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Using Promotional Products As Retail Babysitters

Jul 30

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

I almost laughed out loud. A clerk tried to explain the features and benefits of a hair dyer to a woman who had a small child with her. The clerk’s sales attempt was interrupted every 20 seconds with, “Mommy, look at this!”, followed by mommy’s horrified look as she foresaw three possible outcomes: 1) Junior was about to maim himself; 2) Junior was about to maim someone else; 3) Mommy was about to spend way more than she intended on something that she didn’t want — that was about to be broken into at least 5 pieces.

Since it wasn’t my kid, I found it hilarious. The salesperson was exasperated. And mommy? Well, mommy finally said, “hell with it”, took Devil Child by the arm and exited the store after a carefully stacked display of towels suddenly became un-stacked — because Junior wanted the towel on the bottom.

When children hinder the sales process, salespeople can’t effectively do their job and profits suffer. Smarter retailers know they MUST occupy the children if they want mommy and daddy’s attention. That’s where Retail Babysitters come in.

For a promotional item to serve as an effective Retail Babysitter it should meet the following criteria:

1) Be age appropriate;
2) Be clean and mess free;
3) Consume children’s time.

A fourth criteria that, while not mandatory to keep kids from sabotaging your sales efforts, is VITAL if you want to get the best R.O.I.:

4) Whenever possible, Retail Babysitters should contain a tangible component to aid in the continuing promotion of your business or service off-premise.

Logoed items that meet the above criteria include stickers, sticker sheets, waterless tattoos, coloring books, crayons, your letterhead and custom activity sheets.

Businesses such as flooring showrooms, vehicle dealerships and furniture stores where children remain visible, can create a children’s area with carpet, a table and chairs. Suggesting to small children that they make a card or picture for mommy and daddy can work wonders. You can provide your letterhead, 8 1.2″ x 11″ sheets of construction paper, logoed boxes of crayons and logoed stickers or sticker sheets.

Waterless temporary tattoos can also be used in this way as they transfer well to paper products as well as the skin. Themed coloring books with your imprint on them along with the crayons are another good option.

For older children, create custom activity sheets. For instance, the sheet for a flooring store could contain a word search where kids search for words such as flooring, carpet, vinyl, etc.; a word jumble; a maze and other activities.

If you can’t create a Kid’s Corner, placing a coloring book & crayons with some stickers and waterless tattoos in a logoed paper lunch bag can fill the bill. Many kids will sit on the floor next to the parents, look through the bag and begin to apply stickers, waterless tattoos, use the coloring books or decorate the paper bag.

To aid in off-premise promotion of your business, offer a monthly coloring contest. The kids either finish a coloring book picture while at the establishment or finish it at home. The parents can drop the finished picture off later. (This gets them back in the store). Pictures are displayed and once a month, one or more winners is chosen and goes up on the winner’s wall. Each child who turns in a drawing gets an entry prize of some sort with the monthly winners getting larger prizes. (Monthly winners must come in to claim their prize.)

To provide the most benefit to your establishment, all prizes (water bottles, plastic flyers, knit caps) carry your logo and contact information. You can also get lot’s of play out of featuring selected children’s drawings in your monthly newspaper/print ads and on your website. You can also use the drawings to create a custom business calendar.

If you work with a competent promotional products consultant, they can be on the lookout for and bring select items to your attention that are on closeout or are seasonal specials. This will also serve to keep your prize selection fresh and seasonally appropriate.

Children can be a salesperson’s worst nightmare. But with a little thought and the right promotional products to serve as Retail Babysitters, children can actually become an asset as you use them to leverage favor — and sales with the parents.

Sustainability and the start up.

Jul 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Starting out in business | 5 Comments

You got into business to do great things and then what do you suppose happened when you discovered it was all going “pear shaped…” You wondered what you had done to deserve the hassle, the pain, the torment, the lack of dollars, the lack of customers the lack of support… the list goes on, and on… and it happens way too easily.

Here are a few things to get you thinking and in your initial start up phase these things should be priority number one!

  1. Have I done enough research? – Not so much research that the business never gets started, but enough to know that what you want to do will be able to turn a profit, meet a need or want for the customers and provide the income you need to make a living and keep the business growing.
  2. Will I be happy? – In a job you can duck and weave, take holidays, take sick leave and so on to get out of a ‘dud period’, in business however, you are it. So will your business keep you happy, make you happy, or build up to happiness? If not, why do it? Any thing less than happiness is probably misery, and in business you cannot just walk away without losing something (lots of $$, self esteem, respect, etc.)
  3. Sustainability? Whats that? – You have a business idea, will it last, will it be something that peole want to have for a long while to come or will it be something that fades out in a short time frame (a year or two.) If you are in the research phase check out carefully if this will be the case, there is little sense in putting a lot of time and effort into something that will be gone in a year or two (e.g. some software ideas have come in and gone out in a few years.)

Now lets take a deeper look at what can be done.

  1. Find out as much as you can about the buisness side of the industry – For many going into business will mean they have worked in a role for many years, built the skills and so on, but not really built any buisness skills to assist them in their endeavours. No need to do a big fully blown business course that take years, but do get any short term training to assist you in business. Then ask questions about growth prospects for the industry as well as finding out why a business needs to grow to be sustainable. Do the figures, how much do you need to earn to make things REALLY viable, its not dificult to do, it just needs some thinking and a calculator to bring it to fruition.
  2. Happiness – Ask questions to find out what being in business is really going to be like, are other industry leaders in your chosen field that run businesses really happy? And how would you measure that? Too often I hear people say… “It will be ok, it will be worth it.” they set up and then fail… Is that worth it? “I would not change a thing…” Even though there was a lot of heartache and hassle? loss of $$ is that really worth it?
  3. Do more than the basic research – It’s easy to research on the internet and chat to a few business people, but what is life really like for the industry leaders in your chosen business area? How will you find that out? After all going into business is not just about the money and satisfaction, its about lifestyle. It’s also about sustainability, so you can create an asset that will be of REAL long term value to you. Ask more questions, get face to face with the RIGHT people, not just supporters of your ideas. Start asking questions about buisness plans and chat to business owners about what plans they have… (if any). And also ask how much money they had to put up to get the business started…

It might sound like I want to put people off going into business, (actually I doubt that I would stop anyone that has a head full of emotion wanting to start a business!) but really I want to make sure everyone with a buisness idea sets off on the task with a clear head and a solid set of goals, after all it’s the lifestyle choice that will probably be your biggest one (and hopefully the most profitable one), so do it properly.

To find out more about getting started in business, or planning for more buisness check out the business profile PDf file for more ideas and information.

Business Profiles

Strategy, tactics, methods? Which one???

Jul 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Negotiation, Planning, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

I have fielded a few enquiries over the past few months on how to market products and services and have noted there are a number of organisations that have started a business but had no ideas about the sales side, what tactics, strategies and or methods they will use to get people to spend $$ with them.

step 1. Know that you need a plan of action.

step 2. Know that you NEED to build a relationship with people so they trust your organisation enough to want to buy from you.

step 3. Find out what their needs are, then propose a solution.

step 4. Take time to develop all this and get it running… otherwise you will be chasing your tail…

Hope that helps!

The 12 page business plan

Jul 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

Okay some of you are saying “another one!”, we have a one pager, a fully blown (dunno how many) pager and now I have seen everything a 12 pager!

That’s okay I figure whatever works for you is a great plan to have. Too many clients have plans that don’t work, or no plan which I think is even worse.

So here goes a 12 page plan, are you ready for this one? (probably not…)

1. Get 12 peices of paper – (any size is okay) the bigger the better in most cases.

2. Write a month on the top of each – Jan to Dec.

3. Split each into four -  One each for Marketing – Management – Systems – Quality

4. Now fill in the gaps – For each of these area write in a few things that either need doing or you want to have them done at some stage.

Break it down into easy bullet points in each section and then take action each month to compete the tasks you set, spread themout in your diary and at the end of the month tick off those that have been started, those compelted and those not done transfer them tot he next month. Celebrate the competed ones, keep going on the rest.

NOTE: I have specified the four areas above, as I believe they will make the biggest difference to your business in moving it forward. It will generally cover all of your business activities anyway.

Have a go and see if you can devise a range of business goals from the above to make a solid difference in your business.

Pass me the keys please…

Jul 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

No not the keys to the car, the keys to my business success!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few keys to making your business better? For many in business its about building the team they have so they can leverage their time and money more effectively. So here goes, check these key tips out to help you create a team to assist you to be more successful in business.

1. Know you need to plan for people - If you aim to get staff at the last minute to fill a gap, chances are you will end up with a few challenges down the track, get a clear idea of what sorts of skills you want and the attitude you need to make the job work for you. Then hire carefully with these key points in mind.

2. Train them - Okay so you are not big on training, it does not need to be big, just effective. Make a list of what things they need to know and tick them off as you show them… Where things are, who the OHS officer is, how the system works, who does what, who their buddy is. Do it bit by bit and share the load with others if you have a few people in the team already.

3. Buddy them – Link the person to a buddy, a buddy will look after them for proably a few weeks until they know things inside and out. Then you can assess the persons performance three ways, from your observations, the buddies view point and a chat to the person in question.

4, Chat to them – Find out how day one went, then day two, day four, day seven and so on. Keep them in the loop about things that happen and things you expect. Remember to be friendly and fair, so tell all the team the same things in a friendly way, inspire them, don’t push them.

5. Start them late – Most people start a job on a monday, but what if its was a thursday or friday… they don’t get a brain overload that way and you ease them into the role in a more relaxed way… Chances are they will remember more of the info you want them to remember as well.

6. Career path - Provide a series of steps for them in the business, its probably only a title and then a small rise in pay, but it can build a sense of self esteem, self worth, growth and development and not just become another job they turn up to day in day out without any opportunities.

7. Reward them with incentives - It may only be a few small things, concession items like dinner for two, an award plague for x years of service, but the aim is to show you care about their contribution and provide the little things along the way that make their job worth doing. ure  you pay them but this little add ons can have a huge bonus effect becuase people generally love it when they are noticed for all the right things.

8. Share the businesses successes - Peoople often like feeling they played a part in the development of something and in this case it can be a big buzz to know you helped the business to win a job, create better systems and so on. BUT you have to tell them about it and not just expect them to figure out that things are going well.

So there’s a few keys to your business success, keeping the team firing on all cylinders. Its not rocket science but it can cause your busines to shoot for the stars!

Get a Grip on Your Business!

Jul 10

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Not wanting to over-simplify the whole ‘running a business thing’, but I’ve developed a list (based on my own experiences, and that of my clients and other business owners), which covers some of the things we need to know for different stages of building a business:

Start-up phase:

  • Start a business because you want to, don’t just fall into it
  • Do your homework – know what you’re getting yourself into, and who else is doing it too
  • Do what you love – have a passion
  • Recognise that it’s going to be tough and be prepared
  • Budget for a completely different level of income (!) (that’s a lower income, not a higher one…)
  • Talk to people who remember setting up their own business, and learn from their advice.
  • Use suppliers who can meet your budget. Don’t be ‘sold’ into paying more than you want to – there will be time enough for that when your business is making plenty of money.
  • Know where you want to go, and don’t lose sight of that
  • Make sure you have plenty of capital to get you through this phase – you’ll need all of it. Keep expenses to a minimum – it will take time to start generating an income.
  • Depending on your financial position, join relevant networks and associations, and attend events. Make sure they’re the same groups where you will find your target market.
  • Draw up a database of all your contacts and spend time getting out there and talking to people. Tell them what you’re doing, and listen to what they need.
  • Try to do business with people you want to do business with. This is likely to be amore effective strategy in generating referrals and building your business.
  • Don’t neglect the marketing fundamentals: understand what it is you can offer potential clients, understand what they need, develop a very clear value proposition, and know who your competitors are and what makes you different. If you haven’t sorted this out, you aren’t ready.

Up and running:

  • Keep the momentum going – keep selling, keep acquiring new business, watch the cash
  • Use good financial measurement systems to understand the key drives and key performance indicators of your business. Think of it as a control panel.
  • Relationships are critical – pay attention to them (staff, clients, associates, etc.)
  • Don’t employ staff until you need them, and provide clear guidelines to those you have.
  • Make sure you understand your financial and business reports, and generate them on a regular basis.
  • Keep your costs down, even when you don’t need to worry. It’s a good discipline for when you need to pare back, and will keep you in much better financial shape.
  • Don’t take you eye off the numbers! Know how your cashflow is tracking.
  • Secure yourself some reliable and competent advisors – accountants, financial advisors, a lawyer, a business mentor
  • Start to build your knowledge and expertise in areas where you’re not naturally strong (finance, marketing, sales, etc)
  • Have goals, know how you’re going to get there, and just do it! Planning without action won’t get you anywhere and you’ll never move forward.
  • Sell before you buy – don’t extend yourself before you have the required level of business coming in
  • Keep focused on your priorities. Don’t sweat the small stuff but don’t ignore the big stuff. Focus on what will generate revenue (and be profitable).
  • Customer retention is important in maintaining stability. If you focus on this now, it will provide a strong foundation for the future.
  • Stay healthy – it takes a lot of energy to maintain and build a business.
  • Get support – business and emotional support is essential. We all need help in some way.
  • Understand the different business models which you could be using, and which are more effective. Don’t be scared to re-engineer what and how you deliver to your customers if a new model is more profitable. This is really very important.
  • Build you reputation and your image. Be consistent in the process!

Established & Growing

  • Implement systems where you can – it helps make the business run more efficiently and makes it less reliant on you
  • Focus on the big picture and know what it looks like.
  • Have a vision and a strategy to realise it.
  • Keep watching the cash.
  • Innovate to stay ahead of your competitors
  • A good client list and a cash cow product will be the key to you ‘having a life’
  • Look seriously at growth strategies and why you want to grow – acquisition, organic or both

Wisdom of experience:

  • Finance & funding are critical – know what you need, be prepared, understand your options – always.
  • Sales and marketing are critical to success – never stop these activities.
  • People management and leadership – start the way you wish to continue
  • Systems and process add value to your business – you may want to sell it one day
  • Revenue from cash cows frees you up from your business. It’s all tied in with the business model.
  • Strategy and execution are a never-ending cycle.

Blogs Are Roads; Intersections

Jul 7

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

I feel we have a fairly unique product here at Free Business Tips.

One of the reasons the blog and the rest of the site is unique is because, well, to be honest we had no idea what a blog ‘should be’ and what it ‘should do’ and what they features ‘should have’.

This means that we just told our web designer what we wanted, simple right?

Yes and no.

Our lack of “blogging savvy” means we have set things up a little differently to other blogs (and unique is cool), but it also meant we have been a little slow on the uptake on what makes a blog popular and how to get love from Google, Technorati, Alexa, Bloglines etc etc.

Lately I have been surfing around, madly reading blogs and researching what makes a good (popular) blog.

I was having a read at Darren Rowse’s Problogger site and Darren had linked back to a blog post Blogs Are Roads; Intersections by Steve Remington at Skinny Moose Media (cool name)

Steve points out that you shouldn’t be scared to share some “link love” from your blog,

The first biggest mistake most business blogs make is not linking out to external blogs. Some people are afraid it will drive traffic away to potential competitors.

He uses the analogy that you need to place your blog in a position to gain traffic from other blogs, like other fast food restaurants position themselves on the same intersections as McDonalds,

Look at Burger King and McDonald’s. You will always find them across the street from each other, or at least on the same strip of road in any given city. Burger King may lose some business to McDonald’s but in the long run they would actually be losing more business by moving out on a back road somewhere hoping people will come to them.

See how this is working already? Steve writes a great article for people new to blogging, Darren links back to him, I read Steve’s blog because I value Darren’s opinion, I am impressed by the article so I write one of my own and link back to Steve as well. I read the comments on Steve’s article and follow some of the links to the sites of commenters who might have said something particularly sensible, my track back will appear in Steve’s blog as a comment, and potentially we will get some traffic from Steve’s site………

See how the link love works!

Ok, so all you experienced bloggers will say, “Duh, we have known this for ages” I know, I know, bear with me while I catch up!

Have a read of Steve’s post On Skinny Moose Media (it is a cool name, I love it), it’s well worth it if like me you are a little green on the blog thing.

As for us at Free Business Tips, we will be working very hard to increase the traffic, and ranking of the site.

In the near future we will be changing the way we post in the blog a little. We will still have our own unique blogging format (articles written by our very smart contributors) but we will also be blogging in a more traditional way, more topical posts by myself and Steve Gray , more reviews of other blogs and business sites (to get the link love going!), we might even do some competitions, Speed linking (see an example of Speed linking on Problogger) and some other methods.

We are also looking at a layout change.

So, any suggestions are more than welcome, and please drop me a line if you see something on the web that you think deserves a little ‘link love’ from us at FBT

Self-Managing is Job One!

Jul 3

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

If you can’t manage yourself, don’t expect to manage a business, or other people, or clients, well.

We use a really effective technique to help our clients self-manage. “Big Rocks” is a management concept of sorts which has been used in various ways for some time. It’s a concept which I use with all of my clients, and we use at BOSS Management Group, to keep focused on what needs to be done to move the business forward.

There are many techniques to use to help us self-manage, but I’ve found ‘Big Rocks’ to be easy to remember, easy to visualise, easy to keep focused on, and consequently it produces results.

My definition of Big Rocks, in a business context, is those actions or projects or achievements which will actually move your business forward. If you have two Big Rocks for a month, and you achieve them, it will actually move your business forward. Think of them as critical foundations for the business you are building.

Being busy vs being productive:
Imagine you have a bucket, which represents your capacity or available time, in any given day, week or month. Now, imagine you have a number of big rocks that need to go into that bucket. Put them in. You’ll still have room for a few pebbles, and then you’ll be able to add some sand to fill up the rest of your capacity, and if you really want to, you could add still more if you add some water into the bucket.

You can fill your time with lots of activities and be very busy as a result, but the key to effective self management is not to be busy but to be productive!

Big Rocks must go first!
The point of the story is not that you can always fit more into your day, or month, but that if you don’t attend to the Big Rocks (most important priorities) first, you’ll never fit them in.
Sometimes we can all get consumed by the day to day, and at the end of those days, we feel drained and also that we haven’t really achieved anything or made any forward progress. It sort of feels like treading water.

Big Rocks = Bigger Game
Keep focused on what your Big Rocks are for the month, and if you can achieve at least one of them each month, you’ll be moving your business forward. Big Rocks help keep you focused on the bigger game, and allow you to still deal with the pebbles and sand each day.

Once you have the important priorities identified and in focus for yourself each month, you can use the same tool for each of your key staff, or teams.

These are the four key points to remember:

  1. Self management is Job One.
  2. Use Big Rocks as your simplest self management tool, to keep clear on priorities.
  3. Big Rocks move your business forward.
  4. Use the Big Rocks concept with your team to keep them focused and on track.

The Adventure of Creative Problem-Solving

Jun 29

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 2 Comments

I racked a fresh shell of 00 Buck into the chamber of my 12-gauge shotgun and drew the weapon to my shoulder. As I took careful aim at the dead tree branch about 30 feet above and 10 feet down range of me, my friend asked, “What are you doing?”

“Creative problem-solving,” I answered.

The smooth squeeze of the trigger was followed by a bellowing thunder, followed by the thud of the branch hitting the ground.

“Problem solved,” I said.

The problem I just solved wasn’t a saw problem. No, I had chainsaws and regular saws. What I didn’t have was a ladder tall enough to reach the branch. If I couldn’t get up there, what could I send up there instead? I thought of creating a bolo where I’d duct tape a couple of rocks to either end of a short rope, tie a longer line in the middle and throw it up there in hopes the line would wrap itself around the branch and I could pull like crazy and break the branch off.

I remembered reading that back in the pirate days they’d shoot bolos out of a cannon to tear down the enemy’s sails and rigging and disable the ship. That’s when it hit me … using buckshot and my shotgun as a cutting tool.

Sometimes, creative problem-solving involves looking at an item differently than you normally look at it. The best example of this type of thinking was the old tv show McGyver, who with little more than a ball point pen, a disposable butane lighter and a paper clip could create a rocket capable of taking down a small airplane. In the real world of promotional marketing, employing creative problem-solving may not be quite that exciting but, nevertheless, is just as effective.

For instance, using imprinted plastic flying disks (upside down) as paper plate holders or snack trays. Why spend the money on expensive traffic cones for your bike rally when less expensive, imprinted 7″ orange megaphones will do the trick? How about using coffee mugs as handled flower pots?

A few of our clients keep a supply of their imprinted coffee mugs at the local florist. When they need to send a get-well, sympathy or celebratory flower arrangement, they have the florist create and deliver the arrangement in my client’s mug. The mug remains long after the flowers wither, reminding the recipient of my client’s thoughtfulness. And because there is sentiment involved, the mug is more highly regarded.

You’ve employed creative problem-solving if you’ve ever cut three holes in a 33 gallon trash bag to use as an emergency poncho, or used a piece of cardboard as a dustpan or rolled a piece of paper into a makeshift funnel. I’ve used my pocket comb as an ice scraper, a kazoo (wrap a piece of tissue paper around it), a letter opener and to hold a small nail to keep from whacking my fingers.

Another approach to creative problem-solving is to question why something is done the way it is. I once met with a new client about her annual membership directory. The book had always been saddle stitched, meaning two staples in the middle held the thing together. But this new lady-in-charge didn’t like the fact that the book wouldn’t lay flat when you opened it. She wanted to bind it using comb binding. But that would cost more and they didn’t have the budget.

I asked one simple question that made all the difference. “Does the directory have to be the size that it is?” She thought for a moment and said no. I resized the book to use less pages, which meant less paper, less signatures, less plates, less plate changes, less gathering and collating. The savings went into the more expensive comb binding and we were able to deliver a membership directory that laid flat when you opened it … for the same price as the year before.

My final example of creative problem-solving was used by the criminal element when they went on a wheel-stealing rampage in the parking lot of my father’s auto repair facility. They had a wrench but no jack. So they loosened the lug nuts, took rocks from around the building and blocked up the undercarriage of the cars. Then they simply let the air out of the tires.

Children are some of the best creative problem-solvers in the world, because they don’t know “how things are supposed to be.” They question … they ask why and they ponder. For most people, that ability is taught out of them by the end of grade school through such statements as, “Do as you’re told,” “Follow the rules” and “Color inside the lines”.

The adventure of creative problem-solving is still within you. You just need to let your mind think like a kid again. If you have trouble … go find a little kid to play with.

Your profile tells tales…

Jun 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Is your business profile telling you you are doomed to a life of mediocrity, or that there is hope for the future?

Take a look at the profile (see the PDF attachment Business Profiles) and ask yourself the following.

1. Are you at a clear profile level, or moving between them?

2. Is the profile level totally accurate for your position?

3 Is there anything you can do about it? A YES!

It does not take long to realise there are no hard and fast guidelines about where you stand in the profiles and that they can be starting points to understanding and then growth, should you decide to accept that as an option.

The trouble is many people have no idea of where they stand and fail to do anything to alter their position. Sure there are ‘comfort zones’ people operate in and those that choose to bury their heads in the sand do so at their own peril.

One of the beauties of the profile as a simple system for understanding, is being able to recognize where you are at so you can progress, or at least more fully appreciate your weaknesses so you can focus on developing them into strengths.

The profile levels are not a truly accurate device but they allow us to make sense of our position (at least to some degree) so we can realise our greater potential. If we merely accept our profile position and stay there, is it fair to say we are in a stuck state (one that allows limited if any growth potenial) or are we playing comfort zone games with ourselves and not opening ourselves to the full potential we can become?

I hope your profile position inspires you to look further, do more, be more rather than possibly stagnating. like the old saying says “Use it or lose it”.

It’s A Banner. What’s To Think About?

Jun 27

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept | No Comments

I couldn’t help myself. It just sort of slipped out. “Well, Shelly … you’re gonna have to either get a shorter banner or taller kindergarteners.”

A brief moment of silence was broken by her laughter letting me know I hadn’t “blown it” and that she had a sense of humor — something I really like in a client.

“Oh yeah, right,” she said. “If the banner is four feet high the kids will have to hold it above their heads for the whole parade.”

Like most things in life, there are few things to think about when ordering a banner for an event. For starters, if the banner will be carried in a parade, how tall the carriers are in relationship to the height of the banner needs some thought.

How the banner will be used and for how long will dictate the substrate or, the material, of which the banner is made. If the banner is for one-time use such as an indoor press conference or other short-term indoor use a lighter, banner paper that is less expensive is fine. However, if the banner will be used in multiple parades and/or hung up for long-term viewing after use, then you have other things to consider as well.

A heavier, more durable substrate such as a 13oz vinyl banner material is recommended for multiple uses to withstand foldings/rollings and “trunk abuse”. If the banner will be hung in a window, an Ultraviolet (UV) laminate should be considered to prevent fading of the colors.

When a banner is to be used for a parade, we generally engineer horizontal “pole pockets” across the top and bottom. A pole that is roughly two feet longer than the banner is wide is inserted, making a comfortable carrying handle. We recommend PVC pipe as it’s lightweight and inexpensive yet strong enough to offer the support you want.

Sometimes people ask for vertical pole pockets at each end with an opening at the bottom and the pocket sewn shut at the top. The problem with this is that the banner carriers must remain a specific distance apart to keep the banner tight through the whole parade. It’s harder to do than it sounds and can make an otherwise enjoyable parade walk, miserable. The horizontal pockets are much easier to deal with.

The reason for the bottom horizontal pocket is to prevent the wind from blowing the banner either forward or back rendering it unreadable. We’ve found that a length of PCV pipe, that measures the width of the banner, with a couple end caps works great. You fill the pipe with sand, cap the ends and insert it into the bottom pole pocket giving it enough weight to remain stationary even if the wind blows.

If the banner will be hung after a parade, you’ll also want to have it manufactured with grommets that will give you more hanging options. We usually place grommets every two to three feet depending on the banner size. Anything over three feet high we usually put a grommet in the middle of each side as well.

For storage, rolling a banner is preferred to folding when your substrate is vinyl or paper. In cases where you have a digitally printed image on fabric, then folding is fine.

Once again, make sure the banner is short enough that the people carrying it in the parade can hold it about chest high without the bottom of the banner touching the ground.

Giving a little thought to your application, use and duration of use can produce a functional banner that looks great!

How to create raving fans of your business, in 5 easy steps!

Jun 20

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Ok, I admit it. I am a raving fan of one of my suppliers.

I tell my friends and colleagues about them.

I have referred dozens of people to them.

I have used them several times, and plan to use them again.

Ashop Commerce is a leading provider of hosted shopping cart software. They offer a complete solution for merchants to sell online.

I ordered my first Ashop after taking advantage of the 10 day free trial (enough time to set up a fully functioning ecommerce site), shortly after I ordered my second, third, and recently the fourth.

So how has Ashop made such a raving fan of me, and what can we learn from them?

1. AFFORDABILITY – Ashop’s shopping cart software is affordable. They charge enough to make a profit, but they know their market place, and where they fit. They know that although you can get free open source shopping carts, some of us are willing to pay for quality.

Lesson – know your market, and what makes an affordable price. Make a good profit, but offer value to make your product affordable

2. EASE OF USE - Anyone can set up an Ashop shopping cart. A quick look at the testimonial page on Ashop’s site is proof of that.

Lesson – Make it mind numbingly simple to deal with you!

3. CUSTOMER SERVICE Ashop bent over backwards to help me succeed. It’s not just ecommerce software, it’s the full service. The last time you contacted your ISP, did you talk to an answering machine, or a real human?

I have never had a business say to me, “Our customer service is pretty bad” Everyone says they offer great service, but how many actually do?

Lesson – Offer genuine great service. Don’t just pay lip service in a contrived mission statement.

4. BE AN EXPERT - I found Ashop by searching for “Shopping cart software” in Google. Guess who was #1 position in the world?

If I want to create an ecommerce website, I want to be shown how to do it by an SEO expert, right?

Lesson – Your customers want solutions to their problems. An expert will get more business than the amateur, and they charge more!

5. OFFER THE TOTAL SOLUTION - Ashop offer a total package. The shopping cart software is just the start.

Lesson – You can’t be all things to all people, but is there any reason you can’t be all things to your niche?

So, yes I am a raving fan of Ashop Commerce.

What business are you a fan of, and why?

What lessons can you learn from them?

Affordable Ecommerce
Comprehensive web based system
Level the playing field online!
www.ashop.com.au

Know Your Customers – the 80/20 Rule

Jun 12

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept | 1 Comment

We all know our customers. We know their names and their businesses, and we often know something about their lives outside of work. Usually we have lists of who our customers are. However, what many small business owners usually don’t know is what’s happening in the mix of their customer base.

When you analyse your customer base, and you should, you need to identify the following indicators:

  • What are the broad customer categories by dollar spend – eg: up to $1,000 per annum, $1001-$3,000 etc. You will obviously select categories which have more meaning to your business.
  • What is the average customer dollar spend by category, and how do they compare
  • Overall, which customers generate most of your revenue – eg: the top 20% may generate 80% of your turnover, or close to that, or your top 10 customers may generate 80% of your revenue. The objective here is to identify those customers which are vital to your business in terms of revenue.
  • What products or services are your customers buying? All, some, a mix? Is it changing?
  • Is the average dollar spend by category increasing or declining over previous periods?
  • Which customers have been active (purchasing) over the longest period of time?
  • Which customers have become inactive (not spending) and why?

When you’ve identified this information, you need to look at what you’ve discovered:

  • Who are the most valuable customers?
  • How many customers add little value, or cost money to service?
  • What is the profile of the preferred high value customers?
  • What products or services are not really selling? Which are selling well?
  • What is the risk identified by your 80/20 analysis? Do you have all or most of your eggs in one or just a few customer baskets?
  • If you were to lose any high value customers, you know what the impact to your business would be.

What actions can you take from there?

  • Make sure your most valuable customers are well looked after and serviced.
  • Revisit your product or service range and make changes where necessary (delete items from your range, look at developing new products, proactively promote some products or services more than others, etc.)
  • Assess the structure of your sales team – you may have a direct sales team (or advisors, or consultants, or technicians, or whatever is appropriate to your business) manage the top customers on a one on one basis, you may have a set number of your team sharing the management of the next tier of customers, and you may consider a telesales or telemarketing person or team to manage all of the small customers. They may also be managed via a website interface, for example.
  • Now that you know the profile of your preferred type of customer, you need to ensure that you focus on this profile when attracting new customers. This will spread the risk of having most of your revenue generated by just a few customers, and will build your business in the right direction.
  • Finally, don’t forget about building the value of your customers: ask them what they think, what they want, what they may want to see changed, and what else you can do for them. Now you have them, and you know them well, build on that to build your business.

3 Pillars of a Healthy Business

Jun 5

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

We all need to focus on three key pillars for success: marketing our businesses to build clients and income; management practices and procedures to establish the framework for our business as it grows; and mentoring support to keep us on the right track, and provide different levels of support as our business grows.

1. Marketing to Build Your Business

The following table provides a checklist of fundamental activities you can either do yourself, or outsource to a specialist provider. If you work with other small businesses, these services need not cost you a lot. Get creative and look at providing your services in exchange for their services, or even payment terms in instalments over a period of time.

Remember to do what you’re good at, let other people focus on what they do best, and if you can’t afford them, wait until you can.

Always have an objective or an intended outcome for your marketing, otherwise it will have no focus and minimal results.

Marketing Options and their Objectives

Opt 1: Speaking engagements (Conference, special interest group, radio, business groups)

Doing it/Plan to do

    The more ‘doing it’ the better! If not, then plan quickly & do it!

Objectives:

    • Raise your profile in target market
    • Establish your expertise

Opt 2: Direct marketing

Objectives:

    • Present an offer & call to action
    • Raise awareness of your product/service
    • Educate/inform
    • Generate leads

Opt 3: PR

Objectives:

    • Raise profile
    • Create awareness
    • Establish expertise & credibility

Opt 4: Exhibitions & conferences

Objectives:

    • Establish positioning in market
    • Educate
    • Network – identify opportunities
    • Showcase products to captive target market
    • Establish credibility if speaking at conference
    • Generate sales leads

Opt 5: Industry & business publications – submit articles

Objectives:

    • Establish credibility & expertise within target market
    • Position yourself as specialist
    • Raise profile
    • Generate enquiries

Opt 6: Telesales/telemarketing

Objectives:

    • Prospecting for new business
    • Build leads
    • Customer service

MARKETING TOOLS
• Case studies – explains the client problem or need, and your solution
• Testimonials – statements of endorsement from satisfied clients
• Press releases – use them to send to media, or to customers or placed on web site
• Award entries/winning awards – winning awards sets you apart
• Newsletters – printed or electronic; write them yourself or ask for contributions
• Company profile – also a ‘credentials’ document to establish your credibility
• Website – make it work for you
• Brochures – try not to change these too often (requires time and $$), but don’t let them date
• Video/CD presentations – particularly if you are in the creative field

Start marketing now and don’t stop!

2. Management Practices & Procedures

Make sure you address each of the following key areas as your business grows, otherwise it will become extremely difficult to manage once you have staff, more customers to manage, higher revenue and profit targets, and more priorities to manage and set.

Sales

  • A top priority for any business in growth mode. Face to face selling, telemarketing, sales through agents or distributors will build your network, generate leads, and ultimately result in revenue. Sell, sell, sell!
  • If you don’t feel comfortable selling, then pair up with someone who does. It may be a business partner, or commission agent, contract salesperson, or telesales organisation.
  • Track your sales efforts and follow up. If people are interested in your products or services, or want more information, or are expecting you to call them back, then do so. A lost opportunity is just that, but it is also bad for your reputation as a professional.
  • Make sure you can deliver.
  • Use templates for your database, for tracking sales, doing forecasts, and reporting weekly sales activity for a team. If it’s organised it’s easier to manage.

Marketing

  • Refer to point 1 of this article.
  • Use templates, record your marketing activities, record outcomes to measure effectiveness.
  • Use document templates where you can, and develop a schedule of activities for the year ahead.
  • Have a well thought through plan. Prioritise and stay focused!

Goals & planning

  • Know what your big picture is.
  • Have a vision of where you’re going and where you want to be.
  • Set realistic, memorable and achievable goals
  • Break down the big picture into achievable components – the next week, month etc
  • Follow up and track your performance – if you don’t achieve your goals, what are you doing?

People management

  • Get it right from the beginning.
  • Recruitment is critical in attracting and retaining the right people. Pay attention to the process.
  • Have an induction program for new people. Don’t just let them try and work it all out for themselves. Help them become productive quickly. That makes everyone happy.
  • Manage their performance and their development. Provide performance reviews, and appropriate development training when required. Provide feedback. Encourage and support.

Systems & Processes

  • Document your processes wherever possible.
  • This doesn’t happen overnight but it is an extremely worthwhile exercise. It helps organise the business, makes it operate more efficiently, and makes it easier for you to start removing yourself from day to day operations as the business grows.
  • Start anywhere, such as HR for example – how you recruit, induct, review and manage your staff can all be systemised and documented for easy reference by you and by your staff.
  • A well-organised business has more value to potential buyers, investors, business partners. It’s also easier to work in!

3. Mentoring for Support

Last, but not least, is the Mentoring pillar. Business mentoring from an individual or a group, formal or informal, is invaluable. A business mentor or mentoring program can:

  • keep you on track
  • help you through the rough times
  • demand that you celebrate your successes, however large or small
  • provide another point of view
  • challenge your approach
  • share experience
  • help you to reach new heights with your business
  • provide support and encouragement
  • most importantly make you feel that you’re not alone, and that you have someone else to talk to about your business when you need it.

Marketing facilitates growth, management provides a solid foundation to build on, and mentoring fires your enthusiasm and encourages your development.

What is stopping you?

Better Idea Generation Look Beyond The First Right Idea

Jun 3

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 3 Comments

I walked into the office of my Chiropractor/Acupuncturist and signed in. There on the desk were three pens. One looked like a syringe, another was a crooked pen and the third looked like a bone.

“What are these,” I asked, knowing full well they were pens.

“They’re pens,” the doctor replied. ” I’m trying to decide which one to promote my practice with. What do you think?

It took me a minute to respond. I was dismayed that someone was trying to sell him such cliché’ ideas. Who ever this someone was, had little understanding of the good doctor or his practice. I was also a little irritated that he hadn’t called me in the first place.

“Let me guess,” I said, holding up the syringe pen. “Our patients love it when we needle them.”

“Yeah,” he blurted out in amazement.

I held up the crooked pen and said, “We’ll get you back on the straight and narrow.”

“Well, yeah,” he exclaimed.

I picked up the bone-shaped pen and said, “The imprint involves the phrase no bones about it.”

The doctor came to the sudden realization that the ideas he thought were so clever only moments before, were neither clever or original.

“You’re always talking about blood flow, energy flow and balance, that’s your message.” I said. “So when it comes to your promotional marketing, why is your message suddenly bones, needles and crookedness?”

I told him if he wanted ideas that supported his message and what he was really about, we’d have to look beyond the obvious.

Too often people stop after the first idea they develop when searching for creative ideas to promote their business, event or brand. And while the first idea may indeed make sense, these ideas are usually cliché and tired. But by digging deeper, better promotional marketing ideas can be discovered. The key in this case is to focus not on the “tools of the trade” such as needles and bones, but to focus on the philosophy of the doctor: balance and flow.

Several promotional marketing ideas came to mind. Imprinted mugs and imprinted packets of tea with multiple tea bags inside. Patients could think of the doctor numerous times when they enjoy the tea. And, he can always offer them more tea bags on return visits, reminding patients to share with a friend.

Mugs make great sense for doctors and other medical professionals. They serve as a nice handout to first-time patients. But often their real promotional marketing value becomes evident when a few mugs are stored at the local florist. When the doctor learns of a patient illness, an arrangement is created and delivered in the doctor’s imprinted mug. This also works great for congratulatory events.

