The Newsletter Pro - November 2017

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

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Success Story What Really Drives Sales Growth and Repeat Business? Negotiate as if Your Life Depends on It How Sandler Training Can Help Your Team

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Have You Met Mick Beam?

How Square Transformed the Way We Pay

HOW ONE MEGA COMPANY LOST $10 BILLION BY BEING PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH AND WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKE

The executive’s reason for cutting the swimwear was that its sales growth was flat in Q1 of 2016. The category had grown by 10 percent in Q1 of 2015, but after one bad year, I guess you go ahead and cut a half-billion-dollar category. Is it possible they just missed the trends for 2016 and needed to replace some fashion designers? Could it be that they weren’t marketing enough, and that’s why sales were flat? I guess we’ll never know, because these executives decided no one would miss half a billion dollars in sales. I don’t know who else they have on the executive team, but they should fire them all after this round of decision-making.

At the time, one Twitter user commented on the news that Victoria’s Secret had discontinued their catalog by saying, “In big news, the Victoria’s Secret catalog has been discontinued. ‘We have the internet; we don’t need it anymore,’ said 13-year-old boys.” I would expect nothing less from the internet, and even some people in the marketing community as a whole. The gross misunderstanding of how marketing works in 2016 and 2017 — especially by those in the media — is a huge part of the issue. All most of these folks know is what they read on Inc. or Business Insider. They see headlines daily about the death of anything that isn’t Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat (although the alleged death of Twitter is often a story as well). They don’t understand that those catalogs were driving billions in sales. More on that in a moment.

In February of 2016, L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, fired star CEO Sharen Turner. The new CEO, Stuart Burgdoerfer, decided to take a fresh look at the company. He asked, “If we started Victoria’s Secret in 2016, how would we go about marketing and selling?” On the surface this seems like a fair question, but there’s one big problem: The answer is irrelevant. They didn’t start the brand in 2016, and the way you build a startup is different than the way you build a multibillion- dollar company. If they were starting in 2016, they’d likely be online only, at least to start. Armed with this flawed approach, the executive team at Victoria’s Secret decided to make a huge change to their marketing plan and save $150 million per year by cutting their much-beloved catalog and discontinuing their swimwear line, despite its $500 million in sales.

I first wrote about the cutting of the catalog shortly after it was making the rounds on the

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COVER CONTINUED ... business news sites. I felt it was a dumb decision. This catalog was driving people online and into the stores. I could literally see it play out in my own house. Some of my friends and I talked about the massive hit the stock price was going to take and how it might make sense to short the stock — ultimately a good investment. About 16 months have passed since the amazing executive team at Victoria’s Secret made these calls, and now we can see how things played out. On April 1, 2016, the stock price for L Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, was $88.08. On September 1, 2017, the stock price was $37.46, with sales down 20 percent. Six percent of the decreases comes from the discontinued swimwear line. The other 14 percent ... perhaps it was the discontinued catalog. These yahoos saved $150 million in advertising costs, likely gave themselves a bonus for doing it, and cut the stock price by 67.5 percent, erasing roughly $15 billion in market cap — 100 times what they saved in advertising costs. On the surface, we all do what these executives do. We want everything to work perfectly and to neatly fall into fully trackable and calculable ROI. Well, good luck with that, because that’s not the world we live in. The catalog has been shown time and time again to be difficult to track, but it has a massive effect on the bottom line. Why? Because

people get the catalog, browse it, and then feel eager to visit the website or store.

okay-sized business (I’m not really sure), but it’s a simple business that lives and dies by Facebook traffic, which means it is a dead man walking.

