They in turn would always tell me who was not there that night sitting in the Senate Seats (best seats in the house) and let me sit there. I am sure it was because I took my dad’s advice. Later in life, I learned to walk into board rooms feeling like I was a


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top executive, even though at the time I was only an assistant. I was always treated with respect. When I became a top executive, the confidence I had served me well. Albert Einstein said “imagination is more powerful then knowledge”. I imagined I was important and that, allowed me the confidence to become important. As you can see, I discovered that confidence could be learned. I once had a great boss early in my career at Telmar Inc. named Cindy Rosenbaum. Cindy taught me that if I wanted to succeed in a man’s world I had to behave as men do. Successful men use confidence as a tool. She said, “fake it, until you make it. Act confident. Pack your suitcase like a man, light, so you have no problem carrying it. Wear black it is a strong color and requires only one pair of shoes on a trip. Don’t whisper, speak clearly and be heard.” Most importantly she said “act the part, dress the part and be the part you want”. If that part is successful, be it now and do it with confidence. She was full of wonderful tips. Cindy would also remind


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me that no one in the room knew more about my product than I did. “So what?” you might ask. This was her way of telling me to be confident in what I said. The more I presented, taught and the higher I rose in may career the more I appreciated the things Cindy taught me. She was giving me priceless secrets that still serve me today. The universe responds in the same way as we do. This is a given. The universe is, in actually, a big “yes” machine. If you approach what you want to achieve with doubt, then the universe will say “yes” and give what you fear. For it is from fear that doubt arises. On the other hand, if you approach your desires with confidence the universe will acknowledge this “yes” in kind, saying “yes” to what you want and providing the way. This is not as “airy fairy” as it sounds and you can test it out easily. The next time you are approaching a parking lot or Street with limited parking say “universe please create the perfect parking space for me, thank you, I know it is already there.” I would be very surprised if you didn’t drive up and “wham!” There it is; the perfect


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parking space. My friends are amazed at how well this works for me, all the time. Working in confidence allows you to be in alignment with the universal yes machine (or as I call it, the universe). And when you are in alignment it is easier for you to bring others into alignment with you. I’ve experienced this when going for financing for a new business venture. The product was unproven. The bean counters were calculating risk. I, on the other hand, was confident that the time for this product was now. I could see everyone in the room slowly shifting with my enthusiasm and confidence. They were coming into alignment with my vision. I received the money needed to proceed. The product was a success and paid out three months early. If I had gone into this meeting at all wish- washy about what I was presenting, I would not have achieved the positive results I did. You must eliminate all doubt, even if as Cindy said you fake it until you make it.


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Know that sales will be on the rise; that your presentation is going to be great; your cash flow will increase, people will respond to you with interest in your passion and that health, joy and abundance are your birthright. Look in the mirror and say with confidence “I am creating my achievement and success harmoniously today”.


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Chapter 2 Actionable Take Action. Once you know your desired result, taking action provides momentum. The first step always leads to the second and so on. It is enough to have the beginning and the end and to allow the middle to unfold as a process. Do not fear this. Many of us get trapped into thinking we need to know all the little steps before we can act. Not so. What you must do is take your confidence to an actionable level. You win when you begin to realize that all you must do is start. Doing “no-thing” results in the same thing being there in the same way tomorrow. The universe does not wait around. It responds to action. When you take action you enter into agreement with what you want and the universe will respond. It is impossible to feel depressed if you take action. If you do, then you are not being honest with yourself and what you are doing. Now, you may ask “how”? How do I take action when I don’t know what I am doing? Well, you know what you want to achieve, you see yourself as having achieved it, so


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look back at what you did first. Now, do that. For example, let’s say you want to have cash rolling in by selling photographs you’ve taken. The first thing you must do is make people aware that you have photographs to sell. Or perhaps you just started a new job. You know why you were hired, but have no real idea what to do now that you are in your office. First, breathe. Remember what you see yourself having achieved. If you are in a new sales position; begin to learn your product; create your presentation; write a sales letter. If you’ve chosen to branch out on your own and need clients, pick five people to call today. Tell them the top three things about what you do and then ask them for an appointment or order. If you want more love in your life, smile and take a positive attitude. Each first step always leads to the next logical step. Make your first step ACTIONABLE. If you are reading this book and sitting in your chair saying “yeah sure, it’s that easy”, then I am here to tell you “yes it is”! Stop feeling overwhelmed, depressed, frenzied in


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an ‘I don’t know where to start’ mode. If you were cleaning your room as a child I would tell you to start by picking the closest thing to you up off the floor and putting it away. Action is not about ‘feeling’ it is about ‘doing’. I am completely sincere when I say work backwards from the result. Let’s say you want to write a screenplay. You have an idea of what the movie looks like. Start there, with the finished product. Now, look at what you would be doing three weeks before the movie airs, and again four months before the movie airs, and again, three months before that. Now look at where you are, what do you need to do to fill in the timeline between now and seven months before the movie airs. That’s right start writing. Then start lining up backing. When I came into work on a major home mortgage client, the agency I worked for had hired a PhD to build a system. This system was supposed to manage sales and marketing information producing reports that showed the advertising program’s performance. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, this PhD had created a report generator, but no database to manage the


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information. The agency was weeks behind on reporting. In order to get a handle on what was done and needed to be done, I created, what is called, a Gant Chart. It includes every single task (step) necessary to complete the project and the timeline for completion. I started at the end result and worked my way backwards. I needed this in order to create realistic timing and cost/resource expectations for both the agency and the client. As it turned out, we were a good four months from providing the client what they wanted. They were not pleased, but they had confidence in my ability to manage the process. Within two weeks we had the reporting current. Within four months we provided the client with a fully-functional database system, on site, where they could pull their own reports with real-time data. Although brilliant, the PhD was unorganized, an absent minded professor. When we put an action plan (the Gant chart) to him, his anxiety was relived and he was able to take action in a clear way. Sometimes you have to step back in order to move forward.


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Chapter 3 Solutions Too often your approach to life and your business is focused on problems. Your focus determines your reality. If you focus on problems that is what you will continually be faced with. This client is unhappy. This store is under performing. This employee is not making the grade. We cannot fill the orders fast enough. Stop the madness. Start focusing on SOLUTIONS. A solutions based approach begins by examining what you require as a result, e.g. a happy client, an increase in store sales or an elevation of an employee’s attitude. Then, look at what action needs to be taken to achieve the result. It sounds simple and it is. When you focus on solutions you shift to a productive state where growth and success can flourish. You activate the universal yes machine and with that doors open, solutions present themselves and success follows. Let me give you an example. I remember coming in for an interview with WIMC (the nation’s largest media management firm.)


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I was immediately placed on a conference call with their largest client, Disney, without notice. That’s right I walked in for my interview and the person I was meeting with was on a speakerphone wanting me to participate, right there on the spot. The good news was that I was confident in what I knew. This Account Executive/Divisional President was promising a fully functional highly targeted direct marketing program (or as I described it, a swimming pool and all that existed was a hole in the ground. Actually the hole hadn’t even been dug yet, but the yard was there). While on my feet, I asked several questions and discovered that this particular division of Disney had many responder files from failed programs. They had failed due to lack of follow-up by the previous agency. But the responders were individuals who said yes to their offering, making them good prospects. I suggested that we could build a database, enhance the information, create profiles, and, from that, target an effective direct marketing campaign. I told the client we would have


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to evaluate their files before giving costs and a timeline. This took the AE off the hook, knowing that a solution was available and giving her the opportunity to continue the dialogue with the client. When the call was over, the client was satisfied and the company hired me as Executive VP Managing Director Database Marketing, my first job, to create and run their database marketing division. Ummm. Now, all I had to do was make it happen. I lined up vendors, created advantageous pricing and sold the project, all before I came on board. If I had seen only the problem, I would had to take a “we can’t do that” approach, not get the job and leave the client disappointed and the company with dirt on their face. Instead, I saw the promised result and the means for success flowed. I focused on the solution. As you look at what is before you today, say “I am ready to approach this moment with abundant expectancy. I know that all solutions will present themselves effectively. There are no obstacles I cannot overcome”.


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Chapter 4 Honestly Approaching life and business honestly means facing the realities of your experience in the present. You may think this is a contradiction to “knowing that you are creating achievement and success harmoniously”. To the contrary, the universe and business environment will respond to your knowingness. However, you must still operate in the now at all times. To create positive actions and solutions, you must be honest about your current situation and treat your family, friends, prospective customers, existing customers, co-workers, employees and, most importantly, yourself honestly. This means that you must examine all of your resources. Evaluate your profitability and create reasonable timetables just as I did with Disney. In fact, I had to reset timing expectations three times, because the files sent to me were a mess. It was never a problem because I was confident, taking action, presenting solutions and being honest through the entire process.


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Always speak honestly. A customer would rather know that action is being taken and that the solution is going to take longer, than be placed in a position of backtracking. When you operate honestly, you gain respect. People learn that they can trust you. Speak your truth to everyone in your life and avoid confusion, misunderstanding, distrust, anger, and worry. If someone cannot deal with your truth, ask them if they’d prefer a lie. This does not mean, make it personal. The universe is not personal, only your reaction to what occurs in the universe are personal. Remember the universe will say “yes” to whatever you put on the table. This, therefore, means you should use tact and common sense. You won’t catch flies with vinegar. Your intention should always be focused on the highest good in order to create optimal results in your life and business. This is what I did with every account I handled from Internet start-ups to Disney to Toyota, from Conroy’s Flowers to McDonalds. The category does not matter, honestly.


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Whatever business you are in, remember, you must be confident take action and provide solutions honestly to free yourself from the confines of doubt, stagnation and problems.


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SECTION 2 Chapter 5 Customers Chapter 6 Analysis Chapter 7 Sales Chapter 8 Harness Data


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Chapter 5 Customers It does not matter what type of lifestyle, business or service you are in. You have customers. And, regardless of what you believe, your customer is the single greatest contributor to your bottom line. Achieving success depends on the relationship you have with your customer and your understanding of them. First you must truly know the roll they play in your business and your life. Here are some questions you should consider:

Do you consider your customers (end-users, clients, patients or friends) in your product development? Your culture? Your staff?

Is your customer the staff of your company? If you are an internal service center such as Human Resources or IT, then the answer is “yes”. These questions apply to every type of customer (including your friends and family).


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Do you know the difference between who your customers really are and who you want them to be?

Can you identify suspects, prospects, customers and best customers? Have you considered them as “individuals” or as a “market”? Do you know how to best attract them? Do you know how to best serve them? Do you know how to speak to them to get the greatest result? Do you know where they live and/or work in relation to your business? Do you know the difference between the one-time buyer and the repeat buyer?

