Lessons from Celebrity Apprentice – Episode 1

Episode Synopsis
The celebrities on Celebrity Apprentice, Season 3, were separated into two teams - the women's team and the men's team. The women named themselves Tenacity and picked Bret Michaels to lead the men's team in their first task. The men called themselves Rock Solid and chose Cyndi Lauper to lead the women's team. Their first task was to run a diner during the lunch-time rush to raise money for their charities. Obviously, the team who raised the most money won.

Surround Yourself with the Right People
As soon as they were assigned the task, Bret Michaels turns to Curtis Stone, a renowned chef, and admits that he knows nothing about running a restaurant and that he was going to count on Curtis’ restaurant and cooking expertise to help Rock Solid win. A great leader recognizes his own weaknesses and surrounds himself with people who are experts in their field. Sure, Bret didn’t pick Curtis to be on his team. But he knew immediately who to turn to for help.

Don’t Underestimate Your Competition
Tenacity picked Bret to be the men’s project manager because he was running on an hour of sleep. They figured that his lack of sleep would impede his judgment and leadership ability. Boy, were they wrong. Rock Solid is comprised of, well, rock solid team members. They rallied behind their leader. They stepped up to the plate when Bret needed help (Curtis with his cooking expertise and Bill Goldberg lending a hand when Bret’s blood sugar was too low). And they kept their goal in mind.

Know Your Target
Tenacity did a great job advertising for their fundraiser. On the morning of the fundraiser, the women did several radio interviews to broadcast their fundraising event. They got the publicity they wanted. Tenacity had a long line of people waiting to get in the diner to meet the stars and buy a $25 burger. The problem? The line was so long that friends of the celebrities couldn’t get in . . . friends with deep pockets. Tenacity was serving people who were more interested in photo-ops than donating and ended up turning away serious donors.

Keep Your Goal in Mind
Rock Solid didn’t really do any advertising. They had window signage while Sinbad directed traffic into the diner. But they didn’t need advertising. They knew they needed to raise more money than Tenacity. Why waste their time targeting the Average Joe who couldn’t afford a serious donation? They called all their friends in New York and asked them to come and support their fundraiser. Rock Solid priced their items so high that many people who casually walked in to order a burger or salad walked right out without ordering. But guess what? Their strategy kept their doors open for serious donors. And serious donors they got. They sold truffle burgers and truffle risotto for $250! For every one burger they sold, Tenacity had to sell 10 of their $25 burgers! They didn’t need to bring in a large crowd. They just needed the RIGHT crowd!

SUMMARY
In case you missed it, the men raised nearly twice as much money as the women and won the first task. Sure, their price point was a little risky – but they were targeting a specific customer. Their goal was to get BIG donations, not to attract the biggest crowd.

Are you targeting the right customer?