Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

Last week, we covered the first two major thought questions pertaining to finding your hidden money. The core subject we are covering is internal marketing. Internal marketing is the process of finding your future hidden money inside your existing business.

Here are two additional thought questions around internal marketing:

In your business, are you primarily grabbing just the low-hanging fruit?

Close your eyes and think with me for a moment. If you were hungry and standing at the bottom of an apple tree right now, are you immediately going to leave the apple tree to go look for a ladder? Of course not. You would simply and conveniently grab the low-hanging fruit -- the apples that are hanging the lowest to the ground and the easiest to grab.

Be careful with overusing this approach in your business. We might be spending so much time picking low-hanging fruit in our business that we no longer focus on the high-level, more profitable fruit. Why do we do this? Because it's easier; it's comfortable.

Many producers (and companies, too) stay in a certain market because they don't feel they're worth more. But take courage and stretch! Upwards! Higher!

Don't get confused. I am not saying that you shouldn't pick any of the low-hanging fruit.

I am saying pick the low hanging fruit and keep the ladder handy for other opportunities. Don't get lazy. Remember that picking low-hanging fruit is a complacent, low-energy, passive activity. Picking high-ladder fruit is a strategic, high-energy proactive activity.

The low-hanging fruit will not always be readily available. To prevent large slumps, another diversified strategy must be implemented that will allow you to bring in revenue and use sales volume from a different source.

- Consider identifying a niche market in your area, one that is either not being served by you at all or that's currently being served by a competitor and you know you can do better than that competitor.

- Consider assigning some of your team members to picking the low-hanging fruit. Others may be specialized and held accountable to focus on harvesting "high fruit." If I spoke to all your team members separately, would they all clearly know who is responsible for what? That kind of clarity is a big part of gaining team focus. To sustain growth, your business model will need to have that type of balance and agility.

- Remember the Titanic. You remember that huge boat that no one ever thought would sink. Well it sunk. What sank the Titanic was not the ice they could see. It was the ice that they could not see, the ice they didn't anticipate or plan for. So many people died that day because they did not have enough ladders to get into the rescue boats. Plan to have your ladder with you and available at all times in your business. Because you and your company will die if you do not have other sustainable alternatives.

What are you doing to build quality relationships with every customer?

I hear people say all the time, "Well, Marvin, we treat everybody special." Okay. I hope that's working for you. Everybody does want to feel special. Can we focus on something even more special?

Customers want individual attention, and they want to feel significant. They want you to know the details of their life. James Dobson, who has a program called Focus on the Family, once said, "The more you know the details of a child's life, the more the child feels significant." Well it's the same with your customers.

Do you know the deeper details of your clients' lives? Past that first sale, folks. Deeper than that.

Those deep details are the fiber of quality relationships. And quality relationships are where trackable referrals come from.

There was a special man I met in 1988. His name was Dr. Ralph Dauterive. Dauterive is now a retired dentist and was one of the most influential community leaders that St. Bernard Parish ever had in its entire history. When he would embrace me, he would look deep into my eyes. He would hold my hand with both of his hands. He always made me feel so special.

Obviously, it was Dauterive who got me heavily involved in the St. Bernard Kiwanis Club back in the late '80s. When he would walk into a restaurant, he would shake every table's hand. Not just one person. He was an amazing individual. He still is an amazing individual. He is a giver. He is not a taker.

Your clients will renew and refer other business because they have a good perception of you as being significant in their lives. And because they have a good perception of your team. The customer's perception of good or bad service is the measure of your success or failure. In the end, customer perception, not your perception of what the customer thinks, is all that matters.

I would strongly encourage you to really explore how well you and your team are currently responding to customers' expectations. When was the last time you probed your clients on how they felt about you and your team? You can get some amazing feedback if you have the courage to ask.

Until next time, stay committed to making marvelous happen!

Hello marvelous people!

In my next two blog posts, I'll be covering the specific questions we need to think through in order to find our hidden money. Yep, there's hidden money, so be sure to stay current with the blog. 

The two major thought questions we'll talk about involve internal marketing -- the process of finding your future hidden money inside your existing business.

