Change is hard, but expecting people to move without a clear path forward is like convincing a river to carve a new path through solid rock.
Change requires heavy lifting and controlled demolition. You have to make it easy, or you'll be fighting against the current. You might be able to keep it up for a while, but ultimately, it's a failing strategy.
Most people aren't afraid of a good challenge, but they need stability. They need predictable environments so they can focus their instincts on solving the actual problems the work presents instead of wasting time trying to resolve the uncertainty of a path that has yet to be paved.
Recognize it's human nature to follow the path of least resistance and build with this in mind. If you want change to go through smoothly, don't ask people to do the bulk of the work; carve out a path and make it easy.
🌟📚 The Path of Least Resistance for Managers, by Peter Senge
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, one of the most revolutionary tools at our disposal is ChatGPT. Imagine it as an actor on the stage of digital communication, ready to perform a multitude of roles with just a nudge in the right direction. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just diving into the world of AI, understanding how to direct this talented performer can transform your interaction with technology. Let's break down how to harness the power of ChatGPT, making it simple, accessible, and effective for everyone.
Dave Birss's course on How To Write and Research Using Generative AIis a great resource for anyone with a Premium LinkedIn account. He'll teach you the basics behind what the industry calls prompt engineering or the information you feed ChatGPT to give you a more qualified answer. One of his key points is to use the CREATE prompt format:
Character, Request, Examples, Adjustments, Type, and Extras.
CHARACTER
Imagine Chat GPT is an actor, and you are telling it who it is, how to act, or what to emulate. What's the tone? Who is the one giving you an answer? Are they an expert copywriter? If so, what subject matter expertise do they have?
"You're a talented copy writer and social media manager, with 20 years experience writing high-performing sales copy and engaging social media content."
REQUEST
Add as many details about what you want to be created (think about what you would include in a creative brief). Is it persuasive, educational, entertaining, informational, etc? Is it for a five-year-old or a seasoned professional? What do you want your audience to feel and experience? Is it inspiring or direct?
"Compose a captivating sales page for mechanical engineering services that addresses common pain points. The goal is to intrigue and persuade potential customers to book a meeting."
EXAMPLES
Provide a few examples of what you're looking for. If you have the premium version of ChatGPT, you can upload attachments to pull from specific examples.
"Look to leading engineering service providers' brochures and websites for inspiration. Emulate the clear, concise way they convey complex services, their benefits, and how they address specific client needs."
ADJUSTMENTS
Tell it what to do and not to do. Give ChatGPT direction on what to emphasize or avoid, akin to a director refining an actor's portrayal to fit the vision better—focus on clarity, avoid jargon, and maintain reader engagement.
"Ensure the language is accessible to non-experts without diluting the technical prowess behind the services. Balance technical accuracy with engaging storytelling to highlight case studies or success stories."
TYPE
Tell it what type of content or output you want, i.e., a poem, social post, table, list, blog, newsletter, invitation, subject line, product description, pitch, etc.
"Craft this content in the format of a print-ready brochure, organized with engaging titles, bullet-pointed services and benefits, client testimonials, and a clear call to action for consultations."
EXTRAS
Ask it to provide you with more questions to help it give you a better answer or explore tangents and related research questions. You can also tell it to explain its thinking or how it came to the conclusion it provided you.
Favorite Go-To Uses:
Sample Problem 1: I need a marketing expert with subject matter expertise in a specific topic and someone who can help me find a better way to achieve the tone and style I'm going after, as well as details specific to each target audience.
Prompt: You're a talented copy writer and social media manager, with 20 years experience writing high-performing sales copy and engaging social media content. Take the following blog post (copy and paste your content) and create LinkedIn and Instagram posts for ________ target audience.
Sample Problem 2: I have no knowledge of a specific topic, such as something industry or role-specific, and a jargon-rich email was just sent my way.
Prompt: You're an expert in ______ and _____ and great at explaining complex and jargon-rich topics to general audiences unfamiliar with the subject matter expertise of the topics at hand. Explain "_______" to me in an easy-to-understand way and use an example that makes it easy to visualize.
Sample Problem 3: I have a massive PDF to read over to find something specific that goes beyond a control-F command and requires critical thinking and understanding of the document. Maybe I'm writing a content piece and need insight from the research study, or maybe I'm trying to determine if a 50+ page notice of funding announcement is worth it for my client to explore opportunities.
Prompt: (Upload PDF to ChatGPT-4) | You're an expert in ______ and _____, (then list your questions and judgement criteria you have for said document that you want to discover from reading it).
Guiding ChatGPT is like directing a play where your words shape the script. With a nudge here and there, it's ready to bring your ideas to life. For more tips and tricks,reach out for coffee sometime, and we'll talk more.
Getting your foot in the door with decision-makers requires breaking through the noise.
Consider an economic leader like America's Central Port and one of their 43,200 square-foot rail-served warehouse spaces like the one below.
As a leader in economic advancement for the Southwest Illinois region, the objective for the Port is not just to lease space; it's to attract tenants who will create the most economic impact each space can facilitate.
Great strategies start with well-defined constraints and leaders who understand you need a box before you can think outside of one.
For the typical 43,200 SF rail-served warehouse space, the box that we started with was to note that good-to-great customers would sign 3-5-year lease agreements with a high potential for renewal, hire an average of 5+ employees, and have a high potential for expansion and/or tenant improvements. Phenomenal customers were those who would also benefit from using rail, with a high potential for increased throughput.
