cOLOrINg OuTsiDe THe LINes!
Helping organizations and individuals reach their full INNOVATIVE potential!
Autumn 2006
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Dear Subscriber,

Welcome to another issue of coloring outside the lines--of reaching your innovative and creative potential!

Jeff

Yesterday, I was driving down the street with my 15 year old daughter. I was just in the process of selling her on the idea of sticking with the grueling soccer practices she is currently enduring to ensure her place on the varsity squad, when my brilliant presentation was interrupted by a brilliant marketing message! ECNAMLUMBA!

You may be surprised to learn that ECNAMLUMBA is a word that you've seen a thousand times. You don't see it on a billboard or on the side of a bus. It is not emblazoned on a storefront, but when I saw the word, I was so compelled by it's immediate and urgent message, that I immediately pulled the car over to the shoulder. The people who created this marketing message had spared no expense. The announcement of its arrival came with a full-blown sound-and-light show!

As I looked in the rearview mirror of my car, ECNALUBMA magically transformed into the word AMBULANCE! Talk about seeing things from a customer's perspective; these people wrote their "brand name" backwards just so their customers would receive the message properly!

Customer Focus

The less you know about a certain part of your business, the easier it is for you to see it like a customer sees it. Someone once said, "See the world through your customer's eyes, and see the way your customer buys"! Ask someone from accounting to read one of your marketing brochures. Their "dumb" questions will provide important insights. Have your customer service people challenge the warehouse policies or have a salesperson pitch your product to someone in IT. MIX THINGS UP!

When was the last time you:
  • called your own service department?
  • talked with a customer about their experience with your company?
  • tried to navigate your web site or automated phone system?
  • waited on hold when you called your company?
  • ordered your competitors' product/service?
  • mailed your brochure to yourself?

It is a very simple exercise but one that is critical to success today. We have to see the world from our customer's perspective and constantly check in with them on how to make that experience one that will increase the value to them versus the perceived cost of working with you!
From Jeff Tobe--CHANGES ARE IN THE AIR
BD pool
Huge things are happening here at Coloring Outside the Lines! I am always talking about re-inventing yourself, so I decided to take my own advice.

Over 2 years ago, some friends traveled to the exotic and enchanting country of Belize and returned with the idea of partnering to purchase some beachfront property. That idea sparked another and another and a year ago, we opened BELIZEAN DREAMS, (click on the link and check it out!) a 9-Villa resort that has won accolades from visitors from around the world. Each villa is a 2700 square foot paradise with 3 bedrooms kitchen and living room.

Fast forward to winter of 2006 and picture me sitting on the balcony of one of those villas thinking to myself, "WHAT IF I could work here in shorts and a t-shirt X amount of days per year?" It is with great anticipation that I wanted you to be introduced to my newest concept, "INNERVATION; The Executive Expereince"!

The Executive Experience is simply a corporate retreat on steroids!!! By combining the exotic location of Belize with incredible executive programming, it is my intention to attract corporate visionaries from around the world to Belizean Dreams to network and rub elbows with some incredible celebrity guests.

Wouldn't you love to spend time with G. Gordon Liddy, Mario Andretti or Jerry West? THE EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE is unique because it combines learning and adventure--networking and education. Check out our new website at www .TheExecutiveExperience.com and stay tuned for more details.

Comm Coach II
Business communications often fail to keep pace with the demand for real-time communications to address mission-critical business needs. They (communications) unravel communication bottlenecks, tie together applications, solve the simplest of challenges and support closer collaboration across the enterprise.”
From a 2006 consulting study commissioned by Cisco Systems

Why Poor Communication Skills Could Kill YOUR Business! In almost every study that looked at the challenges that businesses face today, “lack of communication” or “poor communication skills” ALWAYS ranked in the top three. Is that the case in YOUR business? Are communication problems hampering your productivity, causing costly mistakes or lowering morale?

WHY HAS IT NOT BEEN SOLVED?
Most consultants and trainers focus on one very specific area of communication skills or if they do present an OVERALL SOLUTION, it is a very costly process. You don’t have the time or the money to invest in expensive consultants.

WHAT IF you could improve your communication skills—in both your personal and professional life—without having to go to therapy? Now you can have the EXPERTISE OF 14 OF THE TOP COMMUNICATIONS TRAINERS/CONSULTANTS IN THE WORLD at your fingertips in one book!

The Communication Coach II brings together these 14 professionals to share their knowledge of those communication woes that plague most organizations. Most publications are author-centered and give you ONE AUTHOR’S perspective on one very specific challenge. No book has attempted to attack the communication challenge as a whole UNTIL NOW. The Communication Coach II features internationally renowned authors including Jeff Tobe, Dr. Manny Steil—a world-expert in listening skills, Sue Hershkowitz-Coore— internationally acclaimed author and 11 others!

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SUBSCRIBERS! This book retails at $19.95
E-mail us at:
info@jefftobe.com,
indicate your interest in purchasing a copy
FOR ONLY $12.00
+ $2.00 shipping,
and we will get in touch to get the details! Order copies (bulk pricing available) BEFORE October 10, 2006 at this special price.

Jeff Tobe
coloring outside the lines


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