The Very Surprising Secret To Being Successful in Any Business
A Bank With A Crazy Idea
The National Bank of Detroit once came up with such a different idea from what other banks were doing that it almost seemed crazy.
What was the idea?
They offered $10 each time a customer discovered an error in their checking account.
You’d think that policy is a dangerous one for banks to offer, because it could cause them to lose a lot of money.
Well, if you thought that, you’re wrong.
In fact, the opposite happened.
The policy didn’t cause them to lose money at all.
The policy brought in 15,000 new accounts and $65.5 million in deposits in the first two months!
By doing something different than other banks were doing, they experienced something different than other banks were experiencing.
Earl Nightingale And The Secret To Being Successful In Any Business
Earl Nightingale once revealed the very surprising secret to being successful in any business.
He said, “The secret of being successful in any business is to look around you and observe what everyone else is doing . . . and do the OPPOSITE.”
“Same” rarely leads to success. It usually leads to mediocrity.
“Different” is the usual doorway that leads to success.
If you want your business to be more successful, then you must choose for it to be different more ways.
Don’t worry.
The differences that lead to success DON’T have to be huge or expensive differences.
Let me give you an example.
Revlon’s Different Way To Create A New Package
Usually, whenever a cosmetics company needs to come up with a package for a new product, they design a new package.
And this can be a very costly process.
When Revlon needed to come up with a new package for their new product called “Jontue“, they didn’t go about it in the usual way that other companies would.
One of their innovators in their company noticed something no one else did.
He noticed that if the “Charlie” bottle was turned around, it looked like a completely different package.
And that is how they came up with the new package for “Jontue”.
Tell Us How Your Business Is Different
In what ways is your business different from others business in your industry?
Post your answer in the comments below.
*If you don’t think that it is that different, then post what your business is in the comments and I’ll try and give you some ideas to help you come up with some differences.
Source: I found both stories above in Speaker’s Library of Business Stories, Anecdotes, And Humor
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Photo by katerha
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For the record I love Earl Nightingale. His programs, The Strangest Secret, and Lead The Field helped shape me to be who I am today. Love the article and agree that we must be different. There’s a great book on this called Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout that I strongly recommend. It’ll help you come up with myriad ways to be different.
I wrote some time back on Southwest Airlines and why I fly them all the time. Are they different? Heck, yes! In ways I agree with. No baggage fees. No change fees. No uppity flight attendants. They’re now the #1 domestic carrier. I guess this strategy works!
Glad you liked it. I also like “The Strangest Secret”. Haven’t listened to “Lead The Field”. Thanks for the book request from Jack Trout. I’ll have to take a look at it.