Do you know why they continue or stop using your product? Do you know which ones are actually costing you more to retain? Are you loosing customers faster than you are bringing them in? What is the difference between the look of your customer by product or service?


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How can you best reach prospects, eliminate suspects and create customers?

The answer to these questions is just the beginning. To get the answers, you must harness customer information (data) and analyze it. Working in the dark will result in your light staying off. Once you’ve addressed all your questions, analyzed the results and created an action plan, revisit your customer’s behavior and make adjustments as necessary. This is exactly what we had to do with Brinks Home Security. The market changed. More competitors were entering areas Brinks had previously dominated. Demographics of homeowners shifted and the perceived value to the product did not match the messaging. We had to take a new look at all these changes. We did this by analyzing their customer data from warranty cards and usage information. We then profiled the customers by a variety of ways, most profitable, lost customers and so on. The


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resulting profiles were then used in primary research to get attitudinal information. Long story short, to achieve success Brinks took their customers into consideration in every aspect of their business, made the information actionable and regained market position. Ultimately, you want to keep your existing customers, build relationships to keep them loyal to you and use them as advocates to attract new customers. If you look at it, the same is true among your family and friends. You want to get to know them, learn what makes them tic, build relationships based on confidence, honesty and loyalty and eventually find more friends like them. Over the years friends come and go. As your need adjust so does your circle of friends. Each time you enter a new situation (market) you find new friends. Once you learn about your customers you will be able to engage them in relationship


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marketing. Something you do with your friends already. If you treat your customers with the same respect, consideration and joy that you treat your friends, you will find that your ability to keep your customers loyal is as easy as sending them a birthday card on their birthday. This is something you do with your family and friends that you can easily do in business. Frequent shopper point programs, buy ten get one free programs and birthday clubs, provide a win-win opportunity for both you and your customers. You get to collect lots of information when they register for the program and they get discounts rewarding them for on-going business. Programs like this extend your perceived value to your customers as well as your relationship with them. You get only what you give. Giving to your customers, even in this way, gets you loyalty and more. Opportunities like this can be extended to internet content providers too. Internet content providers extend loyalty through


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cross promotions, accessibility and ease of use, as well as, on-going content of interest. Just because you don’t sell something, does not mean that you cannot create extended perceived value. Perhaps people register on your site to get enhanced content that they don’t get to see otherwise again creating a win-win opportunity. From the registration, you will have invaluable insight to attract potential Advertisers, thereby extending your profitability. That is, as long as you harness the data, analyze it and make it actionable for them. (See chapters 6 & 7). Maximizing synergies between like-minded sites is another way to extend your value to your users. The more time a user is on your site the more opportunity you have to turn them into loyal advocates for you. Making customers loyal is not just a function of incentives, such as the case with frequent shopper/flyer programs. Loyalty is generated by having a great product and providing optimal service. Brand loyalty and customer loyalty are sometimes different.


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Brand loyalty can be created by habit and influenced by name brand recognition, parental usage and friends/family. Switching brand loyalty is what Coke and Pepsi attempt to do with “taste test challenges”. This is actually a more challenging task because you are asking consumers to change their ‘beliefs’. However, loyalty in some cases, such as with the corner grocer or “mom and pop” sandwich shop is based more on relationship. You walk in and they know your name and the names of your children. They know what you buy, so they stock those items for you. Local store marketing programs are about generating this kind of loyalty. They attempt to engender loyalty by creating a “perceived relationship” with their Customers. Starbucks uses this strategy in training their servers, encouraging them to remember customers’ names and drinks. Many Banks make this their policy as well. It is a way to demonstrate respect and appreciation to your customer. Relationship marketing is achieved by providing optimal service and regular


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communications. An example of this is car dealerships. Cadillac was known for their “cradle to grave” strategy. They would count on their car being “in the family” and they would send correspondence to every buyer to make them feel this way, from service offers, to special dinners for owners, to birthday cards. Today, automotive manufactures, such as GMC, provide special discounts for return buyers who currently own their make/model car. These range from one thousand to three thousand dollars in savings. The benefit to the manufacture and dealer is another four to seven years of service and an additional sale. Never take your customers for granted, no matter what business you are in. Even if you are a life coach you have to opportunity to impact your customer. Every time they speak about you in a positive way it both reinforces the universal yes, as well as extends your potential to gain more customers. Excited referrals are a great way to get C.A.S.H. Remember, ultimately you want to turn your customers into advocates.


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Consider this. A suspect walks past your store, a prospect comes in and looks around, a customer buys and an advocate tells everyone about how great their experience is. Advocates become loyal customers and vice-versa. It costs six times more to regain a lost customer than it does to keep one. Value your customers like gold and they will pay out for you like gold as a solid investment over time.


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Chapter 6 Analysis Analysis is the means by which you learn about your customer. However, the most important thing about analysis is the interpretation and action-ability of the information. Answering questions are nice, but if you are not able to implement the answers, then all you have is data. To avoid analysis paralysis you must first identify which questions are going to yield you actionable results. Let’s look at an in-house service division such as Human Resources, for example. Knowing where your employees live in relationship to work does not provide you with actionable information, unless you are having difficulty attracting the right kind of people to your organization or own a virtual company. If you are a retail location, the “where” can be critical to your business. There is a variety of great information available from both within your company and from outside vendors. It is important to know what kind of information you want to use before you begin your


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analysis. If your in-house information is not reliable, then go outside. Create some checks and balances to measure the quality of the information you are analyzing. Use a “reasonable” test first. Create some basic assumptions and then test them against actual data. Techniques for analyzing data range from: primary research such as surveys and secondary data such as that gained from appending and enhancement, spreadsheets, modeling, segmentation and profiling. Your levels of analysis should match your ability to take action. The key to good analysis is great interpretation. Although sexy, national advertising may not serve your bottom line. Your dollars may be most effective when used to reach those available to buy your product or service. That is when analysis at the local level can really help.


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You must be sure to move past “umm interesting” to “now we can”. For example, if your customers are coming from a four mile radius of your location, then do local store marketing, focus your dollars. We did this successfully for Toyota dealerships in Southern California while at Davis, Ball & Collombatto. By analyzing where Toyota buyers were coming from by dealership, we were able to overlay Arbitron Ratings data and better target the radio advertising to target stations reaching potential buyers. Moreover, we were able to use profiles to target household mailings more efficiently. We also created local store marketing manuals with geo-demographic projections by zip code for insert programs. We did not stop there. We used the results from the analysis to help us target specific promotions based on likely hot buttons. And we helped the dealers to put relationship marketing tools in place, such as service reminder letters, thank you letters and birthday bonuses creating advocates from their customer base.


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When working with Dual Deck VCR in Arizona, we were able to present findings that showed them they had market opportunities in two previously unrecognized markets. This resulted in new revenue streams by repackaging older models at lesser price points. Had we not analyzed their customer service data, as well as their sales data over a five year period, we would not have seen this. Analysis should be a tool that creates action items and you must be willing to do what it takes to achieve success. Dual Deck was willing to look at the news that they actually had customers that looked like Murphy Brown (upscale) and the Flintstones (wannabe upscale) as opportunities for growth. They made adjustments to increase sales. Research and analysis that produces big binders of information is nothing better than a door stop, if you cannot make it actionable. This means that you should always ask the question “what will I be able to do with this analysis once it is done”. If the analysis is not yielding an actionable result, don’t spend the time or money on it. Unfortunately, when working with Bally’s


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Health and Tennis, this is exactly what happened. They had tons of data and analysis, but no one had provided them with an actionable interpretation. When they approached us asking us to look at the analysis they were given, they were asking “what can I do with this now”? After extensive reviews of the analysis we were able to pull some useful information out, such as, the fact that slumps in sales correlated to price-point offers. People were waiting for the five dollar membership drives. When the price went up to $19.95 per month, sales would slow down. We also discovered that club managers played a large role in retention. We created a new training program for club managers that included our findings. In total, we took those door stops and turned them into programs and actionable information which led to greater sales, more successful promotions and targeted marketing programs. Thankfully, Bally’s asked us to look at the data. Had they not, their money would have been wasted.


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Chapter 7 Sales Sales are not accidental or automatic. Sales do not come from a “field of dreams” approach (if you build it they will come). Today’s customer is; more savvy, more conservative and more discerning than ever before. They are inundated with so much marketing clutter that you must have more than something “new” to tell them. Whether it is in business or your personal life, you must know them, speak directly to the benefit in your sales proposition and respect them in order to get their business. Sales are a function of product, awareness (marketing/ advertising), ease, price, desire, functionality, need and opportunity, as well as location (find-ability). A great idea that is overpriced will fail. Being another sandwich joint that happens to have “heart aware” food is not going to bring in your customers if they don’t know you exist. This is not to say that if customers are looking for your particular product or service they won’t seek you out. If you are addressing a need with a specialty item, they will find you, but you cannot hide. You must make your product


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and/or service accessible. If you are selling on the internet, make sure you have all the potential keywords coded on your website so that the search engines will respond. Customers will settle for a substitute product or service, if it is too difficult to find you, even if they are willing to pay a premium. The results of your analysis will assist you in identifying sales opportunities. Profiling will tell you what your customers “look like”. When working on Dial-A-Mattress in New York, we profiled their customers by brand of bed and the size of bed by DMA (AC Nielsen’s TV Designated Market Area, which are aggregations of Counties within States). Dial-A-Mattress sells beds with twenty-four hour delivery using toll-free direct response advertising (1-800-MATTRESS). I will never forget the niche markets we discovered. During the presentation of analytical results, the Marketing Director actually said “…and in San Francisco, we are selling a king to every Queen”. While amusing, the truth was that Gay publications turned out to payout in San Francisco. We also discovered that there was a large opportunity for up-sale during the order taking process. The result was a


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shift in the script for the operators that resulted in additional sales. Today, in addition to mattress’ they sell, linens and other furniture nationwide. Trade area analysis will tell you where customers are coming from. This was important to McDonalds whose store locations sometimes overlap traditional trade areas. We looked not only at where customers lived, but also where they worked and their coupon redemption patters to determine the most effective mailing lists and newspapers to advertise in. We did this by coding the coupons to both the individual they were mailed to and the store they were mailed for. We then had the stores batch the coupons and send them to us with their store numbers. The used coupons were then matched to see if customers redeemed at the location that they were mailed from. It takes foresight to implement a program like this. Most of the time, the backend analysis is not performed, but in this case it was yielding actionable information for refining future programs.


