What You Should Learn From Bad Businesses

As I was born and raised in Chicago, in an Irish Catholic family, there were a few things that were staples. First off, in Chicago, you learn how to vote early and often. Second, being Irish – Catholic you were given a Union card and three free visits to the local AA chapter. (A number of my family members are card caring members of both.)

The other requirement is you must make a declaration at an early age if you are a Cubs or White Sox fan. I am a White Sox fan. My reason why will be discussed in a later post.

One of my joys of living in Charlotte is we have the AAA baseball team of the Chicago White Sox known as the Charlotte Knights. To top it off, the stadium for the Knights is about 15 minutes from my house.

Knights stadium is nothing to write home about. It’s near an interstate, in a business office park and frankly, there’s nothing enchanting about the stadium. It looks like something built in the Soviet Union by the Stalin government. All concrete, no character.

But that is NOT why I’m writing this article. It’s about something completely different.

Let me explain….

This past Saturday, the Charlotte Knights had a pre-season festival if you will. Bring the kids, check out the park, get a free hot dog, take batting practice on the field, tour the facility and listen to people try out for the national anthem. (That was ugly.)

As a loyal White Sox fan, I showed up with my wife and two boys, wearing my White Sox hat and White Sox t-shirt from the 2005 World Series win by the Sox.

What I’m about to share with you is a comedy of horrid customer service and even worse salesmanship that I beg of you to never repeat in your business.

Error #1 – Don’t Assume Your Prospect Knows Anything About You Or What You Do

We walked into the stadium. There was no one greeting us outside, no signs of where to go and when we did walk in, there was a small table with a hand written sign and some brochures on the table. We walked up and waited. No one there. After 25 seconds, a smiling young man showed up.

He pointed out that to our right was a kids play area, hot dogs to our right and feel free to walk around. He never once handed us or asked us if we’d like some ticket information. He never asked us for our names, address or anything.

To top it off, he had a golden opportunity to see I was wearing White Sox stuff. You’d think he’d figure out that the Knights are the White Sox affiliate. Start some conversation.

Oh and here’s the kicker…. The White Sox are coming to Charlotte on April 1, 2010 to play the Knights. He never asked me if I wanted to buy tickets.

Error #2: When Giving Out Free Food, Don’t Run Out Of Food.

After walking around the stadium a bit, we went down to a long line to get our free hot dogs. We waited about 20 minutes. They had two people cooking, two people serving.

When we got to the front, they had run out of chips.

Error #3: Don’t Assume That Just Cause You’re Standing There People Will Know Why You’re There

Next to the hot dog stand was an elderly gentleman standing at a table. People walked by and he said nothing. I watched him for a good 20 minutes while in line for the dog. He never once said hello to anyone of the customers who walked by him.

He was wearing Knights stuff, so he must have been on staff.

After my lunch, I walked up to him and said hello and asked him what was going on. I think I got a grunt.

I noticed there were some blue prints on the table and asked him what they were for. His response? “We are going to build a three level picnic area right over here to your right.”

I had to ask him to see the plans and he sort of thumbed through them for me.

I asked when it would be ready and his response… “Sometime this summer.”

“Well, it looks great.” I replied

“Yeah, it’s gonna be fun.”

You ever talk with someone who doesn’t want to be there? That was this guy. They would have been better off having a cardboard cut out.

Error #4: We Left Without Tickets, A Hat, A Commitment Or Giving Our Name

We spent all of about one hour at the park. Never once at any location did anyone ask us to buy a hat, a ticket or sign up for anything. We walked out empty handed.

What I Would Have Done Differently

Before I tell you what I would have done, I understand the economy and advertising is tough. Furthermore, the Knights are last in attendance and have a horrid stadium. That being said, here are my suggestions and you should learn from these in your own business.

A Name Is Worth A Million Dollars

Before we walked in, there should have been a few tables with some nice smiling faces checking us in and asking for our address, phone and email address.  That way they could follow up with us.

Celebrate My Birthday

While checking in, they could have asked if I’d like to join up for the Knights birthday club. Give them my birthday and on my birthday (or that of my family members) the birthday person gets a free ticket to the game and gets to sit in the birthday club with their friends. (The friends pay for the tickets.)

Ask Me To Buy Some Tickets

They could have asked me to buy tickets for the Sox game, a package of seats for the season, a partial pass, you name it, no one asked me to buy anything.

Trumpet Your Improvements

Hey, the stadium is a dump. Everyone knows it, but why not trumpet the little improvements. Like the new patio.  People will be a part of something even if they see little improvements.

In the end, I’ll still go to Knights games, cause I love my White Sox. Not because someone on the staff asked me to attend.

Here is my question. What are you doing in your business that is leaving sales on the ground? How are your customers perceiving you as they walk into your facility? Give your operations a good hard look and make sure if you are virtual or physical in location, that your customers are having a great time.

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Planning With God

God desires big things for us. Learn how to plan with Him to reach the stars.

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John Stein has 23 years business experience working with companies of all sizes and industries including Arthur Andersen (way before Enron), Prentice Hall Professional Software, CPA Systems and Escape Velocity Systems. His background includes various leadership roles in sales and marketing.  Learn more about John and his company at elevate29.com

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The Difference Between Worldly & Kingdom Entrepreneurship

I get asked a lot of questions about life as an entrepreneur.  Those asking fall into two categories. They either want to do it for themselves or they want to do it for God.

I’ve often struggled to explain the difference, but as God’s grace would have it, he gave me a picture of it last night on my ride home from the office.

In the world’s version of entrepreneurship, it’s all about control. Be who you want to be. Making it happen and manifesting your destiny. It’s all about you controlling the situation.

In Kingdom Entrepreneurship, it’s very different. And it’s way more of a wild ride. Why? Because you are aren’t in control, God is and in order to survive without killing yourself, you have to learn to ride the wind currents of the Holy Spirit.

For the record, that’s a big pain in the rear end.

So what’s this picture look like of doing entrepreneurship God’s way? Watch this video below. It’s about 3 minutes in length. It’s a video of guys who go to Norway and jump off cliffs into canyons with wingsuits that allow them to ride the wind current.

They get really close to the rocks, take big risks and have fun. Notice how these guys know this is dangerous, but they have such joy and peace and love in base jumping. It’s a raw passion.

They are flying free with nothing holding them back from experiencing life.

Folks, that’s how you live free as a Kingdom Entrepreneur. Enjoy the ride.

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