(You may think that when you are out on an African Lion Safari, that there is nothing you can learn about business and marketing. Actually there is plenty you can learn in the African bush even as you relax away from the mad house that is your office, as I found out for myself.)
Watching wild animals in Africa hunting for food, is an extremely educative experience for marketers and those who want to dramatically increase their sales. The big cats are especially fascinating in their different hunting methods.
The lion usually has lots of difficulties hunting. This cat is built very big, strong and heavy. The result is that it is no match for the speed and agility of the antelope, its’ favourite meal. So the lion relies on stealth, surprise and the quick short dash – not unlike that of a well-built 100 metres sprinter. The lion’s advantage is in its’ strength which enables it to kill fairly large prey that would give smaller cats like the cheetah a lot of problems.
The cheetah has a totally different hunting method. This cat is light, agile and built for high speeds. No problems catching that small antelope in the herd scampering for safety. But unlike the lion, the cheetah cannot go for bigger prey (more meat) like the zebra or even larger antelopes.
You now fully understand why the lion cannot wake up one morning and decide that since it admires the cheetah’s sheer speed, it wants to hunt like a cheetah - or vice versa.
That should be obvious, should it not be?
Then why is it that businesses make this mistake every day?
The type of selling system (it's actually a hunting system you know) you choose will depend a lot on what you are. Are you an agile, small young business with no bureaucracy or long-decision making process, not unlike the cheetah? Or are you that larger recently-prosperous-business struggling to maintain enough sales growth to sustain your cash-guzzling overheads, not unlike the lion?
This lesson came down hard on me a few years ago when I created a selling system that surpassed all expectations and grew a small magazine from a circulation of less than 500 copies to 120,000 copies weekly, in a few short months. The simple system employed the use of teaser flyers.
The mistake I made was that whilst basking in the glory of sweet, sensational success, I did not realize that the business had dramatically changed in size and therefore urgently required a NEW drastically different selling system. It was a classic case of the cheetah that grew into a lion but still wanted to hunt like a cheetah.
What system is best suited for your business right now is a critical question you will have to ask and answer if you hope to implement a successful selling system that will make a difference in your business.
Even before you get into something as detailed as a selling system, just looking at popular traditional marketing methods proves that one has to know what is appropriate for them. I have seen many small businesses reap mediocre results from an expensive television advertisement run during prime time. Where the same slot for a larger business would probably have broken the bank.
This is a lesson that’s easy to forget. The remedy? Every time it looks like you are forgetting, just find a way to watch the different wild cats of Africa hunting.
Those who may be interested in a low cost African safari holiday may want to visit (this website.) Many of the folks I have referred there have been amazed at the kind of low quotes that they have been able to get (a tiny fraction of the quotes they have gotten elsewhere for the same safari holiday itinerary.)
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Saturday, December 16, 2006
Elephant Safari: Bizarre Incident On Busy Highway
(Blogger tells of a strange incident some years back where on the way back from a safari, they came across a baby elephant lying dead right in the middle of the road after being knocked down by a speeding car. Now read on…)
We were to later confirm that the small baby elephant was dead and had been knocked down by a Land Rover that must have been going at a very high speed. A few meters away was the badly mangled wreckage of the old Land Rover model (this was in the 70s).
Next to the wreckage was a huge black form that we could not immediately recognize. The "black thing" appeared to be moving. However as our safari vehicle got closer to the scene we could tell exactly what it was and we were dumb struck. It was a full-grown female elephant. We could tell that she was furious from the noise she was making. Her huge front paw was reaching through a gap in the wreckage and attempting to crash the driver of the vehicle that had knocked her baby dead. The man was already bleeding and appeared lifeless but the furious elephant just couldn't stop.
To this day it is not clear whether the driver died from injuries sustained from the collision, or was badly injured and ended up being crashed to death by an irate mother elephant. No post mortem was done and it was assumed that the middle aged African man died from the accident. But judging from the way I saw the huge foot of that elephant reaching out to crash the driver, chances are pretty high that the guy got killed by the irate elephant.
The really amazing thing in this sad tale is the fact that the Elephant was intelligent enough to tell that the death of her baby had been caused by the human inside the twisted wreckage of the Land Rover.
Those who may be interested in a low cost African safari holiday may want to visit (this website.) Many of the folks I have referred there have been amazed at the kind of low quotes that they have been able to get (a tiny fraction of the quotes they have gotten elsewhere for the same safari holiday itinerary.)
Go To Home Page Now
We were to later confirm that the small baby elephant was dead and had been knocked down by a Land Rover that must have been going at a very high speed. A few meters away was the badly mangled wreckage of the old Land Rover model (this was in the 70s).
Next to the wreckage was a huge black form that we could not immediately recognize. The "black thing" appeared to be moving. However as our safari vehicle got closer to the scene we could tell exactly what it was and we were dumb struck. It was a full-grown female elephant. We could tell that she was furious from the noise she was making. Her huge front paw was reaching through a gap in the wreckage and attempting to crash the driver of the vehicle that had knocked her baby dead. The man was already bleeding and appeared lifeless but the furious elephant just couldn't stop.