When we talk about internal marketing, what we are talking about is internally marketing to your existing business. I'm not talking in this segment about external marketing, which has to do with advertising and marketing to people who are not currently your clients. Internal marketing involves marketing to your existing clients, who are already your raving fans.

So our first major thought question is this:

What percentage of your business comes from trackable referrals?

Don't guess because your guess isn't correct. Trackable referrals from where? These are referrals from friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives. That is where your next business is coming from. Did you notice? I didn't say Internet leads! I didn't say social marketing! Although these are very important, we get so hyped on the new things, we forget what brought us to the dance for years and years prior.

If you are guessing what percentage of your business comes from referrals, then you don't know where your trackable referrals are coming from.

So let's keep in mind the wisdom of William Edwards Deming, the famous statistician and the important American who improved Japan's quality processes: "What gets measured gets done!"

You must implement a simple tracking system within your company to make sure that every single time your team is involved in a conversation discussing potential new business, they start with the question, "Where did you hear about us?" (No, you don't need a computer or a spreadsheet for a simple tracking system.)

As a business leader, you really need to know the source of your new business. Why? So that your future allocation of advertising and marketing dollars will be spent on the highest yielding target audience.

That takes us to our second major thought question:

What percentage of each sale made is set aside for traditional advertising and social media marketing?

We've talked about asking for the referral and tracking the referral. Now we want to find out what percentage of each sale is set aside for traditional advertising and social media marketing.

As a practitioner, I suggest that you set aside a certain percentage of your gross compensation right off the top. When you need to take advantage of an advertising opportunity, the funds will be available. So plan it.

The discipline of planning may initially hurt, but your lifestyle won't even feel a sting if you commit -- right this second -- to set aside 5%, 10% or 15% of your gross compensation specifically for this purpose. Whatever you commit to, keep that commitment. Monthly. Yes, even if it hurts.

There's something interesting that I have found in my travels across America as I talk to insurance business leaders: The larger producers also spend a higher percentage of their gross compensation on advertising efforts.

That's probably not just coincidental, marvelous people.

Try this exercise:

Pull open your QuickBooks or whatever accounting program you use, and find out exactly what percentage you're actually spending now on advertising. (Hint: The first time you look, you'll be shocked. Unless you track it monthly already, you will amaze yourself. Drop me a line and tell me what you discover.)

Decide now what you will be setting aside for future advertising efforts.

One last thought for this month: remember the example of Shamu at Sea World. Shamu will not continue to perform without being fed. So, too, must you feed your business with properly allocated advertising and marketing dollars.

Put your mind to work on the two questions above. Complete the exercise. Set your decided plan into motion. And let us know how you progress.  Stay tuned next week for Part II of Find Your Hidden Money

WANT TO USE ONE OF THESE TIPS IN YOUR EZINE, BLOG OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Marvin LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Best Seller (Come Hell or High Water) Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. For a totally different experience at your next workshop, conference, or convention, contact him today at marvin@marvinleblanc.com"

I've read for over 25 years and in that time read many articles and books about the sales conversation. My conclusion is that you as the sales person should listen 70% of the time. It has been noted that most people are not only doing most of the taking but also are not skilled listeners.

In your own experience, if it's part of your job to present, how often are you listening 70% of the time? We'd like to hear your thoughts and feelings on this.

Recently, my team and I were conducting a tandem appointment with an individual that has lost their spouse unexpectedly. We were totally committed to really listening well and totally focusing in on how this spouse was transitioning through the ordeal. But our early questions, which were not met with any resistance, did not jumpstart the individual into deep dialogue.

So what do you do at this point? I am sure you been in conversations, (business or personal) that you're not quite sure of the direction of the conversation. It happens all the time.

So in this case, we were prepared with meaningful questions that would help the bereaved spouse get to a better place. The conversation then began to flow and gain momentum once we (took the lead).

We asked many probing questions that the spouse had never considered, and there was no resistance to the probing questions because we were patient, because we had prepared our thoughts and because we had established trust.

Consider These Questions:

1. What is my (talk/listen) ratio when I'm in a one to one conversation?

2. What is my talk/listen ratio when I'm in a small group conversation? (Say, five people or less)

3. What is my talk/listen ratio if I'm in a classroom setting and I'm mostly teaching and training?

After working through these three questions, did your ratio stay relatively the same or did they change? The purpose of this was to assist you with gaining better clarity and awareness of your own talk/listen ratio.

