Perception is the new reality.

I don't really exist. I am just a figment of your imagination. Some of you have met me in person, so you hold a picture of me in your mind (I'm actually thinner and more handsome than you might remember), but for the rest of you I don't really exist; except in your mind.

You don't really exist either. Unfortunately for you, you really don't. You don't exist in the minds of your target market. Awareness that you exist is the real problem in your marketing plan. You don't need 'tricky' ads, you just need people to know you exist.

Weak minds. It's not your fault. People have proven limitations in their minds. They can only keep between 7 and 12 'channels' open and meaningful in their lives.

I can prove it. Think about your 'channels'. Do you really maintain more than 7 strong interpersonal relationships, counting your spouse and kids, active at one time? No, you don't. Neither do I. I might be even more remedial than 7.

You, and your business, are competing for limited channel space in the minds of your customers.

You exist first in cyberspace. Frightening as it may seem, you only exist in the minds of your guests by the perceptions they form by visiting your web site, until they actually visit your business in person. Their 'reality of you' exisit completely between cyberspace (a.k.a. your web site) and their imagination. Their perceptions are your reality.

Back to reality. Your guests make a huge leap of faith to visit your business as they choose to come based on your web site, your phone system, your brochures, and their imagination. If your reality doesn't live up to their imaginations, you're sunk. Worse, if the perceptions you are creating, DON'T create a good enough reality in their imaginations, they won't even try you out!

What's there to do in this land of make believe? You MUST review all the perceptions created by your guests' first contacts with your business. Check your web site, your Facebook page, your answering machine, your brochures. Are your brochures as fun as you are? Is your web site as fun as a visit? Are the pictures your use in your ads of people you'd like to attract? Do your radio ads sound as fun as you are?

Test me. We are working hard here to make it all happen. We're a long way from perfect, but check out our stuff to see how we're the same, uniformly fun, brand of crazy fall fun everywhere.

Call 1-866-WE-LOSE-U 1-866-935-6738 for our phone system.
 Visit www.MazeFunPark.com
See brochures on the web site.
Listen to a radio commercial

(Please note that all my material is, of course, copyright protected. You need your own brand, not mine. That would be inauthentic and people can smell a fake. Fake is not what you want people to perceive.)

Build your own reality. Your guests and prospects count on your to create reality for them. It is your job to make sure they know who you are and what to expect as a visitor. You have to make sure that you are building your reality in their imaginations, because right now... you don't exist.

Have a great week.

Hugh

PS Hayride Audio Systems If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com

Sense and Adjust.

Life on the Farm

Sense and adjust. You just never know what's coming on the farm. It's hot, it's dry, it's raining, fruit's early, Labor Day's late, apple pies are selling, strawberry is not - it can get overwhelming! Mom and Dad have always taught me to "sense and adjust".

Be decisive. I just love working with our team. We had inventory to take, order, new merchandising and displays to fix speed-of-service issues from the weekend, and lots more. We all stood around, brought our viewpoints, had a heated discussion, but came to a resolution looking at the facts within 20 minutes. Sensed and adjusted. Decision made.

Somebody is good at it. Even on our little team of people, somebody is good at "it", whatever it is. Dad and I, though often after long debates, end up a pretty good team. I'm a super-delegator; he's an analytical.

Matt is Mr. Relationship-builder. Linda can't sleep if the registers are off by $5.00 at the end of the day. Laura, well, I haven't found anything she can't do. (You'll likely see her in the market, making fudge, making doughnuts, stocking, inventory-ing - you get the picture). Frank fixes everything we break, my maze masters know the corn maze pathways cold.

Everyone has his or her place. Whatever the problem, somebody is good at fixing it. It's the balance that makes this very complex farm and entertainment business go 'round.

How about your balance? Have you ever though about your own balance? You are probably REALLY busy this time of year, but balance is the key to making your life go 'round, too.

Carve out some special time, away from all the busy-ness of this season and make some memories. Escape with your family and let our family do all the work for you; let us take care of you for the day.

Sense and adjust. If you're not sensing that your family is enjoying the passing time, but instead is just plowing joylessly through to 'get things done', adjust. Call a 'time out' and carve out some family time this weekend.

The fall weather's going to be great.

Talk to you next week,
Farmer Hugh

PS Pumpkin picking in the Pumpkin Patch every weekend. See the GIANT Pumpkin Express wagon here.

Hayride audio systems

We has TREMENDOUS response from the Agritourism Vendor Spotlight email last week from readers and vendors alike. I got the message: More information like that!!