Catalogs are so effective that there are online- only companies that mail them out. Bodenusa.com and Bonobos.com are two online-only retailers that both mail catalogs. In the age of online ordering, the death of retail, and the fact that all shopping is going to be done on your phone starting any day now, why would anyone in the online arena bother with catalog sales? The only logical guess is that they are making money. It’s hard to track the catalog and its direct sales, but what’s not hard to track is an overall increase in sales. This brings me back to the start of this rant, which is this: You cannot track 100 percent ROI if you have any complexity to your business. And if you don’t have a complex business, you have a very, very small business. Let me explain. We’ve all seen the company that sells $27 trinkets or info products. When we look at a case study, those items show an amazing ROI on Facebook or insert media, but they come from a small business that does one or maybe two things. I recently bought a $27 item that keeps my head from bobbing and allows me to sleep on a plane, and it is awesome. But I’ve heard nothing from these people since I got my product. They may have an

What happens when you have a complex business — a business that has many products and a ton of moving parts? What happens when you have to first generate a lead before you can make a sale? What happens when you have tons of competition? What happens when you are a service provider, like a dentist, lawyer, PT, or an HVAC provider, and there are dozens — or hundreds — of competitors in your area? You don’t have a simple business anymore. How are those simple Facebook ad strategies working for you now? Do you possibly need people on the phone closing leads? Well, that’s complicated. Do you need to first generate the lead and then nurture them? If so, that’s also complicated. You get the point. For most businesses, it isn’t as easy as putting up an ad, making a sale, and shipping a product. Most of us need to work a little harder, and if we do, if we need people to answer the phone or nurture campaigns, or one of a hundred other possible scenarios that make our business work. You now have a problem if you want to track 100 percent ROI on every campaign. You may be thinking, “But Shaun, I can totally track 100 percent ROI. We do it in my business all the time.” That’s because you’re tracking first touch or last touch, not 100 percent direct ROI. So, if you track first touch and the lead comes in from Facebook (after eight months of getting emails and direct mail, seeing you at a trade show, or reading your newsletters) and finally makes a purchase, you give the credit for the sale “All the research shows that, on average, PEOPLE NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO YOU AT LEAST EIGHT TIMES BEFORE THEY EVEN KNOW YOU EXIST , which means they saw you in some way, shape, or form numerous times.”

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COVER CONTINUED ...

At the end of the day, this is work, and you’ll have a hard time outsourcing it, which can be a challenge. But this is the work that changes lives — most notably your own. This is work worth doing and doing right. This is worth rereading. Be sure you understand the details of what I wrote here, because I can assure you that your competitors don’t understand what you and I have just gone over. This fact will allow you to stay ahead of them and even eventually crush them (if you so desire). I’ll close with this thought: What is your company’s most valuable asset? It’s your customer and prospect database. Communicating with them, be it with a catalog, a newsletter, or smoke signals, providing them value, and reminding them who you are, what you do, and that you’re still in business, is the most profitable thing you can do. It is far easier to sell an existing customer something than it is to find a new customer. Don’t make the mistake that Victoria’s Secret did and assume that a hard-to-track campaign isn’t making you money. Don’t assume that everything is going digital, because it’s not — not even close. Be smarter than that. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Be smart about your tracking and invest in your foundations first, and I guarantee you will crush it. “... you need a system that allows you to ask for, reward, and communicate about referrals. You have to get this stuff right before you even think about more leads. THIS IS THE BACKBONE .”

the emails you send, or the lead magnet you gave them for opting in. The sign on the road that people pass by every day is connected to the postcards and direct mail pieces you send out and the phone calls you make. The person who answers your phones and makes an appointment is connected to all the marketing leading up to that point. It is all connected. This, though, creates another problem: What marketing should you do? You can’t do it all simply because it’s connected. But the answer is simple: You need to start with the fundamentals. First, determine what the overall goal of your marketing is. Is it lead generation, lead nurturing, customer service, upsells, retention, or referrals? It may be any combination of those things. Next, work on the foundational pieces: answering the phone, customer service, nurturing, retention, and referrals. The marketing that you need for this is typically phone and customer service training, email marketing, and newsletter marketing. Finally, you need a system that allows you to ask for, reward, and communicate about referrals. You have to get this stuff right before you even think about more leads. This is the backbone. You want to track individuals’ performances (on the phone and in customer service) and the campaigns (did we get referrals or not?), but you’re not trying to track any of the media specifically because it is not lead generation. If your emails aren’t getting a response, maybe they’re boring. If your referral program isn’t working, you’re likely being too cheap. You need to give a better gift and create a better experience, etc. These are the foundational pieces of your campaign. Once you have those few things on point, you can move on to lead generation. This is when we can get much more accurate tracking because we are asking it to bring in new leads. What you want to do here is track all the steps in the campaign, from lead generation to conversion. For example, if you generate a lead on Facebook, but to convert that lead you need to send emails and make phone calls, then Facebook is only one component. You may be getting amazing leads from Facebook, but the person making the phone calls sucks, and that’s the real reason your Facebook campaign isn’t working. But if you don’t look at it from the big-picture campaign standpoint, you may not see this. You’ll fall into the trap of looking at only the lead source and then make decisions based on bad data.

