The Mirror Test: How Your Company Must Adapt or Die October 5, 2010

As the economy recovers, does your
business pass the mirror test?
Former Kodak CMO, award-winning author and Celebrity Apprentice star Jeffrey Hayzlett will teach business people a new way to look at their sales & marketing strategy during a one-night only appearance at the October Sales and Marketing Executives International Minnesota meeting

Most savvy business owners have survived the latest economic recession by cutting their costs. Now it is time to transition to a growth mode. According to Jeffrey Hayzlett, social media and marketing expert and author of the best seller The Mirror Test, you must ask some hard questions if you hope to position your business for growth. Hayzlett, who became familiar to millions of Americans when he participated in TV’s Celebrity Apprentice, will make a rare appearance in the Twin Cities in October 5, 2010 to help companies learn how to breathe new life into their businesses by taking the mirror test.

“I teach you to ask the questions that most business managers are afraid to ask. But if you aren’t willing to look at what’s working and what isn’t – and then take the necessary steps to fix them – you and your colleagues and employees are in for a tough ride,” says Hayzlett.

During the landmark evening, Hayzlett will regale the audience with hard-nosed, but creative approaches to how to run and market their businesses. He explains that growth requires different tests including the Proof of Life test. Will your business fog the mirror? “If you’re not growing in terms greater than what you’re losing, then you are dying. A lot of businesses forget to look at the fundamentals,” says Hayzlett.

Among the other mirror test elements he will discuss are:
•Learn how to look beyond yourself for answers. “Some people find that hard to do and they get comfortable instead. My belief is that as a leader, I have to create tension, continue to ask people whether I want to do it this way or that way, more innovative. Not resting on my behind, so to speak.”
•People can go anywhere for price but can’t go anywhere for ‘happy’. “Choose either high quality or low price. I don’t think it’s possible to do both. It’s like you’re on a seesaw. When you push one side down, the other has to go up.”
•Be more responsive than the big guys. “You may not have the scale or leverage of the big boys, but there are things you can do better. You can be more agile than the other guy and you don’t have to go through all the steps to make decisions.”
•Start talking about the ROI – Return on Ignoring. “Some people freeze up or companies freeze, because they are so busy trying to measure rather than do. The biggest ROI measurements that you need to know are, One: Is your business growing? Second: Are you expanding your margins? And third: Do you have customer satisfaction? If you’re heading in those ways at the pace you need to, then that’s the only measurement you need to have.

“The key is to know exactly what your product categories are, the areas in which you want to play, and then specifically get to the value proposition around those areas to the people you want to reach. I’m not a believer in a lot of brand advertising, because a brand is nothing but a promise delivered. So, if I’m outlining what the promise is I’m going to do for the customer, then that’s the kind of message I want to take out there.”

During the evening, Hayzlett also will teach attendees:
•How to ask the RIGHT questions about your business – and to boldly act on the answers.
•How to look in the mirror and see the real leader there.
•How not to let gadgets and gimmicks replace solid planning and executions.
•How to tell the difference between what works and what doesn’t (you might be surprised by the answers).
•How to discover your real competitors, and how to beat them clean and simple by adding value.
•How to pare down the marketing plan and win by simply selling.

Hayzlett’s book will be available for sale at the event and a book signing will be held. His appearance is sponsored by Mid-Country Bank, Kocina Branding & Marketing, and InTouch.

Sponsored by Sales & Marketing Executives International of Minnesota, the event will take place at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott from 5:30-7:00. To register, visit www.SMEIMinnesota.org. The fee is $30 for students, $40 for members and $60 for non-members.