To this day it is not clear whether the driver died from injuries sustained from the collision, or was badly injured and ended up being crashed to death by an irate mother elephant. No post mortem was done and it was assumed that the middle aged African man died from the accident. But judging from the way I saw the huge foot of that elephant reaching out to crash the driver, chances are pretty high that the guy got killed by the irate elephant.
The really amazing thing in this sad tale is the fact that the Elephant was intelligent enough to tell that the death of her baby had been caused by the human inside the twisted wreckage of the Land Rover.
Those who may be interested in a low cost African safari holiday may want to visit (this website.) Many of the folks I have referred there have been amazed at the kind of low quotes that they have been able to get (a tiny fraction of the quotes they have gotten elsewhere for the same safari holiday itinerary.)
Go To Home Page Now
Friday, December 15, 2006
African Lion Safari Shocker That The World Never Recovered From
Puzzling And Bizarre Case Of Lioness Who Adopted Baby Oryx
Experts still can't quite explain the strange incident in Kenya, Africa where a full-grown lioness adopted a baby oryx. Even more bizarre is the fact that the lioness did this not once, but on three separate occasions in a space of about three months.
Pictures of the strange and very unlikely pair seem like something straight out of a well-loved Hollywood, Walt Disney caper. A lion walking right next to what would usually be a tasty meal for it of tender baby Oryx meat.
The incident was reported and monitored at the northern Samburu National Park in Kenya where tourists out on an African lion safari got a rare treat of an occurrence that defied the laws of nature.
Even stranger were reports that in one of the adoptions, the lioness would usually allow a female oryx several minutes daily to feed the new-born calf. There were a number of incidences where the lioness fiercely protected the younger baby oryx from other hungry lions eager to make a meal out of her. But it was all a very exhausting affair and sadly the last calf the lion adopted was killed and eaten when the lioness was asleep.
The first of the baby gazelles that the lioness adopted was eaten by other lions after about two weeks. The lioness visibly showed signs of sadness, but it was not long before she adopted yet another oryx. However wardens had to take away that one when she showed signs of malnourishment. Obviously a lion can hardly suckle a gazelle.
Later in the year, the same lioness was seen with yet another baby oryx, the third one, of no more than three days old. So protective was the lioness that she usually became very aggressive when any human attempted to come anywhere near her "strange baby."
However while the lioness was asleep, a male lion ate "her baby." It is reported that the lioness was shattered with grief and went round roaring in anger.
Still, this incident of a few years back (fully reported with photograph by the BBC here) is hardly the usual thing that one would encounter during an exciting African Lion Safari holiday.
GO TO HOME PAGE NOW
Experts still can't quite explain the strange incident in Kenya, Africa where a full-grown lioness adopted a baby oryx. Even more bizarre is the fact that the lioness did this not once, but on three separate occasions in a space of about three months.
Pictures of the strange and very unlikely pair seem like something straight out of a well-loved Hollywood, Walt Disney caper. A lion walking right next to what would usually be a tasty meal for it of tender baby Oryx meat.
The incident was reported and monitored at the northern Samburu National Park in Kenya where tourists out on an African lion safari got a rare treat of an occurrence that defied the laws of nature.
Even stranger were reports that in one of the adoptions, the lioness would usually allow a female oryx several minutes daily to feed the new-born calf. There were a number of incidences where the lioness fiercely protected the younger baby oryx from other hungry lions eager to make a meal out of her. But it was all a very exhausting affair and sadly the last calf the lion adopted was killed and eaten when the lioness was asleep.
The first of the baby gazelles that the lioness adopted was eaten by other lions after about two weeks. The lioness visibly showed signs of sadness, but it was not long before she adopted yet another oryx. However wardens had to take away that one when she showed signs of malnourishment. Obviously a lion can hardly suckle a gazelle.
Later in the year, the same lioness was seen with yet another baby oryx, the third one, of no more than three days old. So protective was the lioness that she usually became very aggressive when any human attempted to come anywhere near her "strange baby."
However while the lioness was asleep, a male lion ate "her baby." It is reported that the lioness was shattered with grief and went round roaring in anger.
Still, this incident of a few years back (fully reported with photograph by the BBC here) is hardly the usual thing that one would encounter during an exciting African Lion Safari holiday.
GO TO HOME PAGE NOW
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There are few things in this life that are as magical as an African Safari Holiday. It is the sort of memorable and unforgettable experience that is not easy to describe to a person who has never been to Africa or gone on a safari. This blog attempts the difficult task of recreating an African Safari Holiday Experience just for you.
ARTICLES
African Lion Safari Shocker
Elephant Safari: Bizarre Incident On Busy Highway
African Safari Holiday Lessons: How I Learnt Marketing And Business From Watching Wild Animals
ARTICLES
African Lion Safari Shocker
Elephant Safari: Bizarre Incident On Busy Highway
African Safari Holiday Lessons: How I Learnt Marketing And Business From Watching Wild Animals
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