U.S. ALASKA: Overcoming Obstacles on the Trail

By Stefanie Gorder, CTP, DS

Alaska Bureau Chief

Martin Buser, an Alaskan legend

Say the name Martin Buser in Switzerland or Alaska and immediately one knows we are discussing the incredible man who is a four-time champion of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. I first met Martin four years ago when a friend recommended his Happy Trails Kennels as a stopping point to include in tour programs for Premier Alaska Tours. As an Alaskan who prefers the warmth of a fire and a soft sofa to chilly temperatures and blowing snow, I am fascinated by his lifestyle and commitment to showing his passion through his business. Not only does he live life to the fullest, but he is so engaging that once he starts speaking, even this Alaskan captivated!

Martin Buser. An Alaskan Legend.

Martin and his wife Kathy Chapoton are two extraordinary Alaskans. Kathy is a retired teacher and Martin spends time discussing the humanitarian care of animals and the spirit of the Last Great Race with youth. Considered a favorite celebrity by both children and adults of Alaska, Martin surprises many with visits from his dogs and puppies. They share the responsibilities of running an active sled dog kennel. Martin and Kathy have two incredibly polite and knowledgeable sons who are both attending college. Nikolai and Rohn are named after checkpoints along the Iditarod trail. The most remarkable trait all four possess is showing northern hospitality to visitors to their kennels. No matter the condition … minus 20 and winds blowing hard enough to knock a hat from the head or in the Alaska summer heat of 70 plus degrees, all four smile brightly and are welcoming at all times. Their lifestyle is based on passion and this mushing family built a successful business out of sharing their love for the sport.


Martin’s attraction to sled dogs started in his homeland of Switzerland when he was a teen. He moved to Alaska in 1979 to enhance his knowledge of care and training sled dogs. Dog mushing is Alaska’s state sport so it makes sense that Alaska would capture the hearts of many people who are fascinated with sled dogs. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race (www.iditarod.com) is unlike any event in the world. According to their official web site, this rough race covers over 1150 miles of the most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. Jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast. Mushers can train for years to raise their endurance to withstand temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause complete loss of visibility and long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs. The actual race preparation begins the day after the previous year’s race ends; the other 50 weeks are dedicated in some way or another to getting the team ready for the equivalent of a Miami to New York trek by dog team.

Martin first ran the Iditarod, now a National Historic Trail in 1980. He runs the race each year with his dogs to test the success of their breeding, training and physical endurance. He regards his racers as true competitive athletes and prides his team on their longevity and spirit of competition. Says Martin, “I run the Iditarod to prove that my dogs, which are bred, trained and raced by Happy Trails Kennels, are the best amongst the world’s long distance athletes.” Martin's 2002 team currently holds the record for the fastest Iditarod by completing the race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds. He has the most consecutive Iditarod finishes than any other musher: 26 from 1986 through 2009. His finishes have impressed many and placed him in the Alaska legend circle.

Today, the Iditarod is a chance for worldwide spectators to come together to watch the best four-footed athletes compete and celebrate Alaska’s history. With the ceremonial start in Anchorage set for the first Saturday each March, musher’s take off into the wilderness. From south-central Alaska to the western Bering Sea Coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days. The trail itself had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and further west. Mail and supplies went in and gold came out all via dog sled. Heroes were made, and legends were born. In 1925, part of this historic trail became a life saving highway for epidemic stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened the residents and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs. As tribute to his treatment of his racers, Martin was awarded the coveted Leonhard Seppala Award in 1988, 1993, 1995 and again in 1997 for the most humanitarian care of his dogs. The award was named for the most famous Alaskan musher who ran the longest and most dangerous stretch of the 674-mile diphtheria serum run from Nenana to Nome, which saved hundreds of lives. The Iditarod commemorates this piece of Alaska history, a not-so-distant past that Alaskans honor.

Immediately following Martin’s 2002 Iditarod victory, which still stands as the fastest Iditarod ever, he completed the process to become a naturalized citizen of the United States under the burled monument in Nome which marks the finish line of the Iditarod. After the grueling 8 days of being on the trail with few hours of sleep and battling the extreme elements of interior Alaska, Martin rested. For 5 days. He then turned around and made the trip from Nome to Big Lake with his family by snow mobile (in Alaska, they are called snow machines). That’s the incredible Alaska spirit that captivates so many residents who love living an adventurous lifestyle in the north.