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Predictive models will help to score (rank) potential buying behavior and identify specific look-alike buyers. For AT&T, we created scoring algorithms based on the results of mailings to refine future list purchases. Surveys can help in defining your unique selling proposition, problem areas and solutions. When we needed to identify why customers of a major tele-communications firm were switching we conducted surveys and overlaid demographic data to better understand them, resulting in new tactics for retention and up-sell promotions, all leading to more sales revenue. Sales are the result of effective conscious planning, testing, analyzing, adjusting and responding to your customers, not happenstance. When you are ready to do more than exist and become active participants in your customer’s lives, sales will follow.


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Chapter 8 Harness Data Now you may think, okay I know I need to understand my customers. I know I need to take a bunch of things into consideration in order to analyze my customers and take action. But, how do I find this stuff out? The process of discovery begins with harnessing your data and varies depending upon availability of information. Let’s look at the path of least resistance first. If you collect the name and address of your customer in the course of the way you do business, then you are off to a good start. This is true, if you are dealing with businesses or individuals. If, however, it is not natural in the course of doing business to get this information, you may want to look at alternative ways to do business. We did this with Pepsi when working on a team at DDB creating the Pepsi Bottle Cap Game. Originally Pepsi was going to create a points program to instill a perceived value in the customer’s mind for increasing their consumption. If each person drank one more Pepsi product a


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month, it meant millions of dollars in revenue. Customers would receive points for bottle caps to buy Pepsi stuff or things from other PepsiCo companies (like Pizza Hut). Numbers inside the bottle caps would be used (coded) for promotions. They had not thought about creating a back end system to track who was using the points or for what promotions. To do this we invented a way for participants in the program to register on-line and track their points. We gathered customer’s names, addresses, birthdates and email addresses. Various tables were set up that corresponded to promotions, point tallies and, yes, each individual customer. The yield was a database of known Pepsi users. Today, Coke followed suit and has a similar program. You know you did well and set the bar when you are complimented by being copied. Once computerized, a name and address* (telephone numbers and email addresses are a bonus) can be matched against a number of outside files (databases) and valuable information can be added to your customer records for analysis. For example,


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if you are in real estate you can find data from Dataquick™. In the case of Pepsi who was selling to consumers (like a retailer or hospitality provider), we used data from Infobase ™, Claritas™ and/or Donnelley. If you are a business-to-business operator you may use Dunn & Bradstreet, TRW or Experian. There are many companies available with over 300 characteristics, such as household income, age, pet ownership, company size, number of employees and so on. These data can be purchased for appending, then organized and analyzed. In the event that you have no customer data, surveys, secondary data (e.g. Simmons, Birch, MRI) and primary research, can be very useful in obtaining customer data such as profiles or attitudes about your product. The results must be objectively analyzed, meaning that the answers need to be quantifiable using a tool such as a score to create data sets. You do not always require 100% of your customers to create an effective


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analysis. In many cases only a sample is used. Most importantly, do not collect information for collection sake. He who has the most data does not win. He who can interpret and make actionable their customer data gets the C-A-S-H. *Note: Your database is a tangible asset. Many companies sell their lists and information as a secondary revenue stream. If you choose to go this route be sure to check out the privacy and tax laws in your state.


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Some More Thoughts About Customers, Analysis, Sales, Harness Data

Taking the Customers, Analysis, Sales, Harness Data to a lifestyle level involves an objective approach to your reality. Begin by looking at who the Customers are in your life. In other words, who do you serve? If God/Spirit is your first answer, be still. Then ask yourself the same questions that follow and expand to include your family, friends, teachers and employer(s). Ask yourself if you consider them in your approach to life? How you think, dress, react and respond? Analyze and segment your customers. To whom are you going to give holiday gifts? Who is worthy of your time? What level of involvement are you going to have with them? Is your relationship serving you now or are you looking at them as opportunities for the future. What do you want to achieve by having these types of customers in your life?


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“Sales” on a personal/lifestyle level is another way of saying “get what you want”. Each customer (individual) you have contact with you have a unique selling proposition for. I want my parents to buy me a car; therefore I have to sell them on my need for the car. I want my friends to include me in social gatherings therefore I have to sell them on the idea that I am the life of the party. The universe will respond with a “yes” to your desire, but you must take action and sell yourself, your idea, your want/need to your customer to get the result. You must interpret your analysis to make it actionable. It is also helpful to look at where you are coming from in your asking. If you are coming from a confident place of knowing that you can have what you want, then you are likely to get it. This is because you are coming from a place of knowing. On the other hand, if you are coming from a place of wanting, you may get to continue wanting. Wanting is sometimes more pleasing than having. There are times when you may feel served by want. In these


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times, know that you will get exactly that, more wanting. Wanting can be preparation for having. When you move into a place of acceptance that you can have, you will have. So be honest about where you are coming from. Harnessing data is done by reflecting upon your desired result and then on what the customers in your life require for you to get that result. You can do this by making lists, gathering consensus on an idea and weighing the results, asking for advice from those you trust, reading books, or meditating on your intention and asking your guides and/or angels for help. The principles for success are the same. Ask yourself what you want and say it, see yourself having it and then look at specifically what you can do to make it so. It is not enough to want C.A.S.H. You have to be willing to go after it. You have to confidently accept that you deserve it and can have it. This provides you with an objective approach to do just that.


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SECTION 3 Chapter 9 Contacts Chapter 10 Awareness Chapter 11 Support Chapter 12 Health


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Chapter 9 Contacts Contacts are customers, vendors, associates, competitors, friends and family with whom you have direct experience and communication. When I was telling my friend, Monica Wild, a Publicist, about this book, she called me and said “hey, I just came up with another “C.A.S.H.” phrase, ‘Call And Say Hi’”. How right she was, as that can be the key to staying on top of your contacts. Contacts are key to your business and successful life. They are your best advocates and potential opportunities. When customers calls to complain, they have made contact with you and are giving you the opportunity to turn them into loyal advocates. This is true with your family and friends. They care enough about your product or service to tell you what they think. The same is true of survey responders, associates, vendors and competitors. Your job is to listen to what your contacts are telling you and use the information to grow your C.A.S.H..


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Contacts are precious. They need to be maintained and communicated with on a regular basis. Your best contacts should be communicated with monthly. This can be done with a newsletter, press release, phone call or email. Not everyone realizes that out-of-sight is not out-of-mind. A vendor who provides you with great service can be as important to your bottom line as a repeat customer. As you know, people change jobs, advance and move. A great vendor is always a good long term ally. Loyal contacts and great vendors become advocates. Your advocates are the foundation to your grass roots marketing. Your competitor’s actions and reactions can give you valuable insight and direction. While working for a geo-demographic data provider, I became friends with one of my biggest competitors. At one of my client meetings, my client told me that this person had come to see them. My client said that once my competitor heard that I was their contact, he excused himself saying “you’re already with the best”. I always thought that was sweet.


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Your friends need to know you do not take them for granted. Standing on ceremony and expecting a call will result in a silent telephone. The universe responds to action. Take it. Attend events and happenings where your contacts are and take the opportunity to say “hello”. Let your contacts know that you are involved, active and receptive. I used to make monthly customer care calls to my best customers when working in a small software company. When renewal time came, I was always number one at getting signed contracts. Keep your contacts informed in a responsible way. My chiropractor sends out a monthly newsletter with health tips to his clients. It is a great way to receive a reminder that I need an adjustment. Always take the high road, staying positive, so that your contacts can reflect your positive message to each person they know. This turns them into advocates (loyal customers who talk about you) for you and word of mouth is a powerful form of marketing. Remember that each single contact is worth six new customers.


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Chapter 10 Awareness No matter who you desire to reach, unless their awareness is on your want/desire/ need, your product or service, they will not respond to you. Making C.A.S.H. a reality is dependant on effective communication and creation of awareness among your customers, potential customers (prospects), the universe, your friends, family, associates, and so on. It is the level of awareness (conscious, unconscious, top-of-mind etc.) that these various groups have which determines the immediacy of your results. Gaining awareness is a function of effective communication. In the world of business this translates to marketing and advertising. The traditional school of thought is that an individual will not remember your product or service (become “aware”, be effectively reached) until they have received three or more communications about your product or service. Here we are with the magic number


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three. Why three? Because the first time one is exposed to a new message, unless they have an immediate need for what is being communicated, they will not react to it. The second time, they will recall their exposure to their first awareness (message) and the third time they will remember the message (product or service) and/or be motivated to buy. Now in the case of a popular fast food product like McDonalds, this number changes to fifteen times. This means that we are all so accustomed to having McDonalds in our lives that, in order to make an impact on us, we need to hear or see their message a great deal more often. You’ll notice, however, that McDonalds does not get complacent in generating awareness. Many companies think that they can get away with just advertising once. This does not work. Even Disneyland knows that they have to continue to maintain awareness to keep their competitive edge. And Disney is a company whose brand equity (brand value) is one of the highest in recognition when people are asked to “name an amusement park”.


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Making all parties privy to your product, service or desire only happens with communication. You have to speak, demonstrate and motivate your prospects, customers and contacts to engage with you. They must be aware that you have what they want and/or need and that you have it now (whenever their “now” is). That means that you must create consistent awareness so that your product, service or desire is top-of-mind when they are ready to give and/or buy.


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Chapter 11 Support Support is a necessity for C.A.S.H. You, your customers, prospects, and contacts require support for your continued success. Support is provided both within a business (and your life) and externally. Effective support must be provided on all levels. Begin with the universe and work your way down to your employees, (e.g. the universe will support your clear intentions). Product development needs support from research. Sales and customers need support from customer service, and your employees need support from management and so on. Support ebbs and flows as your needs shift and you must be ready to adjust to what is needed. Let’s look at a simple analogy that will make this clear. When you first plant a tree, the seedling branch is not strong enough to support itself. So, you place a stick or pole next to it and tie it up for support. As the tree grows, its roots take hold and the stick is no longer necessary. However, the tree still needs support to


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grow. Now, it requires water, fertilizer and sunlight. As the tree’s needs change, you adjust the level of support you provide. When the tree reaches full maturity, it may need trimming. If a wind storm comes up and the tree becomes imbalanced, it will require a more advanced support system. Our lives and companies are like trees, requiring different levels of support as they grow and shift. It is important to make sure that all your support mechanisms are in place at each level to ensure your creation and achievement of success harmoniously. When working with one client (who due to confidentiality will remain nameless), we discovered that the sales team was doing a great job. The feedback from customer service was usually good. The only problem was that demand was so high the product was not being produced fast enough to fill orders. This caused lengthy delays in getting products to customers. Production was not supporting sales. To shift this, the company had to enlist an outside company to help get more product produced. In the short term, this lowered profitability.