to Facebook. With last touch, the credit goes to the trade show or a phone call after the trade show. Neither of these are even close to being correct. It took dozens of touches for someone to become a customer. Now you may be saying, “Shaun, I don’t do lead generation or collect data until someone becomes a customer, so my tracking works.” We’ll need to talk about not doing any lead generation another time, but I do know that there are a number of businesses run by executives who think that’s just how it’s done in their industry. They’re being naive. All the research shows that, on average, people need to be exposed to you at least eight times before they even know you exist, which means they saw you in some way, shape, or form numerous times. But you couldn’t track what has now caused them to decide to do business with you. It’s this same bad logic and basic misunderstanding of how marketing works that caused the executives at Victoria’s Secret to cancel their catalogs and lose billions. I get this on the newsletter side all the time. Prospects misunderstand the purpose of a newsletter and want to turn it into some lead generation piece (which, nine times out of 10, is a bad idea). The goal of the newsletter isn’t typically to get people to read it cold when they have never heard of you before. For that to work, you better have some damn good stuff to say and some astounding offers to make. Ikea and Costco both send out a catalog, although Costco’s is more half-catalog, half-newsletter, but that’s not the point. In 2016, Ikea sent 213 million catalogs. In 2013 Costco sent over 103 million catalogs. They can’t track the ROI on those 100 percent, that’s for sure. And can you imagine what it costs to send 213 million Ikea catalogs? It has to be nearly two dollars per catalog, minimum. Hopefully I’ve educated and entertained you enough to keep you with me until this point in the article, because all of the examples and all of the facts have been building up to one word: You are shooting yourself in the foot by trying to track ROI on every transaction. You are hurting your own growth by not realizing that so much of your marketing is interconnected. Your newsletter is connected to the emails you send and to the reviews you get online. Facebook ads are connected to your website or landing page, Stop!

–Shaun

P.S. If you’re a publicly traded company executive who is reading this, and you plan on canceling your catalog like Victoria’s Secret did, please send me a copy of the press release at Shaun.Buck@ thenewsletterpro.com the day you publish it. I’d love to short your stock and make another killing. My family and I will thank you.

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BUSINESS HOW TO

SUCCESS STORY

WHAT REALLY DRIVES SALES GROWTH AND

correct answer. Surprisingly, the right answer is far easier to understand than I thought it would be, and instead of you having to become an expert on the subject, I’ll save you years and tell you what I found.

Have you ever analyzed what really drives sales in your business? Most people tie their answer to marketing or new leads. This is one driver, but it’s not the main driver for small businesses. What causes one person to shop with you for years and drive out of their way to get to you, while the guy across the street won’t step foot in your door? Typically, when I ask this question, I get feedback about how great the product and service is. When I ask why the guy across the street won’t use you, I typically get some explanation of a lack of need or ability to buy.

THE TRUTH AND THE CORRECT ANSWER

If you want to drive sales growth and repeat business, it boils down to understanding and then implementing one strategy.

“First and foremost, creating a newsletter with The Newsletter Pro is way easier than I ever dreamed. In fact, it’s easy to the point where I feel a little guilty. Everything I dreaded about the process never came true! We’re just following their lead, and we get a great custom newsletter every month as a result. “And the response has been tremendous. People really appreciate the personal touch and getting a little glimpse into our lives. We hear about it around town, and it’s a pleasure working with the team at The Newsletter Pro. It seems everyone who receives our newsletter really enjoys it, and that’s all we could ask for. “Another of the attorneys here, John Holland, has also gotten great feedback from current clients, as well as people hiring us for the first time. One prospective client even mentioned the title of one of his cover articles, “The Power of Preparation,” multiple times during their initial meeting. The newsletter is bringing new clients into our office and keeping us top-of-mind with our current community. That’s what I call a win-win.“ –Rob Usry

Content builds relationships, relationships build trust, and trust equals sales.

All of those answers can be true, but that doesn’t make any of them correct.

Think about that statement for a minute. It is true in your personal and business life right now. Let’s break it down and talk about why.

I spent the last seven years studying these questions and searching for both the truth and the

BOOK REVIEW

‘NEVER THE DIFFERENCE’ hostage negotiator must get 100 percent of what they want for 0 percent of what their opponent wants. They need to see all the hostages walk out safely, without giving the criminals the money, letting them escape, or giving in to anything else they demand. How do they do it? According to “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It,” the secret is empathy. The FBI’s Former Chief Hostage Negotiator on Getting What You Want Was your last negotiation a success? Did you close that new deal? Get the raise you deserve? Have dinner at the restaurant of your choice? Save the hostages’ lives? Though our days are full of negotiations, big and small, there’s no denying the greatest negotiators are those who are called on to handle a hostage situation. When human life is on the line, a

Holland & Usry, PA Spartanburg, South Carolina

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someone is worth giving more trust to. In other words, make them earn it. This is where delivering, at a minimum, what you said you would is so vitally important. This is where good customer service, and the person who answers the phone or sits at the front desk, can make or break this new relationship. As the relationship continues, more and more trust is given, the experience is still positive, the amount of trust you get grows.

Content builds relationships. Since the dawn of man, how have we built relationships? We create content. If I found myself to be single tomorrow and on a date, I would work to build a relationship with the person I was dating by talking to them — i.e., creating content. In B2B sales, for many years people created content by having all the knowledge and telling sales prospects about the great features and benefits of new, amazing machines. Today, we create content for our websites and e-books, as well as downloads or videos for YouTube. “Content builds relationships, relationships build trust and TRUST EQUALS SALES .” REPEAT BUSINESS? to purchase anything of significant value from you, you will need a relationship to make that happen. Once we have a relationship, what starts to happen?

As the trust in you grows, what happens?

Trust equals sales. The more a person trusts you, the more they will buy from you.

One bit of good news amidst all the competition popping up is that it is super easy to stand out, because there are so many really poorly run companies and untrustworthy people in the world. All you have to do is do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Also, treat people the way you’d want to be treated. Since so few will do that, it is easy to stand out from the pack. Change is hard. Once you have a relationship with someone and you always get what you expect, changing from that person or business is not easy or even desirable. Because you gave good content,

Relationships build trust. Most people don’t fully trust someone they just met, no matter if it’s a business relationship or a personal one. Human nature is to give a little bit of trust and see if

Why do we do all of this? Simply put, content equals relationships, and if your customer is looking

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demands active listening and makes people feel like they are being heard and understand. This helps build rapport and leads to trust between parties. Understand this is not a guide for manipulation or how to become the “puppet master” of any situation. The tactics described in this book demand empathy, and while empathy doesn’t mean agreeing with the other person’s ideas, it means understanding why they hold their ideas. “Never Split the

Right from the cover, “Never Split the Difference” proves it isn’t just another book on negotiation. The author, Chris Voss, didn’t master his skills in the boardroom. For 24 years, Voss worked in the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit. As the FBI’s chief international hostage and kidnapping negotiator from 2003–2007, Voss was the lead negotiator in over 150 other international hostage crises. During his time with the FBI, Voss came to understand people are not rational beings. We’re driven by impulse and emotion, and the decisions we make are often quite irrational. If people are not rational, why do other strategies for negotiation insist on approaching the subject from a problem-solving standpoint, with rational facts and figures? Voss elects to take a different approach, emphasizing the value of emotional intelligence and intuition instead. The strategies Voss recommends come from his experience in high-stakes situations, but they are easy to replicate in any situation. Take the second chapter in the book, “Be a Mirror.” Voss suggests the simple tactic of repeating the last three words the person you’re negotiating with said. Mirroring

Have You Heard the Good News?

1 Corinthians 10:13 — No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 — So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Difference” is a book about selling yourself, strengthening your relationships, diffusing situations, and achieving the most desirable outcome. Chris Voss offers lessons in emotional intelligence and intuition, giving you the edge in any situation.

