Extraordinary People

Are You Ready for the Economic Turnaround?

Regardless of the ups and downs of the financial markets, economic indicators have clearly been pointing to the fact that we’re on the way out of the recession.  Light is now visible at the end of the tunnel!  Before we move too close to the recovery, have you taken advantage of the opportunities of the downturn?

Although many have been, not all businesses have been suffering during this recession; sales may have been down, but they haven’t been in dire straits.  In fact, they’ve been positioned to grow and capture opportunities while their competitors have been going out of business!  If you’re a smart business owner, you’re taking steps now so that when the next recession hits – and it will – you’ll find yourself in a much better position than you are in now.

The average small business owner acts very much like the average investor – they buy high and sell low.  When the economy is booming and revenue is flowing, they invest in growing the business and buying new assets.  The problem is that they’re paying top dollar for those new assets – buying high.  Because they invested all of their excess resources on expensive assets instead of saving it to buy when the economy is down, they often have to liquidate when the next recession hits – selling low.

The smart business owner is looking around and taking advantage of future growth opportunities now!  If you’ve been telling yourself that you’ll expand and invest in your business only when the economy turns around, you’ll have missed out on some great opportunities.  

You may not be able to do everything now, but chances are there are opportunities within your reach that will save you money and increase potential for future revenue.  If you want to truly position yourself to optimize the growth potential of your business when the market is good, you need to find a way to make some investment now.  

It may require sacrifice, but it will fundamentally change the future of your business for the positive.  Now is the time that it will be most painful.  However, when the market turns around, your work isn’t complete.  Instead of spending, you’ll need to take those excess proceeds and put them away so that when the next recession hits, you’ll be strong and really positioned for huge growth.

Smart business owners who are positioned correctly take advantage of the opportunities present in every part of the economic cycle!  Yes, there is a “good” side to a recession.  What can you do now to move your business closer to benefiting from the roller coaster ride and not suffering because of it?

Are Sales and Clients Falling Through the Cracks?

We’ve been looking at how systems affect the bigger picture of our business where the importance may be a bit more difficult to grasp for those fighting for survival.  So let’s take a look at the importance of systematizing at the ground level.

Do you ever get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realise that you’ve let a potential client fall through the cracks?  You didn’t follow up and now they’ve grown cold.  Or how about this one!  Have you been getting lots of people saying they’ll do business with you and it never materializes?  You’re missing very important systems!

Prospect Follow Up

When you’re out networking and you meet someone new, what do you do next to manage them as a prospect?  A very important system that is often absent in small businesses is a fully developed system to take a prospect from first meeting to ultimate determination as client or not a client. 

The second communication is crucial to the likelihood of that person becoming a client.  Wait too long and you’ve lost the initial rapport you built and they may not remember you.  This second communication is also the point where you establish expectations of future communications.

So who is responsible for the second communication and what type of communication is it?  Do you do it yourself or is it something that a staff person can handle?  Is it an email, handwritten note or phone call?  If it’s a written communication, do you have a prepared template to follow so that you save the time of creating original content? 

Originality and personalization is important, but not as important as time frame.  Often people put off that communication because they’re not inspired to write the “right” thing.  And then, too much time goes by and the opportunity is lost.  This is a time when you must strike when the proverbial iron is hot.

Closing Business

A second area where lack of a system could be costing you money is in closing a sale.  Have you ever gotten a verbal commitment to move forward and then couldn’t get the “new client” to complete the paperwork or make the payment to take the next step?  Then all of a sudden they aren’t returning your calls and email messages!

A proper system can help increase the odds that the verbal commitment leads to a true client. Buyer’s remorse is powerful and if you aren’t careful, you’ll not only let them get off the hook, you’ll help them!  When you have a concise system of next steps that is clearly communicated at the time of the sale and that includes direct contact with you soon after the sale, you’ll make it much more difficult for the new client to back out.

Is lack of systems costing you money?  If you’re not ready to systematize your entire business, I highly recommend that you look at those areas crucial to business revenue and develop systems that will increase your odds of success!

‘Undercover Boss’ Illustrates that Your People are Your Competitive Advantage

A new television show started recently called, “Undercover Boss.”  In this show, CEOs of some of the country’s largest companies go “undercover” in their own organisation for a week working in various entry-level positions.  The CEO picking up rubbish, scrubbing toilets and mopping the floor – don’t we all wish we could see that?  Unfortunately, those that have gotten to see it didn’t know that it was the CEO until after the fact (but at least it was caught on video!).

