Why Your Business Needs to Become a Purple Cow to Survive

Everywhere you turn nowadays on the radio, TV, magazines, blogs, internet, newspapers and whenever you talk to colleagues, friends and neighbors you hear one common theme. The economy sucks, the real estate and lending industries are devasted and on life support, the economy really really sucks and everyone is hurting.

Right?

Wrong!

My friend this is the time when the transfer of wealth happens once in a generation (for you people that went to public school a generation is considered 20 years!). Money is never lost that's an illusion; money is simply transferred from one person or entity to another always.

Warren Buffet on The Charlie Rose Show in late 2008 stated he "wished" he had more money to invest right now. Mr. Buffet is worth like $40 BILLION DOLLARS and he's saying he wished he had more money. WOW! What does he and most savvy investors and business owners worldwide now that 98% of the sheepeople (sheep + people) don't know, understand or utilize?

Simply this is the best time to buy a business, be an investor or start a new business in any industry!

Why?

Besides being able to buy quality real estate, land or other businesses for pennies on the dollars.

Because like Darwin said, "Only the strong survive" and most businesses and people aren't strong or smart enough to survive in this recession or the 21st century arena of business.

Let's take the real estate industry for example, since two of my businesses are directly tied to that industry. Not to mention the shock and fear spun media loves the doom and gloom it spreads scaring poor little grandma's into freaking heart attacks every night after they watch the news about this industry.

Ask a realtor, mortgage broker, title officer, loan officer, or loan signing agent they'll all say that times are brutal.

That's of course if there still in that industry, since literally thousands of these real estate folks are quitting the industry every month because it's gotten too tough for them to make a living.

Bottom line being a good sales person, company, realtor, broker, lender or whatever is not good enough anymore. It was ten years ago, even five years maybe...but not anymore.

Good will be the death of you and your business in the 21st century, especially in a recession like this. You, your company and your employees must not settle for anything less than being a Purple Cow.

Here's an excerpt below from Seth Godin author of Purple Cow and what it means to be a Purple Cow in your niche, industry or your marketplace.

"You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.

What do Starbucks, JetBlue, Krispy Kreme, Apple, Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last?

Face it, the checklist of tired 'P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed - Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few-aren't working anymore. There's an exceptionally important 'P' that has to be added to the list. It's Purple Cow.

Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable.

Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period."

Again let's take a realtor; everyone knows one of them personally in the U.S. Let's also be honest there a dime a dozen, or a hundred even. Did you know that according in the National Realtors Association (NRA) that the average realtor earns around $32,000 per year?

Would you honestly trust someone that makes just $32,000 to sell your $250,000, $500,000 or a million dollar plus home or even your $100,000 home? That is the most important asset and business decision most people ever make in their lives.

People do every day and just don't know it.

Did you also know according to the NRA that over 50% of ALL MLS listings that realtors list NEVER get sold within 6 months? So the chance of YOUR realtor taking your property and selling it in a good, bad or ugly market like this is no better than a flip of a coin. Not a very good feeling is it.

Did you also know according to the NRA that the LISTING AGENT REALTOR only sells your home on average just 6% of the time or less. In English, 94% of the time the listing agent won't or can't sell your home, the MLS or a buyer's agent realtor does.

What does this all add up to, that just a small percentage of all realtors nationwide got the goods and know there stuff and make millions a year. They use Purple Cow tactics I imagine to some degree without even knowing it. The rest are simply boring cows out to pastor or like sheep, and sheep as we all know get slaughtered.

Now in the real estate industry the sky is in the limit now, because so many realtors are quitting and getting a J-O-B. This means, LESS competition for other realtors.

It means if a realtor positions themselves properly right now as the Purple Cow to various construction companies, real estate investors, lenders, mortgage brokers, banks, developers and just the average home buyer/seller when the market turns positive (it always does and will) they will destroy their market place.

So what are some things you can do right away to become more of a Purple Cow or become a Purple Cow to get enough business now to get thru the tough times till the market changes?

For example with a company called, Mobile Austin Notary that I own gives the only guarantee of its kind in Texas, and as far as I know the entire country in this industry. Our guaranteed states if anyone of our loan signing agents or mobile notaries is ever late to a signing the next one is absolutely FREE!

So say the traffic is bad, bad weather, another appointment goes long, they got lost, etc. No excuses by us...we take total ownership of our time and actions. Don't you wish all people and businesses were like that! It's an industry first, something that got us on the track to being a Purple Cow or so I thought.

But then after reading the book Purple Cow, I realized that is still just a boring cow type of tactic.

Why?

Because even though it might be totally unique and a first in my niche industry, you can't go 10 minutes listening to any radio station, reading a magazine or newspaper or watching TV where someone or some company is not offering a guarantee or offering something free.

When I realized this on the plane trip to the frozen hell to see my family (that would be Wisconsin) I thought of the "Chocolate Promise".

The "Chocolate Promise" is when any title or mortgage company, bank, tow yard, law firm, record services company or anyone else refers us a loan signing or notary client anywhere in the nation.

What we do then is send them a box of chocolates with a custom made sticker on it with our contact information and a saying that says, "I hope you like our Chocolate Promise!"

We had two loan signings for example in Houston, TX a few weeks ago, so we sent the escrow agent in Dallas two boxes of chocolates and a thank you card.

We also send out handwritten thank you cards. I'm not talking those cheap ass cards that most people use when they send out thank you cards, if they ever do which most don't. I'm talking the $3-$5 Hallmark type cards. We send out a handwritten card to EVERY client and customer.

That's right now only do we send a handwritten thank you card out to every one of our great clients and a box of chocolates for their business, we send THERE customers a handwritten thank you card thanking them as well.

We also send each of our client's customers a hand written hallmark type birthday card, if we get there birth date and 90% of the time we do. We actually treat our client's customers better than they do most of the time.

For the simple reason how we treat their customers makes our clients look better to them, because were an extension of their business and brand when we work with their customers every day.

That's being different...

That's being creative...

That's giving a crap and actually caring...

That's being great (or at least I hope so)...

That's being the proverbial Purple Cow in your market place.

I thought this is a great saying below that I preach to my business consulting clients nationwide and my staff for all my different businesses I own.

"You think your good, but good is only a block from average and great is all the way uptown!"