I suggest that if your conversations are not yielding the results you desire, spend extra time on these three items. Be more patient with the other party, spend more time on preparing your thoughts prior to the conversation, stay obsessed with finding better ways to connect and establish real, authentic trust.

Marvin LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Best Seller (Come Hell or High Water) Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. For a totally different experience for your next workshop, conference, or convention, visit with him today.

A disaster can bring new focus to your company. 

Every June, I get scared. As a survivor of Hurricane Katrina I still shiver when hurricane season begins. During this week I often reflect on the events of that storm from 8 years ago.
Each year when hurricane season hits, the level of fear from my client base really goes up, and anytime you see a hurricane icon on the Weather Channel move into the Gulf of Mexico, you can bet my phone is ringing more.

As you may know, I was on a spiritual retreat when Katrina hit my office (and home) in August 2005. The office was flooded with 12 feet of water and had "tornado activity" on the roof. On top of that, my house shared the adjacent property line with a broken levy.
Needless to say, my home and office were destroyed. My wife and I evacuated north to a relative's home (which was not much better; they were cut off from electricity and, more importantly, air conditioning).

My employees and clients were displaced as well. Cellphones weren't working very well, but clients were able to send text messages many of them frantic pleas for help. After the storm we realized it was going to be a long road back. As the cleanup began, I found myself working 20-hour days, six days a week for 18 months.  You may wonder why I had to do this. 

Sixty-eight percent of my income was lost in the first 100 days after the storm. The insurance department in the state of Louisiana mandated all insurance companies not send out premium notices. Premiums were waived.

If you're a full-commission salesperson and people are not paying their bills, you're 

not getting income.

In addition to the decrease in income I also had lost nearly all of my employees. I had to figure out how to serve my customers with limited information and no staff. We were not prepared for this disaster and that ma

de the aftermath even more difficult.

I sure did learn the hard way about how to be prepared for a disaster: Backing up records, keeping bottled water and nonperishable food in the office and keeping a working generator on site is critical, for instance.

As time went on and I rebuilt my business I was asked to speak about my experience -- first at local groups, conferences and nonprofits, but the speaking events always led to another larger event, and now I have the privilege to speak all over the country.

Back then I didn't have a fee; I was just telling my story.

Friends and acquaintances were also encouraging me to write a book, a process that was so emotional that I didn't start until two years later. My book Come Hell or High Water (Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina) was published in 2011 and became an Amazon Best Seller.

I learned countless lessons from Katrina. In addition to realizing I could create an entire second stream of income for myself through speaking engagements and writing, I am now a better prepared as a business owner for disasters. 

In 2004, before Katrina, I was feeling insurance business burnout and becoming disengaged from my practice. I no longer felt needed. I no longer felt like I could make a difference. When the storm hit, my customers needed me like never before. I made a decision to re-engage even while dealing with my own hardships.

Seven years later, I am still running my insurance agency (albeit from another office), as well as getting more speaking engagements than ever.

Do you have a story about a disaster?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.  If you are looking to motivate your group please contact me to see how I can help.  

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF,CNP

Hello Marvelous People,

Andy Shaw passed this story to me and now I give it to you.

A fighter visited a great sage in Japan.

The fighter was afraid of losing and asked for guidance. The sage told him not to worry, not to be afraid. He said he had a powder that would make him unbeatable. He told him it made everyone else he gave it to unbeatable as well.

The fighter listened intently. The sage then gave him the powder and told him how to mix it with water every day.

He said that if he drank it in water before his fights he would be assured of victory. This powder would give him strength, speed and stamina it would make him invincible!

For many years afterwards this fighter was unstoppable. He never lost a single bout. He was absolute perfection, just as the sage predicted.

The Real Powder

Then one day the fighter visited the sage to ask for more information about the powder. He wanted to know why it was so powerful and what was in it that made it so effective. At this point the sage asked the fighter to follow him.

The sage led the fighter to a shed where food supplies were stacked. He reached into a sack, grabbed a handful of powder and let it fall form his hands.

“This is the magic powder I gave you”, said the sage.

The fighter drew closer to the sack and proceeded to read the writing on the bag. Before the fighter could open his mouth the sage said, “It is flour. I gave you flour used for baking!”

“You gave me what?” Said the fighter. “Flour?”

“Yes, I gave you flour,” the sage. “And this proves that you won the fights because you had the 'knowing' that the powder gave you everything you needed to succeed.

It is this 'knowing' that causes success or failure. You could’ve succeeded without the powder if you 'knew' you would. When you 'know' something, there is no doubt. No resistance. When you 'know' something, your mind, body, and the power of heaven and earth conspire to make it come to reality. According to your 'knowing' you have achieved your victories. Now go back to your training 'knowing' what you do now, as you did with the powder ... and victory will be yours!

Marvelous People, always know 3 things:

1. In the midst of your hardest struggles, you are NEVER alone!

2. If you are feeling unloved; the best way to find it is to give it.

3. Inside you, right now, you have your very own special "powder". Let it out. Do something!

WANT TO USE ONE OF THESE TIPS IN YOUR EZINE, BLOG OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Marvin LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Best Seller (Come Hell or High Water) Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. For a totally different experience at your next workshop, conference, or convention, contact him today at marvin@marvinleblanc.com"

Soccer moms and dads, employees, middle managers, laborers, corporate executives and entrepreneurs: The time to unite is now! It’s time to embrace the concept that, regardless of what activities you’re juggling, you can control what you do and when you do it.

Here are a few general time-management tips that will help you maintain your sanity and balance:

• Do specific projects, activities and tasks at the appointed time.
• Routines and habits are vital if you desire to get more done in less time.
• Focus on accomplishing what you truly desire and what's most important to you.
• Don't focus on how difficult it is to stay disciplined. It's not discipline that you are lacking. It's that you have not truly decided what you want out of life.
• If you only listen to others tell you what your direction should be, you will only end up in the place that they envision. That is NOT your life. That is their life, which they are living vicariously through you.

Now that you’ve examined your perspective, consider these appointment possibilities as you design a better, more structured and more fulfilling life:
Plan a regular date night with your partner.

Do the same with your kids. In my travels with our Marvelous Performance Schools, all too often parents tell me they have no life because they are "taxi drivers" for their kids. Guess what, lots of kids don't want to be in all those activities either. Hello! Would you please communicate with the stakeholders? Could you simplify and increase your quality of life by dropping one or two activities that you really don't care about anymore? Would this help inspire you to do something different? You really can get off the Hamster Treadmill of life. Did I mention, doing something different? Yep, I did. Twice.

Schedule regular alone time. In The Power of Pause, Terry Hershey discusses how essential it is to get quiet and get alone. Discover new possibilities with this read. I did.

Allow for free-wheeling web surfing. Get new experiences added to your subconscious mind. Go get an iPad and lose the TV. Your way of living is not the only way to live. Nothing can take you around the world faster than a 25-minute Google session.
Make space for spiritual time. There is an infinite creator and our spirit and soul life is everlasting. Carve out time just to listen and to be.

Keep a resting appointment – and not just at night. Rest throughout the day. Thomas Edison would often work 40 hours without sleeping. However, he routinely practiced the habit of resting in 15- and 30-minute intervals. How can you plan your day around a few resting intervals?

In my experience, the irony is that when I create the boundaries of set appointments, I am able to serve more people and live a fuller, more meaningful life. Add a few more purposeful appointments to your life, and you too will see your life become richer, more peace-filled and more productive. 

Tell us what other things you do to lead a happier life? 

WANT TO USE ONE OF THESE TIPS IN YOUR EZINE, BLOG OR WEBSITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Marvin LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Best Seller (Come Hell or High Water) Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. For a totally different experience at your next workshop, conference, or convention, contact him today at marvin@marvinleblanc.com"

As a Corporate Training Specialist for the Dale Carnegie Courses in the early '80's, I had the honor to meet a man named Morris Starnes. Morris was one of our students in our Baton Rouge Dale Carnegie Course.

This is his true story. I was there in attendance.

When Morris would get paid, he would put all of his bills in his hat.

