I chose Dicks Nanton Agency for their track record and cross industry insight that will assist me in the growth of my company, I’m very excited to be working with seasoned pros.”
Ray Reiss, Founder, KeepMyParentsAtHome.com
“Nick, the weekend in Hollywood was great… your program is terrific and I really appreciate the speakers you brought in.”
-Ben Glass
Nick, We were interviewed live today by Fox 40 
When we first met Nick and Jack, we were floundering a little with our training business…we had all of the pieces, but didn’t have a cohesive vision or strategy of where it could take us. Since working with them, we have put more systems into our office, we are looking at the marketing (and the results of that marketing!) in a whole new light, our website actually looks like a professional did it, AND we have an awesome vision for our company that will allow us to retire in just a few short years. Sometimes we get so busy in the day to day “stuff” of our businesses that we forget to stop and look AT our businesses, The Dicks + Nanton Agency has afforded us an impartial outsiders’ view of our own business and the potential that it has.
Andy Tolbert, The Blue Jeans Broker, 
Jack & Nick have brought about more expansion in our business in the past three months than we thought possible. They got us to see the big picture while explaining everything along the way. Jack and Nick took the time to understand our business goals and tailored their approach to us. We wouldn’t trust our company with anyone else!
Jon Ruhff & Yeosh Bendayan – Push Button Productions LLC
“When we first decided to work with Jack and Nick, we were skeptical that although they both had a lot of experience and were highly decorated with success, we wondered if they would be able to do the same for OUR business. Well, after working with them for just a few months, our business is racing forward on a growth plan that is bigger than we ever imagined. All I can say is that Jack and Nick were EXACTLY what we needed, when we needed it. If you’re looking to grow your business quickly, don’t wait any longer, hire Jack and Nick TODAY!”
- Heather Quillen, Co-Founder YoMedics™ 
“I mentioned to you while we were in Hollywood that the day before I came, I got a call from a producer who found me through a press release and my participation in America’s PremierExperts®. I had a phone interview and received an email inviting me out for an all expenses paid shoot for a TV show, where they want me to talk all about my business and what I do. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoy working with you all and think what you are doing is terrific. The fact is, what you guys are doing works. There is absolutely no way they would have found me, nor would I have this interview without you guys. The great thing is I can use whatever they produce in my arsenal now and hopefully get more interviews. So, again, thank you for everything—it works!!!”
–Jennifer Myers, Realtor, First Time Homebuyer Expert
I’m writing this at 5:50am at the Nashville airport, getting ready to hop a plane back to Orlando. I arrived yesterday afternoon to watch our client Johnny Bulford www.johnnybulford.com compete in the finals of the Colgate Country Showdown. It’s kind of like American Idol but it’s only for country music and it’s been going on a lot longer! It’s in its 27th year! Artists like Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Leann Rymes, Billy Ray Cyrus and many others got their career starts in the Showdown.
There were thousands of local and regional contests that all culminated in the final that was hosted last night, by Leann Rymes, with the top 5 winners from the final 5 regions. Johnny was the winner from the Southeast region. Anyway, Johnny WON last night! So big congrats to him and we’re looking forward to lots of big things from him!
I’m heading home now for about 24 hours and then I’m off to Cannes, France for MiDEM, the world’s largest music festival for a few days. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Anyhow, I was talking with a good friend the other day and he was confiding in me that he was working with a non-profit and couldn’t figure out why the division he was working with wasn’t doing quite as well as all of the other divisions. All divisions were located in different parts of his town, but the division he was involved in just hadn’t been performing up to par.
We went through the usual excuses, the location wasn’t right, the community wasn’t as involved, etc. but when I asked the right questions, we both got the light bulb over our heads.
Between this division and the others, it was the person running the division, we’ll call him Tom for now, that was actually the problem. When you’re involved in a business that requires community support like most non-profit, philanthropic, businesses do, you’ve got to get the community personally and financially invested. Which you might say is even tougher than being a consumer business in the retail market, because while you have to get your customers to buy into what you’re doing, there is usually a correlation between how much your product or service meets the needs of your target audience and how many actually decide to give you their money. When you are looking at a philanthropic model, this usually isn’t the case.
The problem we discovered was that Tom, the guy responsible for the mission and direction of the division, was not compelling to his audience. Everyone liked him, but at the end of the day, they had no burning desire to rally around him, help fund Tom’s project and ultimately to be recognized and embraced by Tom as a contributor to the cause. The other division leaders on the other hand, were seen as pillars in their communities that everyone loved seeing, knowing, speaking with and being recognized by.
This makes all the difference not only in the non-profit sector, but in your business as well. So, think about it, are you allowing your prospects to get to know your personality well enough to be compelling to them? If you’re not, a few quick changes will take your business to new heights in 2009!