As far as pens go, there are pens that contain a liquid with a custom float inside. As the liquid flows back and forth, the logo or some other icon flows back and forth as well. A blood flow or energy flow message is now appropriate.

Stretching is also an important part of a Chiropractic therapy regime. So an exercise band might fill the bill.

Then I thought of bandannas. Bandannas are being used creatively in a broad range of venues. Festivals, communities and businesses are printing maps, schedules and take out menus on them. Along that line, a Chiropractor or Acupuncturist can imprint a map of the body on a bandanna. The map could show how and where an imbalance creates pain. Or I could show acupuncture points and to what part of the body those points relate.

Thinking creatively is something that can be learned.

There are two books I discovered early in my career that have been especially helpful in generating new and better ideas for my clients. The books, both by Roger von Oech, are, “A Whack On The Side Of The Head” and “A Kick In The Seat of The Pants”.

As for the Chiropractor? We co-branded a body-map themed bandanna with other businesses such as a fitness center, a drug store and a massage therapist to offset the higher cost of the item.

Perfect! Creative, relevant, useful and affordable promotional marketing.

From business to BUSINESS! See it and believe.

May 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Here’s a thought – Imagine two years down the track (visualise clearly now) that you have a business that is running itself, and people call you saying how brilliant the staff are, the range of services is to die for and they love the level of service they get! You drop in to the office every now and then and tele commute. Your income is worth the effort you took to build the business.

Now ask yourself,

  • What do the clients look like?
  • How much will they spend with you per year?
  • How many of them are needed to take the business to this level?
  • How do you beat the competition hands down every time with exceptional ease?
  • What sorts of exceptional people have you poached, and recruited (attitudes, personality, looks etc…?)
  • What sort of office or work set up is everyone working in that sets the standard and then some!?
  • How come the systems they use are so elegant?
  • How is it that your business attracts all the right attention and is seen as a ‘darling’ by the media, in fact they chase you for stories!?
  • Why is it that prospects become customers with such ease and then on to clients and raving fans about the business in no time at all?
  • How is it that your business rewards the staff so handsomely they do not want to leave, they in fact are head hunted and refuse to leave.
  • What is it about the way your team market the companies services that they have no challenges recruiting new prospects and influencing them to becomes customers…?
  • What personality, attitudinal and energy changes would you need to alter to ensure all of the above can come to fruition?

What does all of this look like… REALLY, imagine it, visualise it, develop a plan, a five year strategy perhaps based on the above… Then break it into achievable chunks.

Are there other questions you can add to the list to make the picture clearer, stronger, brighter, bolder, better….

Dare to dream, dare to live, dare to strive for the highest, dare to step outside of your comfort zones, dare to be the best, and then better that, dare to set bold goals, dare to be the one that makes powerful differences in the lives of those around you by setting incredible standards.

Don’t just sit there, Grab a pen and some paper create a plan and make the world yours, consider it like a bud about to bloom, and when that ones is finished there is another and another just coming into bloom! and watch as bees come and take the pollen and your flowers become the pick of the crop for the bees…

The business of business can be a tricky road to traverse, but with the right attitude, mindset, skills and ability you too can make it a golden one.

12 Flat Spots That Can Cause Business Trouble.

May 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 1 Comment

As you watch the graph on your business rise as things get moving, you will no doubt be delighted, but then as you measure more things you may notice a few flat spots, or worse still some downhil slides on the graph. Check against this list and make a list of your options, before long you should be able to turn the graph around and make it head skywards again. As a guide the following retail scenario was used.

  1. Closed - Due to a family issue and no sales were made, no one to run the business. This can be a flow on effect from a late opening day an early customer sees the closed sign and spreads the word that they seem to be closed all the time. Interesting perception, not really the truth though. Have a staff member, a temp or casual even to cover for you, if your sign says open at 9:00 then be open.
  2. Marketing – In the case of a start up business it may be that friends caused the initial sales, then once they run out, a flat spot is reached as the lack of marketing (perhaps poor signage in a basic retail scenario). Revealing a hole in the system. Your aim is to find out what it is, and there is no excuse for poor signage, you want people to notice the business not avoid it. The same with all of your marketing materials, people should see your business as the number one choice.
  3. Seasonal factors – Really hot or cold days can prevent people from coming to your store to buy, so there is not much you can do about that, so make sure you keep your business full of customers to make up for the quieter times in those seasons.
  4. Lights not on – People drive or walk by, see no lights on and keep going, they perceive its closed. Some retailers see this as a cost saving measure. It’s not. If business is slowing down there is a good reason for it, do an assessment first and make other changes BEFORE turning off or down the lights.
  5. Are you renovating? – Over time some operators develop “store blindness” where they can not see the deteriorating conditions of the store, dust on displays, things not where they are meant to be and so on. The prospective customer walks away. Remember they see retail outlets of all types during the day, if they have seen brilliant layouts and professionally displayed stock then come to your store and find things in a mess they will vote with their feet.
  6. Bad service or bad attitude? – Over time bad service can damage the businesses reputation, most people do not set out to provide bad service but various factors can cause us to end up providing it. In fig b, people may have initially bought and had good service, but the second flat spot may be due to a staff member with a poor attitude being employed in the second rise on the success indicator, then the customer numbers and sales can flatten out as word spreads.
  7. Personal factors – The business owner might start off working 6+ day per week and be very excited about it, then things start to sour as their family and friends become affected by the loss of contact with the business operator. They lose heart and become despondent, what looked great in the past is now looking like a millstone.
  8. Bad attitudes – Okay for you to run the business 16 hours a day, but employees often don’t think like that and want to work reasonable hours… add to this the possibility that you may not be as great at managing people as you thought in the first place and that can cause a motivated employee yesterday to become disgruntled. The result a bad attitude that has an ongoing effect on your sales. Learn to lead, to coach, to mentor and support.
  9. External factors – The local council decides to do road works outside your business, they hold up the parking and create a mess for a few months. The result, a slump in your success indicator.
  10. No one wants it – Perhaps what you had in the store to begin with had some value at first, and now things have moved on e.g. a computer store would need to be ahead of the game and only stock things that are needed now old technology is just that, OLD.
  11. Lack of innovation – If you want things to be consistently happening to be ahead of the game, you need to figure out how to innovate. Know what the competition is doing, be one or three steps ahead of them, and make sure you use the collective intelligence of your staff to make it applicable. If however you have collective stupidity and not intelligence you might need to work harder at your HR skills than you thought.
  12. Poor sales skills – Its one thing to have a prospect walk in, and another to convert that into a sale. Make sure all staff that come into contact with the prospects have the ability to build the relationship – find out their needs – offer them a solution – close the sale.

Now you know what might be causing the flat spots, its time to turn things around so you can be ahead of the game. Assess your business carefully against each of these points and take action to make it succeed.

So, are you a dream builder?

May 25

Posted by Bren Ryan in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 3 Comments

Businesses help to build a $1 Million dream…

A 22 year old entrepreneur aims to make $1 Million whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip and small businesses are helping out. Richard Stratton came up with the theonebigad.com business web site whilst bed bound with a dislocated hip. He plans to use the money to promote his start up company and to provide one other company with the ultimate advertising budget of $250,000.

Free Business Tips.com.au has decided to come to his aid. I found the entrepreneur while surfing the net for business information. I saw Richard’s plight and thought why not help out and see what was possible?

Richard, who is funding his company himself, by working part time jobs, says he didn’t want to borrow more on top of his university debts.

While in bed with a dislocated hip, he decided to teach himself web design. Richard set out to create a site he had been thinking about for a while and to ultimately generate some money which would pay for his living expenses and help his business venture for which he could do little else due to his dislocation.

Richard explained the concept of theonebigad.com, “advertisers submit a banner for $10. Once 100,000 banner places have been sold one business is selected at random to receive The One Big Ad, the ultimate advertising budget of $250,000.” providing the potential for a television advert on a major network, not to mention all the press attention that would go with it.

To encourage initial sales the first 500 banner entrants will have their banners displayed on a page on theonebigad.com site.

Asked what he will do with the money raised, Richard said, “I hope to make my company as successful as possible, it’s something I have dreamt about for years and I will do anything to make it a reality. Although my dislocated hip seemed like a major setback, maybe thanks to theonebigad.com it will actually end up being a bonus in a somewhat painful disguise!”

Frankly, I don’t expect to make a lot of sales from our ads on Richard’s site, but that’s not the point. The point is he has come up with a good idea, and he has put it out there to have a go. I like that.

And if I can contribute a small amount to help build a dream? Why not?

Networking – How to make profitable relationships in 7 easy steps.

May 23

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

Networking is not just about numbers, it’s about relationships. It’s quality over quantity. It’s not about meeting as many people as you can; it’s about helping as many people as you can.

We network to create mutually beneficial relationships with our peers, clients and potential clients.

So how has it come about that networking has ended up with a slightly tarnished reputation? Why does networking often conjure up images of super keen network marketers or sales people shaking hands and thrusting as many cards as possible into as many hands as possible whilst asking, “How can I help you today?”.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that too many people have used just that strategy too many times before, and it is what we have come to expect from all the “meet and greet” networking events we are invited to.

So, how do we network more effectively (translate; profitably)? Let’s break it down into seven easy steps.

1. “It’s the vibe man…” Find the right group for you.

Find the right group for you and your business. If you target market are new mothers for example, a nursing mothers group will be more effective for you than the local Chamber of Commerce.

Don’t just limit yourself to organised networking events, what about trade shows or expos, trade association events, and education events.

Think of who your clients are and where they will be. If your target market is real estate agents, consider joining their trade association as a supplier or service provider.

Focus on quality over quantity, getting the right type of prospect is more important than getting in front of lots of prospects.

2. “I can write it down on this serviette, mind the mayonnaise…” Carry cards.

This seems kind of obvious doesn’t it? Believe me, I wish I had a dollar for every time I was at a networking event to find that the person I just spent 10 minutes with doesn’t have a card to give me.

Carry cards with you all the time. Have some in your pocket, in your car, your partner’s car, your office, your gym bag, you get the idea.

My family often kid me because I will always have a card handy, even at family functions. Why wouldn’t you? You never know when the next big job is going to come from.

I am not suggesting you thrust your card under the nose of everyone you meet, far from it. Merely suggesting if you don’t have a card ready when you need it you may miss an opportunity.

3. “Nice guy, bad breath…” Make a good first impression.

First impressions count, and you only get one chance.

Be on time. Late is late, on time is on time.

Press your clothes, brush your teeth and hair, and don’t drink before networking. At some stage you may be asking this person for a sale, you must make a positive impression the first time you meet them.

Smile, shake hands, look people in the eyes, and be politely confident.

Pay attention to the other person, listen carefully, and take an interest in them and their business.

4. “Nice guy, what did he do again?” – Know what you can offer

The common term for this is an “elevator speech”, that is, I speech that you should be able to reel off in one elevator ride and clearly state what you do to a stranger.

A big mistake with this type of speech is to forget the WIIFM rule (What’s in it for me?) An elevator speech filled with industry jargon will only confuse the person you meet.

Keep it simple, and focus on the benefits you can provide with your service.

State the “What, Who, & Why”

What you do, Whom you do it for, and Why you do it.

For example; “I work with medium and large businesses to help increase their sales and profits by providing targeted promotional campaigns using branded merchandise”

This will probably prompt the listener to ask for clarification, if they do, tell a story, people like stories.

For example; “One of my clients sells weed control chemicals to retailers whose target market is farmers. They wanted to increase sales of a particular weed spray, so we provide them with a trade loader campaign. By purchasing two bottles of the weed spray instead of one, the farmer was given a free gift, a branded woollen beanie. This doubled the sales of the weed spray for that season, all for the cost of a woolen cap!”

Remember though, it is great to be great at what you do, but the prospect will be interested in what you can do for them, so listen carefully for clues….

5. “She didn’t hear a word I said…” – Listen more then you talk.

My grandfather used to say, “You have two ears and one mouth, therefore you should listen twice as much as you talk”

Carefully pay attention to what your prospect is saying.

Importantly, this is the time you can be mentally checking off your qualifying list and deciding if you wish to do business and pursue the relationship with this person, if you are not listening you might miss some important clues.

Make eye contact, remember their name, use affirmative gestures like nodding or inclining your head.

Ask open ended questions to encourage your prospect to clarify points for you.

At the end of the night, you may just be the most memorable person they met that night, just because you listened to them more than anyone else.

6. “I must check his website out…” – Be a resource

Be generous, you reap what you sew.

If you can, refer business to the people you meet, offer them advice if appropriate, and volunteer for the board or organising committee or a community project.

Remember networking is all about building relationships, not instant results. The more generous you are with your knowledge, time, or effort the more you build relationships.

A perfect example of that is this website and forum. By building a free resource for my target market, I am building relationships with people from all over the country and world. The long term goals will be rewarding and make up for all the late night sessions at the computer!

Be available and be a resource, the “go to guy”

7. “I hope they call me…” – Fortune is in the follow up

This is an over looked but vital step in networking. The follow up is vital as another step in the marketing process.

It is said that it take 6-8 marketing contacts to build a relationship with a potential client. The follow up can be probably the most important one.

The day after you meet the new prospect, drop them an email or a phone call or a scribbled note on a “with compliment” slip.

Thank for taking the time to talk to you, mention some points they talked about, for example “Good luck with that large contract, I hope you get it” This shows you were actually listening.
Keep it short and sweet, and very importantly ask for their permission to add them to your contact list.

Australian law (check your local laws) allows you to add a person to your email list if you met them networking, but only if you have verbally asked them to do so. By asking in an email, you get it in writing.

Then keep in touch via email, letter or phone call in the future, remember you are building a relationship.

Networking doesn’t have to be difficult or awkward, lets face it, all you have to do is find the right people, carry a card, look presentable, know what you can do, listen, be helpful, and then write an email.

With a small amount of effort you can really make yourself stand out from the handshaking, card spewing, networking sharks, and start building relationships.

Business Profiling a 3 Tiered Approach.

May 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 4 Comments

This could be the start of a new era in understanding business. Okay I might be overstating things here, but at least take a look and check out the three levels of business and then check out where your business might fit. At any of the three levels businesses can be successful, and the descriptors utilised are to give a raw appreciation of the general lay of the land at each level. Enjoy I hope the comments will be thick and fast…

Business Profiles

This link will download a PDF file for you to look at. For those who have downloaded a pre Sept 07 version, this one has a few new additions to add depth to the discussion.

So you want to go into business…

May 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Starting out in business | No Comments

Because…

  • You want to be your own boss?
  • You want to make great money?
  • You think you can beat the competition on price?
  • You want to have more time flexibility…
  • You have the skills to make the items in question or provide a service of value?
  • You want to feel the thrill of being an Entrepreneur?
  • You want a lifestyle that ROCKS!

Consider these points…

  • Many businesses FAIL in the first 12 months (or less).
  • Many businesses do not have enough money to get going properly so they can last 6 months or more.
  • Many do not know about the ‘hidden skills’ successful business people have.
  • Many fail to acknowledge their weaknesses and or strengths before during or after being in business.
  • Many do not know how to serve customers or provide even barely adequate service.
  • Many do not have a suitable profit margin to make their business grow.
  • Many fail to know why they should grow the business.
  • Many fail to have the ability to work with staff EFFECTIVELY.
  • Many do not have any idea of why they are in business.
  • Many do not have a plan of action – a marketing plan – a development plan – or any idea of what they are doing, if they do it’s often the same plan they started with and nothing has altered.
  • MANY will THROW away MANY THOUSANDS of DOLLARS! Trying to make a go of being in business.
  • MANY do not ask the right people the right questions about business. If the person advising you has not been in business their advice is probably worth very little.

Business as an investment
Business can be a great asset – you build it up and are able to franchise it (duplicate) or sell it to realise a profit, it can pay great dividends along the way and provide a great sense of achievement. However like any good investment it needs to be worked at carefully to ensure it is performing well and will continue to do so into the future. Set great goals, create solid plans, look after your customers and ensure you pay yourself along the way. Business is not easy it has loads of challenges, BUT the rewards can be brilliant for those that put in the effort.

Therefore, may I suggest…

If you go into business do lots of BRILLIANT research NOW, trying to do it later will be like teaching a pig to sing, it wastes time and annoys the pig!

I want you to succeed, I want you to thrive, I want you to be great at what you do. SO… Know what you need to do to win at the game of business, because it can be a harrowing game to play if you do not know the guidelines!

Nimble Business

May 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

There’s talk from time to time about business being too top heavy, too greedy, too much aimed at getting bigger, too much emphasis on global markets. All of that happens and a range of studies and anecdotal evidence shows that bigger is often not better, in fact it can be like a person with too much weight, they can not move fast enough to be of much concern to anyone that wants to rush by them to get to new markets, develop new products and get scores on the board more readily.It seems there is a critical mass that takes a business to the next level and onwards, to me the idea would be to create businesses that can identify that level, get to it and use solid business principles to make it sustainable and nimble.

It also seems that with the pace of change businesses that thrived 30 years ago, seem unable to embrace change and move with the times, if a manufacturing business started in this country 30 years back, but has now moved off shore to cheaper labour based countries and organisations then so be it.

So what’s the answer, business is changing, things are moving faster and the old-fashioned sustainability model of a business lasting 30+ years is fading fast. Take a look at business today, someone starts up a business, they create some marketing, figure out the compliance and legal issues, arrange finance and away they go. The thing is people are doing that over and over each day there are a million businesses that set up the same things (or very close to it). What if we were able to reproduce a core business structure that could handle the main similar functions of a business then run the main part of the business off that core?

Its basically called outsourcing, some business incubators do it, where they offer a business (usually a small one person show) a serviced office arrangement, phones answered, copying done, IT infrastructure etc. So what if it was done on a larger scale to ensure sustainability and then each business could get on with the task of doing what they do best. Then unlike some incubators that throw the business out to run on their own, what if they remained with that business to assist in its growth to critical mass.

Seeing drawbacks? Of course! It would not suit every business and in fact most businesses would probably prefer to do it their way (a sense of power and control) however the challenge with that is too many businesses fail in the first 12 months. And more don’t make it in the next five years and so on.

The idea is no doubt fraught with challenges, however if the model could prevent business failures, provide core strength, allow fast operational changes on the run, provide the skills and ability to get to critical mass earlier then that would surely be a saving, no, in fact it would probably

Foundations for Business Growth – A Quick Reference Guide

May 15

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | No Comments

1. Set Goals
2. Develop Strategy
3. Align & Mentor People
4. Execute Plan
5. Review Performance

The strategic planning process is not simple. It involves understanding your market, you competitors, your clients, the motivations and drivers of the people on your team, your own drivers and needs, what is working and what isn’t, where the core competencies are for the business and the individuals in it, how ‘big’ should a goal be, what is the ‘vision thing’ for your business, and how do you grow it and have a life at the same time.

Not easy questions, not a quick process. However, if you use this Quick Reference Guide as a prompt to remember the key foundations for growth – Goals, Strategy, People, Execution and Reviews – you will be able to gain value from the process as you build your organization.