A recent episode covered the largest convenience store chain in the world, 7-Eleven.  The CEO, Joe DePinto, visited the store that sells the most coffee in the U.S. – an average 2,500 cups a day!  But, that’s not the amazing part.  What was most amazing was that the store manager, Delores, knew all of the customers’ names!  Meanwhile, Joe struggled to make the coffee without it running all over the place.

Now, 7-Eleven may have good coffee, but since other 7-Eleven stores aren’t having duplicate results, I would hazard a guess that people aren’t coming just for the coffee.  They’re coming for Delores’ smile and personal greeting to start their day.  Starbuck’s could be 50 feet away selling Grande Latte’s for £1 and they would probably still go to 7-Eleven.

Delores is their competitive advantage.  You can directly trace a significant portion of that store’s sales to her.  Do you have a Delores?

This example truly epitomises what I have been saying about how valuable an asset your people are and how big a role they play in creating a happy business.  You could feel the positive energy running throughout the store; everyone just wanted to be there.

Jack Lannom developed what is known as the People First^TM philosophy.  “When people are honoured and appreciated for not only what they do but also for who they are, it develops an environment that gives people freedom to be their best and to do their best.”  The important thing to realise, however, is that a People First^TM philosophy is also smart business and profitable.  Just see Delores and her 2,500 cups of coffee a day!

If you have a Delores, consider yourself very fortunate and do everything possible to give her room to continue helping you grow your business.  If you don’t have an obvious Delores, look closely at all of your staff for a “Delores in the rough.”  Chances are you have a loyal, intelligent and ambitious employee who can easily be nurtured into becoming a full-fledged Delores.

More Business Myths: Cheaper, Better or “Cool” Doesn’t Equal Success

Many small business owners or people considering starting small businesses are operating under false assumptions that could keep them from ever reaching success.  Not only that, but the stress resulting from the almost inevitable outcome causes not only personal unhappiness, but if a family is involved can greatly damage relationships.  So, what are more of these dangerous myths?

You Don’t Like to Be Sold To, So Why Hard Sell Your Own Clients?

Selling has changed a lot since the days of Willy Loman.  Consumers are much more knowledgeable and sophisticated and they can see a sales pitch coming from a mile away.  And consumers aren’t only the prospects and clients you’re trying to sell to, they’re you too!  You’re a consumer, so you should ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone was making this sales pitch to me?” 

What exactly is the difference between traditional sales and attraction marketing? 

Traditional Sales

• You’re in control.  You decide who you approach, who you pitch, and what you offer.  However, the prospects usually aren’t interested at first so you have to start the sale by building interest before you can try to sell.

• ABC – Always Be Closing.  The goal is to make the sale; get the prospect to say, “Yes.”  Then move on the next sale. 
• You’ll get a lot of “no’s.”  However, numbers are always on your side.  As long as you keep finding prospects – no matter how ideal – and keep asking, you’ll get enough “yes’s” to be successful. You just have to be strong enough to withstand it.

Attraction Marketing

• You can only control the message and materials you send out.  For the most part, prospects will self select themselves and come to you.  The great part is that you know they’re interested before you start.
• Establish yourself as an expert.  When you are seen as the expert in your field, prospects close themselves because they want to work with the best. 
• Relationships are everything and good client service is crucial.  The worst thing that can happen is that clients and prospects openly speak negatively about you.  The damage to your credibility as the expert can be enormous and you may not recover. 

The biggest difference is that one is positive and the other negative.  The approach you choose to take affects how you feel as a person and a business. 

With traditional selling, you deal with “no” every day and you spend your time convincing people to buy something in which they may have not been interested or even needed.  The result is that you’ll get customers with buyer’s remorse who aren’t happy and want refunds.  Will you be happy spending your time in this manner?  At the end of the day, can you easily recover from being beaten down and rejected?

With attraction marketing, you’re working with people who want to work with you.  You’re also improving prospects lives – even if they don’t become clients – by educating them on important topics and issues that can help them.

It’s easier and quicker and you’re much more likely to make money right away using traditional selling techniques.  The question is which is more important to you – making money or being happy?  There’s no right or wrong, and if you’re getting started you may have to utilize some traditional selling to get money coming in.  Just be careful that you don’t damage the long term goal of establishing yourself as that expert.

Business Paralysis – Too Much of a Bother or Fear of Failure?