Here's the deal for this week: This is really and truly the last call for 2010 delivery for our SUPER POPULAR Hayride Audio Systems. Not only are these by far our best-selling audio product, but they are the industry standard for adding easy-to-operate, consistent audio to wagon rides.

Our clients love them and you will too, but this is it for 2010. If you have any desire to get one to try for this season or you'd like to add a box to your existing set of system for your other wagons. Please order this week!

We have these custom built and you can still get them for the busy October season. To make it even easier for you to rapidly deploy, we are including FREE recording/programming of the system, so it ships ready to install quickly.

If you have any other questions, please call me direct at 717-382-4878 ext 102.

Thanks!
HughHayride Audio Systems. We are the inventors of the Hayride Audio Box and it is a best-seller. Why? because it makes life easier for the farms that use it. Imagine if every driver you have could give a good hayride tour! That's what the boxes with pre-recorded messages activated by button can do for you. There still time to get them before your busy season. Get the order sheet.

See the page.


Even Bob can do it!

Video Point of Sale Boxes. Ever want a tireless employee to sell, sell, sell? Hire our video box to do it for you. Place it anywhere, activate the full motion movie and let it play your marketing message to all passers by.
Get the order sheet.



PS Hayride Audio Systems If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com

"You love what you do, but you should probably quit."

You love what you do, but you should probably quit. I just love running our front desk on busy weekends. I love welcoming guests, the ring of the register, the classic jokes with the kiddos about getting lost. It is quintessentially Maize Quest season for me. Unfortunately, I need to quit.


You probably love to bake pies or run the doughnut machine or the ribbon fry fryer or the BBQ smoker. I bet you're really good at it! You are probably the BEST at it. However, you too need to qui

Quitters are the real winners. We all have our reasons for holding on to our jobs, some are good reasons (such as we're really good at it and it's really important); some are less good reasons (such as, employees can't bother us while we're with guests, or the smoker is a great place to hide and act busy when we don't feel like talking to people anymore).

We have to face the facts that our real, true and best position as the leader of the organization is to be the leader, not just another employee. You need to quit your 'job' and lead.

Create your maximum value. Andy Stanley says, "You should do what only you are best at doing, and delegate the rest." Your maximum value comes from making sure that everyone else is doing the very best they can to serve your guests. It does not, and I argue CANNOT, come from performing a 'job' function someone else can do.

Delegate the tasks, execute evangelism. You can't delegate passion and spreading your passion, evangelizing for your farm and business is your real job. This can be to the 'universe' like when you are pitching PR sources or to your guests on-site as they enjoy their day. You are the evangelist for your business. It's just hard to be the evangelist and hold down a 'job' at the same time.

So quit already. Andy Stanly again,"If you are doing a task that could be done by someone else who works for minimum wage (i.e. less than your hourly rate), you are actually STEALING from the company!"

You heard me: You are stealing from the company if you are doing menial, hourly work someone else could do cheaper, because you are SO VALUABLE as the evangelist!

You love what you do, but you should probably quit. IThe season, take that leap and quit your 'job', so you can find a 'higher calling' as your business' evangelist.

The more people you 'convert', the more profits you'll reap. Take it from a 'quitter'!

Have a great week.

Hugh

PS Hayride Audio Systems have a 2-3 week lead time. If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com

Family Traditions

Life on the Farm

Family traditions. One of the most rewarding parts of our fall harvest is seeing families and kids and grandkids come back year after year growing up with Maple Lawn Farms as their "trip to the country"; their "Fall tradition."

The photo above was sent to us by the Bell Family that got together to pick apples at the farm, spend time together, and (hopefully) get to relax a bit in the fresh country air.

Traditions are important. They've done lots of studies showing the correlation of families that eat dinner together and positive adolescent behavior. I think you could make the leap to say that the same connection exists between a family taking time from hectic schedules, essentially creating or blocking family time, and the same positive benefits. This family prioritized family time over a thousand other things they could be doing.

How cool is that? Do you think that leaves an impression on the kids?

We're here for you. If you need to get your family away from the rush of everyday life, we're here for you. The farm is as quiet, peaceful, and relaxing as you need it to be. If you want action and adventure, come do the mazes at the Fun Park. You can make it exactly the day you need.

No matter which options you choose, you are making a powerful statement to your family: "We value our family time and are willing to block out specific time to be together."

Nobody's perfect. I have to admit that, as son of two hard-working parents, it's hard for me to carve out this kind of time. As a small business start-up back in the late-90's, I would often sleep on a couch in the office to keep working more and more hours; to get just one more thing done.