Goal Setting
Goals must be SMARTA

    Simple to follow – too many goals won’t stay top of mind
    Measurable – how will you know when you get there if you don’t or can’t measure
    Achievable – if the goal is set too high, it becomes de-motivating if it can’t be reached
    Realistic goals – it has to be realistic to the business itself and the time
    Time frames – must also be set at realistic dates
    Attractive – if the goals are not something that really appeals to you from an emotional level, you are unlikely to do it. They must be goals from the heart.

Goal setting should be a combination of past performance, future capabilities and opportunities, with your real dreams for big goals and a bigger picture.
Goals are the stepping-stones to the bigger picture.

Strategy

  • Understand your environment
  • Be honest and realistic about your companies core competencies
  • Brainstorm all your options and opportunities and how they fit together
  • ˜The Vision Thing’ is critical – without it, you’re not going far
  • The Vision must be championed and reinforced by the CEO – a key part of the CEO’s role is to provide a very clear direction
  • Buy-in from competent people in the business is critical to successful implementation of the strategy
  • Ask yourself what is the purpose of your business
  • What will the business look like at some point in the future if you focus on that purpose?
  • What sort of team do you need and want to help you realise that purpose and that vision?

Align & Mentor People

  • Mentoring adds real value to business people in key areas such as leadership, and management expertise and skills.
  • Not everyone wants to be, or needs to be, a leader. Some are more effective and supportive as followers. For those who want to, or have to, lead the pack, leadership skills are required.
  • There are different types of leaders, but all can benefit from understanding their impact on others and the world around them, their communication style and effectiveness, and their emotional intelligence in connecting with people in a more effective way.
  • Management skills can be learned along the way, but learning by osmosis does not usually produce the breadth or depth of expertise that is required by managers or business owners in a highly competitive and dynamic market.
  • Business mentoring not only helps teach these skills, but helps develop and strengthen them to produce new levels of confidence in the person being mentored.
  • This applies to managers, managers-in-training, senior executives, entrepreneurs and professionals in their own practice.

Execution

  • Stay focused
  • Work to time frames
  • Use the road map as a working document
  • Enlist support where needed
  • Execution is the critical part of the process, and why many strategies fail – because nothing is done, or the plan isn’t actually followed, which produces a whole different set of outcomes.
  • A key person needs to drive execution of the strategy.


Review Performance – Accountability for, and to, everyone involved

  • Individual & business progress is importance – individuals achieve & business grows
  • When goals are fun/attractive/exciting, there will be a commitment and certainly a desire to achieve them.

The 7 Critical Steps You Must Take Before Writing a Single Word of Copy!

May 11

Posted by Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero in Excellence!, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

Okay, you know you have your product (or service) in front of you. Now it’s time to get the word out with an attention-grabbing sales letter. But where do you begin? Whether you hire someone to write your copy, pass it off to a staff member or learn to write it yourself, you need this checklist.

What Steps to Take Before Writing Your Sales Letter
One of the biggest misconceptions new clients have when they come to me is I can whip out a sales letter in a few days. Wrong, wrong and wrong. A lot of preparation goes into writing copy. I spend on average 50% – 70% of my time PREPARING to write copy. If you don’t do your homework, the chances go up exponentially that your copy will fall flat on its face. Use this simple checklist to get you prepared for writing your own sales copy.

¨      Use the product or service yourself. I wouldn’t dream of writing copy about something I had never experienced. (If it’s your product, you may want to let someone else test it, then interview her about her experience). It’s one of the fastest ways to get a complete understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

¨      Research your target market thoroughly. If you know anything about the way I help others write their own copy, you know about the “tarket” concept. Basically it goes like this. Segment your market down by age, income, marital status, etc. Then write out a detailed description of ONE PERSON in your target market – your “tarket”. When you write, speak only to that person.

¨      Spy on the competitors. Make yourself a customer to your competition. Then study how they handle marketing and customer service from A to Z. Sign up for their ezines, study their websites, collect their direct marketing campaigns. Learn to think like they do. Soon the differences between your company and theirs begin to reveal themselves. Your unique selling position pops its head out!

¨      Anticipate objections by writing out the FAQs ahead of time.  Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think like she does. What questions come up for her that would stop her from buying? Expect those frequently asked questions to come up and address them in your copy.

¨      Identify the features and benefits. We already know people buy more on emotion than logic. So have a list of what your product or service does (features) and how each feature makes your customer’s life better (benefits). The more you can stimulate an emotional response in your client with benefits, the deeper the connection goes.

¨      Collect compelling stories from the client. Nothing pulls us in psychologically more than a good story. Humans are a storytelling society. It’s in our genes. So give them what. Get the reader entrance by your copy with a hard hitting short story.  Then connect it back to what you’re selling.

¨      Gather testimonials from happy customers. How often do you read a testimonial about how badly this product stunk? Not very often. Testimonials are designed to increase credibility. To put a face on people who have had success with your product. How it made them richer, happier, thinner. Let them speak for you. Your trust quotient goes way up!

If you follow each of these steps thoroughly BEFORE you sit down in front of a blank screen, you have all the elements you need for a successful sales letter. I know. I know. Putting the pieces to the puzzle together can be easier said than done. But no matter what your skill level is at today for writing copy, we all start from these same basic steps.

Who Reviews Your Performance as Business Owner?

May 8

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

No-one. How is your performance measured then? By the performance of your business. If you don’t measure this, no-one else will. It’s all up to you.

A review of your business will identify any areas which are working really well, and any which may require you to take action. As we’ve seen from recent corporate examples such as HIH and One-Tel, being informed about the real health of your business is critical.

If your business is robust, and healthy, you can be assured that you’re doing the right things and performing very well.

What are your ultimate goals for your business? Sell out? Franchise? Establish licensees? Take it to an IPO? Bring in other partners? Whatever your goal, the business must be healthy. You will gain more enjoyment from it, more profit, and have more fun working on it. After all, isn’t that why we’re all in business?

Ask Yourself the Important Questions

What are some of the questions to consider before you assess the overall performance or health of your business?
 What is it worth without you in it?
 How well does it function without you there?
 What is it worth today?
 What would you like it to be worth at some point in the future (short, medium or long term)?
 How long do you plan to run it day to day?
 Do you plan to sell it one day?
 Have you maximised its value?
 How can you make the business run better without you needing to be there all the time?

These questions are the starting point. Then you need to look into your business and make assessments on what needs to be done to get you to your future goals. Changes may be needed, extra attention may be required in some areas, or it may be running perfectly well as it is. There is only one way to assess how healthy your business is.

Run a Health Check on Your Business

This is where a health check comes in. You need to uncover the real status of operations and performance in all key areas:
 Finance
 Sales
 Marketing and promotion
 People
 Products and services
 Customers
 Processes and systems/Production
 Planning and goal setting

Table A

Sales Poor Satisfactory Needs Work Good
Sales revenue        
Sales tools        
Sales team use of time        
Lead generation        
Pipeline building        
Forecasting accuracy        
New customer acquisition        
Relationship building        

For each area, draw up a form with a simple checklist (Table A), rating each area as ‘poor’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘needs work’ or ‘good’. Using the above example, record your rating for each aspect which has been defined for the sales area. You should be able to see the most frequently scored rating, and make an overall assessment of the sales area.

How Do You Rate?

In conjunction with this assessment process, it is always a very valuable exercise to survey your staff/customers/suppliers as appropriate. They ARE your business and you need to know how you are performing, from their perspective. It isn’t necessary to conduct these surveys too often, but they are a useful benchmarking tool to use from time to time.

When you’ve been through all of the broad functions of the business (such as sales, finance, etc.), give each area an overall rating. Again, draw up a simple chart with performance rating across the top, the operational area along the left axis (sales, finance, people, etc.), and tick your ratings in the right columns (Table B).

If an area were generally in pretty good shape, and scored mostly ‘Good’ ratings, but one or two aspects rated a lower score such as ‘Poor’ or ‘Satisfactory’, it would be worth your while to address those under-performing areas now, before they affect all the good parts of the business or area that are working well. As they say, “Prevention is better than cure.”

Table B: Health Summary

Categories Poor Satisfactory Needs Work Good Summary
Finance          
Sales          
Marketing and Promotion          
People          
Products and Services          
Customers          
Processes/Production          
Planning and Goal Setting          

You’ll then be able to see at a glance what the overall health of your business is, and take the appropriate course of action:
 No action required (big tick for your performance, or maybe you haven’t been completely honest in your evaluation…)
 Identify priority areas which require attention
 Decide what action needs to be taken
 Implement improvements
 Review progress in 1, 3, 6, 12 months time as appropriate

The outcome of this process will tell you:
• The strategy required – which will focus you
• What you then have to do – which will improve your operations
• What you need to measure in the follow up review – with results as the outcome
• It will have measured your performance as the manager of the business
• Finally, if you are under-performing in any areas of your business, it will help you to make changes which result in improved performance next time around

Monitor the Vital Signs

The most important indicators that you must constantly watch and attend to are:
• Cashflow and available funds
• Sales, and plenty in the pipeline
• Overheads kept low – don’t let them creep up
• Know where you’re going (have a plan)
• Put systems and procedures in place as you go (so you can delegate as the business grows).

Hats Off to a Great Aussie Entrepreneur – Dick Smith

May 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

I Just watched a very compelling and inded  inspiring  interview on TV, (Talking Heads ABC TV May 7th) with the legendary Australian entrepreneur and businessman Dick Smith. At age 62 he has achieved more than many would consider doing in two lifetimes, let alone one.