He would pull each bill out 1 by 1 and would write the check for that particular bill.

When he was out of money, he would not pay the remaining bills. His viewpoint was that he did all he could do, until next time. Back to work he would go. 

So as fate would have it, an angry bill collector calls Morris one night demanding he pay the bill owed.

Morris, an honorable hard working man, explained to the collector that he knew that he owed the bill, but that the bill collector has just been unlucky for 2-3 months in a row. At this point, the confused bill collector asked Morris to explain himself.

So Morris, in his slow, country drawl patiently explains to the caller his bill paying system.

Step 1
All bills go in his hat.
Step 2
Lucky bills get pulled out of hat and paid.

Morris ends his call by asking the collector, now lets understand something, you do realize if you all me again and bug me about that bill, I will take your bill out of the hat? So, don't call me and pray for good luck. If you do that, you might just get paid next month.

When Morris shared his story with us, he was stone cold serious. At the end of him telling us what he told the collector, our group howled and roared with laughter.

This soft spoken, hard working, blue collar tree cutter never knew how powerful of a communicator he really was. But he knows now.

Morris grew immensely in our course and we were all the better for having to meet Morris Starnes.

This is the system Morris used to stop worrying about his bills. Perhaps it will work for you.

Do you have a topic or a question you would like to have covered in our blog?  If so please email Marvin@marvinleblanc.com with your small business challenge or question.  

Don't miss valuable content for your business.  Stay connected with our monthly newsletter. 

Peace, Love and Gumbo,

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

More than likely, if you are in sales you’ve never even looked up the word. Be honest, you haven’t have you, yet you expect people to take you seriously when you try to gain their attention for your own purposes, right? It is not unreasonable to ask you to spend a little time learning about your craft, is it? I mean after all you do it for a living, don’t you? You know you’re probably the same person that gets offended when someone finds out you’re in sales and you kind of feel sheepish or embarrassed that they find out that that is what your life work is all about.

Starting now, it doesn’t ever have to be that way again. Starting now, you will actually come top appreciate the sales profession. I wholeheartedly believe it is the most important honorable and worthy position in the entire economy. From here on out you will finally know the truth about sales. You’ll finally be informed, don’t be lazy again. I’ll let you slide this one time.

You see the root word of sales came from the old English word “sellan.” And now for its profound meaning, what did the word “sellan” mean? Do you know? The word “sellan” means to give. Now stop for a second and really think this through. This is critical. Sales means to give. It doesn’t mean to share half truths; it doesn’t mean to be slick; it doesn’t mean to take because you’re more street savvy than your potential customer; it doesn’t mean to be manipulative. It means to give.

As my mentor Lefty Lefton once said, “You Got That? Cause if you ain’t got that you ain’t got nothing,” So you want to sell more? Then sell—by giving, by educating, by going the extra mile. And by sincerely showing your appreciation. In a word, by giving a darn. More for the value that the client will receive than what you may or may not get out of it.

Please understand I am currently booked 6 weeks in advance for various lunch appointments, phone appointments, and review appointments. And many people will gladly wait for their appointment. Do you know why? Because the value that they receive and the feelings that they will share and the work that we will do to protect their assets and grow their wealth or grow their businesses is well worth the wait. Are you worth the wait? Are you adding extra value? My team and I want to be great. We want to be difference makers. We want to be, as Robert Palmer sings, “Simply Irresistible.”

How about you? When you focus so hard on the give first, the price for your product becomes irrelevant. I can hear you now, oh now hang on Marvin, you don’t know what I go through, my prices at my company are way higher than the competition. So what! That is such bologna. That is such victim thinking, if you haven’t read the book by called Ownership Thinking by Dr. Dennis Deaton, you need to get the book and you need to get off of this whole consciousness of victim thinking. The reason people do not buy from you has nothing to do with your price. People have always bought what they wanted, not what they could afford. They are emotional beings that buy emotionally. They decide to not buy from you not because your price is too high but because your perceived value is just too low.

Everyday you should be obsessed with asking yourself the following question: What extra value or service that I can make available to my clients that’s not necessarily tied to directly to increasing my own income. Print that question, laminate it, put it in your pocket, go drink a cup of coffee, alone, on your back patio, quietly, think about what you can do for your client. You will flat blow your competition away when you come up with something unique and valuable.

