Story 1 | Umbrella Story

by Barry LaBov Another installment in the Umbrella Series

Written by Barry LaBov • Illustrated by Joe Todoran © 2022 LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, Inc. 609 East Cook Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46825 All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in any form except for personal use or review. The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author has neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss of damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

he Umbrella Story illustrates important lessons in creating and T maintaining a successful business through the entertaining story of Joe, an umbrella maker, and Bill, a store owner. The story chronicles their decision to go into business together and the successes and pitfalls they encounter along the way. What started out as a positive pairing of two individuals who needed each other, eroded over time into an unproductive, adversarial relationship. The futures of Joe, Bill and their respective companies were threatened if they did not 昀椀nd a way to work together and leverage each other’s strengths. The simple story told in these pages echoes what large corporations and those who represent them (dealers, distributors or reps) face every day in their business relationships. If they don’t act upon the lessons learned in this story, they’ll succumb to the forces threatening them — their competition, their technology and their greatest threat — each other. 3

Joe loved umbrellas. Big umbrellas, small ones for kids, goofy- looking ones, formal ones that made a fashion statement, umbrellas for gol昀椀ng events and umbrellas that weren’t even for rain — ones that shaded you from the sun. In fact, all Joe wanted to do was, of course, make umbrellas. So that’s what he did. He opened up an umbrella manufacturing company, called Joe’s Umbrellas. This made Joe very excited. After awhile, Joe became worried because he was running out of money. He didn’t realize that it would cost so much money to make umbrellas. So he made a fateful decision — “I must sell umbrellas to raise enough money to keep on making them.” There was only one problem: Joe didn’t like selling things, he liked making things — especially umbrellas. 4

Joe tried selling umbrellas out of his factory but found the whole idea of dealing with people and selling to them to be an interruption of his life’s calling, which was making umbrellas. Then, one day, everything changed. He met Bill. Bill had a little store called Bill’s Outerwear. He sold the very best clothing for the outdoors — sweat suits, jackets, coats for cold weather, coats for windy weather, goofy hats with antlers on them, kid’s camping clothing and even high-fashion outerwear that was designed not to be worn outside. Bill thought Joe’s umbrellas would be perfect for his customers. He had a big idea, “I can sell Joe’s umbrellas at my store!” 5

Joe loved the idea. Now, he could focus on what he did best, making umbrellas. Bill would focus on what he did best, selling outerwear. Bill and Joe came to an agreement and became partners. Day after day, Joe and Bill talked in person or over the phone about how they could sell more umbrellas together. Joe talked about new breakthroughs in umbrella technology that he was thinking about, and Bill shared what his customers liked. Together they could design and sell the very best umbrellas anywhere. 6

Joe kept supplying Bill with umbrellas and Bill would sell them. Bill would then pay Joe for the umbrellas and keep a fair amount for himself as his commission. As time went on, both companies grew and grew because customers liked them. Joe and Bill became so busy they didn’t have time to talk to each other, so they hired people to do that. One day, Joe’s accountant told him that, in his opinion, Bill was making too much money selling Joe’s umbrellas. “Without our umbrellas, Bill’s Outerwear would be nothing,” he said. His suggestion was to reduce Bill’s commission. Joe, remembering Bill was his partner, said, “I’m a man of my word; I can’t change our agreement.” The accountant replied that things have changed and from what he researched, Joe paid Bill more than the average commission in their industry. The accountant had an idea, “Let’s leave the commission the same but raise the prices for our umbrellas so that we can make more money.” Joe agreed. 7

Soon Bill’s Chief Financial Of昀椀cer came to him and said that it was obvious that Joe’s umbrellas were becoming too expensive. “With these prices, our customers will soon be looking elsewhere for their umbrellas.” Bill, being a loyal person, said, “I can’t turn my back on Joe; he’s been good to me.” The CFO had an answer, “Let’s sell all brands of umbrellas, including competitors of Joe’s.” Not wanting to hurt Joe’s feelings, he didn’t tell Joe and went along with the CFO’s idea. As time went on, the people that Joe and Bill chose to handle their relationship were reassigned, 昀椀red or had quit. Joe and Bill hardly ever saw each other, but they did have a relationship — a strained one. Joe was convinced that Bill was disloyal because he sold any umbrella the customer asked for — even ones that Joe didn’t make. 8

Bill was just as unhappy. He felt that Joe was out of touch with the market and he was nickel and diming him on every issue possible. To combat that, Bill resorted to fabricating warranty claims that paid him additional money to 昀椀x umbrellas that really weren’t defective. One day, Joe even sent over an Umbrella Business Expert to talk to Bill’s people on how to run a successful business and, of course, sell more of Joe’s umbrellas. That angered Bill, since his business was far more pro昀椀table than Joe’s was. Bill retaliated by making up stories. He told Joe’s people that no one wanted Joe’s umbrellas anymore and that unless Joe lowered his prices and paid Bill even more commission, Bill would be forced to sell only the competitors’ umbrellas. This scared Joe, who went along with the request until he found out that it wasn’t true. So he responded by offering to sell his umbrellas to anyone, anywhere. This went on and on. Until one day... 9