Luckily for me, I married a great woman, Janine. She has been a balancing force in my life, making it OK for me to carve out that family time - making sure I don't miss our children growing up; making sure I'm present and accessible for them.

Seize the day. I know this has been my theme for the season, but take it to heart. If you get the chance and the weather's good like it will be this weekend. Carve out that time. Tell your family that the world can wait. Start a family tradition of your own.

We're here for you.

Talk to you next week,
Farmer Hugh

PS Pumpkin picking in the Pumpkin Patch starts this weekend. See the GIANT Pumpkin Express wagon here.

The morning staff meeting.

Life on the Farm

The morning staff meeting. Most mornings the management staff meeting consists of Dad sitting at his desk, then I walk in and lean on the door frame to his office with my insulated coffee tumbler. I'll ask, "Anything special going on today?" and we'll talk through his list and mine as we endeavor to pilot the Maple Lawn Farms ship through the season.

We're soon joined by Dad's farm staff, one by one, looking for their assignments, but I like those first few minutes. Today we were talking about the apple crop and how we can continue our transition from producing for packing houses to producing for you, directly.

We discussed the loss we took on our peach crop, burned up in the July sun and heat. It seems, though, that this will be a good season for pick your own apples. The weather already feels like fall, especially in the mornings.

Branches hanging low. As farmers, we have had a lot of challenges this season with a big winter, late spring, hot July, blah, blah, blah. BUT, I'm telling you, it warms our hearts to see branches hanging low, loaded with fruit!

Record picking times. I think you know that our dwarf trees are low to the ground, seldom are ladders needed. You might be surprised to know how quickly you can pick a basket of fruit.

If you wanted a 1/2 bushel of apples from one of our trees this year, it will take you about five minutes - picking all by yourself! That's fast. You might want to slow down on purpose to sample an apple (yes, samples are allowed for pickers.)

The orchards and market are open M-Sat 8AM-6PM, Sun 1PM-7PM.

The weekend weather looks absolutely gorgeous! After last year's rained-out October, don't hesitate when a good weekend smiles upon you.

You never know what tomorrow (or next weekend) may bring.

Talk to you next week,
Farmer Hugh

PS If you know of a Preschool class that might like to join us this fall, find all the information on the web site.

"Who's your vendor?"

We are asked often about the vendors we use to make it happen at the Maize Quest Fun Park.

Here's how we thought we'd share some answers with you:

There's no way we can think of everything, so we opened our catalog to other Ag Entertainment vendors. The list is in the online line catalog, but here are a few highlights. If you know of a vendor who might be interested, we allow each appropriate vendor one page each.

Pedal Karts. We have pedal karts at our Fun Park and they have been a really big hit with our family crowd. We started with Prime Pedal Karts and have had a good experience with Derek and his gang there. The often offer quantity discounts and specials for the ag industry. See the page.Decorations. Veldsma & Sons are a great source for fall decoratives. They are regulars at our industry trade shows and I saw their products first-hand at NAFDMA. Check them out as you stock up your Fall Harvest shop or farm market. See the page.

Gemstone mining. Sandy Creek Mining built our mining sluice and I have to admit, I think it rocks! The also supply bags of dirt with gemstones, fossils and arrowheads for you to resell to your guests. They have been a very good vendor for us over the years. See the page.

The 2nd vendor we've met in our travels is Cold River Mining. Though later to the market, they have been regulars for enough years to warrant review. FULL DISCLOSURE: We have not used their bagged product and already had a sluice installed before they came on the scene, but they do have nice-looking sluices and well-labeled mining bags. We particularly liked their "indoor" or self-contained model. See the page.

Bakery. It is tricky to start a bakery or take on to the next level, but Joy Grose specializes in helping farm markets do just that. Full disclosure: We have not used her services, but she was delightful when we met at NAFDMA.  See the page.
Credit Card Processing & Machines. Though not in our catalog, we have nothing but good things to say about our credit card processing service BCMS. Cindy, our rep, has been great to work with and they have a month to month program for seasonal businesses like ours. Very competitive fees, too.

We use their Internet-based machines and process cards in 7 seconds! If you have Internet, they are the 'bomb'. If you don't they have cellular and dial-up machines, too. They have a "Verify Later" card-swiping-only, process later system - don't bother, it's a hassle.

I feel strongly that credit card processing increases sales by more than you pay in fees. When in doubt, I say, "Get more machines." I was in Hershey Park over Labor Day and the Coke Vending Machines had card readers on them!!!

