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I celebrated a pretty big birthday last week. So I thought I’d share it in this email by saluting one of the coolest albums of all time along with one of the coolest places in the world!

Give this song by Led Zeppelin a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

The Big 5-0!

Led Zeppelin’s fourth album was released (almost) exactly 50 years ago. Wow – what a great album. They were always an influential band for me, and this album has some amazing songs and production. “When the Levee Breaks”… the HUGE drums and the overall wall of sound on that song… gives me chills.

And add to the list of 50th birthdays: Walt Disney World! The Florida resort opened officially on October 1, 1971. If you’ve ever visited Disney World, you’ll understand how well-run a machine it is. I thought it would be fun to look at some business lessons we could learn from Disney as we celebrate 50th birthdays all around!

Here are ten business lessons you can learn from visiting Disney World. Some of my favorites:

• Personalize the customer’s experience. That’s no small feat for how many visitors Disney World gets – if they can do it, so can you and I!
• Keep it hassle-free. Think about your product/service as an experience – what’s the easiest and most seamless way to provide value and support?
• Be a trusted advisor. Think about your customers’ journeys and where they want to go… and how you can be the one to get them there.

If you’re an entrepreneur, Walt Disney himself can provide some great lessons for you – see how he learned from his successes AND his mistakes. For instance, don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself. Remember – Mickey Mouse may be the one you know, but he wasn’t Walt’s original cartoon star.

And finally, some lessons in leadership – and in perfecting the customer experience – from Walt Disney. The key: Whatever your product, service, or solution, you don’t build it for yourself. Know first what your customers want, and build it for THEM.

As Led Zeppelin puts it, mean old levee taught me to weep and moan. But perhaps you can learn just a little bit more when considering the most magical place on earth – and how it got to be that way!

Lead Follow-up DOES Matter!

Sometimes I worry that people just don’t care. We spend large budgets on generating leads, but let them die on the vine. Well, it seems you do care! I sent an email out to prospects this week that got some VERY emotional responses! Lead follow-up and lead management really DOES matter to B2B marketers and sales pros!!

Phew! What a relief!

Do YOU care? If so, check this out – I had the chance to discuss best practices with a top expert in this field (and she actually works with me)! Check out the recording here.

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat

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