My Review of STABILicers Traction Devices - Unisex

Originally submitted at REI

STABILicers anti-skid traction soles give your footwear a tenacious grip on snow and ice.

STABILicers Traction Devices - Unisex

Better than I could have imagined

By reggupton from Boulder CO on 1/30/2010

 

5out of 5

Gift: No

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Comfortable, Durable

I learned about these while on a naturalist hike at about 9,000 in the Rockies. We were on a packed snow trail where no floatation was required. All that I need was increased traction to keep from slipping.

I reviewed my winter mountain travel and found that over 85% of the time, I was on packed trails.

I spent only a little time on unpacked, soft snow.

Now, I carry my snowshoes and were Stabilicers most of the time.

I have also used them when fly fishing for increased grip in the stream. They work well.

They are the best.

(legalese)

The #1 reason for not being successful in your small business

Hi Reg Gupton here.

Today I took the current issue of Dan Kennedy and Bill Glazier's No B.S Marketing Newsletter to lunch as my date. If you are not familiar with these marketing geniuses, look here. They are the best direct response marketers out there.

Anyway, in the FAQ, Bill was asked: "What is the number 1 reason you see for people not being successful in their business."

Here is his answer: "They don't work. They are not willing to put forth the effort to work on their own marketing education in order to achieve the knowledge they need and then, they don't implement what they learn. If you do these two things, you will be successful (plain and simple)"

Having coached dozens and dozens and dozens of agents, I could not agree more. Many agent are unwilling to educate themselves and will not implement the ideas/plans that they develop.

So they fail or do not achieve the success they deserve.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Would you invest your money with?

Hi,

Reg Gupton here. Met a new Realtor prospect the other day. We had a brief conversation about his business, his goals for the year and how he was working to achieve them.

He could speak his goals and did not have them in writing. Not a good sign. He did not have any systematic lead generation systems that were proven to work. He was flying by the seat of his pants.

I asked for his business card. He had one. That is good news. BTW...he never asked for mine.

While working for a major real estate company in our market, he had a free (read yahoo.com) email address.

Would you invest/trust your money with a CFP or stock broker who did not have a professional email address? I think not.

Nor should a member of the public trust you to sell their home or help them buy one if you don't care enough to use a professional email address.

A small point and an important one in my opinion.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Does your marketing work? I bet not

Hi,

Reg Gupton here. A few days ago while working with a real estate agent client, we discussed her results for 2009 in anticipation of completing her business plan for 2010.

I inquired about the investment in lead generation/marketing. Even though she is pretty well on top of her numbers, she did not know how much she had invested.

She called me back a few minutes later in shock. Here are her numbers. She invested under $20,000. That is marketing, advertising, web sites and all other money designed to bring her business.

Sounds like a lot? Sure it does until you ask one critical question. How much did she earn. Most people get hung up on the dollars going out the door rather than the dollars going out compared with what comes back.

She earned over $300,000 in GCI. That sounds like $15 for each dollar invested in lead generation. How would you like to earn $15 for each and every dollar you invest (not spend) for lead generation. Can you do this? Yes, you can too.

Don't have the money? I get it. Go borrow it. Borrow it and pay pretty much any interest you have to pay to get it. You will be thrilled at the return.

If you lead generation is not this profitable, we need to talk. There is nothing new here that she is doing. No magic. Just the basics. Boring, systematic and HUGELY profitable.

How about you??

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Must there always be something new

Hi,

Reg Gupton here. A while back a current client mentioned to me that a local sales manager/owner was not interested in working with me to help her agents because I did not offer anything new.

I thought about that a while. I reviewed what I recall about her and her office.

Until a real estate agent has the basics covered in the lead generation there is no need for anything new.

The basics are focus on what really works. This is not opinion. There is compelling research from the National Assoc of Realtors about how the public picks their agent.

Here is some of it. About 67% of the sellers had either used the agent before or were referred by a friend/family/neighbor. Almost 70% from your past clients and/or those who know, like and trust you seems pretty targeted to me. And points out the benefits of staying in touch with your sphere of influence and past clients.

And the typical seller (84% to be exact) interview only one or two agents.

Further, 81% would or probably would use the agent again. However, only 24% had used the agent before.

And 87% were very or somewhat satisfied with the process. That is a very, very high satisfaction rate. Most industries do not have that kind of success.

This broker had been in business for almost 3 decades. She had no database of past clients. She walked away from the closing table unemployed.

No repeat business. Seems like hard work to me. How about you?

True. I have nothing new to offer. And for most agent there is no need for anything new until the basics are covered.

Having trouble with implementation? Get with me for a few tips on how to get this done.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Retails and small business take note

Hi All,

Following is a great link on how to use email marketing in your restaurant and small business. I drilled down in some of the links. This is great stuff.

Email Mktg for Restaurants: Works for your small business too. Get out of judgment and into curiosity about this. http://bit.ly/7U1Jai+

Most restaurants and small businesses are leaving thousands of dollars a month on the table by not using some/all of these tips.

If you would like to discuss how to do this in your business, please get with me by phone at 303.544.0340 or 800.418.0301.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton