Last Friday Sue and I went, with 2 friends, to see Peter Kay in Manchester.

We like Peter Kay a lot – and were looking forward immensely to the show. We’d got the tickets months ago.

It was disappointing.

He was OK. But not as good as we’d been expecting (if that was possible after a 7 year absence from stand-up).

I’d seen Dara O’Briain and Lee Mack in the last two weeks as well and they were both belly-achingly brillaint. Much better than Peter Kay. They both did 2 hour shows; Kay did 65 minutes with a long interval in the middle. Kay just wasn’t his usual self. The other two were.

Kay no longer occupies that lofty perch of ‘Best UK Comedian’ – not in my mind, and not in the minds of the many who were there on Friday – because he had an off-night. And there’s the lesson…

We all have off-days, or off-nights. When we’re not on top form, not firing on all cylinders, not feeling our best. And when that happens to us, are our customers disappointed like Peter Kays were on Friday? You bet.

We’re all of us only as good as our last game. Kay blew it with 4,000 people on Friday night (in fairness, he recovered well in the second half and he was ‘OK’ just not as good as he normally is).

Will you be able to avoid blowing it when it matters this week?

And good luck Peter, I hope you’re on better form for the rest of the Tour.

At the 100 Club Monthly Meeting in Slough last week I think everyone in the room felt for David Robinson and his intense frustration. Here’s a guy who is absolutely at the top of his game. One of the best garden designers in the UK he has won lots of medals and awards and he designed the show garden at the Grand Design exhibition recently down at Excel.

David’s frustration is because he’s got so many leads that he can’t possibly fulfil them all…and he’s been thwarted time and time again when he’s tried to take on other designers to work for him – they’re just not up to his exacting standards.

The answer to David’s predicament is, in truth, very straightforward. He needs to put his prices up. A lot.

His services will still be in demand when he’s charging double or treble his current rate. Sure he might get less leads, but those people will pay a chunk of money upfront, they’ll value him more, pay him more AND he’ll actually do less work and be able to pick and choose the jobs he does a lot more. You see David’s’ catering to the affluent market – and the rules are different when you’re selling to wealthier individuals. Much different.

Businesses that market and sell to the affluent are likely to suffer less than most from the prolonged economic down-turn – so you might want give some thought as to how you can sell more to wealthier people. It’s a good place to be right now.

If I’ve stirred an interest then there’s an excellent book that you should invest time and money in. It’s called ‘No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: The No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich’ by my good friend Dan Kennedy. I highly recommend it.

Oh, and if you want a fabulously designed garden call David. He’s brilliant. Or you can view his website here

As many of you know, I went to Dallas, Texas last week.

I was there for the Glazer-Kennedy SuperConference – a coming together of the greatest marketing minds on the planet. It was the fifth year that I’ve attended the event – I find it both educational and hugely stimulating. I get inspired. I get ideas.

Here’s an opener, direct from Dallas, for you to think about and discuss:

“If you did well in 2004, 2005 and 2006 it wasn’t down to you. It was because a ton of people were buying anything and everything in a debt fuelled orgy.”

Interesting, eh!

I did great in those years. Bloody fantastic. But I reckon there is more than a smidgeon of truth in that phrase. Fact is, it was easier then.

With thebestof we now regularly get great potential franchisees who can’t raise finance to buy in to the business. This NEVER happened in ‘06 or ‘07. Never.

With My Mag lots of our customers took out a new credit card – interest free, of course! – and paid it back from the proceeds of their business as it flourished. Now, it’s deemed too risky by many, and lots more can’t get access to anything like the credit they could a couple of years ago.

So what do we do? We have to think smart. Be more resourceful. Become better marketers. Develop more compelling products. Make ourselves more interesting and valuable to our potential customers. Because this ain’t no passing fad baby!

As I’m writing this, Messrs Clegg and Cameron are locked away in a secret room in the Cabinet Office trying to come to a deal. One thing is certain; whoever forms the next government is going to have to take a big scalpel to lots of different parts of the economy. I feel sick that my kids – and your kids – are going to be paying off our debt until they retire – but I’ve faced up to it. This ‘down-turn’ isn’t going to ‘return to normal’ – at least not for 15 years. This ‘down-turn’ has changed the way business works -probably forever.

For now, what we know for certain is that customers will be more discerning.

To flourish and thrive we’re all going to have to be smarter and become better at everything we do – but especially with the marketing. I know that you know this.

If you’re a member of my Entrepreneur Circle then my plan is to overwhelm you in the months ahead with ideas and strategies that will help you get smarter and better at getting new customers and keeping the old.

What’s your plan?

(And if you’re not a member yet you should be. Try it FREE for 2 months here

I was in Dallas, Texas, last week, as some of you know, attending the Glazer-Kennedy SuperConference. It was a great event with over 1,100 people there and I’ve learned loads. It was my fifth SuperConference and I reckon it was the best one yet.

Rest assured that I’ll be sharing all the key stuff that I lerned with members of my Entrepreneurs Circle in the weeks andmonths ahead but to give you a head start let me get you thinking. Here’s a quote from my good friend Bill Glazer:

“The only difference between high income earners and ordinary income earners is…implementation”

The more I think about that phrase, the more I know it to be true.

On Sunday at the Conference 18 entrepreneurs competed for the Marketer of the Year contest. It’s a prize I’ve won twice before, in 2004 and 2005, and the standard of entries was very high this year. What stood out a mile though was the huge amount of stuff that these individuals had I-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T-E-D.

They had just made a shed load of stuff happen. It hadn’t all been wonderfully successfully but because they’d done so much they’d all had lots more winners and their businesses had grown exponentially as a result.

I’ve come back armed with a ferocious ‘To-Do’ list and I intend to be ruthless in implementation over the next few weeks. Watch this space.

In the meantime, what will you be doing?

If you need ideas or inspiration or verification that you’re on the right track then come to the Circle Meeting in Slough next week (14th). There are only a few places but it’ll be great, I promise and if you’d like to be oart of it, let me know.

I’m starting a campaign. May is the month to ‘Get Shit Done – Fast’.

Wanna join me?

Just found this article in Inc magazine. 85% of almost 2,000 businesses surveyed said social media was helping them create a buzz for their business and make money.

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/04/how-social-media-helps-small-business.html