The Ultimate Kennel Experience

Each summer Martin and his family give tours of their working kennel. Their tour begins with a video presentation of the trip from Anchorage to Nome and includes his unique anecdotal stories gathered over his 26 runs of the Iditarod. Visitors are offered a glimpse of a mock up of the Cripple checkpoint complete with campfire and wall tent. Veterinary and dog care topics are discussed and of course, there's the cuddling of puppies. The tour ends with a riotous symphony of dogs barking as a team is hooked up and taken on a demo run to show the dogs in action. Locals and visitors alike love the inside look at the Last Great Race and the lifestyle that keeps Happy Trails Kennels a welcomed stop. The Kennels are open for drive up traffic and groups and appeals to all ages.

When traveling to Alaska, the kennels must go on your “bucket list” since mushing is a huge part of Alaska history. If you are not planning to visit Happy Trails Kennels in the near future, you can surf their site and purchase their new video, For the Love of Dogs featuring the unique lifestyle made possible by training and racing sled dogs. The video captures a sled dog’s life from puppyhood to racing and Martin’s interaction with his athletic friends.

The mushing life is unique and not for everyone. Here are Martin’s words, printed with permission:

My commute is 20 yards, from my front door to my sled. My office is unlimited vistas and extreme temperatures. And my daily challenges are building a cohesive team out of 40 individuals working towards a common goal – to win the world’s toughest sled dog race. To be a good team leader I focus on individual personalities, moods and attitudes. My team members just happen to be four legged furry friends.

The Iditarod sled dog race throws daily if not hourly challenges at us and only the most finely tuned teams prevail. Together as a unit, we will overcome mountain ranges, open water, wind swept tundra and literally frozen ocean. Dogs used to cover 25 miles and day and now they travel 150 miles per day in any given 24 hour period allowing mushers time for only an occasional nap.

The modern Iditarod is a NASCAR like tradition that honors drivers and the dogs of an era long gone and highlights dog care, science, and technology applied to the sport in modern days. These well-bred dogs will burn up to 11,000 calories per day. The carbon fiber sleds glide on specialized plastics and sometimes the musher’s position is revealed through satellite tracking devices only accessible through the Iditarod Trail Committee using the internet.

Coming from the old country, Switzerland, I was lured to Alaska in 1979 for a mere adventure with no intention of staying more than a year. The dogs, the beauty of the land and the challenges captivated me to the point where racing the Iditarod has become a year round commitment and lifestyle. 2009 was my 26th Iditarod, my first two races being run with Siberian huskies belonging to a premier Alaskan legend, Earl Norris.

This year, I started the race with primarily dogs that have been born and raised in our kennel. Our thoroughbred Alaskan racing huskies have evolved from the straightforward working dogs of the gold rush days. Now rather than pulling heavy loads and breaking trail, these dogs cover long distances in relatively short periods of time. The initial Iditarod was won in twenty nine days and the record now stands at less than nine days.

People expect to see the large furry Siberian husky-looking canines featured in Jack London stories and often are surprised to see the sleek, diverse, slender racing Alaskan huskies. Very much like summo wrestlers not making marathon runners, the Alaskan husky has become highly specialized. When looking at the dogs we concentrate more on performance than looks. Rather than focusing on exterior appearance we gravitate toward dogs with unprecedented drive, superior appetites to replenish energy spent, long legs to help cover ground efficiently and deep narrow chests to accommodate the incredible lungs that help power these exceptional athletes.

Every year in March the very best of the world’s long distance dogs and mushers are pitted not only against each other but also the various challenges Mother Nature can throw in their path. The race has experienced from 60 degrees above zero to 60 below zero, has seen competitors from most continents and is considered the ultimate equal opportunity sport not discriminating among men and women, old and young, experienced and non-experienced.

As if the Iditarod wasn’t extreme enough, Martin recently participated in a trial run of the Alaskan Wet Dog Race . This will be world’s longest personal watercraft (PWC) endurance race with the goal to have the largest prize payout in water crafting history. This race will begin in the ocean at Whittier, Alaska and end over 2,000 miles and 23 checkpoints later in a lake called Iliamna at the village of Iliamna. Over two thousand miles of rough and brutal watercraft riding, across Alaska's open oceans, rivers and lakes will not only test the stamina of man, but it will define which brand of watercraft is the best. This race will separate those who think they can ride from those who can. Last month, a team of good will ambassadors which included Martin, left the Port of Anchorage on their personal watercrafts to begin the trek. We can all admire those that are outside of the box thinkers and those amazing partners like Kathy who stands next to Martin as each new adventure begins.

Martin and Kathy’s desire to promote and educate the wonders of raising and racing champion sled dogs is impressive. Several years ago, they named a litter of puppies in honor of Premier Alaska Tours. Young “Premier” was the face on t-shirts and marketing materials featured world wide. We’ve watched Premier grow and hope to one day see him as a champion on Martin’s team. In the meantime, we’ll keep visiting this remarkable family at their Happy Trails Kennels and cheer Martin on during each race. While we are proud of their commitment to Alaska and Sled Dogs, we are prouder to call them friends.


For more information on Happy Trails Kennels, Martin Buser, Alaska Winter Tours or the Iditarod, contact any of the quality listings in this article. Next month: go inside the wilds of Alaska with Stefanie Gorder, Alaska resident providing an insider’s look into the Last Frontier. To request Alaska topics for consideration, send to Ideas@marketing-Cents.com.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Submission: May 25, 2009

Stefanie Gorder, ctp, ds

marketingCents
Email: Sefanie@marketing-Cents.com
Twitter: @StefanieGorder

Premier Alaska Tours, Inc.
Email: Stefanie@tourAlaska.net
Twitter: @PremierAlaska
Web: www.PremierAlaskaTours.com

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U.S. ALASKA: Overcoming Obstacles on the Trail

OPTIMIZING YOUR IMPACT: Newton’s Third Law of Motion Applied to Marketing

Optimizing Your Impact with Jeff Schomay

“Interaction makes all the ____________.”

Did you fill in the blank? Did you say difference? If so, we’ve created an action/ reaction event, the theory being you now have a “vested interest” to read more to see what you got yourself into, right? Or does it really make any difference?

Action <-> Reaction. You can’t argue with Newton’s third law. Anything you do (including doing nothing) is an action. Anyone who comes in contact with that action (or lack thereof) will have a reaction (again, possible to do nothing). It’s just physics, and it happens constantly. The key is to use this universal law to achieve the reactions you desire. And the only way to do that is to create the proper initiating actions. But how?

As with everything in the “Consumer Persuasion Industry,” it all comes down human psychology. In the example above, we almost can’t help completing the sentence. The human mind craves completion, balance, and closure, and is wired to attempt to provide those qualities anywhere they are missing. While a simple fill-in-the-blank trick may not seem to have much sway over your potential customers, consider the same principle with a most sophisticated approach. I’ll explain with an example:

A friend of mine recently fell victim to a well-planned burglary. The robbers had observed his daily schedule, picked a time when he was out, cracked the code to the front security doors of the apartment complex, broken into the control room and stolen the security tapes and turned off the power to his unit, and then entered his apartment. He returned to find his door splintered and kicked in, and his belongings fully trashed.

Ok, I’ll stop there. The point is, due to our natural sense of empathy and our desire for closure, you may be asking “What happened next?” which is exactly the reaction I was hoping to achieve. Imagine creating a similar story all about the troubles your product or service solves that your potential customers could empathize with. You don’t have to get them to buy from you right away, you just need to get them to ask “What happens next?” That’s when you know they’ve got a “vested interest,” aka they are a qualified lead. Action reaction.

Another instance of getting the most out of Newton’s law is our human sense of burning curiosity. If there’s something I can push, pull, slide, etc, I’ll probably do it. That’s why museums need to put up so many “Please Do Not Touch” signs. That’s why people “kick the tires” of a new car they are considering buying – seriously, how much useful information does kicking the tires give you? It’s just an expression of our need to interact with something as a part of our decision making process.

So, now that you know that, create the opportunities for your potential customers to react to, and you’ll pull them closer to your intended results by using the laws of nature to your benefit. You don’t even have to try to convince anyone anything, they’ll complete the reaction side of the equation all on their ____.


Good luck and Good Marketing.

Jeff Schomay

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Written by Jeff Schomay
Inspire Your Buyer - Branding and Marketing
Maximize Your Impact. Get Better Results.
www.Inspire-Your-Buyer.com
jeff@inspire-your-buyer.com
(c) 2009
Jeff Schomay is an expert brander/ marketer, and a professional film writer/ director.

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SALES AND MARKETING: Playing To Win -- Baseball CEO Shares Secrets of Success

Sales and Marketing with Bill Doerr


Bill's section is brought to you by qAlias

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of being present when Bill Dowling, President and CEO of The New Britain Rock Cats, the Double A affiliate of The Minnesota Twins shared his perspective on what's made his operation the most successful franchise in the Eastern League.

Bill Dowling, is no stranger to baseball. Prior to becoming the head of The New Britain Rock Cats, he was the Executive Vice President of The New York Yankees and reported directly to George Steinbrenner, III. Bill's career is extensive and as varied as it gets. A graduate of Columbia University and Boston College Law School, he was an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and later served as Chief of The New York State Attorney General's Criminal Division for several years. Then he joined the Yankees organization and still practices law in New York City.

