Our goal, through this newsletter, is to help you increase the success of your marketing and promotional efforts. By sharing it with our clients, vendors and friends, it's a way for us to be better known. We hope you find the advice useful. And if you can't wait for your next issue you can order our book, Morsels from THE BETTER MOUSETRAP. It's available from our web site. Just click here to order your copy. Or visit our website at www.cheshiregroup.com. You can learn more about The Cheshire Group and see samples of our work.

HAVE YOU CALLED YOURSELF LATELY?
On the phone, that is.

We heard of a guy who used to read the obituaries every morning and if he didn't see his name, he'd get dressed and go to work. Placing a telephone call to yourself at your office when you're on the road isn't quite the same thing but there are parallels. (or, for variation, try calling your home and monitor how courteously your kids handle incoming calls.)

Can you understand the person who answers the phone? Does he or she speak slowly and distinctly? Has he or she given the proper information about your whereabouts? Were you invited to leave a message? Did you get the feeling your message would be delivered accurately?

Odds are you have voice mail at the office. How easy is to work through the maze of choices? How many seconds (or, perish forbid, minutes) does it take to make the right connection?

Why not take a few minutes to trouble-shoot your phone system and make a few upgrades where necessary?

SPIN MARKETING REDUX
The escalating vodka wars

Up until the mid '90s there were no "designer" vodkas. Several brands dominated the market; Smirnoff, Stolichnaya, and the like. Although vodka is clear in appearance and doesn't taste like anything nearly 260 vodka brands were introduced in the years 2001- 2006.

They are swathed in colored glass, illuminated in pink and infused with flavors like green apple and raspberry. And vodka now accounts for a quarter of all hard liquor brands, more than any other spirit.

How did this happen? Why are people willing to pay up to and over $30 per bottle? Well, it all started in France at a distillery owned by an entrepreneur named Sidney Frank. Mr. Frank hired a NY design firm to create a unique "designer" bottle and then he marketed his product as a new type of vodka with a very high price. And viola! He created Grey Goose in 1997. At the time Absolut was selling for $15 when Mr. Frank priced his product at $30. Grey Goose was an immediate success and the distillery sold in excess of 100,000 cases within 2 years. By 2004 Grey Goose sold almost 2 million cases and Mr. Frank sold Grey Goose to Bacardi for $2 billion.

So, what did Mr. Frank accomplish. He took a rather staid product, placed it into a beautiful container, gave it a unique name and marketed the heck out of it. And made $2 billion. Do you have a product which you can spin market by applying these techniques?

EYE TEST
The Advantages of "white space."

TIPS FOR WINNING AN ARGUMENT
For more tips read "How to Win An Argument" by Michael Gilbert

"If an opposer is very attached to a position—and you are not—back off. It's not worth it."

"A very good way of getting out of an argument you seem to be losing is to ask something like, 'What do you think we are arguing about?' Whatever answer is returned, say, 'Oh, I see. I thought you meant something else."

"Always attack the reasons for a claim, not the claim itself"

"If someone ask a question that you'd rather not answer, say 'Why do you ask?' That throws the question back into the other person's face."

"First rule for dealing with a fanatic: Don't."

"The only way to deal with a nonlistener is with patience and repetition."

"If your opposer says 'Everybody knows'—and you don't know—then your opponent is wrong."

"And if all else fails when an outrageous statement is made, you can come back with, 'And your point being...?'"