Having a bunch of good and bright employees can be both gratifying and stressful. It is because efficient employees greatly contribute to the company’s productivity. It is stressful at the same time since it would be very disadvantageous if these employees suddenly leave the company. Not thinking about keeping these employees, and actually keeping the personnel resources intact with great people, could jeopardize the company’s continued success.

Ideal Employee Requirements

No one wants to work with lousy employees. Most business owners want their employees or work team members to be ideal as much as possible. Just like the requirements of American business magnate Warren Buffett on his employees:

• highly intelligent
• highly energetic
• have high integrity and
• have at least an intermediate skill in computers

Any company may not afford to take time in training new employees about computers. To have these employees is to scout for them, and continually do so. Even if they are already around the organization, they might leave someday for greener pastures, considering they, being of high demand.

Scouting for Ideal Employees

During the hiring process, the employer would get the vision and concept of the prospective employee about the business. The entrepreneur can also gauge the chemistry of the new employee and the management. Experts also said that in order to hire the right people, they rather convince them not to take the position. They explained the bad side of the company like work pressure, long working hours, etc. By being honest to the applicants, they already filtered who shall stay long or not. This minimizes turnover and waste of time. They do not want to train the employees only to see them leaving too soon and this is a way to eliminate prospective employees who wouldn’t have made it to the job anyway. Telling the applicants the truth is just being honest which would also do justice to both the applicants as well as to the employers.

Myths About Keeping Employees

Many believe that employers have multiple ways to keep their employees with them, even those who are on high demand. The following are some myths about keeping them:

• Key employees will stay especially when economy is tough as they are afraid of losing income. This is wrong because uneasiness caused by the tough economy can threaten security. When they are undervalued, employees would be unproductive and start looking for something better.

• Employees can be loyal when treated well. Even if treated well, employees would change jobs if they are not happy with the positions they are holding. They would only stay if they also have the feeling of fulfillment in their respective corporate roles.

To keep the talents happy and stay put is to determine the objectives of the company, and find individuals who are able to meet these objectives. Employees need to be motivated as well as engaged so they will stay long.

More Numbers Creates Stability

Sometimes, employers hold on to their employees because they stop scouting for more talents. Or do not have the right strategy to attract the right employees. As the main drive of the organization, employees are people; and people are the only ones capable of achieving the company’s goals by carrying out systems and perform deliveries. New ones can bring fresh vibe to the organization while keeping the balance in the human resource so as not to lose productivity. More numbers can create more stability and strength. To attract more talents, the recruitment process should be in itself strategic, interesting and exciting.

Need some motivation for your group?

Pick my brain, bring me to your group, or get signed up for some one on one coaching. Click here for information or drop me an email at marvin@marvinleblanc.com

Building Client Relationships with a Different Twist

I just got off of the phone with one of my top 200 clients. I called them
for a completely unrelated subject that had nothing to do with their
current program with me or the sale of any products or services to them.

I called my client because my Business Network Group had an opening for a new member. I felt my client would be the type of member that would be great for our group & our group would be great for them.

Point #1: People can find out how you think, how you do business, what
your integrity is like and all sorts of important things that may not have anything
directly to do with the sale or services your company offers at that exact moment.

Point #2: Think like your customer. Brainstorm with your team. Ask the question,
"if I was the CEO of our customer's company, what opportunities in the marketplace
should I be taking advantage of?" Then connect your customer with those opportunities.

Folks, this type of strategic thinking makes you irresistible to your customer & it becomes
very hard for them to leave you. Why? Because you are offering something of VALUE to
them far beyond the sales transaction.

Slow down, re-read this blog.  Think it through. Alone. Then with your people. This is an
excellent topic for your next meeting. It's amazing what kind of ideas your group can come
up with. What "out of the box" strategies & opportunities can we offer our clients?

"THINK - and then - GROW RICH!"

If you are looking for some one on one coaching or a motivational message for your team get in touch with me.  I am always happy to help make others more successful.  

The best way to reach me is to email tina@marvinleblanc.com. 

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin