.:RIMproInsider:.

If Sunday’s Superbowl is of little value you to you from a player perspective, why not consider the teams financials as a determinent. Apparently, over the last number of years, the richer team always wins.. so take a look.

Tale Of The Tape

The Pats and Panthers are among the NFL’s most valuable franchises, but New England’s new stadium and wealthy fan base give it the financial edge.

Patriots Vs. Panthers
Team	New England Patriots	Carolina Panthers
Franchise Value	$756 million	$642 million
Value Rank	Fourth	Ninth
Total Revenue	$189 million	$161 million
EBITDA*	$67 million	$45 million
Ad/Sponsor Revenue	$23 million	$14 million
Premium Seat Revenue	$35 million	$24 million
Naming Rights (Value)	Gillette ($95 million)	Bank of America ($140 million)
*EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Revenue and EBITDA figures are for 2002 season. Source: Forbes.

My vote on the field goes to Carolina, my vote in the head office goes to NE.

Greatness is nothing but many small littles.
A Latin Phrase

Shredit is aggressively moving forward in their plan to build their Commercial Records Storage business. Over a year ago they purchased Tri-City Records in Waterloo, Ontario, which is approximately 45 minutes from their world headquarters in Oakville. Renamed SecurIt, they moved to better facilities and have grown the business. They are now taking another leap forward. A couple of weeks ago they hired Todd Meyers, formerly of Iron Mountain, to head up the division. He comes with multi site management capabilites. SecurIt’s immediate sights are set on a strengthening the initial location, plans are well underway for a new Oakville/Toronto area operation. Using the resources of the huge database of mobile shredding users, especially those in their own backyard, the new operation will no doubt be one to watch.

And, if their history in the destruction area is any indication, a franchise model is not far behind.

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to to spend time with Steve Richards, owner of Richards and Richards and the rest of his team in Nashville. It was a real honor for me to sit togetherwith him in his office, observe him in action and gain valuable insights from our conversations. From the first day I met Steve a few years ago at a PRISM conference I have been overwhelmed with the spirit of this man.

We first met at a dinner table in Vancouver, and once we were introduced I sensed this was someone who was different. He had a quiet, articulate wisdom. He was passionate about his company and the records business, and more than anything I saw someone who seemed to believe in the principle of abundance. He had forgotten more than I might ever know about his business but he was willing to offer it freely. He took me under his wing and taught me much about the business. He shared with me the things I needed to do to build my business. He passed on to me mindset, methodology and process. He taught me about his sales logic. All of which I began to use and put in practice. And it worked, and it worked well.

If you chat with Steve very long you at some point wind up talking about his fire. In fact if anyone talks about fire or disaster in this industry they mention Steve’s name. His intimate understanding of insurance issues, recovery process and preparedness often make him one of the most respected voices in the industry.

But I have grown in my appreciation of this man even more from my short visit with him this week. He is real. No pretense. What you see is what you get. His willingness to expose the successes and the failings of his company despite the day to day whirlwind. I left more impressed than I came. But the one message that sticks with me that Steve shows in numerous ways without even being aware of it is that this business he runs with his wife and nephew is a gift. A gift from God after the fire that almost destroyed it. It resonates in him. And somehow, because of the gift, he is very generous at re-gifting industry newbies with knowledge, the PRISM association with wisdom, and industry collegues with support.

It has been said that one great, strong, unselfish soul in every community could actually change the world. Thanks Steve for doing your part.

Google Search: records storage
I have been impressed with Steven Wright of BRM in PA, especially in his ability to keep his company’s name accessible to anyone who searches on the internet. Steven uses Google Adwords, the highlighted boxes down the right sode of the Google results. Steven consistently finds himself getting eyeballs if someone types in “records storage” “record storage” . If you type in “records management” Iron Mountain has that one. No-one in the records storage space has “records management”
As the largest search engine it pays to get eyeballs when they do a search on Google. Adwords is a cost-per-click approach where you define the parameters. How much will will pay for each click and what is your maximum daily amount you will pay out. You can start at $0.05 per click if you want. Now that might not rank you very high in the listings. But it might kick in when Steven ad has served the the number of clicks he set as his limit. For more details see this page. Adwords The benefit of keywords is that you can be strategic and test. Instead of using “record management” as your keywords, make it “record storage chicago“. Guess what, the self storage guys seem to own that one. You’ll notice down the bottom, Mr. Wright is still showing up and he is in PA.

The reason I like adwords is because I know when I am searching on Google that the company is paying to get a spot there, and by deduction, must have a product to sell that relates to my search request. The big adavantage to you is you can limit your exposure, you can test your sales by adding a specific target page, and you can adjust your process as you go. If you need more info on this or need some help, let me know.

I recieve a great email newsletter from Marketing Sherpa.com In it they outline a lot of online marketing research, tests and information that is very useful. Here is one survey that is particularly useful as it relates to your website.

Customers hate flash on websites. Even more hated are the intro pages that webdesigners love to charge you for. They seem cool, but your potential customers don’t like them. Here are some more interesting stats:
o 75% of non-marketing professional women said no Flash.
o 81% of non-marketing professional men said no Flash.
o The youngsters of those polled (ages 18-24) also chose the non-Flash intro, at over 65%.

In light of this, Anna Murray, President e*media inc. who ran the poll says, there are two other things to keep in mind: If your site is designed entirely in Flash, you might want to rethink it. And sites using Flash navigation that require users to move the curser in order to see their options are shooting themselves in the foot.

Murray concedes that Flash may have its place, such as with user- initiated requests to see something “rich.” For example, one respondent said that animation in the corner of the screen is okay if you have the option to turn it on or off, and a few mentioned that Flash can be useful when demo-ing products. But listen to the comments she heard during the survey process.
o “Flash sucks. If I want a movie, I’ll go to the theater. I just want quick information,”
o “Flash should be banned from the face of the earth - such a pain.”
o “If I’m going to a Web site, I want information. I want information quickly. It could be written in 10 point pica
for all I care. I’m already interested in what might be there, why turn me off?”
o “When searching the Web, my most immediate concern is generally time, how quick can I find/do it. This leaves little room for animation.”

I am trying to work my way through all the sites represented by our industry. Some have flash other don’t. But if this is what the customer is saying, be careful not to get too excited by the cool things a web designer may want to sell you. I think the survey and results speak for themselves.

I have been watching a show on TLC recently where the cast helps a family bring order to a couple of the rooms of their house. At first I thought it was just another decorating style program ala’ Trading Spaces. But something very profound happens when the lead on the show begins to get the people to get rid of the excess clutter jamming up their lives. I have yet to see a program where this process doesn’t create tears, anxiety and frustration in those whom the show is assisting. Somehow the clutter has become a source of comfort, despite it actually making their lives more miserable. What is incredible to me in the process is that he teaches the participants that by removing the clutter, the important things have the opportunity to show up. Memories hidden under the bed or in a back closet can be displyed when all the useless crap is removed. He reminds them that if stuff is really important you have to make room for it. So…

My question to myself today is… where am I allowing useless stuff that clutters up my life and space to hide me from the really important things that should be evident in my life and business? Maybe it’s time to spend a few minutes to clearing the desk or the schedule and allowing the critical stuff to emerge from the mess.
Just a thought.