I was having dinner on Thursday night with some clients at the best restaurant in Queensland (that’s as rated on Trip Advisor reviews).

The inside of the restaurant was packed and it had that warm sound of people chatting, laughter with a bit of background music.

The outside of the restaurant had some tables set up.

Allure on Currumbin for elegant casual dining

The Owner Kept Turning Guests Away

Time and again I saw Cheryl, the owner/manager of the restaurant, turn people away who’d arrived without reservations.

She would have turned away about 30 away in the end.

That didn’t make a lot of sense to me – after all, they had the tables – so I asked her about it.

Her answer was a very clear reason why she has the best restaurant in Queensland.

“Well, our 2 most experienced staff couldn’t work tonight.  So I have 2 new waitresses working.

The team we have working is giving wonderful service to our guests at the moment.  But if I take in more guests now, we’ll be stretched and the service quality will slip.

We’re not prepared to compromise on the quality our guests receive just so we make more money,” said Cheryl

And that, very simply, is why Cheryl’s restaurant is a raging success.

An uncompromising commitment to quality in everything they do.

The Lesson Is Clear

The lesson for any business is clear.  Don’t take on new customers unless you can delight them.

Marketing has changed – your marketing is now done by your customers.

Give them your best, so they can do their best for you.

A client just cced me in on an email he sent to an event he sponsors with a sports product.

Part of the deal is logo placement on the event web site and in the event e-newsletter.

This hasn’t worked very well at generating web site traffic and he was asking the event director for for reasons why.

Here is my response to the client below.

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Hi mate

Logo placement by itself is boring as hell.  And almost completely irrelevant to the audience.
There’s no context.  There’s no story. It just ain’t interesting.

Tell some stories about your product in use – like EXAMPLE A, like EXAMPLE B, like EXAMPLE C, etc.

Stories resonate with people. They make sense.  And they’re relevant.

Don’t you tell people how great your products are – because no-one believes you.

Show examples of your products in action and the benefits people get and, very importantly, have other people tell their stories that show how great your products are.
Then your marketing has some credibility and relevance.  That’s when your marketing get believed.

A logo stuck on a page is irrelevant.

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I’m finishing off writing a speech I’m doing next week.

There’s a ton of work involved in putting together an effective presentation, but the results can be well worth it.

So far, I think I’ve worked for 14 hours on the speech.  Add in the hundreds of hours preparation and speeches I’ve done previously and you can see a fair bit goes into it.

My first speeches were about business.  I’m finding I’m doing more and more about leadership and teamwork – which is often related to business.

What People Say About Me

If you’re looking for a speaking for your next conference or event, then I’d be very pleased to come along and help if I can.

You’ll find all the info here and quotes from previous audience members below:

“Brendon Sinclair’s talk was inspirational and absolutely hilarious.”

“Fantastic talk, I only wish we could have organised more time.”

“Every single student found the talk inspiring and inspirational and I can not express my gratitude enough to Brendon for giving his time so generously.”

“If you ever get the opportunity to hear Brendon speak don’t miss the chance to learn something while having a good laugh.”

“I really liked the style of speech, it was well crafted yet at the same time casual.  The content was both insightful and entertaining.“

“…it was light-hearted but info packed. Easy to keep up with, though.”

“Brendon is a brilliant business presenter. His presentations are clear, concise and motivating. He offers advice freely and with great knowledge, whilst at the same time ensures interest with… his wit and his energy,”

“Very down to earth and real. Gave some great info that most people won’t tell you – refreshingly simple and to the point.”

“Bloody brilliant – you summed up marketing better than any speaker in my fourteen years…..”

“His self depreciating humour was great, for our students the positiveness of the speech was very motivating.”

“I loved Brendon’s relaxed way of presenting the info and his humour.”

“Your level of organisation was a very pleasant surprise…..but this kind of process provides some kind of comfort that speaker has given customer a little thought, and not taken a “one size fits all” approach to presentation.”

“You were a breath of fresh air……particularly enjoyed self effacing style – believe most attractive to an audience who expect consultants to present with heads slightly wider than average,”

Just touched base with an old mate of mine, Wayne Hickson, who is a PR guru for all things sporting.

Reading Wayne’s profile page on his web site:

“But perhaps Wayne’s greatest sporting achievement came in 1972 when he was crowned yo-yo champion of his Grade 6 class thanks to an awesome execution of his ‘rock the cradle’ signature move in the Grand Final.”

That ‘rock the cradle’ was hard!

Nice work from Wayne to show that even if you’re the PR guy the massive clients turn to, you can still have a chuckle.

Nice work to personalise your profile without compromising your professionalism.

At the risk of being a complete ego maniac (heh, a man’s gotta market), we’ve just launched my dedicated web site for my speaking gigs.

