6 Ways to Create A Magnetic Mindset and Attract Business

Build A Magnetic Brand

 

Why do some businesses overflow with customers while others barely make it?

How do you attract customers?

What are the growth strategies that leading businesses use to gain momentum?

 

 

Joe Calloway has studied businesses that consistently create positive experiences. His new book, Magnetic: The Art Of Attracting Business, is a look behind the scenes at the strategy, the people, and the art behind becoming a magnetic business. In these organizations, growth is a result of happy customers sending more and more business and referrals. Employees are happy, helping to recruit others. And the momentum continues unabated to create even more success.

I recently talked with Joe about what it takes to become a magnetic business.

 

Become a Magnetic Business

Would you share one example of a business that is magnetic?

I think that the business pictured on the first page of the book is a classic example of a magnetic business. The Pancake Pantry has a line of customers in front every morning, rain or shine, sleet or snow. This truly is what every business of any kind aspires to: to have customers so loyal to and enthusiastic about your business that they’d be willing to stand in line, in the rain, to give you their money.

Pancake Pantry excels at the basics of what a restaurant should be and have, including a great location, great food, great service.  But here’s the lesson:  there are no gimmicks.  There’s no contrived “wow” factor.  They simply offer excellent value to their customers, and those customers tell other customers.  Thus, the line out front.

 

 

6 Factors to Creating a Magnetic Mindset

You start your book by recognizing that, “Becoming magnetic is a way of thinking.”  How do leaders develop the magnetic mindset?

I think there are a handful of basic factors at work that create a magnetic mindset:

1. Always be focused on creating value for your customers.
2. Simplify the way you think about your business.  Don’t overthink it.  Don’t over-complicate it.
3. Never underestimate your competition.
4. Be exceptionally easy to work with.
5. Make sure that the other guy wins.
6. Be consistently excellent.  Consistency of performance is the great brand builder.

If you let these factors guide your thinking, you’ve got a magnetic mindset.

 

Don’t Overdo Social Media

You teach and talk about the importance of social media but also about overthinking, overworking or overdoing its role relative to everything else. As I say this, what comes to mind as “magnetic advice” about social media?

Social media is vitally important in today’s marketplace and becoming more important all the time.  Of course you should participate on social media, but be selective.  You don’t have to be on everything – that would take up all your time and drive you crazy trying to keep up.  Where is your target market?  If they’re on Pintrest, be there with them.  My market is on twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, so that’s where I am.

But here’s the key:  What you say about yourself on social media is insignificant in importance and impact compared to what your customers/clients say about you.  No ad campaign in the world has the positive impact of having 100 reviews of your business with almost all of them being 5 Star reviews.

The way to use social media to grow your business and attract new customers is to do such a great job on a handful of vitally important things that matter to your customers.  That’s really one of the core messages in Magnetic: The Art Of Attracting Business.

 

 

What’s your version of win-win?

The Win-Win strategy is what has made me successful.  It’s the single most powerful strategy known and is the foundation of how any consistently successful business or individual relates to other people.

My version of Win-Win is to always think in terms of what kind of experience my actions will create for my clients and others.  How does doing business with me make them feel?

We all want people to love doing business with us, and if we are to create that, then we have to play Win-Win with them.

It’s the simplest and most effective relationship and business strategy known.

 

 

 

“Don’t strive to be different. Be better.” Wise advice, but isn’t being better what differentiates you?

That’s my point exactly!  The mistake that so many people make is that their focus is on being “different.”  Well, you could start wearing a funny hat and be different.  You could offer everyone who does business with you a chocolate doughnut and be different.

What you should be focused on is being better.

If you sell cakes, don’t get sidetracked spending your energy trying to create a really different cherry to put on top of the cake.  Try this:  make the best cake!  Too often we assume that we’re “fine” on the basics, when in fact if you improved on the basics, it would be the ultimate differentiator for you.

 

 

Let’s say you’re not a Mama’s Fish House. Instead, you have numerous bad reviews, and you need to turn it all around. How do you turn lifeless and dull into energized and magnetic?

I love the Mama’s Fish House story in the book.  It’s the story of the ultimate marketing strategy in the world:  to absolutely delight your customers to the point that they drive a never-ending stream of new customers to you.

Turning lifeless and dull into energized and magnetic is a leadership issue.  Whether you’re a one-person business, like me, or have 20,000 employees, the culture, the feeling, the vibe of the business begins at the top.  That doesn’t mean that you have to be loud or over-the-top.  Sometimes the most effective motivators are the quietly but deeply committed leaders.

If you’re an employee, then your responsibility is to create your own way of doing business, and I’ve found that the most satisfying approach is to always strive to make everyone’s day better.  Play Win-Win.  Create value and quality in everything you do.

 

 

Be Vigilant to Keep Your Magnetism

How do businesses that are magnetic guard against losing that power?

They are ever vigilant against complacency, and they understand that their customers are changing every day.  People’s expectations are so much higher today than ever before.  What you have to do is be willing to let go of what worked yesterday in order to embrace and master what will work tomorrow.  And then be willing to let go of that.

My own discipline is that every book I write has to be better than the previous one.  My next speech has to be the best speech I’ve ever given.  My learning must be continuous and my improvement must be relentless.

That’s the only way I will stay relevant and survive, much less grow my business.

 

What’s the best way to compete with a magnetic business?

Be a bigger, more powerful magnet.

That means you have to win on the things that matter most to customers.  There are no secrets of success.  There are absolutely no shortcuts.  You have to be willing to do the very hard work it takes to be better than your competition.

 

 

Magnetic: The Art Of Attracting Business