Bill spoke to a small group of business people who are members of Our Breakfast Club, a business organization I belong to, as well.

Because Peaches Quinn, Co-Founder of Our Breakfast Club is an old friend of Bill Dowling's, he agreed to share his perspective on what it takes to 'do well in not-so-good times'.

Here's what I took away from the pearls of wisdom that Bill shared with us . . .

"We're not in the baseball business"

The previous owner of the franchise was in the baseball business. He ran a baseball team that fed the major league teams with up-and-coming talent. That model worked once. But it wasn't working in a small town (New Britain, CT) that's seen the economic boom of the 90's go bust and the previous franchise owner was floundering.

But Dowling understood that every business needs to be what it's customer wants. So if it wasn't baseball . . . what was it?

POINT:

What you think you're selling isn't necessarily what your customer wants to buy!

"We Have To Know Who Our Customer (Really) Is"

"We had an epiphany . . . we had to be in the family entertainment business . . . or we'd be following the path the old owner had already taken!".

Dowling knew that if he could create a business 'experience' that appealed to women and kids, then good old dad would drive them all to the ballpark -- literally! It was that insight that helped Bill and his team of people make decisions and take actions appropriate to that understanding. And boy, was that a good thing for the Rock Cats!

The strategy's worked. After buying the franchise in early 2000, Eastern League President Bill Troubh chose Bill Dowling as the 2000 Eastern League Executive of The Year. Dowling's continued to drive attendance, revenues and profits to new levels . . . year after year after year.

Bill and his investor group estimate that, if they were to sell their franchise today, they'd be able to sell it for about 10 times what they paid for it in 2000. And they've money each year, too. Not bad!

POINT:

Knowing who you want to appeal to makes your decisions easier and your results better!

"You Can't Manage From The Back Office"

Bill Dowling attends to many aspects of The Rock Cats -- along with a group of young, talented and highly committed staff whose compensation reflects more bonus and less base -- a practice the early years demanded due to the need to build revenues not expenses and Dowling's philosophy supported . . . "You make things happen, you'll be paid well". It's worked for him.

"Performance matters . . . and if you perform well, you get paid accordingly".

Dowling is also highly visible. He attends every home game and not from a skybox. He's easily found standing around in Section 108 behind the home plate. He talks with the customers, greets the regulars (and there are growing ranks of those!) and generally makes people feel like they're welcome guests. ". . . because they are!".

Bill told us about how some people began to complain about the parking adjacent to the stadium. It's not operated by the Rock Cats. It's a separate vendor. But Bill carries a wad of $1 bills on him. "If I hear someone complain about the parking, I give them $3 and say, "I'm sorry you had a problem . . . here, let me get your parking today". Dowling knows they'll go to the concession stands and buy some popcorn, hot dogs or beer. "It's going out of one pocket and right back into another . . . but they'll go out and tell their friends about us and that goodwill is priceless".

POINT:

If you're going to be successful, you have to be accessible and in touch with your customer!

"You Have To Invest In Your Customer's Experience"

After taking over the Rock Cats, Dowling and his partners made the deliberate decision to go into the 'family entertainment' business as I'd cited earlier. That strategic commitment required both aligned decisions and appropriate actions. "We had to clean up our facilities . . . you don't want Mom coming to a place that isn't appealing or you'll never see her come back". As a result, concession sales have been substantial for the Rock Cats and previous attendance records have been shattered again and again. "We know we're selling fun . . . so every game is full of fun . . . for the kids" That makes the moms happy and happy moms keep the families coming back for more. "We have "Family Nights" where a family of four can come to a game, enjoy food and beverage and get it all for around $30. We understand our market and finding ways to be affordable reflects that understanding". With 'something special (and free!) for the kids' at every game, entertainment between key innings and the ever-present 'Rocky' the Rock Cat's mascot working the crowd until the last pitch is thrown, Dowling's created an irresistable experience. And the proof is in the steady growth of attendance, revenues and profits.

Point:

Give people what they want and they'll give you what you want, too!

I left the time I had with Bill Dowling a little more humble and whole lot wiser about what it takes to be successful in business . . . regardless of the economy. Thank you, Bill Dowling!

Bill Doerr, CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System™, The Expert Directory™ and The Ultimate Client Development System™. He is an Authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach and a licensed facilitator of Get Clients NOW! Bill uses these resources to help service providers generate AIR -- awareness in their marketing area, interest in their services and revenues in their bank. Reach Bill at: 860-798-6964, online at: www.sellmoremarketing.com or via the TNNW Blog: http://www.thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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SALES AND MARKETING: Playing To Win -- Baseball CEO Shares Secrets of Success