A woman named Dawn met with Joe and had an interesting proposition, “I would like to sell Joe’s umbrellas over the Loudspeaker.” The Loudspeaker was a new invention that allowed people to hear about products anywhere. There were loudspeakers all over town shouting out sale prices on all kinds of products, including umbrellas. At 昀椀rst, Joe thought this was the answer to his problems with Bill. Dawn would sell far more umbrellas than Bill’s Outerwear ever could. But, there were problems. Dawn would also sell his competitors’ umbrellas and Dawn wanted a huge commission — in fact, so much commission that Joe would have to change the way he made umbrellas to break even, let alone make a little money. This scared Joe even more than his problems with Bill. 10

Dawn also met with Bill that day. She warned him that he might as well give up because she was going to sell outerwear products over the Loudspeaker and would put him out of business. At 昀椀rst, he resisted the idea — who would buy over a loudspeaker? People want to walk into a store and buy outerwear, right? But, what if people didn’t see that big of a difference between the Loudspeaker and a store, especially if the Loudspeaker could sell the products a little cheaper? Bill was scared — so scared he decided to swallow his pride and pick up the phone to call his old friend. 11

Joe and Bill talked on the phone and decided to sit down in person, for the 昀椀rst time in ages. Bill was surprised at how old Joe looked. Joe quietly thought the same of Bill. At 昀椀rst they talked about how they could beat the Loudspeaker, but they reluctantly concluded that the Loudspeaker was here to stay. They both talked about how their businesses weren’t turning out the way they planned, about how they should’ve stayed in touch, and how they should’ve treated each other as true partners. And then a sadness came over them. There was one element they both realized had been ignored in all of this —The Customer. 12

For ages they had been 昀椀ghting and posturing over how much money they could make off each other’s efforts and forgot to pay attention to the only reason they both could be in business — The Customer. In fact, they couldn’t come up with a good reason why the customer would rather buy from them than from the Loudspeaker. Was it too late to keep things like they were? Yes. But, was there still time to do something that would make both Joe’s Umbrellas pro昀椀table and Bill’s Outerwear a success? Maybe. 13

Joe and Bill rededicated themselves to working together like the old days, only better. They included customers in their decision- making. They created their own version of the Loudspeaker, plus Joe sold some of his lower-priced umbrellas through Dawn’s Loudspeaker, too. That was okay with Bill. Bill made sure the customers who came into his store were educated on the value of Joe’s umbrellas and the 昀椀ne service that Bill could provide in the case of an umbrella blowout. In fact, Joe and Bill decided that all umbrella service would be done at Bill’s store, which was very pro昀椀table for both. Bill made more money and kept his customers happy, while Joe could rest assured that all of his umbrellas were functioning perfectly. Bill and Joe learned many lessons about business and life. 14

Umbrella Lessons: • You can’t delegate relationships • Greed is never motivational • Don’t 昀椀ght change; adapt as quickly as possible • There is no business without the customer • Your greatest value is in your passion • Communication is key to compatible relationships • Success is not only about product; it’s also about presentation • The longer you wait to solve a problem, the higher the price you pay • You must build value in your product to differentiate it from the competition • Don’t reduce relationships to numbers

About the Author A two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and inductee into the Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, Barry LaBov is the founder and president of LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, Inc. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, LaBov & Beyond is an agency nationally renowned for its passion and its integrity as well as for its niche: creating strategic marketing, training and communication solutions for corporations with dealer, distributor or sales representative networks. Its client base is comprised of some of the most respected corporations in the world working in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aviation, transportation, 昀椀nancial services and health care. Through the Umbrella Series of business parables and books, Barry and his team 昀椀nd an entertaining, involving and enlightening way to share with readers The Most Important Business Lessons Under One Umbrella. They not only explore the issues most vital to business success today—passion, leadership, change, entrepreneurialism, vision, loyalty, the tearing down of business silos—they bring them to life, in full, vibrant color. Indeed, lessons from the Umbrella Series have been brought to life as corporate learning events, interactive DVDs, keynote speeches and through its own Web site (umbrellastory.com). In addition to his work on the Umbrella Series, Barry has authored two critically acclaimed business books: How to Sell and Be Yourself and Beyond Comparison. He’s also a published columnist in national newspapers, magazines and various trade publications and an accomplished and in-demand public speaker. In addition to its Fort Wayne headquarters, LaBov & Beyond also has operations in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and suburban Washington, D.C. For more information on how LaBov & Beyond can market, motivate or leverage your company’s products, services or distribution network, please visit labov.com, umbrellastory.com, or call us at 260.497.0111.