Forbes recently published an article on fifteen ways that your laziness is costing you money. It’s an interesting list and well worth your time to check it out.
One of their examples is not sending in rebate offers. We must confess to missing out on this opportunity before. But how long does it really take to fill out the form and send it in?
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Hear George & Mary-Lynn discuss today's topic on The Bigg Success Show! Click the purple player to listen while you read: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download___
Manufacturers know that a lot of us will figure that rebate into the price when we buy the item. However, we’ll never actually get around to sending in the form.
It’s a promotion without a deal!
One behavior may look like another
Have you ever noticed that people who are shy often get labeled “stuck up”? The two can look very similar on the surface.
The author of the article blames this on laziness. We wonder if it could be something else. Using the rebate example, what really caused you to miss out on that rebate?
Was it laziness or disorganization?
Maybe you got home, set down the rebate form and then it got buried underneath a pile of papers. It wasn’t laziness that caused you to miss out, it was lack of organization.
Was it laziness or different priorities?
Maybe there were fifteen other things on your to-do list. The next thing you knew, the rebate period had expired. It wasn’t laziness; it was that other things were more important.
Was it laziness or inertia?
Perhaps you have a routine and filing this rebate in a timely manner doesn’t fit it. Or you’re not good at following up on things in general. The ebb and flow of your daily activities doesn’t allow time for these intermittent events.
Was it laziness or a lack of understanding?
Could it be that you haven’t translated that $50 rebate into dinner out? You don’t see the benefit of filling out the form. If we were talking about something more complex, maybe you just don’t understand the task at hand.
Was it laziness or too much ambition?
It’s interesting that the reason you didn’t fill out the rebate form and mail it in could be the opposite of laziness. You may be so busy pursuing your goals that you really don’t have time for anything else.
You have to diagnose properly to find the right prescription.
Seek to discover the real underlying reason why you aren’t accomplishing something. Be careful with labels. When you come up with a label, ask yourself if it could be something else in disguise.
Price isn’t the only factor
“Getting the best rate on your savings account” was first on their list. To get the best rate, they advise you to check with online banks because they often pay better rates than local banks.
It’s reasonable advice, except it strikes us that this article was written for entrepreneurs. It makes price (or in this case, return) the only issue.
What about that local bank that supports your local community which supports you?
Doesn’t that count for anything?
Our advice is to build a relationship with a banker so, when you need money to grow your business, you’ll have a place to go.
We understand this mindset of maximizing returns. But you have to be careful not to see the world too simplistically. There are more factors at play.
This doesn’t just apply to local banks. How about local stores and local restaurants? We have nothing against chains, many of which are franchises with local owners.
Local business supports local communities. Shouldn’t that be part of your buying decision?
We’re coming out of a period of time where we put profit above people. Isn’t it time that we all think about our community along with commerce?
If you’re a local business person or just an engaged member of your community, that’s a part of bigg success!
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Thanks so much for reading our post today. Please join us next time when we’ll discuss charging more for your services. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
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(Image in today's post by svilen001)
We don’t pay with cash too often, but one of our brother-in-laws does. A pet peeve of his is that people can’t (or don’t) make change properly anymore. You know, the way it used to be done. Starting with the amount of the sale and counting back the change up to the amount you gave them.
My first real at-risk business was a retail store. We’re going back over 20 years here. I hired a woman in her 50s as a clerk. She hated the new-fangled cash registers we had. But she was brilliant. She could figure out how much change the customer had coming back faster than the cash register!
I wonder what percentage of retail clerks could do that today. Here’s another example – have you ever given a clerk the dollars plus some change so you get an even amount back? And they get confused about why you’re giving them extra money!