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However, in the long term they were able to shore up Production and their increase in sales more then compensated for the short term costs. Today they are one of the leading providers of high end furniture world wide.


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Chapter 12 Health Health is being confident in what you want from the universe (staying positive), your body, mind, spirit, customers, and contacts. Health is harnessing data so that you have proper analysis of your current reality to create actionable solutions honestly which will support you, your contacts and your product’s or service’s awareness and result in sales and C.A.S.H. As you can see from the above statement, your health depends on your ability to use all the skills and concepts discussed so far. Health should begin with you. Are you balanced and aligned with what you want to achieve? If you are stressed at all, the answer to this question is “no”. Stress is a symptom that something is out of alignment. This is true at every juncture of your life and business. Then look at your business. Are your employees healthy? Is your bottom line


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healthy? Are your relationships healthy? Again, if there is stress in any area of your organization, something is out of alignment, balance. How do you get health? Know that it already exists, then look at what it is that you’ve identified as unhealthy. If it is your employees, how is this manifested? Are they missing work? Overstressed? Complaining? Not as productive as you’d like? Once you know the question, you can find the solution by going back to the basics outline in the first eleven chapters. Sections 1-3 provide the foundation on which health is built. The Sections 4-8 of this book focus on the health and growth of your success (C.A.S.H.). The last two sections 9-10 address what is necessary to maintain upward mobility and create achievement and success harmoniously. Remember, creating health in your life and business is critical to realizing your dreams. Without health we are doomed to a cycle of diminishing returns. Health is a state of


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being, of mind and spirit. It is your birthright. When I was freelancing as a media buyer years ago, I made a lot of money working insane hours. I loved the flexibility, but my health suffered. I became run down. Did I learn? No. In 1986 while sitting at my desk working on a presentation for Coke I doubled over in pain. My nerves were shot. Doctors told me that I needed surgery. In fact, all I needed was to relax. Even while in pain, I worked until one doctor told me that he could put a shot directly into my nerve to release it. All I had to do was rest. What I learned was that in truth there is nothing that I am doing while working that cannot be done tomorrow, as long as I handle it responsibly. Without your health you have nothing. Take care of yourself. Only then can you take care of others and your business. If your employees are over stressed in the name of profit you will find that you have a high degree of turnover. Re-evaluate your priorities. The money will be there. C.A.S.H. is yours for the taking.


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Corporate health usually refers to the bottom line. When you move from profitable to not profitable something is out of alignment. In these cases, companies usually start by cutting their most valuable resource, employees. This is because salary and overhead, such as insurance and space, are so high. Unfortunately this does not always solve the problem. Companies lose intellectual assets. They lose manpower. It is like the farmer who has learned that his horse can eat straw mixed in with his hay. The farmer sees this as a way to save money. The horse continues to plow the field. Until one day the farmer has substituted so much straw that the horse dies. Cutting employees without looking for other causes is short sighted. The result is often a greater loss. When those people leave others have to pick up the slack. You cannot get health by treating the symptom without knowing the cause. If profits slip go back to analysis. Don’t just react. Take the time to respond from a place of honest assessment. I am not saying that eliminating duplication will not save money.


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Just make sure that you are coming from a place of knowing.


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SECTION 4 Chapter 13 Creative Chapter 14 Advertising Chapter 15 Strategy Chapter 16 Horizon


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Chapter 13 Creative Typically “creative” refers to the message, offer, price and package you use as your marketing vehicle. It can be anything from a business card, brochure and/or letter to a billboard, email, internet banner, television/radio commercial and/or print ad. It is the output of your expression. Good creative starts with a focused clear understanding of your goals and objective. Without a clear picture of what you want, good creative becomes improbable and the outcome looks like a finger painting--lots of color, wiggles and no point. Good creative sells. It communicates a product’s or service’s benefits and provides a reason and/or incentive for the potential (or existing) customer to take action. You have approximately fifteen seconds to capture your audience’s attention, so stay on point. How you represent yourself is as important as how you represent your product or service. Your message should match your goal. Being creative begins with your


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outlook. It is important to know that you are unlimited, in the many ways you can approach every moment in your life. If you look like an unenthusiastic observer rather than an active participant in your life, you will sell yourself short. Having flair and style is fine, as long as you support it with right action and integrity. If possible use your creative messaging to get both sales and information. You can do this by including a 800/888 toll-free telephone number on your message. If using a direct mail piece, you can use a key code (unique identifier) to correspond to the name and address of the individual you mail to. In both these cases you will be able to harness data and learn about your responders (those who showed interest in your product, or said “yes” to your offer). You can then incorporate this information into your analysis to help you refine your future creative. Remember, your objective and stay true to it. Don’t be cute. Make your point clear and you will get results. Good creative always sells.


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Chapter 14 Advertising Since you have developed your creative messaging, determined who your prospects are and what you want them to be aware of, advertising, in this case, refers to the means by which you will disseminate your message. Traditionally, the term advertising refers to the entire process from target development (what your customers look like, i.e. who you want to talk to), to creative and the placement of the creative. Because we have discussed many of the elements going into advertising, here we will focus on the element that your customers see, the placement (where) or dissemination of your message. The objective of advertising is to effectively reach your customer (prospective customers) and to sell your product or service while increasing/maintaining awareness of those not yet ready to buy. Your message should be accessible to your audience and not overburdened with to


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much information. Who you are or what your product is about should be clear. Your communication must be appropriate for the environment, in which your message appears. For example, a radio ad may communicate the same message as a television ad. However, if you are showing your product in television and the display of your product is what is “telling”, then radio may not be as effective. If your product requires a great deal of explanation such as a pharmaceutical drug then print (magazines/newspapers/inserts) will be the best place to have your ad. Your creative should match the vehicle you are going to use to distribute your message. Television can create awareness and even generate the feeling of a need, but print can provide the space for the detail. You see this with pharmaceutical companies. They use both TV and print. If you want to speak to an individual, the internet, direct mail and/or telemarketing may serve you best. More often than not, a good advertising campaign will include a mix of vehicles (or media) to maximize your opportunity for exposure and cash.


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When working for a major b/c (higher risk) credit lending company, whose sales were based on lead generation, we found that direct mail, although highly targeted, was not producing enough leads to support their sales force. We tested a direct response television ad (meaning it had a toll-free number for viewers to call for more information) for them. Lo and behold within one week they had enough leads to support their entire sales force and up their conversation rate (leads to loans sold) by 30%. This was extraordinary. Normally, you may see a five to ten percent increase. The reason it was so high was that the creative included a ‘get a free credit report offer’, which was a hot button at the time. Concurrent with the running of the TV ad, we tested radio ads with the same creative. Although the radio ads only added three percent more leads, they remained cost effective. Television, pulled better than Radio. When looked at in combination with the direct mail, TV and radio created a cohesive media mix to support the sales force.


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Chapter 15 Strategy The concept of strategy or a strategic approach can be confusing. Simply put strategy is the “what” behind your objective. Objective being the “why” you are doing something and tactic being the “how, when and where” you will do it. Again keeping it simple, you know that you want to go from Los Angeles to New York. This is your objective. There is an infinite range of possibilities to achieve this. Your strategy, however, includes additional parameters such as timeliness, therefore your strategic approach is to find the fastest way to achieve your objective, which would be to take a plane. You must continually ask “why” you are going to do something in “what” particular way, to keep your strategy on point. Lastly, (the “how”) your tactic to accomplish this is that you will buy a ticket and go to the airport, in order to get on the plane which brings you to your objective, New York.


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Having a clear strategy can keep you from running amuck with possibilities. Strategy provides the focus for achievement. Leaving out the strategy is reactive. Working from a strategic place is being effective and therefore responsive. To optimize success you want to have a framework of checks and balances. Your strategy provides the framework.


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Chapter 16 Horizon Looking out at the horizon provides a way for you to collect yourself. In business and in life this is what I call the long view. It is important to see the horizon, to take a long view in order to appreciate where you are in the moment and where you are going. As I said in the beginning of this book, you must see yourself having achieved success in order to create it. Too often the details and pace of modern life take you away from the vision and ultimate creation of C.A.S.H. So now that you’ve developed your foundation and are on the way to achievement you must remember the big picture (the horizon). Bless, acknowledge and refocus your intentions by checking how far you’ve come. Look at how your creation is leading to exactly what you want. Celebrate your achievements along the way, as well as the achievements of those around you. By keeping your eye on the horizon you gain inspiration. Pick your head up and see the


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sky. Do not let the ebb and flow of business, sales, and process discourage you. This is exactly why people in the stock market say “be in it for the long term”. Short term thinking leads to short term results. Keeping your eye on the horizon also gives you the opportunity to see the connectedness of your actions to the universe and to everything around you. It is important to know the impact created by using one source over another. We have seen this most recently with Trans Fat. Many food service providers are changing their source to eliminate Trans Fat. When you acknowledge your connectedness and look at long range impacts you may discover ways to shift the way you do business to make the world a better place. It may be as simple as using only recycled paper products. Moreover, being aware of the horizon opens you to the realm of possibility and affirms your relationship to the great universal “yes”. By affirming your long view you are giving reinforcement to your vision.


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Another key to creating and achieving success harmoniously is remembering that C.A.S.H. is a journey of continuing growth, not a one-time achievement. Your goal is to maintain a flow. By being true to your long range vision you keep alive and dynamic. You want to be successful repeatedly. That is what keeps life interesting.


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SECTION 5 Chapter 17 Collections Chapter 18 Accountability Chapter 19 Service Chapter 20 Harmony


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Chapter 17 Collections For some of you this chapter represents one of the most difficult aspects for creating and achieving success harmoniously. Cash (money) for goods and services is in alignment with the universal law of energy exchange. Many of you are great at ideas and even creation but don’t know how to ask, collect/ receive, and get people to deliver on what you want. Collections can be challenging, but is a critical aspect to creating and achieving success harmoniously and ensuring balance in your business and life. It is a form of health that you must maintain. Therefore, put systems in place which keep you and your business healthy. You must realize that you deserve to be paid for your product and/or service. You have made a choice to accept cash into your life. If you are in a position where you are “billing” customers for goods or services, collections play a significant roll in your process. Do not be embarrassed or feel guilty about going after payment. When


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someone buys your product or service, they have agreed to pay you. If they withhold payment, then an imbalance of energy exchange occurs in the universe and your business. This should not be acceptable to you. I am not saying that bad debt is not a part of doing business today. Only that it does not need to be, if all are abiding by the universal law of energy exchange. There are agencies that can assist you in collections if you require it. The key is staying on top of your “asking”, billings, so that you can collect in a timely manner. Sometimes, collections are not an issue at all. In these cases, you’ve decided to receive at the moment of exchange. This is good. Keeping your eye on collections allows you to be accountable and balanced in business and your life. When you treat others as you want them to treat you, you teach them how to treat you. So the other side of the collection coin is to be sure to pay your bills on time. Working within this universal law is an essential element to creating and


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achieving success harmoniously. Be sure to pay attention to it.