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BUSINESS HOW TO, CONTINUED ... you created trust. From the trust, you worked hard and developed a relationship, and now, that relationship is an asset that turns out money year after year. When you have 500; 1,000; 2,000; or 5,000 of those assets, you have an amazing business.

to build a fence around your customers. They will stay longer and spend more. Well, this is what I’m talking about. Had I been more sophisticated in my understanding of how all of this works seven years ago, I would have switched out the word newsletters for content. I tell people all the time that a newsletter isn’t a magic tool. If anyone is selling you a magic solve-all-your-problems tool, you should run very far away very fast. A newsletter is simply a vehicle for distributing content that builds relationships. It nurtures those relationships over time. You have to take the relationship and turn it into trust by delivering on your product or services. If you don’t, can’t, or won’t do that, I could deliver all the content and send all the newsletters, and it simply wouldn’t matter one bit. HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS IN YOUR BUSINESS The challenge with any idea is implementation. With most ideas in business, you typically have four choices, and this one is no different.

You can do the following:

1. DO NOTHING. This is what most people do, which is good news for you, because it is also what most of your competitors are doing. It is very easy to stand out. 2. DO IT YOURSELF. Content has to be created, and maybe you’re the best person to do that right now in your company. 3. HIRE AN EMPLOYEE TO DO THIS FOR YOU. Of course, you could hire and train a content creation person and outsource editing, graphic design, etc. 4. FIND A COMPANY TO HELP YOU IMPLEMENT THIS STRATEGY.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you may have heard me say that you should use a newsletter

RESOURCE OF THE MONTH Regardless of your decision, if you want to truly grow, or if you want to beat the competitor down the street, or if you want to increase the value of your company, it starts with this strategy. This leaves you with one thing to do before you finish this article. Look back at the four options and make a choice. It really is that simple. –Shaun Invest In Your Team’s Success With Sandler Training

a boost to our sales team, and it can do the same for yours. If you’re interested in providing your team with the expertise offered by Sandler Training, give Jim and Justin a call at 208-429- 9275. No matter where you’re located, they will be able to provide the support and training your team needs. Take it from us: You won’t regret investing in the long-term success of your people. After all, they’re your most valuable asset.

Only a foolish or inexperienced business owner thinks they have all the answers. Now, all entrepreneurs have their areas of expertise, but the skill set your team needs to achieve long-term success is simply too wide for any one person to master. When the chance arises to provide your team with valuable tools from outside sources, you have to jump at it. That’s exactly what The Newsletter Pro did by sending our sales team to Sandler Training.

Our team went to Sandler Training by Crossroad Business Development, in Meridian, Idaho, just a short drive from our office. The session was hosted by Jim and Justin Stephens, and our team not only learned a ton of skills, but they also had a great time. Mandy Legarreta, our director of sales and marketing, sums it up best. “Our team was energized by an all-day Sales Boot Camp through Crossroads Sandler Training,” she says. “The systems and tips were invaluable.” When they returned to the office, our team could hardly wait to put what they learned to use in their daily roles. If you think training should happen only when you hire somebody, you’re not getting the whole picture. Improvement is a constant process, and education should be too. Sandler Training gave

With over 250 offices, Sandler is the largest training organization in the world. They offer classes in a ton of areas, but they have a particular focus on sales. Even better, they don’t simply sit everyone down in a classroom and lecture them. Instead, Sandler offers active problem-solving workshops and boot camps. It’s far from boring, and it gives teams a chance to learn by doing, rather than hearing. Sandler calls their approach “reinforcement training.” It’s a scientifically proven approach based on teaching their strategies and then providing the skills to put the system in action. They want everyone who goes through the program to leave better than they came.

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AN AMAZING NEW ADDITION With her extensive experience, Mick Beam, our new partnership development director, would be a valuable addition to any workplace. So how did we end up lucky enough to have her join our team? “I was looking for a superior workplace,” Mick says. “I read about The Newsletter Pro’s culture, and I was inspired.” also does plenty of traveling with her youngest, Tynan, a nationally-ranked BMX racer. Even with a busy work and family life, Mick still makes time for some other passions. She’s into fitness, she’s an avid reader, and she loves to go to wine-tasting events with her husband. INTRODUCING MICK BEAM

At this point, you may be wondering about Mick’s unique name. Well, there’s a great story behind it. Born Marie Micheline, Mick got her nickname from her father, but it didn’t catch on fully until she was in second grade. “In the small Colorado town I grew up in, my grandmother, who was originally from Morocco, was the beautician for basically the entire town,” she says. “One day, she was doing my teacher’s hair and heard my dad call me Mick. I guess it goes without saying that it stuck.” We’d say so! Everyone around the office knows her as Mick, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on the team.

