The recipe for success calls for a pound of quality, dash of luck
But as any entrepreneur knows, wanting to go into business and actually going into business are two different things. Debbi lacked the one ingredient to open her cookie shop - money.
She went around to banks with a business plan and a plate of cookies until she found someone who believed in her product as much as she did.
On grand opening day, her husband bet Debbi that she wouldn't do $50 worth of business. Debbi took the bet, certain the first day's dollar take would be in the hundreds. By 3 p.m. she still had not rung the register. Zero bucks. Not daunted, but slightly panicked, Debbi took to the streets and started giving the cookies away as samples. She told the people, "If you like them, go back to my store and buy a few."
She sold $75 dollars worth by the end of the day. She won the bet from her husband, and the multi-million dollar (idea) lottery that day.
There were lots of things Debbi could have done in her low moment. Cried, quit, swore, or blamed the customer. Instead, she looked for solutions, she took the obstacle and turned it into an opportunity. Passing out cookie samples not only saved the day, it went on to be the cornerstone of her marketing plan to build the business. Give away samples in the street and make them follow you back to the store. Genius is always simple in idea - it's the execution that separates the real from the would-be.
Today there are more than six hundred Mrs. Fields Cookies stores in seven countries, and growing. WOW.
I saw Debbi make a presentation in Boston last week. She not only told a story of how she succeeded at making big dough in the cookie business, she also interwove her practices and philosophies into the keynote.
She won the crowd in the first two seconds by giving everyone (350 people) a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. But she kept the crowd with her wit, wisdom and compelling story.
Following are some of her business-success practices and philosophies:
• Pick people who love what they will do.
• Set 24-hour goals.
• Set 2-hour goals (manage by the hour).
• Hire experts.
• Hire eagles (the best people you can find).
• Create systems with a heart.
• Don't chase money because you'll never catch it.
• Take your product to the extreme; in other words, be better than anyone else.
• Turn change into opportunity.
• Get customers and keep them for life.
Here are some of her "beyond the normal bounds of business" practices that have given her the winning edge:
• If her cookies are not sold within two hours, they are donated to charity.
• Her guaranty is written on every bag.
• She only hires people who love cookies.
• She makes people sing "Happy Birthday" in their job interview.
• She hires attitude over ability.
• She gives employees all they want to take home. (She says it creates good will as well as new customers, and it keeps quality high.)
• She gives out samples in the street often.
"At 13 I believed I was the best cookie maker ever," Mrs. Fields said with pride. "I created Chocolate nirvana. When I went into business, I knew people could compete, but there would be none better. I wanted to make eating my cookies an experience, and I did."
(Authors note: After about twenty minutes into her talk, my cookie had already been consumed. I started looking around for someone who had not eaten their cookie. I wanted another one.)
Everyone has a formula for success, but Debbi Fields has a recipe. Here's her six-point success recipe:
• Be passionate. She loved baking chocolate chip cookies. Love what you do.
• The greatest wealth is family and friends. Enjoy their love.
• Every day is special. Make it the best it can be.
• "No" is unacceptable. Don't stop there. Go for "Yes."
• Celebrate excellence. Make people feel important.
• The greatest failure is not to try. When you dream, wake up and do.
Now mix in her special success ingredients:
• Philosophy of excellence: Good enough never is.
• Attitude of excellence: When things are bad, it means that good is close by.
• Report card of excellence: Get wows.
• Achieving excellence in selling: If you love it, you can sell it.
Bake for about twenty years - and voila! Success.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be addressed to: Gitomer c/o Warsaw Business Journal, ul. Sloneczna 29, 00-789 Warsaw.
She went around to banks with a business plan and a plate of cookies until she found someone who believed in her product as much as she did.
On grand opening day, her husband bet Debbi that she wouldn't do $50 worth of business. Debbi took the bet, certain the first day's dollar take would be in the hundreds. By 3 p.m. she still had not rung the register. Zero bucks. Not daunted, but slightly panicked, Debbi took to the streets and started giving the cookies away as samples. She told the people, "If you like them, go back to my store and buy a few."
She sold $75 dollars worth by the end of the day. She won the bet from her husband, and the multi-million dollar (idea) lottery that day.
There were lots of things Debbi could have done in her low moment. Cried, quit, swore, or blamed the customer. Instead, she looked for solutions, she took the obstacle and turned it into an opportunity. Passing out cookie samples not only saved the day, it went on to be the cornerstone of her marketing plan to build the business. Give away samples in the street and make them follow you back to the store. Genius is always simple in idea - it's the execution that separates the real from the would-be.
Today there are more than six hundred Mrs. Fields Cookies stores in seven countries, and growing. WOW.
I saw Debbi make a presentation in Boston last week. She not only told a story of how she succeeded at making big dough in the cookie business, she also interwove her practices and philosophies into the keynote.
She won the crowd in the first two seconds by giving everyone (350 people) a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. But she kept the crowd with her wit, wisdom and compelling story.
Following are some of her business-success practices and philosophies:
• Pick people who love what they will do.
• Set 24-hour goals.
• Set 2-hour goals (manage by the hour).
• Hire experts.
• Hire eagles (the best people you can find).
• Create systems with a heart.
• Don't chase money because you'll never catch it.
• Take your product to the extreme; in other words, be better than anyone else.
• Turn change into opportunity.
• Get customers and keep them for life.
Here are some of her "beyond the normal bounds of business" practices that have given her the winning edge:
• If her cookies are not sold within two hours, they are donated to charity.
• Her guaranty is written on every bag.
• She only hires people who love cookies.
• She makes people sing "Happy Birthday" in their job interview.
• She hires attitude over ability.
• She gives employees all they want to take home. (She says it creates good will as well as new customers, and it keeps quality high.)
• She gives out samples in the street often.
"At 13 I believed I was the best cookie maker ever," Mrs. Fields said with pride. "I created Chocolate nirvana. When I went into business, I knew people could compete, but there would be none better. I wanted to make eating my cookies an experience, and I did."
(Authors note: After about twenty minutes into her talk, my cookie had already been consumed. I started looking around for someone who had not eaten their cookie. I wanted another one.)
Everyone has a formula for success, but Debbi Fields has a recipe. Here's her six-point success recipe:
• Be passionate. She loved baking chocolate chip cookies. Love what you do.
• The greatest wealth is family and friends. Enjoy their love.
• Every day is special. Make it the best it can be.
• "No" is unacceptable. Don't stop there. Go for "Yes."
• Celebrate excellence. Make people feel important.
• The greatest failure is not to try. When you dream, wake up and do.
Now mix in her special success ingredients:
• Philosophy of excellence: Good enough never is.
• Attitude of excellence: When things are bad, it means that good is close by.
• Report card of excellence: Get wows.
• Achieving excellence in selling: If you love it, you can sell it.
Bake for about twenty years - and voila! Success.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be addressed to: Gitomer c/o Warsaw Business Journal, ul. Sloneczna 29, 00-789 Warsaw.