 

The New Year is a big motivator to take action on projects we’ve been putting off for a long time – both business and personal.  Why does it seem that we need something as momentous as the start of a new calendar year to get us going?  The real question, however, is what was preventing us from taking action in the first place?

As business owners, we know that our businesses need to always be innovating, changing and growing in order to thrive.  Yet, we can tend to procrastinate the implementation of projects that will improve the company.  Why is that?  Even when we know it’s a change for the good?

Treating Your Suppliers like Vendors to be Easily Replaced Could be the Death of Your Business

 
Whether your suppliers provide food for a restaurant, raw industrial materials for a manufacturer or marketing materials for a professional service, the success of your business depends on having a good, trusting relationship with your suppliers.  When your suppliers’ products end up in the hands of your clients, your clients see them as yours; they have no knowledge of the originating company.  Therefore, if the products are substandard – or even bad – then that reflects directly on you.

When you build strong relationships with your suppliers, they will be more willing and open to helping you, saving you money, and giving you the best products they have.  If your suppliers see you only as a revenue stream or, worse yet, as a problem customer, then you never know what you’re going to get.  Who hasn’t had a bad day, gone into a restaurant, been ruder to their wait staff than they would under normal circumstances and then wondered if they spit in their food?  Luckily – in this situation – you don’t have to worry about passing that food onto your customer as representative of you not knowing if it’s the best quality!

Evaluating Training Programs – Do You Know Your ROI?

Training and education are critical to the growth of your business.  The more that you and your employees know about your business and the sharper your skills become, the more effective and efficient your business will be.  However, training costs money and – unfortunately – it is often difficult to measure the ultimate results.  So, how much should you be investing in training? 

 

When I talk about training, I mean everything from books and small online seminars to major conferences and classes.  Many small business owners shy away from more expensive training options because they are “big ticket” purchases.  However, they drop $30, $50, and even up to $100 several times throughout the year in an attempt get the same training in cheaper, roundabout ways.  Often, the end result of trying to save money to get needed training is that the business owner spends the same or even more on less effective methods.

The smart business owner carefully evaluates their training programs to make sure they are getting the biggest bang for the buck.  There are also other good reasons for evaluating training. It helps you to:

• track the development of staff knowledge and skills
• find out if the learning is being applied in the workplace
• identify training gaps and future training needs
• establish if the investment was worthwhile
• inform future training plans and strategy
• ensure training continuously improves

Evaluating and measuring training is not easy, but it is the only way to know if you are getting an acceptable return on your investment.  This isn’t to say that only expensive training is worthwhile and cheap training is throwing away money, because it all comes down to what you need to get out of the training.

Therefore, the first step is to clearly understand the true need for the training.  You also need to know the learning capabilities of the person taking the training.  Not everyone learns in the same way.  Handing a book to someone who learns best by hearing is not going to give you great results. 

Lastly, you need to determine how big of a positive impact the successful implementation of the training will have on your business.  For example, training staff on software that manages the entire operation of your business will clearly help the business run more efficiently.

However, this is just the beginning.  As we move forward with our Happiness Equation, we will talk more in depth about the evaluation of staff training.

Keeping Your Suppliers Happy is Crucial in a Bad Economy

You’ve likely seen stories in the news about major companies extending the amount of time before they will pay their suppliers for the materials they’ve purchased – sometimes even by double!  In an economy where sales are down and cash flow is tight, that probably sounds like a smart business decision, right?  Not likely.

Although large companies could probably get away with it because of their size and power, the ultimate cost still makes it a bad decision no matter what size your company is.  First, just because you choose to pay later, that doesn’t mean that the supplier will willingly adjust the finance charges and late fees they impose on payments made beyond their acceptable terms.  So it literally costs more to pay later.

Outsourcing – A Great Way to Increase Happiness, Efficiencies and Profits in Small Businesses

Outsourcing has gotten a lot of bad press because it often results in job layoffs within a company.  Large
companies looking to reduce costs and eliminate overhead often outsource non core business services.  Although those are also benefits for small businesses, where small businesses have the largest margin for gain is in the ability to refocus all of their attention on the core functions of the business – which is also what they do best!

What exactly is outsourcing?  Outsourcing is when you contract out part of your business function to a third party for a substantial period of time.  The third party is then responsible for the success of that function.  Commonly outsourced business functions include accounting, catering, cleaning, maintenance, human resources, marketing, advertising, customer service, etc.