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Chapter 18 Accountability Every individual, aspect and process must be made accountable. Accountability allows you to trace the cause and effect of each contribution to your success. Without accountability you may as well dig a hole and throw money into it. Accountability is empowering, informative and joyous. Accountability elevates all participants, providing a sense of contribution to you and your business. It should be incorporated into your strategy. It provides the opportunity for ownership in creating achievement and success harmoniously. It can point to areas for refinement and growth. I have to admit, budget time was one thing I dreaded. I hated pulling numbers out of the air to create the profit and loss statement. I hated going into meetings for budget approval, having to defend the numbers I created from wishful thinking. That is until I learned that I could put a method to the madness. I started looking at the P&L as my goal, rather than my commitment. The


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budget represented what I wanted to achieve through sales and spending, instead of what I had to do. I was working with the universal “yes”. It became a fun exercise when I realized that it was okay to adjust it based on achievements each quarter. When putting a business plan together it is important to detail all your anticipated expenses and your desired sales. This helps you stay accountable. It also affirms your willingness to achieve by saying “yes I can” get these clients, sell this much product or negotiate better deals. When you say “yes” the universe responds. In public corporations there is an ultimate accountability to the shareholders. In life you are accountable to your higher power. In both instances you must serve the highest good. This sometimes means that you have to make difficult choices. Do not be afraid of this. It is simply a way of determining what works and what doesn’t in your life and business. Create measures of accountability and involve yourself, employees and customers in taking personal responsibility for success.


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You should also look at what doesn’t work and adjust accordingly. Satisfaction comes from knowing that your contribution is significant. It is ultimately a gift to demand accountability as it provides the avenue for acknowledgement and appreciation.


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Chapter 19 Service The area of service is vastly important to your business and life. In order to provide openings for sales, communication, gratitude and satisfaction your service division must be responsive, timely and results oriented. The truth is that every single person in your business and life is “in service” to one another, just as your service division is “in service” to your customers. Understanding this creates an environment of compassion and gratitude which result in C.A.S.H. All good leaders are “in service” as are all good entertainers, chefs and professionals. Even athletes are “in service” while playing their sport. Service generates joy and out of joy comes a greater understanding of purpose. You cannot get until you give. Service is the giving end in business. When in service, the key question is “how may I serve you”. I did not say “how may I help you”. “Help” implies there is a problem. “Service” simples says there is something I can do perhaps before there is


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a problem. Service anticipates solutions. Help reacts to problems. Remember to be solutions oriented, not problem based. You need to inform each division of your company of the service they provide and the important role that particular service plays. In the instance of “customer service”, the role is to create the possibility of agreement and to relieve an imbalance in your customer’s experience with your product. In the role of product development, the role is to serve the customer with the best product design and to serve the company with the most cost effective design. In the role of distribution and shipping, service is the timely delivery of your product. Attorneys serve their clients with optimal resolutions. Doctors serve their clients with compassion and results. Being of service in your life also provides you with the opportunity to give back in a conscious way. This creates the opening for you to realize more good, compassion, gratitude and express these qualities in what you do. Ultimately, there is great satisfaction


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and accomplishment in being in service. Think what a lovely world this would be if we all saw ourselves in service of one another.


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Chapter 20 Harmony When harmony is evident in our lives and business everyone who comes into contact with us sees it. A harmonious work environment is more productive and more profitable. The traditional corporate political environment distracts from harmony by its nature. Politics create division. I remember waking up one morning realizing that I could sell the same product to every division in of one of my Fortune 100 clients, because they were all competing with each other. Had they been in harmony, sharing resources this opportunity would not have arisen. I would always begin each pitch saying that so and so division had this already. The response I received was a signed contract for yet another system. I made a lot of money selling into that account. Just think how much they could have saved. Was I working toward the highest good by doing this? Yes. The political nature of the company created the opportunity. The divisions needed the product and I the sales. It was always my


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hope that they would move their desperate divisions from chiefdoms to a synergistic, harmonious approach to doing business. Healthy companies are based on collaboration. Know that advancement does not require being politic. Advancement requires peak performance, cooperation and achievement. When you are always working toward the highest good you will be in harmony with your goals and will not be threatened. Harmony is achieved when what we say is aligned with what we do and ultimately what we want. It is what occurs when everything runs smoothly. It is the reward for clarity. It is the reward for serving internal and external customers effectively. It is the reward that leads to creating achievement and success harmoniously. Harmony, like sales, is not an accident. It is derived from conscious effort, from appropriate dissemination of information. Harmony is gained through the understanding by each individual of


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the significant role they play in creating C.A.S.H.. Harmony is involvement. Harmony is empowering. Once you experience it, you want to continue to create it, in business and in your life. Harmony feels good. Some think that out of conflict comes harmony. I do not think this is true. I think that out of conflict comes understanding. Harmony is the bringing together of understanding and action. When our actions match our understanding of what is necessary to achieve our goals, harmony is the result. Your life and business do not need to struggle to reach achievement and success harmoniously. The trick is to begin from a space of harmony and know that from this space harmony will perpetuate. Be patient, share your knowledge, listen to each other without the chatter of what you will say next. Really listen. The song of harmonic success comes from working together. My friend asked me, “then what do you do when you are in harmony, but, the people


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around you are not in harmony?” After giving this some thought this is what I realized. The bible and spiritual gurus tell us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. So, I thought, that means that when God looks in the mirror, He/She sees us. Right? So, when you look in the mirror, who do you see? Aw ha! That’s right, God. Now, I am not speaking about personality, only that which is perfect, whole and complete, the, you of you. When you look at those you consider out of harmony, see them without their personalities. See the Devine image of God that they actually are. Acknowledge them as perfect, whole and complete. When you put personality aside, harmony resides. This is another way of saying, put your ego aside and see that boss or co-worker in their highest form. Now allow them to become their greatest potential. Stop taking it personally. Through your actions and words show them exactly what is needed to be in harmony. Do it with kindness. Harmony is a gift that when shared spreads and makes the world a better place. Appreciate the harmony in your life and be happy.


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SECTION 6 Chapter 21 Collaboration Chapter 22 Advantage Chapter 23 Simplicity Chapter 24 Hope


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Chapter 21 Collaboration Collaboration may be one of the greatest tools available to us. In order to have the most effective collaborative effort, you must begin with a ‘check the ego at the door’ attitude. Everyone’s ideas are to be considered equally. And everyone agrees to not take anything personally. Look at the universe. It does not take personally which flowers grow in the garden or even that there is a garden. The universe simply allows each element to flourish at its own rate. A good collaboration will do the same with fantastic results. Collaboration does not mean consensus. You do not place an idea on the table and wait for agreement. Collaboration is, instead, a bringing together of differing ideas to achieve an optimal result. Collaboration is an examination of the possible, the potential and, ultimately, the achievable. Why would we collaborate, when we can simply make decisions? This is a good


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question. The reason for collaboration is to expand and garner the best of the best. There are times when we must make decisions. However, it would be short sighted of us to do so without as much information as possible. The human mind is unlimited in view-points and potential. When we collaborate, we empower our lives and business with the flow of the possible. We gain perspective and often grow beyond our own capabilities. I once worked for a Fortune 500 company with twenty-one brilliant division heads. We were all individual profit centers. We would occasionally get together over dinner to compare notes and discuss mutual clients. It became frustrating when we realized how much more effective we would be to our clients if we did this is a formal way. We brought the idea of collaborative meetings to the President of the company. We presented the fact, that, not only would we be increasing the brain power and service, we provide to our clients, but we would also gain revenue by cross-selling our various services. He thought this was a terrific idea


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and instituted monthly collaboration sessions for our key accounts. Who should participate in the collaboration? There should be a representative from each aspect of your life or business. Now, remember. Collaboration is not consensus. You are not going to ask individuals one at a time for their feedback. Collaboration is a group effort, an exchange, an opportunity for the rare and wonderful to occur. Many types of collaborations are useful, be it to solve a specific challenge, more clearly define your vision, create and identify unique selling propositions (i.e. advantage, edge), create effective tools and/or identify opportunities and to create “some-thing” from “no-thing”. Visioning is a type of Collaboration that takes everyone to the dimension of potential, and, often yields fantastic results. When we collaboratively hold the same vision, we align to create achievement and success harmoniously (getting C.A.S.H.).


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Chapter 22 Advantage When you think of the word advantage, usually, the word competition will come up. Of course, competitive advantage is important to success. With this come things like being first in the market with your product or service, reputation, funding, position and quality. Knowing your competitive advantage begins by identifying the benefits of your products or services. And it goes further, you need to know your competitors benefits, as well. It will not do you any good to think of your business in a vacuum. You exist in a competitive marketplace. Don’t let your ego get in the way of understanding this simple fact. You need to give your customers a reason to buy you over the next guy, now. If you think you cannot identify your competitive advantage, then create one. New brands in existing markets do this all the time. Just look at the bottled water industry. It’s water! With some brilliant creative Evian was able to create a perception that their water was, not only worth paying more for, but was more


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refreshing than other bottled waters. Recently (May, 2007), Gerber Baby Food came out with a brilliant campaign. Their tag line is “it is good to be number two”…and then they tell you “baby is number one”. What genius! Although they hold the number one position in the marketplace, they shift their focus to what is important to the consumer, TODAY, the baby. They created a new advantage. I could site dozens of examples. The point is look to how you serve your customer and what your key selling proposition is going to be, then express it as an advantage. Price is not always the wisest way to create an advantage. There have been very few long term successes based on buying a market by being the lowest price. In today’s society we have what is called perceived value, in other words you get what you pay for. Meaning, the views of many are that if it costs less it cannot be as good. If you choose this road be prepared to prove your advantage in your product.


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Having an advantage in business is slightly different than having an advantage in life. However, it does become necessary to know your worth, and, at times such as a job interview, be able to express your best characteristics as an advantage. Always put your best foot forward with confidence and you will have the advantage. If you’ve been changing jobs every two-three years and you are sitting across from someone asking you “are you a job hopper?” Try responding with “no, to grow, you go. I changed jobs to continue to learn all I needed to make me valuable here”. You just took a perception of instability and turned it into a strategy for success, and an advantage.


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Chapter 23 Simplicity A long time ago someone said “just kiss it Julie” and I said “what?!” “Keep it simple stupid” was the reply. Little did I know that this would be one of the greatest pieces of advice I’d ever received. Simplicity is a beautiful thing. But simplicity can be “seeming” and not the reality. In reality the creation of a business may be very complex. The goal is to express everything in the simplest form possible in order to walk the path of least resistance. Overburdening a presentation, business plan, advertisement or conversation with too much detail can lose your investors, customers, relations and friends. How do you “kiss it”?

• Be clear in what you want to say. • Boil it down to what is essential. • Ask yourself the question “do they really need to know this?” • Find the fewest number of words to express what you want to say, be it a

mission statement or a competitive advantage.


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• Speak to the appropriate level of detail to the appropriate audience. An

individual who is building something for you needs to know what you want. It is up to them to come back to you with the details.

• Allow room for extended conversation and questions. Focus on what is being asked and then focus your answer still keeping it simple.

Remember that simplicity sells. No one buys something because it is too complicated to work. Ease is a function of simplicity. Make it easy for people to work with you in business and your life and your road to C.A.S.H. will be much more gentle.


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Chapter 24 Hope Hope is what happens when a vision is shared and the success of that vision is desired. We extend hope in our lives to relationships, things, desires, dreams and business. When hope is used in a positive way it replaces uncertainty with promise. Hope leads to C.A.S.H. by facilitating your vision and holding that vision in place for achievement. This is true when what you want is a promotion, more sales or you have a goal that you think may be slightly far off. Sharing your hope for your company, for each person’s roll in your success, is a powerful way to create achievement and success harmoniously. There are few things more powerful than a room of individuals all sharing the same hope, vision. Gathering these individuals together and giving them hope and ownership in the vision of what you want to achieve with your business can propel you forward.


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Vision sessions are where you bring people together to share your vision, garner hope for achievement, and then allow for a quiet space of deep listening. Visioning is a form of collaboration which provides structure to the forum. Visualization is a powerful tool for the realization of what you hope for. To create the environment for this, first you must ask everyone to set aside all judgment and allow whatever comes into their mind to be the “right” thing in that moment. Then, in this quiet space, ask some key questions such as:

• What is the highest vision or perfect idea for achieving success in our business?

• What must I/we become to empower this vision? • What must I/we shift to empower this vision?

Allow between 30 seconds and one minute for each question asked. Have a pen and paper handy and have each participant write what comes to them after time is called. You


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may find the results very helpful in achieving what you hope for.

Hope is desire gift wrapped in trust. Hope is the result of having a vision, trusting that it will come to pass and knowing that it is already done. When we say “I hope so”, we are affirming our faith that what we desire will be.


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SECTION 7 Chapter 25 Centered Chapter 26 Active Chapter 27 Smart Chapter 28 Hard hitting


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Chapter 25 Centered When we are not centered, we are off balance. Being centered in your business is the ability to create a balanced work environment which pays back to your vision (C.A.S.H.) in every way. This is true in your life as well. Being centered in communication is another way of saying that you are clear in what you want to communicate. A centered communication, like creative, can be balanced around a benefit, price point or offer. Or it may be a concise memo outlining action steps, performance or accomplishment. Overemphasis on a single aspect is off center. If work is all you do, and you ignore other relationships in your life, you are not centered. And the opposite is also true. If you devote all your time and energy to a particular aspect of your life or a relationship, you are not centered. Being centered is being in alignment, balance.


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On the other hand, companies that provide perks and services, like, Bloomberg Financial and Yahoo!, such as social areas, exercise areas and play time, not only find that their employees are happier, but also more productive and loyal. This is because their approach to their business is balanced while maintaining a focus. They create the opportunity for employees to experience being centered. Marketing which is not centered, active, smart and hard hitting is usually off balance, confusing and lost in the clutter. This section is going to focus on what is necessary to create a positive cohesive marketing communication. We have discussed creative as the message and advertising as the vehicles, now we will discuss the tone of your marketing efforts. When your tone is centered, active, smart and hard hitting your message is on point. Cosmetic companies are great at doing this. They show you women (their target audience), using their product(s), in various situations, successfully. They create a tone of desirability, ease of use and a positive


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outcome; beauty, in a hard hitting, sexy, hot way. They encourage sales by providing a sensual experience for the viewer telling them “you can have this now”. Toy companies, like Mattel and Fisher Price, are also genius at centered communications. They show children (target number one), with approving parents (target number two), enjoying their product in a healthy environment. They trigger desire in the child, prompting the “nag factor” to go into effect. They stay focused on the child and their experience with the toy, often showing in the background, the ease of assembly. Theirs is a balanced communication between two different spectrums (the child and the parent, otherwise known as the influencer and the buyer). Staying centered, active, smart and hard hitting will serve you in all your communications, not just in your advertising. Keep this in mind as you write memos, letters and employee reviews and it will be a benefit in creating achievement and success harmoniously.


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Chapter 26 Active One of the easiest ways to create an active tone in your communications is to remove the verb “to be” from your language. The verbs “to be” take you immediately into a passive role. For example, “to be thoughtful” is a condition, something you are, “being thoughtful” is an action, something you do. In other words, move from “a passive voice” to “an active voice”. Having said this, know that active communication does two things. First, it creates excitement about your product or service and, second, it creates an active response e.g. buy now, call now, test drive now. Creating involvement in your communications is another way to remain active. Being active, in your business, means that you do not simply put up the money and let others take responsibility for your success or failure. Even if you are playing the stock market, take an active role. Know the company whose stock you are buying.


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Demonstrate to your staff your active participation in the success of your business. Let them know you are involved. This will engender loyalty and respect. Take an active role in your life. You will not meet new people by sitting on your couch. I am not speaking of physical fitness. I am speaking about active participation. You are not a victim if you are actively taking a role in your life. It is impossible. All success is in the doing. Do something actively good for yourself everyday. When you are centered, balanced and active you will attract like-minded people to you. You will find that you can accomplish everything by taking an active role. This is not intended to mean that you do everything yourself. Being able to delegate is the sign of a smart, balanced individual. To delegate tasks takes someone who understands both their value, and the value of those around them. Being active is being present in the here and now. You cannot get active about your past.


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You can only change the future by taking action in the present. This is as true in your life as it is in your business. The key is paying attention.


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Chapter 27 Smart If we were to look at a glass, on one level it is a container, empty until filled beaming with the potential of a wonderful treat. The glass is like intelligence, it represents potential. Smart is the liquid that gets put in the glass. It is how you use your intelligence. Being smart is paying attention and responding, rather than reacting to what you notice. Smart communication is not necessarily clever, but it certainly can be. When you respond to a need and can clearly communicate, the benefit you provide in a simple way that is smart. So, what does “smart” have to do with C.A.S.H.? Good question. There are many products and services out there, yet there is only one number one spot for each product or service. Smart is creating a perception that being number one doesn’t matter. For example, think of the rent-a-car service, AVIS, they knew that they were not going to be number one (Hertz owns that spot). So,


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their “we try harder” campaign was one of the smartest moves they could have made. Great creative. If they had attempted to change perception they would have lost greater market position. By looking at second place as an achievement, they created C.A.S.H. Avis enrolled everyone in the company with this concept. They made “we try harder” their strategic platform. And it worked for them. Smart in business sometimes requires us to slow down and really see what is. The same is true in your personal life. Sometimes the smartest response is “I do not know, but I will find out”. If you think that “what is” requires you to be less than truthful, then you are not being smart. Smart is always honest. Remember, smart communication is direct, simple and convincing without a great deal of explanation.


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Chapter 28 Hard hitting Hard hitting refers to the directness of your messaging. It is the impact your communication makes. If you are on message with a centered, active, smart, hard hitting communication your yield is C.A.S.H. Hard hitting does not mean harsh, blunt or rude. It means honest, direct and beneficial. It can be an expression in the form of words, pictures, music or tone. Some of the most hard hitting messages come through imaging. Just look at Audi’s new 2007 campaign. They ask you if you have a moment and then flash images of their new car models. The ad is striking. Test drives are up. Think of the anti-smoking ads where you see visions of popular types smoking, followed by a cancer ridden man in a wheel chair. The point is certainly made. For others, it is the tone of the voice-over talent that creates a hard hitting ad.


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Hard hitting is not always shocking. Take insurance companies. They tend to make their hard hitting messaging on the sensitive side. This creates a poignant tone and image of empathy and helpfulness. When we receive a hard hitting message, our response is generally “full stop”. We are provoked into thinking, to responding, not reacting. Sometimes we are moved. This is what World Vision hopes for in their charitable work to help feed distressed children all over the world. Hard hitting communication requires responsibility and social consciousness. It must pay back to your strategy and forward to your horizon. It must be harmonious with your product and audience. It must make a point. Interventions are an example of a hard hitting activity in our society. The NFL creates a compelling message of good times in a hard hitting way with their ads. Slow it down. Look at what you are doing and see if a hard hitting tactic is appropriate for you. Remember, the soft sell can work when you


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incorporate the elements of being centered (focused), active and smart. Hard hitting communication should always serve you and your potential customers, without being a turn off to your specific message.


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SECTION 8 Chapter 29 Challenging Chapter 30 Assertive Chapter 31 Sexy Chapter 32 Hot


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Chapter 29 Challenging The old adage “what does not kill you makes you stronger” is an extreme way of saying ‘face your challenges and you will succeed’. When something is challenging, too often we approach it as difficult. But what would happen if we turned it around, as we did as children, and looked at it as fun, a puzzle? Suddenly, what you thought of as challenging becomes something to play at, to discover and uncover. This is good. It keeps our minds active and asks you to look at things in a new way. It is important to have challenging moments in our lives. However, we want to have as few truly challenging moments as possible in our business and communications. That is not to say that you should make it easy all the time, only when dealing with customers. Removing challenging moments for customers from purchasing and using your product or service is a must. Customers must be provided with the path of least resistance in order to maximize their experience with you.


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The word challenging can also be a positive when it is turned into a benefit. If you are providing river rafting tours on the Colorado River, your customers want challenging experiences. If you are selling trucks, your customers want to know that the truck will meet the challenge of any task or load. If you are selling games, people want to know that they will be challenged. On the other hand, if you are selling financial services, you want to stress the removal of challenging situations. Challenging beliefs is a bit tougher, but it can be done. Just look at markets with self-checkout. This challenges a basic belief about how the business of shopping should be done. What would be a novel idea is if prices were reduced due to people checking out themselves. Then you have something of import to tell customers. Of course, that was not the intention of the supermarkets. The intention was to reduce waiting in checkout lines. Then again, most store chains have taken a field of dreams approach to this concept, build it and they will come, resulting in low usage. From my perspective this is a missed opportunity.