After a month on the job, Mick is confident she made the right call. “I realized after my first two weeks that I wasn’t going home stressed,” she notes. “In fact, I was energized by my time in the office.” And it’s a good thing Mick leaves the office with a spring in her step, because she comes home to a busy, fulfilling family life. She’s married and has four kids, though her oldest son, Tommy, just began college at the University of Utah. “It’s the longest I’ve ever been away from him,” Mick says, “so I’ve been really looking forward to my first visit.” She

INTERVIEW

of the Month

This month I interview my buddy Oli Billson. On this interview you'll discover seven easy to implement marketing strategies that will grow your business. As 2017 comes to a close, these strategies can help you finish the year strong and make 2018 your best year ever.

DON'T MISS OUT!

This free interview will only be live at the link below until December 15, 2017, so act fast before it’s gone. newsletterpro.com/ nov17-view

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208.297.5700 391 N Ancestor Pl, Boise, ID 83704 Keep up with our latest office news, blogs, and promos at www.thenewsletterpro.com!

BUSINESS PROFILE

How Square TRANSFORMED the Way We Pay

If you’ve bought a cup of coffee from a local cafe lately, you’ve probably engaged in a familiar ritual. You hand your card to the barista, they swipe it on a little white dongle plugged into an iPad, and then they swivel the screen to face you. You add a tip, scrawl something vaguely resembling your signature, grab your warm drink, and head out the door.

The entire process is quick and painless. No more rummaging around in your wallet for the appropriate bills and change. But who do you have to thank for this totally seamless transaction? Look no further than Square, founded in 2009 by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and his friend and former boss, Jim McKelvey. “If you can provide a service or product that streamlines the work and lives of those around you, YOU’LL QUICKLY BECOME INVALUABLE .” Before Square hit the scene, if a small-business owner wanted to accept payment by credit card, it was a clunky, costly process. To be able to legally accept plastic, merchants were required to register, which was an expensive, difficult headache that most people simply couldn’t afford. This resulted in thousands of dollars of missed sales for vendors and an annoying hassle for customers looking to make a purchase.

“I knew what it was like to be a small merchant and be excluded from commerce because I didn’t have a credit card system,” says computer engineer and glass blower Jim McKelvey. He once failed to make a $2,000 sale because the buyer didn’t have cash on hand — a frustration he vowed never to repeat. So, McKelvey, backed by celebrity CEO Dorsey and iOS engineer Tristan O’Tierney, built the application that would eventually become Square. From the beginning, Square has always been about efficiency and ease of use. All you need is a free white dongle that connects to any iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Instead of charging sneaky fees, Square uses a straightforward, transparent payment model. It’s one more time- consuming inconvenience scratched off business owners’ lists. Today, Square believes that finding solutions to common problems has the power to revolutionize the way we do business. Since its inception, the company has experienced staggering growth, becoming almost ubiquitous with merchants of all types in just a few years. Square now employs over 600 employees and boasts a valuation of more than $6 billion.

It all comes down to making a daily process easier for everyone involved. No business owner wants to go through the arduous gauntlet of registering to accept credit cards, and fewer and fewer people want to walk around with a wad of cash in their pocket. Square removes these everyday obstructions to commerce, allowing customer and business to connect as quickly and easily as possible. If you can provide a service or product that streamlines the work and lives of those around you, you’ll quickly become invaluable. Less time and money wasted on fees and document- wrangling allows small-business owners to get back to what they do best: making money. It’s this basic concept of simplification that has made Square a no-brainer for so many merchants. Finding a simple solution to an everyday problem can lead to extraordinary results. Square’s success proves that if you offer an elegantly designed, immediate service that saves both customers and business owners time and money, you can fundamentally change the way small businesses operate for the better.

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