BCMS Info:
Cindy Kaufmann, Regional Manager
Office 888-697-1017
Fax 888-377-1018
Mobile 406-465-9701
Banc Certified Merchant Services
23 South Last Chance Gulch
Helena, Montana 59601
Who do you like? I don't know everything. (Surprised to hear that weren't you:-) If you have a vendor you like or would be a good addition to the catalog, please forward them the information or link to the catalog. We'll do our best to get them in and make the Maze Catalog an industry resource.

Maize Quest. Hopefully by now, you know what we do. We work hard to be the vendor of choice for corn mazes, corn maze games, puzzle mazes, group tour booking, hayride audio systems, and marketing information & support.

Hope this helps you have a great season this fall!

Have a great week.

Hugh

PS Hayride Audio Systems have a 2-3 week lead time. If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com

Be personal.

Hugh, The Maze Master

Hugh's Reviews

Each week Hugh reviews something, anything really, that has provoked a thoughtful insight.

Be personal.

"As the amount of inputs go up, as the number of people and ideas that clamor for attention continue to increase, we do what people always do: we rely on the familiar, the trusted and the personal. 

The experience I have with you as a customer or a friend is far more important than a few random bits flying by on the screen. 

The incredible surplus of digital data means that human actions, generosity and sacrifice are more important than they ever were before."  -Seth Godin

Seth Godin has written a number of books on marketing and creative ideas, but his quote from Seth's Blog really stuck with me.

We are in the business of creating space for our guests to have real, interpersonal interaction. We are at the center of promoting a positive, trustworthy experience for our guests.

If we are successful, they will in turn share that experience with their friends.

Seth's quote expands the structure of word of mouth advertising in the digital age. People will lean on their friends. It's just that now, they can do it on Facebook or Twitter a whole lot faster.

As you are marketing this fall, remember that nothing trumps a good experience for your guests. Nothing.

If you provide something good enough, you won't have to worry so much about the marketing.

Have fun,

Hugh

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Redundancy.

Hugh, The Maze Master

Hugh's Reviews

Each week Hugh reviews something, anything really, that has provoked a thoughtful insight.

Redundancy.

Just got a great lesson in pre-planning for emergencies. We had a lightning storm that took out our local Internet service provider's tower, our service, fused a wire, and blew out an ethernet switch.

That may sound like mumbo-jumbo, but basically, our Internet was down.

With our business, that means the credit card machines were down, our POS registers were down, my online CRM was down, even our phones were down because we have an IP-based phone system.

So for 6 hours(!), I ran around the farm tracing, testing, replacing, until we got service back.

Here's the lesson.
We weren't even busy and it was a disaster. I bet there are systems you can't live without too, so it's time to plan for redundancy.

Take two, they're small!
I now have ordered a second unit for every critical point in our IT infrastructure. EVERY POINT. Routers are $50, switches are $15, credit card machines are cheap to rent. (Email me if you want a CC processing vendor.)

I can swap out our entire network in less than 30 minutes now. How much money can you lose in 30 minutes in October?

Assess you vulnerabilities. Open one week early, just to make sure you know how everything is going to work. Turn all the power on, on EVERYTHING. Try to blow a breaker now, because you don't want to be without a 100AMP fuse with guests in the corn maze. (Had that happen too!)

In the end, your preparation is more about safety of your guests than making money. Without safety, you're sunk.

Think about redundancy in your critical systems this week and try to 'break' something.
 

Have fun,

Hugh

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"Marinate your decisions."

"Marinate your decisions."

Beef. Really any meat. Cook it and I'm in, spice it up with a marinate and I'm in heaven. I am not a griller extrodinaire as many of you are, but I love tasty food and I've noticed that marinating is generally a good idea. It adds flavor. It tenderizes. It takes time.

Alright, that's the part I hate. Marinating takes time, which I am perpetually short on. No matter what you do, you simply cannot marinate something in 15 minutes. It won't work. Those juices and spices need time to break down the meat, to infuse their flavors, to permeate.
Split-second decisions. Many of you who know me well, know that Hugh writing about taking time to make decisions might be a stretch. In fact, in society we are told that "He who hesitates is lost!" We prize split-second decisions; going with your gut.

There is a time and a place for split-second decisions. Hesitation is often a detriment to success. The trouble is that we force ourselves into split-second decisions through poor planning, preparation, and practice.

We create a world in which we have to make split-second decisions. That's different than living in a world that creates a need for quick decisions.

Plan time to marinate. More often than not, you have time to marinate your ideas and decisions, even in your busy season. By marinate your ideas, I mean give them some time to float around in your brain. Sleep on it. Has it out with your people or family. Wait a day. Think about something else.