Now, you can prompt ChatGPT to act like an industrial and commercial real estate expert, throw in this mix of desired traits, and you'll get a decent head start on what industries to begin looking at. However, pinpointing what it is about the building and location themselves that would make the properties at America's Central Port not just an option among many but a true value-add to a business takes a little more work.
This is where Never Industries thrives.
The example below explains the math behind getting from point A to point B, identifying both a target audience and the value-added narrative used to engage their attention.
Q1: What businesses rely on rail?
First, it's essential to recognize that businesses shipping or receiving in bulk see the greatest benefits from rail, driven by economies of scale.
Plastic manufacturers, for example, require the raw material of plastic, which comes in small pellet form and is transported in covered hopper railcars, the same type you might see used to transport grain and agricultural products. For every rail car of plastic pellets delivered to a manufacturer, it would take 3-4 trucks to deliver the same payload.
Beyond hopper cars used for a wide range of aggregates, there are rail cars designed to carry automobiles, large machinery, lumber, steel, coal, concrete, fertilizer, chemicals, gases, and the big 20 and 40-foot intermodal containers you might see on a large coastal ship that house just about everything available on Amazon's marketplace.
Considering the physical constraints associated with each 43,200 SF section and surrounding port infrastructure, the only rail cars that can be effectively unloaded via the rail docks attached to each warehouse are those transporting chemicals, grain, food inputs, plastic pellets, lumber, and other general cargo that could be offloaded via a boxcar or flatcar as seen in the illustration below.
Q2: What Is the Market For rail-served real estate options for manufacturers across the U.S.?
When you look at commercial and industrial facilities across the East and West coasts and rail hubs like Chicago, Memphis, Houston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and others, what you'll find are the occasional billion-dollar operations with the capacity to bring in hundreds of rail cars, but more frequently what you'll find are smaller 100,000+ square foot warehouses with rail spurs that allow a single tenant access to maybe four to seven rail cars at one time.
If you're Phillips 66 or BASF, you can afford your own plant with as much rail as you want. However, if you're a $10-500M chemical manufacturer, your options are limited.
If you are limited by available facilities, your next thought might be to build something new. Developing rail-served facilities on land adjacent to rail is a whole other ball game. For one, you have to get permission from the Class-I railroad to add a spur from their line to your site and convince them to service that particular location, which is not a walk in the park, even when you're a Fortune 500 company. If that process wasn't enough, then comes the actual cost of the rail track, which ranges between $200-$300+ per foot. Now, consider that a single liquid chemical railcar is 65 feet long. This means that if you want enough track for 50 railcars, you're looking at more than half a million for the track alone, and that's not counting the engineering costs to make it a reality. Banks aren't crazy about lending you the capital for rail either because it's not an easy asset to collateralize. Building a new rail-served facility is doable, but it's not easy, that's for sure.
41 Acre Site For Sale in Illinois | (Rail Spur & Union Pacific Railroad Approval Required)
Q3: how does America's Central Port compare to the rest of the market?
The Port makes it easy for chemical manufacturers to scale.
When it comes to the buildings and infrastructure at the Port, there are some limitations to each 43,200 square-foot space. The main issue is that equipment and machinery need to fit within each footprint due to the ceiling height and column spacing. The ceiling heights are 22 feet at the center and 14 feet on the eaves of each space, with column spacing measuring 60 feet by 20 feet. Therefore, only operations with equipment and machinery that can fit within each footprint will find these spaces to be a viable option.
Warehouse Interior at America's Central Port
Multiple chemical manufacturers and related operators fit this profile.
The advantage of chemical operations at the Port is that there are multiple lines of track throughout the property that can be used for interplant switching. This means that a warehouse with only four rail spots can still accommodate up to 60+ railcars, thanks to the additional tracks available year-round.
Now, here's where this gets really fun.
America's Central Port is home to all of the Class-I railroads, including Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, and BNSF. These carriers act as the interstate highways of rail, connecting major cities, coastal ports, and transportation hubs around the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico. This means that as a small to midsize chemical manufacturer, you can benefit from shipping your raw materials or finished products by rail to any rail-served facility in the country from a single location.
Economy-of-scale transportation advantages like abundant rail access translate into winning larger contracts and the flexibility to compete on price without sacrificing profit margins. When you can ship 40+ railcars of product to any coastal port in the U.S., you've now opened your doors to the global market and billion-dollar enterprises that can catapult your business to new heights. You can start small with an operation that is inbound and outbound by truck, only leasing what track you need at the time, giving you the flexibility to grow into more space and more track as your company grows with you. Being able to start small and scale into high-volume production at a single facility is a unique opportunity for chemical manufacturers that doesn't exist anywhere else in the U.S.
Conclusion:
Target Audience: Small to Midsize Chemical Manufacturers
Value Proposition: With access to all of the Class-I railroads, more than 20 miles of rail on the property, and the option to scale from a single rail spot to over 60 at any given time, warehouses at America's Central Port are perfect for small to midsize chemical manufacturers looking for options to grow and scale over time.
Understanding what problems you solve helps, but true connection happens when you can speak the language specific to your prospect's industry and why the problem you solve matters to their business. From that first call to the initial discovery meeting, when your questions are rooted in your customer's outcomes more than your own interests, you'll earn their full attention. Focus on how you add value, and craft your story from there.
Note: America's Central Port is not a client of Never Industries, Inc. The above case study is from my (Alex Burkart, President of Never Industries) work as Director of Strategic Marketing for America's Central Port.