If you know anyone looking for inspiring speakers then I’m worth a looksee at least ;o)

Cheers

Brendon

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve learned quite a bit from hookers before.

Business stuff.

Not sex stuff. ;o)

Lately it’s been Charlie Sheen who has been a fricking ROCKSTAR at demonstrating how business works with lesson after lesson that can be applied to any business.

Not just the business of crazy.

So what exactly can we learn from Charlie Sheen?

Well, tons obviously ;o) – from how to keep 2 live in girlfriends, how to be bi-winning and (my personal favourite) why you need to stop pretending you’re not special.

Okay, let’s take a look at the best of Charlie’s lessons.

Be Outrageous/Different Gets You Noticed

Slagging off your boss in a public forum, having 2 live in girlfriends, going on a drug/porn star bender, calling yourself a warlock.

That stuff gets you attention:

• Massive ratings
• A world record for fastest Twitterer to 1 million followers
• 10 sold out 1 man shows

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

The old saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity – Charlie Sheen is proving that old cliche correct.

It’s a very cluttered market out there – get above the pack and get noticed.  Like Charlie.

You Can Get Away With Any Crap…………..If You’re The One Making Everyone Loads Of $$$

No matter what business you’re in you can do just about anything if you’re the one making all the money.

Say this about your boss: “If sad and stupid had a smell attached it would be you, F— Lorre. It’s perfect your name rhymes with suck, muck……… Behind your narcissism, your greed, your hatred of yourself and women? Which person are you cowering behind for cover? I see you, moron, behind that plastic smile, behind your need to be liked.”"

“Can you smell the lies, can you smell the carnage you’ve created? Can you smell the wimpy, scared child you’ll never have the courage to embrace?”

Check.  Charlie said all that and more about Chuck Lorre, creator and writer of the hit TV series Two and a Half Men.

Call your co-star a “……………..turncoat, a traitor, a troll.”

Check.  That’s what he said about fellow Two and a Half Men star Jon Cryer.

But here’s the thing.

None of it matters.  Not one little bit.

Money Talks Louder Than Charlie Sheen

Because money talks.

And it talks louder than anything Charlie Sheen in his drug addled or screwed mind can ever say.

The studio execs will try, man will they try, to get Charlie back to shoot another season or 2 of Two and a Half Men.

“…………………..he makes us hundreds of millions of dollars”

As one of the studio execs said early on in Charlie’s train wreck “What can we do?  He shows up to work, on time.  He’s polite, and he makes us hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Unless Charlie’s now psychotic because of drug use, he’ll be back on his TV comedy Two and a Half Men by the end of the year.

Review All Revenue Streams (or “Cashing in on Crazy”)

I love the term revenue streams.

Makes me sound educated!

All it means is you get as much money you can from as many different places you can.

Like Charlie is doing to ca$h in on his huge surge in fame/interest.

Sheen announced a 1 man show, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option”.

Within 18 minutes the initial shows offered for sale had sold out.

He’s adding more shows as fast as he can.

That’s $7 million to Charlie.

Charlie has signed with Ad.ly marketing agency – they specialise in Twitter and Facebook promotions.

That’s another $1 million for Charlie.

Add In The Merchandising

Then there’s the merchandise he’s developing – wait for the t-shirts, caps, etc, etc, etc!

Charlie’s cashing in.

And you can too by following Charlie’s simple lessons – okay, now off you go and start partying like a rockstar!

Cheers

Brendon

Check out a snippet from the start of my speech to a conference a few days back.

I finally confess I’m nobody.

Cheers

Brendon

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks in Japan skiing and checking out a client’s ski lodge business.

Mark owns 4 amazing lodges in Nozawa Onsen, one of Japan’s best ski villages in the Japan Alps.

• I stayed at Villa Nozawa.
• Mark also has Lodge Nagano.
• Along with Nozawa House and the new Nozawa Cottage.

Now, we’ve been marketing the lodges for a year or 2 now and all has been going swimmingly.

Things Are About To Get Better

But things are about to get better.

And they’re about to get better for a very simple reason.

Now that I (and Anthony) have seen the businesses up close and personal and really gotten a feel for how they work, we’re in a much better place to market them.

It’s the same with any product or service – whatever it is, your marketing or advertising team need to see, feel, use, hear, touch and taste it to be in the best possible position to be able to articulate your offering to the market.

Now Speaking With Authority

After all, I can now describe in detail the advantages of staying in Nozawa, the feel of the snow underfoot and the amazing restaurants in this very traditional Japanese village.

It makes a difference having been there.

It makes a difference that makes it easier to sell.

So no matter what your product or service, be sure to give it away to your marketing/advertising team so they can do a better job.

Chers

Brendon