Bogart’s was the hottest bar in Phoenix back in the late 70’s. It was so hot, it was if this was the only bar in town. There were long lines waiting to get in at both the front and back door. This was the place to see and be seen, anybody who was anybody was there. Dan Kennedy tells about walking into Bogart’s on a Saturday day night and the place was dead. No lines outside, no crowds inside. Just Thursday night the same week the place had been packed. When asked about it, the bartender replied, “When you’re hot you’re hot, and when you’re not you’re not.” Bogart’s never got hot again and ceased to exist shortly. What can you do to keep your business hot?
When you’re hot you’re hot, and when you’re not you’re not.
What’s new?
The other day I witnessed a conversation that went something like this: “What’s up? Long time no see.” The response was, “Nothing much. Same ol’, same ol’. What about you?” Although the message of boring same ol’ stuff may be acceptable for people punching a 9 to 5 somewhere, that is a death kiss for any business.
People love hearing about what’s new. They want to hear about and see something new (and ideally exciting) going on in your business. McDonald’s always has some new menu item, toy, contest, or movie promotion going on. Although you may not be able to roll out a new product or service each month, there’s no reason you can’t have some kind of event, promotion, or contest taking place all the time. An easy way to do this is to tie it in with holidays. You can use not only holidays such as Labor Day or Memorial Day, but also special days like Secretary’s Day, or Washington’s Birthday that can be used too.
The key is to ensure that you always have a great answer ready if you’re asked about what’s new in your business. The idea is that you’re always just finishing something new and exciting and can talk about that or you’re working on something new and exciting that you can talk about. People are attracted to the energy of growth and excitement that comes from always having something new and exciting to talk about. This is not only very client attractive, it is like a publicity magnet. You can leverage this into free publicity for your business. Look closely, and you’ll see examples of this daily.
Making and keeping your business hot is about providing fuel to fire the buzz. Having something new and exciting taking place on a continual basis is a big part of how this is done. Don’t get complacent. Getting hot takes work, staying hot requires you to keep it up.
