FOREWORD

Los Angeles is a warm-weather creation, at a similar latitude as much of North Africa and Southeast Asia. But whenever I’ve flown in I’ve had the feeling it’s not as lush as my native northeastern United States. Yet, back home, we routinely endure winters with feet of snow and temperatures below zero. How can that disparity exist?

It exists because L.A. is not verdant. New England is, to a large extent, evergreen. The approaches to L.A. look brown and the approaches to Boston look green—even in winter.

And green is the stuff of life, of photosynthesis, of new growth, of regeneration.

In this remarkable book, Noah Fleming (himself of cold climes warmed by evergreens in our neighbor to the north) explains how your customers and business can eternally provide life, growth, and regeneration. Deciduous trees can be quite attractive, so long as we arrange for those trillions of leaves to be carted away come fall. They add a nice touch, as do transient customers in any business.

But transient customers also must be “cleaned up.” They often require more investment than their revenue justifies, and they can disturb the landscape where the evergreens should bloom. The evergreen customer is a constant resource—of business, referrals, goodwill, good ideas, and market power.

Noah explains how customers have to be attracted, nurtured, and retained to create your own verdant, fertile, business landscape. Some require careful tending; others thrive with minimal intervention. Some respond best to light, others to warmth. Not everything grows and prospers in common conditions. It’s important to recognize the optimal growth circumstances for your particular environment and customers.

The best firms and influencers I’ve ever seen know their ideal customers perfectly. They can appeal to them instantly, with total focus and relevance. As a global consultant for more than twenty-five years, I’ve seen too many great ideas wasted on the wrong people and a great many average ideas succeed brilliantly because they were directed at exactly the right people.

Imagine your products and services directed at the right targets with optimal power? This book shows you how.

I often fly into Boston in the middle of harsh winters, only to see that the evergreens stand out even more against the blandness of the white snow surrounding them. That’s how your business can stand out—and thrive—if you heed the advice that follows.

Alan Weiss, Ph.D., author Million Dollar Consulting

April 2014