| This is not another story about my UPS man, but | | | | we didn't travel 1,000 miles to shoot three birds, |
| it is related. (See Signature Selling) I had the | | | | and they knew that. |
| privilege of going Pheasant Hunting in Kimball, | | | | Now this is not a commercial for Wings of |
| South Dakota. I traveled with my father-in-law | | | | Thunder, but more of a case study. It is evident |
| and brother-in-law, and a few others for a total | | | | that they strive for differentiating their lodge |
| of eight. Now there are more than hundred lodges | | | | from the other lodges across South Dakota as |
| across America from which to choose, and I | | | | well as the rest of the country. The overall |
| happened upon this place called Wings of Thunder | | | | experience is packaged as a spectacular Pheasant |
| while surfing the internet. The plane travel would | | | | Hunt. |
| be somewhat easy and the daily price seemed | | | | Ok now, here are a few important questions that |
| right. After speaking with the proprietors on the | | | | will require an answer by the time you finish |
| phone, our date was set. We would hunt three | | | | reading this. What distinguishes YOUR business |
| days and spend four nights - in February in South | | | | from everybody else in the financial services |
| Dakota. Cold! | | | | industry? How do you package your business that |
| The accommodations were comfortable and fun. | | | | has people talking about you for weeks after |
| We had a pool table, big screen TV, card tables | | | | they do business with you? And what makes |
| and a restaurant style cooler for our beverages. | | | | people want to do business with you over and |
| The staff was courteous each and every day. | | | | over again? If you can respond to those TODAY |
| They told us how things were and there were no | | | | - you're set. If you don't have an immediate |
| changes. Each wonderful meal was served | | | | answer, then there is a lot of room for |
| promptly whether you were there or not. Hunting | | | | improvement in your practice. The neat thing is |
| each morning and afternoon was fun because the | | | | that making those improvements will pay |
| birds were plentiful. And during the times we didn't | | | | immeasurable dividends in the long run. You just |
| want to shoot birds, we could skeet shoot on a | | | | have to take the time to develop, communicate, |
| challenging course. The overall experience had us | | | | package and deliver your distinguishing |
| talking about the place for weeks. In short, we | | | | characteristics. |
| had fun and we will return. | | | | The best place to start is by calling your top five |
| Upon reflecting on the trip, it wasn't that they | | | | clients (who bought more than two times from |
| blew us away with customer service, fed us good | | | | you, not just earned you a big pay day) and |
| food or put us on thousands of birds. What made | | | | asking why they do business with you. Take the |
| the trip a memorable experience was that they | | | | time to listen and write down the answers they |
| chose to do CERTAIN things extremely well, and | | | | give you. Compile the answers from all five and |
| others they didn't do at all! We were on our own | | | | there you have a foundation of why people like |
| getting to the place - no help there. If you | | | | doing business with you, and no one else. Now |
| wanted to skip a tasty meal, you waited until the | | | | you can start telling that story to prospects. |
| next feeding time to eat. The staff was | | | | It is painfully obvious that what you offer in this |
| courteous, but they run a hunting lodge and | | | | wonderful financial service industry is a |
| expected the rules to be followed. Therefore, | | | | commodity - we can all buy insurance and invest |
| they were not very flexible, and not your best | | | | our money with any licensed individual. What you |
| friends. After all, you're supposed to bring your | | | | MUST do is differentiate yourself. Wings of |
| friends with you. And the pricing was a bit high if | | | | Thunder did. So much so that I wrote about it |
| you went over your daily limit of three birds. But | | | | and will make it a priority to go back. |