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Take advantage of challenging opportunities and make them positive. You will always benefit from the experience.


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Chapter 30 Assertive This chapter was originally going to be called aggressive. While the two words are similar, there is a real difference. You want to be aggressive in the marketplace, but not in your business dealings or your life. To be aggressive in the marketplace is to jump in, not just stick your toes in the water. Invest enough to create a presence. On the other hand, being aggressive can have a negative tone, whereas being assertive is kinder, albeit also necessary. Assertiveness is taking a stand for yourself and your product or service. It is less threatening than being aggressive and does not imply encroachment. To be assertive is to be able to be upfront about your product, service, need or desire. Being assertive is to know that it sometimes is better to ask for forgiveness than permission, to understand that you don’t catch flies with vinegar, and, to realize that it takes less energy to be nice than an ass. When you are assertive, you have created urgency to your asking. You


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will get better placement (facing) on the shelves, because you know how to ask for it. You assert your mutual benefit. Being assertive is active. It is confidently aggressive without intimidation. When you make an assertion, you are making a bold statement. There is nothing wrong with being assertive. Unlike aggressiveness, assertiveness is not forceful. It is impactful. Assert yourself in meetings. Do not wait for the opening. Create it. That does not mean interrupt who is speaking. It may mean standing up or raising your hand to be heard. It should never mean yelling over others. When you are assertive, not a jerk, you will be respected. Being assertive is a sign of confidence. It is knowing the power of yourself, product or service and expressing it in a overt way. Remember, power is never given. It is taken. Choose to take a stand. Be powerful, confident and assertive while providing the opportunity to have an aggressive stance in the marketplace. Both are important tools in your bag of tricks when used properly.


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Chapter 31 Sexy You have all heard that “sex sells”. I am not speaking of porn here. What this term is really saying is “sexy sells”. There is a difference between sex and sexy. Sex is an action. Sexy is descriptive (e.g. attitude, tone or appeal). This chapter is about using sexy in an appealing way. No women, I am not speaking to you about clothes (that is another book). I am talking about creative messaging that reaches your audience’s senses. Sexy can be a color, object, tone or music. Confidence is sexy. Assertiveness is sexy. A good use of sexy is subtle. It does not offend. It elicits a response of desire, desire to own, participate in or test out your product or service. Sexy can be an attitude that is expressed through images, voice, or, at best, a well executed combination of visual and audio stimulus. Sexy does not always mean pretty women. Surprised? Research from focus groups has found that a deep voice is more sexy than a


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high pitched one; red is a more sexy color than grey and music which is familiar, combined with these elements, can boost sales. This does not mean that you should use these particular elements in your marketing. Instead, find appropriate elements which elicit a positive sensual response (appealing to the senses, not just the mind) to create a sexy message. Car companies are experts at sexy. I’m sure you knew that though. But did you know that Wells Fargo Bank does sexy. Not only does their logo of the stagecoach register as sexy with people, but they use a woman with an appealing voice behind their ads. In the 50’ and 60’s cigarette companies had tag lines like “I’ll walk a mile for a Camel” with handsome men and voice over talent with deep voices. Or they would show a close up of a woman’s hand holding a cigarette and a man’s hand touching it ever so lightly to bring it closer for a light. These were subtle images that illicit a very sensual response. And, lastly, please remember that I said appropriate. In a shareholder meeting, upwardly spiking sales on a graph is sexy. 4”


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spiked healed shoes, while sexy, may not be appropriate in the boardroom. It is all a matter of appeal.


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Chapter 32 Hot Keeping it hot is keeping it fresh, exciting and relevant. It is the sizzle and pizzazz that makes you want to participate in and with, you, your product or service. When you or your concept is hot, you immediately bring yourself to the forefront. This can be accomplished by taking a unique market position such as Spirit Airlines, flights beginning at eight dollars. Of course, by the time you pay for checking your bags, receiving a Coke/Pepsi, having a meal etc. your ticket price, while still a deal, increases. But what a splash, airline seats for eight dollars! The pizza and fast food restaurants are masters of hot. Their ticket is promotional partners. They tap into the kid “nag factor” by using popular movies and theme parks with extraordinary results. Cereal companies are brilliant at this. They put toys in the boxes to get kids to nag their mothers to buy the cereal for them. And don’t think for a minute that McDonald’s doesn’t know about the nag factor. That’s what “kid’s meals are all about.


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But what if your business proposition is “boring”? You’re a dentist. What can you do? Perhaps, you can create a very relaxing environment with fountains, lavender essential oil, soft lighting and, no “elevator music”, to soothe nervous clients. Why no “elevator music”? It distracts from the calming sounds of the fountains defeating the purpose. Provide seminars to clients teaching them to heal the world with their smile. Create relevant, exciting, enticing ways to market your service, while providing value and watch as the buzz picks up. Confidence is hot. Sexy is hot. Assertive is hot. Service is hot. Humor can be hot. Just look at Washington Mutual Bank’s (WaMu) ads. They use humor to reinforce their customer service oriented banking. The key to hot is letting people know what you are doing. Remember closets can be a hot place with awesome clothes, but nobody knows what’s inside unless you tell them. In other words, creating hot is about creating perception. In order to have people relate to, get excited about, and participate in, your hot new idea, you have to let them know what you are doing.


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SECTION 9 Chapter 33 Credible Chapter 34 Associations Chapter 35 Synergies Chapter 36 Holdings


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Chapter 33 Credible You may recall that in the first chapter while discussing confidence, I used the example of a “con-man” as one who uses confidence to make a sale. Credibility is the biggest difference between the negative connotation of a con-man and a positive one. You are credible when you conduct yourself with integrity. This means that you, your product and your company say what they do and do what they say. It is upon a foundation of integrity that you build a credible reputation. Having a credible reputation is everything. Why? Because your credibility will effect you in every avenue of your life. Because it means that your customers, your employees, your family and friends can count on you. It means that what you provide, on any level is in full alignment with the universe and what you want, C.A.S.H. You must be credible in every single aspect of your life. Lose credibility and you lose peoples trust, faith in you, faith in your


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product or service and it takes a long time to build it back up. When anyone (banks, friends, family, prospects) go to “check you out” they are first and foremost looking at your credibility (and, subsequently, your level of integrity). I know a woman who has great products and cannot make it to a meeting on time. All her employees, friends, family know this about her. Does this one thing mean she is not credible? No. What is does mean is that she is out of integrity with regard to her personal timing. Does she meet deadlines? Yes, professionally. Does this affect her ability to get financing? No. Why? Because she tells the truth about this short-coming. She will always call to say she is running late. She is honest. Being honest makes her credible, and, by the way, successful. The downside, however, is that she has created the expectation that she will run late; if she ever chose to adjust her clock and be on time, she may have difficulty getting everyone to respect and trust that she has changed. This is the risk you run when you create a non-credible reputation


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that gets accepted. It is easier to conduct yourself with integrity and be credible, than it is to change perception.


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Chapter 34 Associations As you grow your business, you will want to join, serve and work in associations that will contribute to your on-going creation of achievement and success harmoniously. This will include industry specific associations, your spiritual community, related fields and associations which will provide you with networking opportunities for new business and relationships. Being a part of these types of groups not only helps you build a presence, but also contributes to your credibility. Almost every industry has an association where new ideas are exchanged, networking is encouraged and benefits are realized. I am sure you have heard of the American Medical Association, American Bar Association and the CPA Association, American Yachting Association, American Advertising Association, AARP and the Screen Actors Guild to name a few of the biggies. Associations like the International Association of Reiki Professionals provide the benefit of fantastic insurance for homeopathic practitioners, among others.


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Networking and maintaining a presence in related associations has other benefits, as well. It is important to feel that you are a part of a community, not just the one you live in, but also the one you work in. The people you meet may have valuable experience to share with you. Who knows? Perhaps you will find the next key to resolving a challenge you are facing. Yes, most of the time there is a fee for membership. Do not shy away from this. Generally, you get out of these groups what you put into them. How active you are from group to group is dependant of the value you think you are receiving. If you are unfamiliar with the associations doing what you’re involved in, then start with a search on the internet. Look at industry magazines; most advertise there. Where success is, you will usually find a group of people getting together to discuss it. Participate and win.


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Chapter 35 Synergies Synergies refer to alliances where the combined effect is greater than the single effect of your company, product, service or skill set. These alliances can be between products and services you have to offer or with outside companies. The objective of incorporating synergies into your game plan is to increase volume, offerings and benefits to your customers. This approach can include cross-promotional opportunities, bundling, cost savings and partnerships. It is important to be discriminating in choosing synergistic partners. Make sure that they adhere to the same standards of credibility and quality that you do. It is best to choose partners and products where your strategic positions are in sync. A well executed synergistic tactic can provide for more C.A.S.H. This is one area, however, where detail is critical. The idea can be simple, but success is in the details. Take the time to run a test in a limited, measurable way. This enables you to limit


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potential liability and assess potential gains. Make sure you are clear on all the aspects of your agreements and get everything in writing, even when you are working on bundling your own products. Put the plan/agreement on paper. Make sure that all responsibilities and liabilities are understood and written out. Too often people trust. This is business, not personal. Have agreed to facts in black and white. Exploring synergies can extend your market share and bring you into new markets, sometimes eliminating barriers. Partnerships should always be a win-win, be it through product extensions, cross-sell, up sell or promotions. Internet companies use reciprocal linking to maximize synergies. If cannibalization (meaning that one product, location, or service is going to take away from another) is an issue, stay clear of the partnership. Yes, short term loses can lead to long term gains, but unless you are fairly certain of the timing, costs and potential effects on your market/customers, synergistic tactics are not the place to bank your success. Synergies are a way to grow.


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Chapter 36 Holdings Holdings refer to stocks, cash, bonds, investments, companies and products in which you have or share ownership. As your C.A.S.H. increases, so may your holdings. They are a means to grow your C.A.S.H. outside of your primary business. Most of the time there are tax implications to holdings. You may ask “what do holdings have to do with marketing and creating achievement and success harmoniously?” Often, your holdings will provide cross-sell opportunities or enable you to realize monetary savings by combining resources. As I mentioned, C.A.S.H. is a journey. I have seen people acquire the holdings of others with some success, but with little regard to their responsibility, socially or globally. In today’s market you must take a macro approach your business. You need to view both the personal and global effects of your actions. Once you have established C.A.S.H., you should look at ways to extend it.


