Managing any business today is tough…and getting tougher. We’re all faced with more demanding customers, more and stronger competition, increased complexity and shrinking margins. On top of that, great staff are hard to find and keep…and that problem won’t go away any time soon. 

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DONALD’S PRESENTATION ON… ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS …the ‘straight goods’ on how to sell more, manage smarter, grow your bottom line…and have a life! Every industry is over-served and under-differentiated. To thrive in good times or bad, we must create extraordinary customer value and experiences that will clearly differentiate us from our competitors, make us ‘famous’ and grow our bottom line. Then, we must proactively market, sell and promote like never before in this crowded, confused and cynical marketplace. Secondly, we must create world-class operating efficiency and a clear vision of what our business will become in 3 to 5 years. Then, we must have the right business model and a top-performing team. Without these four things, we cannot grow our business. Finally, we need to understand the math of profitability and control expenses carefully. 

Performance must be measured, acknowledged and rewarded…and non-performance must be dealt with promptly. Lack of clarity and failure to deal with non-performance are two of the biggest challenges facing many businesses today. So, we must all manage smarter. We must work “ON” our business…not just “IN” it. To achieve all of this we must be innovative, focused, proactive & passionate. In short, we must be extraordinary! Mediocrity is no longer an option!

Through Keynotes, Workshops, transformational Management ‘Boot Camps’ and 1-on-1 Business Coaching, Donald has helped 1,000s of business owners and managers in over 40 industries throughout the world to rethink, refocus and re-energize their business to sell more, manage smarter, grow their bottom line…and have a life. Simply put Donald works with business owners and managers who want to achieve extraordinary outcomes in 5 key areas… 1. Create compelling customer value and experiences that will give them a clear competitive advantage. 2. Market, promote and sell more effectively. There’s no point being the ‘best’ if we’re also the best kept secret. 3. Attract, engage and retain a dedicated, top-performing team. To succeed, we must become ‘talent magnets’. 4. Improve profitability now and for the long term…and to, 5. Create a clear Vision for the future of the business, a specific Action Plan to get there and a culture of commitment, urgency and accountability to make sure that they do.

There’s huge confusion in business today about what a ‘Vision’ is, what it isn’t…and whether it even makes sense to have one. Businesses spend thousands of dollars on consultants or ‘Management Retreats’ to come up with a vague, airy-fairy ‘aspirational’ Vision that says little, and achieves nothing. Every industry is changing quickly. New technologies and disruptive business models are taking over. 

To succeed in this fast-changing and hypercompetitive world, we need clarity about the future of our business and our industry. What businesses really need is an ‘Operational Vision’. A clear, specific and measurable statement of what we commit to become to be a more profitable and responsible market leader in 3 to 5 years. This ‘Operational Vision’ will be 6 points on one page that will be easily updated each year to keep us current, relevant and in the lead. From our 3 to 5 year Vision comes our annual ‘Mission’ and a detailed and specific ‘Commitment to Action’ that states what will be done, by whom, by when, measured how.

Our Vision will inform, focus, challenge and inspire us as leaders and everyone on our team, by creating clarity about 5 specific things: 1. The compelling customer value and experience that we commit to deliver, 2. What we commit to become in 3 to 5 years, 3. Specifically how we’ll get to that extraordinary future (our Mission), 4. The extraordinary bottom line that we commit to generate…and, 5. How we commit to ‘behave’ along the way (our values, ethics & culture). That level of clarity simply doesn’t exist in most businesses today…and it’s killing them. Your Vision will also be our most effective staff planning and recruitment tool when hiring and developing key team members. With a clear Vision, we hire for the future…not for the immediate past. Donald’s breakthrough work on business Vision, 7 years in the making, has helped 1,000s of companies throughout the world to improve clarity, commitment, accountability and profitability. This program, complete with an offer to obtain Donald’s 34-page, step-by-step Vision Critical Guide, is offered as a Keynote, or as a longer interactive Workshop.

Managing any business today is tough…and getting tougher. We’re all faced with more demanding customers, more and stronger competition, increased complexity and shrinking margins. On top of that, great staff are hard to find and keep…and that problem won’t go away any time soon.

 A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DONALD’S PRESENTATION ON… THE 90-MINUTE MBA …10 things you absolutely need to know to ‘own’ your customers, manage your business and grow your bottom line! To thrive in good times or bad, first we must create extraordinary customer value and experiences that will ‘grab’ our target customers, clearly differentiate us from our competitors, make us “famous” and grow our bottom line. Then, we must market, sell and promote like never before in this crowded, confused and cynical marketplace. Second, we must create a clear Vision for the future of our business and a business model that will get us there. 

Then we must develop a top‐performing team and world‐class operating efficiency. Without these four things, we cannot grow our business. Finally, we must understand the math of profitability and control expenses carefully. Performance must be measured, acknowledged and rewarded …and non‐performance must be dealt with promptly. Lack of clarity and failure to deal with non‐performance are two of the biggest challenges facing many businesses today. 

So, we must all manage smarter. Most business owners and managers spend 90% of their time working “in” their business and not enough time working “on” it. Donald delivers the ‘straight goods’ on how to proactively and effectively manage your marketing, your team, your future and your bottom line…and he makes it fun!