The key is to give yourself time in the planning process to make well-thought out decisions. You won't have to rush if you've planned time for decision making.
Stock your marinade. You can't expect anything to happen if you don't add some 'spice' to your marinade. I listen to NPR (liberal), Rush Limbaugh (uh, right wing, I think), Podcasts from Scientific America, Buckhead Church, BBC "The World's Technology", Marketing Over Coffee, and probably 5-6 others.

I listen, often while working out, just to stock my brain with perspectives, ideas, current events, etc. They are spices for my marinade. I wouldn't like a steady diet of any one 'spice', but together, they provide a rich background for evaluating and critiquing my ideas and decisions.
Paralysis of analysis. We've heard it a million times, is the situation in which you spend so much time analyzing a decisions the opportunity passes you by. This is not ever going to be a problem for me.

If it is for you, you have to consider taking some fresh chicken fillets and marinating them for 3 weeks. No matter how great your marinade, you aren't going to want to eat it!

Relieve the pressure. I am the worst at adding unnecessary pressure to myself to make decisions quickly. You need to make wise decisions; right decisions. As pressure from inside you mounts to 'pull the trigger', ask yourself if it's really going to hurt to wait until tomorrow morning after you 'sleep on it.'

1. Start stocking your marinade. (If you're reading this you already are!)
2. Plan time to decide.
3. Release yourself from false time pressure.
4. Think things through.

Take the time to make a good decision, but it's never too late to correct a bad decision.

Have a great week.

Hugh

PS Hayride Audio Systems have a 2-3 week lead time. If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com

"Underestimate/Overestimate"

 "Underestimate/Overestimate"

"Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! " - Tony Robbins Tighten the parameters. Mr. Robbins was right, but I'd tighten the parameters while keeping the ratio. It's crunch time people and I think most of us overestimate what can be done in a day and underestimate what can be done in a month.

Everyday frustrations. When we plan our days, at least when I do, I tend to have very ambitious lists of task to be completed in a finite amount of time. The same happens with my people. I am demanding and try to push them as hard as possible to achieve.

One of my most frequent frustrations is if we don't get through the list! No matter how far I overestimated our abilities in the list's creation. I thought we could get 10 things done, but really it's 6 things done well.

Marketing presents infinite options and time requirements. Face it: You could spend 40 hours a week on marketing without getting all the options done. It is a limitless task! To be effective and not go crazy, you have to set limits and make decisions NOW before the height of the season.

A brief aside: I remember one season where I told all my ad reps to call me if they had "Fire Sale" deals. They called every week and I nearly bought them all. (TERRIBLE PLAN, McPherson!) Now I set the advertising budget and plan early, while I can really think about the options. I choose and stick with it. I love new ad reps calling me and I say, "The budget is set for the year, send me an email next February."

Anyway, marketing could take your whole life. When you get ready to work on marketing or PR it can seem insurmountable. You could say, "I'm going to call 50 newspapers today!" and I assure you you will give up before you hit 15. You will overestimate what you can do in a single day.

However, If you call 2-3 media outlets per day from now until pumpkin season, you will have reached nearly 100 potential media promoters and never made more than 3 calls a day. Do not underestimate what you can do in little chunks over time.

See your achievements as stepping stones over time.
1. Need to write an email to your customers? Pick 1 hour per week - NO MORE and schedule it like a doctors appointment.

2. Need to update your web site? Only do 2 pages per day for two weeks and you'll find 28 pages done before you're busy.

3. Need to make brochures? Make one brochure now and proof and finish it tomorrow.

4. Need to do public relations? Pitch just one story every two weeks through the end of the season, and you'll have pitched 13-15 story ideas.

5. Need to train employees? Train a maximum of three employees per day for the next three weeks. That plan gets you through 60+ trainees, more than many of us employ!

A brief aside: One of my tricks for motivating myself if I have an ad, brochure or letter that needs written, but I can't bring myself to do it, is to make the new needed file and save it under the new name. Even if I leave and come back to it, it's started and somehow that makes it easier to finish. Another motivational speaker called this "Puncturing the project." It becomes less arduous if you've done something.
You can accomplish WAY more than you think over time, but you have to start today. Getting yourself short on time compresses your ability to succeed. Remember that in everything, especially in marketing, one big splash doesn't make your season, it is continuous, consistent incremental progress that leads to long-lasting success.

Just get something from your big project done everyday.

Have a great week.

Hugh

PS Hayride Audio Systems have a 2-3 week lead time. If you want them for October ORDER NOW!

PPS If you want to make it easy for groups to book your school tours and parties online, check out our online booking system at www.BookMyGroups.com. See it in action on our home website at www.MazeFunPark.com

PPPS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!

Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com