Blumsky’s selling point

Former Wellington mayor, shoe salesman and business mentor Mark Blumsky has written a book promoting the secrets to success for small business owners: differentiation and attitude. Slippers: Service and Selling begins with an allegory of Peter the plumber, who always wears slippers in his customers’ houses and is particular about cleaning up after each job. The moral of the story? He used the slippers and vacuum to create an impression. But these were not just gimmicks: they demonstrated Peter’s customer-focused attitude. “If you do have your clear point of difference and drive that with an attitude then you can actually do very well,” Blumsky says. “People don’t think about that enough. It doesn’t have to be big and flashy. A lot is attitudinal. The plumber respected the house and he used his slippers to show it.” Blumsky founded Mischief Shoes in 1990. He was Wellington’s mayor from 1995 to 2001.