Delivering a “WOW” experience can generate enormous goodwill and viral pass-along – as I realized during our recent 4 day holiday in Coorg and Mysore.

We were booked into a home-stay in Coorg. Raksh Cottage was a delightful place, right out of a story-book. Clean, comfortable and nestled quietly in the heart of a coffee estate, we woke up every morning to a rich variety of bird-calls, the scent of diverse spices, and the sight of colorful blossoms.

Just the accommodation and delicious cuisine would leave a guest feeling happy and satisfied. But the proprietors of Raksh Cottage go beyond… and deliver a “Wow” experience!

Starting at 10 a.m. and before we even arrived at their homestead many hours later, Mr.Sujay Subbiah called my cell-phone four times – to check if we needed any directions, to make sure we weren’t accidentally taking a longer detour, and to invite us to dine at Raksh Cottage that night.

Without being annoying or intrusive, he conveyed the impression of being available to lend a helping hand… and we appreciated his concern, as this was our first visit to Coorg.

When we finally reached Siddapur, at 8:30 p.m. (after touring Srirangapatnam, the historical seat of famous Mysore ruler, Tippu Sultan), Sujay went over and above – by driving out to meet us! He guided us down the unfamiliar mud-roads, through a partly hidden gap in the row of trees, and up a tiny incline that led up the driveway to Raksh Cottage.

Without his assistance, we would surely have missed that turn!

A delicious dinner left us stuffed and satiated. When we woke up the next morning, Sujay took our family on a walk around a portion of his 35 acre coffee and spice (pepper) plantation, patiently and passionately answering even our silliest questions.

It lasted almost an hour and a half – and was easily the best part of our trip!

We returned for breakfast, and met Mrs.Subbiah. She instantly established a warm rapport with the kids, my sister and wife, and soon they were prattling away about the best shopping spots (the ‘Green Shop’ in Madikeri came highly recommended) and where to eat (it was a toss-up between ‘Rajdarshan’ and ‘Crystal Palace’).

If you’ve ever tried to find a good eatery or store in a strange place on your own, you’ll realize the value of these recommendations!

It was these personal touches that led me to write in the Raksh Cottage guestbook, when the time came for us to reluctantly leave:

“Coming to Raksh Cottage was more like visiting family than staying in a resort. We look forward to repeating the experience – and bringing along our friends too.”

True, ‘Good enough’ would have left us satisfied. But the ‘Wow’ experience we had simply delighted us.

We talked about it. And I wrote this blog post – which you are now reading. (Maybe you’ll share it with YOUR friends!)

Points to ponder:

How can you create a ‘Wow’ experience in your business?

What do you think it will generate, in repeat sales or referrals, as compared to the cost of delivering it? Is it worth creating?

As kids, we’ve read fairytales where a pauper becomes fabulously wealthy overnight – when the princess picks him as her consort. He goes on to govern a country, wielding enormous power instantly.

And we wish… “Ah! If only I were that pauper!”

Like Cinderella, we often long for a fairy Godmother to come, wave her magic wand, and transform our pumpkins into royal carriages, our mice into noble horses and our rags into party dresses.

In fact, it has started happening for some lucky (and smart) people, who are grabbing a unique opportunity presented by the TURBO FAREWELL blowout.

John ‘Turbo’ Delavera is selling off a HUGE collection of his Turbo products, which means you now have the chance to INSTANTLY set up your own business empire… literally overnight!

I’ve known John for over eight years, first as a fellow member of the Internet Marketing Warrior Forum, then as a delighted customer of many products (including the flagship JV Manager, that went on to become Fantasos), and later as an affiliate of his Turbo line of business products and services.

Out of curiosity, I was reviewing my stats as John Delavera’s affiliate this morning. In 4 years, I have generated 241 sales for his Turbo business, generated many thousands in revenue for John, and earned myself $5,773.86 in affiliate commissions!

All this to say…

I buy their products. Use them. Recommend them to others.

Now, YOU can buy the entire range – and sell them AS YOUR OWN!

That’s why, when I heard that John was selling off PRIVATE LABEL RIGHTS to his entire product line, I dropped everything else I was doing to make a compelling offer that’s attractive to the special THREE (or four) people on my email list and in my network.

Yes, you heard me right. This is NOT suitable for everyone. In fact, it is NOT right for most people who will read this.

Turbo Farewell is a package for serious business owners (or developers) only. Not the ‘merely curious‘, ‘casually interested‘ or ‘lethargic lazy‘ kind who throng the Internet marketing niche, playing and pretending at being Web marketers and business owners.

It is not even suitable for more serious players who haven’t yet got their feet wet. Because there will be quite a few others buying this Turbo Farewell package between April 1st and 30th, you WILL have competition… and so, you need a competitive edge to set you apart from the crowd.

But with that experience, a burning passion to succeed, and access to cash you’ll have to invest into marketing the products, you will definitely be able to spin what you get in Turbo Farewell into a business EMPIRE within a few months to a year!

I personally believe that Turbo Farewell has the same potential to create a tribe of millionaires in the same way that Mark Joyner’s ‘Retirement Package’ did many years ago. That’s why I responded to John’s invitation to suggest a price for Turbo Farewell with this message…

“John, I know you hinted at no more than 500 copies, at around $2,000.

And that’s a BARGAIN price for anything you create and sell – not to mention the complete bundle.

Pricing it at that level would, I believe, devalue the material. I say this only because SINGLE products/programs by equally well known names as yourself are going for $1,997 to $2,997.

Also, you’ll have to realize and accept that not all buyers will use what they get to near its potential. So even if $2,000 is ‘affordable’, there will be some angst and heartburn when you see how many buyers didn’t quite get their money’s worth in value or return.

On the other hand, since it is often the higher-end clients who tend to act on their investments, pricing your Turbo Farewell package HIGHER may attract only the ‘best’ buyers – who will reap richer rewards than other groups.

That’s why I came up with this proposal – which also has a cadence of numbers… 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 – like this:

123 copies at $4,567 – for 8 years of your life!

And 9 free sets

(Give them away as special prizes for various contests!)”

Then, after making this suggestion, I also went on to think about how I could enhance an already generous and comprehensive offer for a prospective buyer who decides to order it on my recommendation… and came up with

You can read all about it here.

Then, learn all about Turbo Farewell here.

Even check out some of the Squidoo lenses I created about the package – here, here, here, here and here.

Then, if you decide Turbo Farewell is right for you, go ahead and lock in your order before John sells out – I’m practically sure he will… fast!

To YOUR thriving business empire and success.

I started building my online business in 1996.

By 2003, I had built up serious momentum.

• High search engine rankings.
• Big, responsive list.
• Many infoproducts.
• Good sales.

And then, I started coasting along.  Maintaining my sites,

but not growing them as aggressively as I once did.

Nothing changed – apparently.  But it did.  It just did so

slowly that I hadn’t noticed!

• By 2006, a few search engine rankings were gone.
• By 2007, my list was growing slower – and getting smaller.
• By 2008, my infoproduct portfolio had dwindled.
• By 2009, coupled with the recession, this was losing sales.

Now, I’m NOT coasting.

Since earlier this year, I’m working a plan.  Actively. And

very aggressively.

I have a SEO plan.  It is getting many inlinks and adding

content to my network of sites rapidly.

I have a list building plan – though NOT solely email!  Yes,

that’s a shift determined by the marketplace changes.

I have an infoproduct creation plan – by end 2010, I will have

added FIFTY new ebooks and guides to my portfolio.

I have a sales plan – and it will kick in when other parts of

the puzzle are in place.

The BIG lesson is this…

You Cannot Coast!

If you aren’t growing, your business is dying.  Slowly, maybe.

But still dying.

Give it the breath of life.

Keep it GROWING.

• Can your clients and prospects get in touch with you online?
• Are business partners able to contact you with proposals on the Web?
• Do your friends and family have access to you in emergencies?

If you think, “Yes, of course”, here’s a suggestion. Try being one of them for a day, and test your existing processes.

You may be surprised!

Are You Playing God?

Probably (mis)guided by a coach or ebook that pandered to their illusions of self-importance and grandeur, many online small businesses (fewer than 100 employees, with $25 million or less in annual revenue!) hired a V.A. (’Virtual assistant’) to handle email. And felt good about what they had done.

If that’s you, here’s a suggestion. Fire your gatekeeper!

Look, you’re no Donald Trump, or George Soros, or Bill Bartmann. These folks are BILLIONAIRES, busy as heck, and really don’t have time (or need) to network with every single person who wants their time and attention.

Yet, every time I’ve contacted them, I have received polite, prompt and personal responses from someone on their team. (Bill answers his own email!). That’s because they have the money to hire REAL assistants.

You don’t. And so you make do with a nickel-and-dime V.A. who considers their job well done when they respond to your business partners with a templated copy-and-paste message – costing you a small fortune in lost business and ruined relationships.

Yes, Spam Is Killing You, But…

No one can deny the impact of spam on business communication, even personal messaging on the Internet. But to fight it, you need intelligent processes, not duct-tape quick fixes.

For my book launch that just ended, I contacted over 350 people for help with spreading the word. I used various channels of access:

1. Email
2. Web site contact forms
3. Twitter ‘@’ and Direct messages
4. Facebook messages
5. Forum private messaging
6. LinkedIn

In rare cases, I got through immediately. For some, it took multiple channels before I could establish contact. For many, I simply couldn’t get past ‘gate keepers’.

To no one’s surprise, the ones I connected with instantly were friends who agreed to (or turned down politely) my invitation to be a part of my book launch – and then actually helped promote. They are the ones I thanked in my earlier blog post – and with whom I will continue to have a relationship, and go out of my way to help in the future.

But, Why Fire Your Gatekeeper?

On average, it cost me 2.5 to 3 minutes per person. That’s time well worth spending – even when the answer was “No, I can’t help you”.

What’s a waste of time is when interactions get fouled up by the gate-keeper. Because they are not authorized to say “No”, these $500 a month (or lesser) ‘employees’ use customized templates to respond. A frequently used one goes:

“Hi,
Thank you for your email. I am happy to assist you.
I have forwarded your email to _____. He will review
your proposal. Thank you. And all the best”

Which would be fine and dandy – except they DID NOT forward your message to anyone… they just trashed it, or closed the support ticket – remember, the one you had to first register as a member to use, and then painstakingly filled in form fields to communicate with a friend or business partner!

Those are the ones I will always remember – as being IDIOTS.

For wasting my time and energy.

For not taking the time to do things properly.

Remember Whom You’ll Meet – On Your Way Down!

Look, if this sounds like YOU I’m talking about, you may THINK you don’t need anyone. You’re so big, successful, popular that you can manage without any partners in your business or life.

But trust me, a time will come when you will eat humble pie and try to contact those same people who are now trying to reach you. I’ve seen it happen time and again over the last 15 years in online marketing – and for even longer in the real world!

It’s nature’s cycle. What goes up must come down. Only ‘when’ and ‘how fast’ remain uncertain!

And at that time, THEY (we) will remember how your V.A. brushed off the effort of 3 minutes with a breezy 10 second copy-paste response – and blame YOU for using that approach!

Solutions You Might Want To Consider

So what can you do about it? There isn’t enough time in the day to respond to the deluge of communication that drowns you. And wasn’t that your excuse to hire a V.A. in the first place?

Well, how about taking a different approach?

1. Have a clearly stated policy for communication – addressing different groups, like clients, joint venture partners, affiliates and prospects.

2. Publish a detailed (and often updated) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section that addresses most areas right away.

3. Pick ONE preferred channel for direct one-on-one communication, for whenever the process fails for any reason. I like Twitter, because it leaves me in control of how and when to deal with communication. Dr.Ken Evoy of SiteSell fame uses a unique ‘hot line’ email address which he monitors personally.

4. Don’t hesitate to say “No”. Really busy people will appreciate not having their time wasted by wishy-washy nonsense – and a clear “No” allows you to justifiably ignore future follow-up without appearing to be a jerk!

5. Monitor and test your process every month or two – to see nothing is broken or that profitable connections aren’t slipping through the cracks.

6. Use help desks. This beats email in an era of filters and spam. But make sure, if you use a V.A. to monitor your desk, that you oversee what happens – and supervise their communication style… because what your V.A. will lose (a meager monthly stipend) is nothing as compared to what YOU will lose as a careless business owner!

Remember, gatekeepers are meant to make you MORE EFFECTIVE, not merely more efficient. If they are irritating and annoying people who could help you and your business in the long-term, you lose… big time.

Walk with your head in the clouds, if you must, pretending you’re a busy business-man or -woman, but keep your feet on the ground. In reality, you are no busier than me – and I know it!

This morning I read a blog. It was about an event that happened five years ago. That event touched – and changed – many lives.

Read about the event here – and then come back to the rest of this post.

Done?

On that day, something changed. It happened INSIDE my mind. It was validation of a hope or dream that I had nurtured. It showed me that it was possible.

And that change had dramatic impact. At that point, I was earning around $7,500 a year from my online business. Within the next two years, and aided by some powerful coaching by a business genius named Jay Abraham, I was donating more than that amount to my non-profit OUT OF my business profits!

It was the dream I had before launching my infopreneur business. I had planned to sponsor heart surgery for children in India who came from under-privileged families by earning enough money from my information product marketing efforts.

Today, the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation has funded 52 operations. There are many smiling faces that were made possible by that dream. And at the heart of the dream was a mindset that took root on a very special day – August 17th, 2004.

That’s why I left this comment on the blog:

For my CHD list, I was drafting out a similar note – to mark this special occasion.

What makes John’s ‘Million Dollar Day’ more uniquely special to me is that it was followed up by a donation of $10,000 to my non-profit foundation – which sponsored heart surgery for 4 children.

I like what John says about MINDSET. That single donation broke barriers in MY mind.

Over the years since, I have not only donated more than that back to my foundation, I have donated the equivalent to another foundation that builds houses for the homeless in another desperately poor country halfway across the world.

And in the process of doing so, inspired many more entrepreneurs, start up business owners and infopreneurs to reach out for their dreams.

That’s a RIPPLE.

One that started out in John Reese’s mind, reaches across a globally networked world to touch and resonate with other people, inspires them to live up to their potential, and in turn encourages even more others to do the same.

In reality, then, it was NOT a ‘Million Dollar Day’ – it was more likely a BILLION DOLLAR DAY.

Thank you for doing what you did – and helping change many lives for the better, John.

In deep and sincere appreciation.

Dr.Mani

It is my fond hope that by sharing this with you, I’ve helped set off another ripple. One that will spark off a fire in your heart. And encourage YOU to dream boldly – and then set out and change the world, in your own unique way.

My new book, “Think, Write & Retire” (learn more about it), was written to help create the same effect. To share the specifics, the tactics, the lessons necessary to turn words into wealth – so that you can achieve things you want to.

I didn’t time the book launch to coincide with this memorable day.

The serendipity is apt, though.

I hope you’ll buy your copy.

And live your dreams.

For long I have mused about how much the world of online home business has changed since I first set out to build one in 1995 – and wondered how I might handle it if I had to start again now.

Today, on a whim, I sat down to write the first of a series of articles that will explore this intriguing question – and maybe help you in some way from the insights, experience and hard lessons learned on the cutting edge of Internet marketing, home business and infopreneur activities over a decade and a half.

Enjoy!

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