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One way many start-ups do this is by creating a product or service and then selling it. Great modern day examples of this can be seen in the internet arena, like EBAY, Yahoo and Google and in automotive. Rest assured, however, the original creators of these business retained holdings of their companies in the sale. This is an important aspect to what I discussed in Chapter 16, Horizon. If this is something you are considering, it should be a part of your long view. You are known by the company you keep. Make sure your holdings are reflective of your long term objective, your corporate culture and your sense of global responsibility. Diversification is a dual sided sword. Make sure you maintain a focus and have holdings which represent synergies. AT&T has done a good job with this, while staying true to their commitment to provide optimal communication tools. Donald Trump has done a great job with this in real estate, reinforcing his brand and diversifying his holdings within his industry, even while taking a cut (56% to 27%) to defer


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bankruptcy. He bounced back and is one of the richest men in America. Be credible, maximize your associations and synergies and extend responsibly through your holdings and you will keep C.A.S.H. coming in.


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SECTION 10 Chapter 37 Conscious Chapter 38 Assessment Chapter 39 Success Chapter 40 Happiness


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Chapter 37 Conscious Being conscious, alert, present or aware is the gift we give ourselves. As we get older and gain life experience, many of us experiment with ways we think will heighten our consciousness. These things are usually illusions which actually bring us down, rather than lift us up, such as drugs and alcohol. In the 60’s it was thought that LSD opened your mind, loosened inhibitions and broadened horizons. In the reality, it took people out. Instead, they were out of touch with the moment they were in. They entered an alternative reality. To succeed today, it is critical to be conscious each and every moment, to be here now, and now. Yes, right now. Each moment holds a unique opportunity for you. If you become complacent with your C.A.S.H., you will find that it becomes complacent with you. Meaning it does not grow, only maintains or diminishes. This is because you check out. Don’t do that. The journey you have taken to creating achievement and success harmoniously (C.A.S.H.) has been based on sound


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principals and universal laws. Someone asked me what I meant by “check out”. When you “check out” you isolate yourself. You fade into a comfort zone and routine. When people speak to you, you only vaguely hear what they say. You retreat, act depressed, unenthusiastic, and disinterested. You become so okay with the status quo that you lose your drive and passion. Checking out creates addictions to unhappiness, alcohol and drugs. Being conscious is acknowledging your connection to everything. Why? Without this connection C.A.S.H. would not have come to you at all. You are not alone. Instead, we are all one (al-one). This means that now, as a successful individual, in order to create harmony throughout your life and business, you need to look at this moment, yes, with gratitude, and with an eye to the collective. Now that you’ve made a difference in your life, how can you affect positive change in the world? We all reflect exactly what we need in every moment. A great football coach once said


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“there is no “I” in team”. It took a team to get you here, so bring your consciousness back to that fact. See the team and how they have progressed to get you this far. Look at what is different in this moment, from the moment you began this journey and make conscious adjustments to continue. Explore opportunities to extend your consciousness. Teach others what you’ve learned. Sponsor a little league team, give back consciously.


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Chapter 38 Assessment Making a conscious assessment from time to time allows you to respond to the changes in your market. It is wise to perform analyses over time to see these changes (see Chapter 6). Have you attracted new customers to your product? What do they look like? How do they differ from existing customers? How can I increase sales among this group? Who else looks like them? And so on. Be honest in your assessments. Look at all aspects, not just profitability. Sometimes strategies need to shift in order to keep up with new ways of doing business, new technologies and new competition. An example of this that you have been hearing quite a bit about is the “going green” movement. Assess your customers’, your employees’, and your own personal satisfaction. If sales are dropping, don’t look outside first, look within. If business as usual is not extraordinary (and I do not mean extra ordinary, rather exceptional) hold a


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collaborative meeting to assess how to raise the bar. If you take the approach ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, you may encounter stagnation, not just in personal satisfaction but in sales and C.A.S.H. The only way to prevent this is by looking at what is happening now and assessing how you can improve. Too often people get so caught up in the day-to-day that they forget to step back and make assessments. Then one day, boom! Someone has invented a better “whatchamacallit” and this leaves you playing catch up. Growth is often a function of transformation. Do not fear change. If it is based on the results of sound assessments, it can be very positive. Many corporate restructuring programs are based on good assessments. You can see the evidence of this with the Telecommunications companies. Their structure shifted to better serve consumers. On the other hand, do not run your company or your life like a child playing pick-up sticks, throwing everything in the air, seeing where it lands and then picking


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up the sticks in a way that causes the least disturbance. This is what often happened in a small software company I worked for. It was both disruptive and confusing to the employees and our customers. Work an assessment plan into your Horizon (long view). You can even establish benchmarks to create measures for change. Assessment, is as valuable of a tool as a flashlight, don’t get caught in the dark.


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Chapter 39 Success How we measure success in our business and our life determines our satisfaction with reality. A long time ago, I was interviewing with a man named Dennis Holt, founder of Western International Media. Dennis asked me for my definition of success. I replied “to go to bed each night without regret”. He then told me that he did not believe me. That, to him success was achieving a specific dollar value for his company and his personal bank account. While I explained to him that I felt life was bigger than my job, I realized we were speaking of two different types of success, financial and personal. My father told me “do what you love and money comes”. Silly me, I believed this and guess what? He was right. So I was caught aback when Dennis didn’t buy my definition of success. Then again, he did hire me. Success is a perceived value. To me it has more to do with being a quality human being than dollars. You need to determine what success is to you. Know that your definition may change over time as you


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continue to achieve C.A.S.H. You may find that today success means being financially independent and that tomorrow success means having a company size of fifty employees. The one thing I can guarantee you is that if your definition of success is always dependant on outside factors you are subject to the ups and downs of those factors. There is nothing wrong with saying “I am successful when I make $100,000”. I challenge you, however, to explore the option of creating goals such as making $100,000 and defining success in a way that serves your humanity. Success to me is being a quality human being, being true to my spiritual practice and going to bed each night grateful, without regrets. I recently spoke with a wealthy client who has achieved success on many levels but told me he has a hole in his heart. I told him that the hole was his relationship to his higher power. This hole would only be filled from within. He called me to tell me he had been thinking about what I said. He said that he realized that there was nothing he could buy, nothing he could do to be happy.


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The only time he said that he was happy was when he was still. I told him, then, be still. It is in the stillness that you are able to connect with yourself, your source and being. He told me he had never been a religious man and asked me if this is what was meant by spiritual. I said yes. So, you see success ultimately begins and continues in harmony only when you fill the hole in your heart. Have goals, have things, achieve and enjoy this achievement. You will find that when you create balance, are centered and aligned in all aspects of your life, you will have C.A.S.H., because you have created your achievement and success harmoniously.


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Chapter 40 Happiness Happiness is a state of mind. It is a choice. It is not a function of what you do or what others do. Happiness is yours to create, yours to maintain and yours to hold on to. You cannot lose happiness. Happiness attracts. Why? Because when you are happy, you are sending positive energy to all that surrounds you. Take a moment and picture what you look like when you are happy. Now, think about how that feels. Good. Now feel it. Remember when you played “let’s pretend” as a child. You thought of what you wanted to be and then became that. The word “pretend” is a combination of pre, meaning before and tend which could mean a tendency toward or be an abbreviation for intention. Thus when you pretend you are moving toward your tendency or you are developing an intention of what will be. Now, take this concept to happiness. Pretend to be happy. Create a tendency towards happiness. Intend to experience happiness and notice what happens.


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Suddenly, you feel lighter, calmer and empowered. Happiness is one of the core elements to harmony. It gathers momentum and facilities the new and possible. As you use the tools in this book, remember to do so with joy, gratitude and happiness. It will be from a happy place that you attract all that you need. If you are conscious, make assessments along the way, you will realize continued success and enjoy the happiness it brings. All the chapters in this book represent a repetitive process. They provide you with tools to increase your opportunity for creating and achieving success harmoniously (C.A.S.H.). Life is not a destination, nor is happiness. They are a journey. This is a journey where you consciously choose your next step. Choose to be happy as you realize that you have all the C.A.S.H., love, health and prosperity you need. And then, continue to continue.


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A word about celebrating achievement and success harmoniously.

Celebrate C.A.S.H.!

Once you have embraced the concepts in this book, you will be on your way to realizing C.A.S.H. Do not forget to celebrate, show appreciation and provide recognition to those who have helped you along the way. You’ve earned it. You deserve it. I am so very grateful to all the wonderful people I’ve worked with and for over the years. There are several people who I want to thank specifically. My family: Carol Daskal, Mel Daskal, Arnold Magasinn, Stephen Magasinn, Michael Magasinn, whose support has been indispensable. My friend and editor, Joanne Reich. My friend and confidant, Monica Wild. My friends and business partners, KC and Bennett Chesne. My rock, ex-husband and dear friend, Don Cohn. My friend and speaker of truth, Kevin Wiggs.


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My spiritual community, AGAPE. And, thank you, God, for the wonderment and fullness of my life experience. May you all join me in celebrating my achievements and success harmoniously. Peace & Blessings.


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About the Author

Tempo and Echo Award winner, founder of the Media Research Council-A voice for the west, Julie Ann Cohn brings twenty-five years as an advertising executive with a stellar reputation. She was founder/ Chairman/CEO of Techmorrow Inc. She is respected throughout the advertising industry as an expert in Database Marketing. She has worked for major ad agencies such as DDB Worldwide, Western International Media, McCann Erickson, Davis, Ball & Collombatto, Chait/Day, Telmar Group Inc., Donnelley Marketing Information Services, D&B and Response Technologies, on accounts ranging from Toyota, McDonnalds to Disney, Pepsi, Ameriquest, and many more. Julie has regularly been a guest speaker for the National Association of Database Marketing, The Advertising Research Federation, UCLA Extension, LMU and University of San Diego. Julie Ann Cohn has brand equity and is world renowned in her healing and teaching work, having taught and provided healing to clients in Israel, London, Brazil, Bulgaria and


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Australia. Julie is also founder and co- creator of The Blend™ and an active partner in Silver Unicorn Spirit Gifts. A partial list of her spiritual credentials include: Usui Reiki Master, Magan David Life Energy Master, Doctor of Metaphysics (PhD), Sufi Reiki Master, Shaman, Crystal Resonance Therapist and Minister. Julie still consults in marketing today and, in addition, has spent recent years as a Transformational Healer, teacher and Life Coach. Julie has a Chakra Meditation CD on the market called Transformational and has an active website lightmindsthinkalight.com.

Julie graduated from UCLA with BAs in English and Theatre, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, Master’s in Theatre and holds a Doctorate in Metaphysics.

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