Whether your business is large or small, not having the right people in every position carries a huge bottom-line cost in lost business, inefficiency, missed opportunity and frustration! The talent crunch is real, and will last for decades. In less than 10 years time, we’ll see many businesses fail because they’re unable to find the talent they need. Sadly, many business owners and managers have convinced themselves that, “You just can’t get good people anymore!” 

They’re in denial and they’ve given up! The truth is that the best people have to work for somebody…it’s just that we have to deserve them. We become what we hire…so we need to attract and hire extraordinary talent, not just ‘bodies’. Then, we must train, inspire and empower them to WOW our customers, achieve world-class operating efficiency and grow our bottom line. Everyone on our team must be clear about our customer promise, our direction and our values. 

They must be committed to specific outcomes, be held accountable for their performance and rewarded for their success. Then, non-performance must be dealt with promptly and firmly. Lack of accountability and failure to deal with non-performance are two of the biggest problems in many businesses today. So, we must all manage smarter.

Donald’s 8 steps to attracting, leading and engaging a top-performing team deliver a clear and effective process that will help make you a world-class recruiter, a world-class boss…and a world-class business.

This topic covers the art and science of creating, delivering and communicating compelling customer value and experiences.  As an award-winning, innovative marketer, Donald will help you to…

Understand your customers on a whole new level, including why they buy, why they don’t buy …and what they really want when they do buy.
Redefine your business to become more customer-focused and customer-committed.
Create and deliver extraordinary customer-owning value and experiences that will ‘grab’ your target customers, clearly differentiate you from your competitors, make you ‘famous’…and grow your bottom line.
Effectively communicate, sell and promote your compelling value in a crowded, confused and cynical marketplace

Whether you sell to consumers or to other businesses, your customers are more demanding, more confused, more time‐compressed and more cynical than ever before. They want your best service and your best price…and they want it now. On top of that, you have way too many competitors, you all look pretty much alike…and some of you aren’t going to make it! So, to succeed we must stand out. 

We must create compelling value and experiences that make powerful connections with our target customers. Simply put, we must be extraordinary. Mediocrity is no longer an option. Then, we must communicate our value in a way that ‘grabs’ our target customers, clearly differentiates us from our competitors and makes us ‘famous’. And we have to do all of that on a tight budget , so that we grow our bottom line. 

Creating loyal and profitable customers for life is not that complicated. In fact, you’ll be amazed at how simple and do‐able it actually is. In this bottom‐line marketing session Donald Cooper delivers his clear and compelling insights of Human Marketing® . “Human Marketing” is Donald’s trademarked term for his unique insights into why people buy, why they don’t buy…and what they really want when they do buy. We are all human beings selling something to other human beings. How darn complicated should this actually be? Donald debunks tired myths about loyalty, price, advertising and value and then replaces them with powerful insights and management tools that will help you to create a compelling competitive advantage, more effective marketing and a better bottom line. Donald’s brilliant insights, humour and profound understanding of human behavior will inform and energize you.

Managing any business today is tough…and getting tougher. We’re all faced with more demanding customers, more and stronger competition, increased complexity and shrinking margins. Mediocrity is no longer an option! First, we must create and deliver compelling value and extraordinary customer experiences. What unique products, services or customer experiences would it take to set your business apart and make it not all about price? What has never been done before that would be so powerful, so compelling, that your target customers simply could not resist you? Or, conversely, what would you have to do to proactively make it all about price…and then to win that battle, profitably? Realistically, those are the two choices that every business faces. 

Then, whichever value proposition we commit to, we must communicate our value story in everything we do. We must promote, market and sell like never before. We need to hire extraordinary talent, not just ‘bodies”. Then, train, inspire and empower every person on our team to WOW our customers, achieve world-class operating efficiency and grow the bottom line. We must measure performance, reward and celebrate success…and deal quickly with non-performance. So, we must manage smarter. Finally, we need to be clear about how our business must change and grow to be even more extraordinary in 3 to 5 years. We need a Vision for the future that will guide and challenge us to be more focused, more innovative and more proactive than ever before. In this bottom-line, challenging and inspiring presentation Donald delivers the ‘straight goods’ on how to be extraordinary in every part of your business.

The tourism business is tough…and getting tougher. We’re all faced with more demanding customers, more and stronger competition (locally, regionally and internationally)…and shrinking profit margins. Great staff are hard to attract, inspire and keep…and that problem won’t go away any time soon. On top of all that, the tourism business is seasonal and cyclical…and Mother Nature is our business partner. 

For any tourism or hospitality business to be successful there must be a passionate commitment to create extraordinary customer value and experiences. We must have the location, the products services and amenities, the physical facilities, operational excellence and staff commitment to consistently deliver what we promise. Then, we must proactively market and promote like never before. We must break through the competitive ‘clutter’ to make sure that our message is heard. There’s no point in being the best if you’re also the best kept secret. We are in the ‘business’ of tourism and we need to think more like business people. 

Donald’s powerful ‘The Business Side of Tourism’ 90-minute Keynote, or half-day interactive Workshop, delivers the ‘straight goods’ on how to grow your tourism business, turn customers into ‘fans’…and improve your bottom line!