Mattress Marketing: 3 Tips for Better Business

I had the pleasure of attending a meeting for The Link for Women and Sunny Kobe Cook was the guest speaker.  For those of you that do not know her,  "The Mattress Queen" Sunny Kobe Cook – a secretary with a high school diploma – founded Sleep Country USA with $5,000 in 1991, serving as CEO and company spokesperson for many years, with stores in the US and Canada.  She completely changed the business of how mattresses were sold. 

 

 

She then sold it for a gigantic pile of money and never has to work another day in her life, retiring at the ripe old age of 42.  So the woman knows a thing or two about business. 

 

Here are her three top tips for success, that are definitely worth sharing:

 

1.     Talk to Everyone.  Chat up people in the elevator.  Talk to people as you wait in line for your coffee.  Have no expectation that you will make any sort of business connection – just talk to people.  The goal is to keep your social muscles exercised by using them repeatedly, so that when you do have to go to that marketing event and work the room or when you do have to speak to someone important, you will feel comfortable.  She says the reason we don’t like to go into a room and talk to people we don’t know is because it’s scary, but the more you do it, the less scary it becomes.  

 

2.     Do Something New Every Day.  Even if it is something simple like taking a new route to work or buying a different coffee at Starbucks, do one new thing every single day.  We all get stuck in ruts.  We all get to a point where we choose inaction and passivity over change, because – again – it’s a little scary.  By taking a small step in a new direction every single day, when you do have to make a bigger leap, it won’t be that daunting.

 

3.     Be Grateful.  People do not begrudge others’ success stories, if those with success are grateful.  People want to help those that are grateful.  It is a positive energy that should be routine.  For the last 30 years, before going to sleep, she has identified three things that she is grateful for – and she said that on some days, she was just grateful that the day was over.  She used to write it out, but then she and her husband changed it so that they tell each other and it has become a part of their routine – and as she pointed out, when you are sharing your grateful list with your significant other, you normally include something about them, which is a pretty good way to live as well.  Also, if you end your day with thoughts of gratitude, you will sleep better and awake with a positive mindset. 

 

It was a terrific presentation and she is a remarkable woman. 

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