For those overseas (and those locals who may have forgotten.) Dick and his wife Pip have set up a range of enterprises and done some amazing adventures, here are just a few…

  • Helicopter and fixed wing pilot
  • Publisher of Australian Geographic
  • Created Dick Smith Foods – Dick Smith Electronics (now turning over $1billion per year – started out with $610!)
  • Has been ballooning
  • Raced a solar car
  • Flew around the world in his helicopter – flew around Mt Everest and soon to do K2 (the second highest peak in the world)
  • Generally an all round champion of good causes, able to give generously to charities etc.

A few of the things he said that could be useful to other business people.

  • “Pull great ideas together and make them work” – Seek out great things and copy them, improvise adapt and overcome to make them better where you can.
  • “A fair go is probably the most important ethos we can have as Australians” – Giving and creating fairer opportunities for others and ourselves.
  • “Always have a head for adventure” – Dick was a boy scout and often went ‘walkabout’ finding lizards etc in the bush, on business he says this helped him develop goals and the desire for goals.

Dick is a great Australian and has certainly achieved a great deal in his 62 years on the planet, and hopefully some of his adventurous vigour will rub off onto others so they explore powerful positive goals, what about you?

5 Critical Mistakes Most Consultants and Coaches Make

May 5

Posted by Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 4 Comments

Think you have what it takes to be an consultant or a coach? I wasn’t so sure I knew when I first started in 1999. All I knew was I desperately wanted to work from home to raise my two sons after my divorce. It took a lot of trial and error to get to the stable and profitable business I am running now in 2007. There are some things I learned along the way I wish I knew much earlier in the game.One thing I learned is that writing is a very small part of being a successful entrepreneur. Don’t get me wrong. You DO need to know how to write. But your success depends largely on your savvy as a businessperson. How do I know? Because I’ve played it from both sides of the street. And I didn’t begin to enjoy success until I started doing some very distinct things in my business.

Please let me share with you some of the mistakes I made starting out so you can avoid those pitfalls yourself…and catapult to success much faster than it took me.

Mistake #1: Don’t attract new clients
When I first started out in 1999 I had exactly one client. He kept me very busy…for awhile. Then, without warning, he suddenly shifted his business to 100% offline and began using a copywriter with more experience in that area. I floundered for 10 months before I got back on my feet again from that blow.

Solution: NEVER stop marketing yourself. Even if you have a full practice, don’t stop getting the word out. Write articles and press releases. Do interviews whenever possible. Start an ezine and/or a blog so your name is always out there. Don’t get caught flat-footed.

Mistake #2: Don’t effectively manage your clients
At first I was so grateful to have any clients I let them call all the shots – regardless of what was in my best interest. It took me a long time to realize every client is not a match for me. Sometimes they were unreasonable in deadlines. Other times they would call me at all hours…including 6 a.m. and even on the weekends. (Until I learned to communicate better there were even a few clients I had to fire!) Bottom line is you can never have enough communication.

Solution: Have the client fill out a detailed questionnaire to open up lines of communication or have a long phone interview (which you record). Get a feel for his or her expectations. Add an extra cushion to your deadline. If possible, get a gatekeeper (assistant) to set up schedule so you can focus on what you do best – writing.

Mistake #3: Poor time management
Eager to please, I often did not give myself enough lead time for an assignment. I’d say, “I’ll do it!” before I looked at the reality of my schedule. So I’d have to pull all nighters or miss important family events. I was incredibly stressed and not a lot of fun to be around.

Solution: Schedule your daily schedule BEFORE you go to bed at night. Turn off email until you’ve made some headway with your copy. And use a kitchen timer to work in increments of 35 minutes (studies show after that frame your mind craves distraction). When the ding goes off, get up, stretch and clear your head.

Mistake #4: Not getting paid enough
Face it…in your business you do a lot more work than most people realize. You have to do deep research in your industry, around your competition, and with your own target market. You have to attract leads. Then you have to write powerful copy that crawls inside the head of the prospect and leads them to a specific action. You should get paid what you are really worth – no exceptions.

Solution: Value yourself enough to get paid what you’re worth.

Mistake #5: Don’t invest in yourself
I have read the classic “Think and Grow Rich” 16 times. Every time I read it, I learn something new. I have watched the motivational movie “The Secret” 6 times to date. I go to seminars (even when I’ve heard the speakers before). Because I learn something new every time. I have a huge marketing library of books, binders, home study courses, CDs, DVDs, MP3s and I listen to them over and over. Again, every time I take in material, whether it’s new or old, I learn something new.

Successful people in all walks of life invest in themselves. It’s one of the keys that separates them from the less successful. (Trust me, at times it hurt to part with the massive amounts of cash I’ve laid out for this education. But the payoff happens every time. Just do it.)

Solution: If you’re looking to attract more money into your business, start by investing in yourself. Think LONG TERM. As the old adage says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

Use the power of ‘connectors’ to multiply your client growth!

Apr 26

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

First of all, do you have connectors working ‘for’ your business?

Read each of these statements below, and say whether you agree or disagree with them:

• So many people, especially those with service-based companies, say they have grown their business mostly through referrals. Maybe you have too.

• Mostly, they/you do little to generate these referrals, and they just flow into your business.

• Sometimes, we have to ask our contacts for introductions to specific people they know, or ask them if they know anyone they could refer us to in a particular organisation or industry.

• Some of our contacts and clients are far better at referring new prospective clients and contacts to us than others.

• The good referrers often will refer many new business opportunities to us.

• These people often have great networks, have a lot of contact with different people during the course of their business and personal life. They’re connected to a lot of contacts, and they connect people together. That’s how they refer new client opportunities to you.

• When we receive our new clients, through the ‘connector’ referrals, we look after our new clients.

So far, so good? I’m assuming (and hoping) you agreed with most of those statements. I’m hoping that you know, and have this kind of referral relationship, with at least one connector.

‘6 degrees of separation’ can build your client base exponentially

Let’s look into this a bit further. Keep asking yourself if you agree with these statements:

• We spend as much time and focus looking after our connectors, as we do with our clients.

• We thank and reward our connectors for helping us grow our business.

• We proactively build our network of connectors and potential sources of new introductions and referrals.

If you agreed with most of these statements, you’re doing a great job at growing your new client growth opportunities. If not, you probably need to start building your own network and thinking more strategically about who you know, and who they know.

I use this simple matrix with my clients, to help them leverage off the relationships they have with their connectors, contacts, and clients. It will help you to:

    • Build your network
    • Connect you to more people who you could potentially do business with
    • Focus you on strengthening relationships with key people
    • Be clear about who you have the most positive business relationships with (in both a business and personal sense)
    • Focus on the best-fit relationship building activities for your business
    • Build client growth from new connections and contacts

Follow this 3-step process to help you build your own connector network:

Step 1: Use the guidelines below to help you map out:
• Your direct network – connectors, contacts, your clients, people you know of or may have met once or twice. There are 4 levels.
• Your ‘indirect’ network – The contacts, colleagues, client base etc of your direct network.

Connectors – Your Direct Network

Level 4

    • These people seem to know a lot of people.

    • You are likely to not know them very well, or at all. They could be a friend of a friend.

    • If you target them successfully, you could be connected to a large network of their contacts.

Level 3

    • These people may be connectors, but you have to qualify.

    • They appear to have access to a large network of people.

    • You know them well enough; they could connect you if asked.

    • They may not feel comfortable connecting people.

Level 2

    • These people may have an extensive client network which is complementary to your business.

    • They may not necessarily connect you if you don’t prompt them.

    • If you drew a line from these people to others, the end network would be very large.

Level 1

    • Centres of influence are not only well connected, but well respected. Others listen to them. They may have high profiles.

    • They will refer you to others proactively.

    • They support and promote you.

    • They connect people.

Connectors’ Contacts – Your Indirect Network
Who moves in the same circles as Level 4?

    -

    -

    -

    -

Who is in the same circles as Level 3?

    -

    -

    -

    -

Who is known by/works with Level 2?

    -

    -

    -

    -

Who is closely connected to Level 1 (eg: via Boards)

    -

    -

    -

    -

Step 2: Identify which companies, specific clients, or people you would like to be introduced to or referred to.

For example, let’s say you’d like to contact the head of Sales at a particular company, and you know that one of your clients does business with this company; ask them if they know who heads up Sales. Alternatively, ask if they could put you in touch with the contact they do have, so you can find the head of Sales via this other person.

Step 3: Ask for an introduction. Make the call/send an email/letter.

This can be a very powerful tool, but DON’T abuse it, and ALWAYS deliver value back to the person who connected you. You have to give something too, that is of value to the connector, and which will continue to grow the relationship you have with that person.

Draw up the Connector Matrix, and give it a try over the next month. See where the Power of Connectors and 6 degrees of separation can take you! Good luck in building your client growth opportunities.

Promotional Marketing: Choosing The Right Type Of Product

Apr 4

Posted by Michael Crooks in Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

As marketers and businesses seek to promote themselves, their products or events, they need to think through the promotional products they use in their promotions. While they need to consider the positives, they also must explore possible negatives. A product that may seem like a sure-fire hit may actually turn into a public relations problem. Take Temporary Tattoos for example.

It’s no secret that kids love temporary tattoos. They’re the “stickers” of the 2000’s. And on the face of it, temporary tattoos and kids are a perfect match. In a retail setting, give the kids a couple temporary tattoos to keep them busy and you can effectively have a conversation with the parents. At festivals and other public events, if you hand out temporary tattoos to the kids, it’s like having 100’s of little billboards running around with your logo on their forehead, cheeks and hands.

The downside is, most temporary tattoos require water to apply. That’s not a problem when there’s a supply of clean water handy. But when kids don’t have access to water, they use the next best thing … their spit. Therein lies a health concern.

Germs and bacteria in saliva can spread all kinds of diseases from the common cold and the flu to Tuberculosis and Meningitis. While one solution is to take away the temporary tattoos … an alternative is Waterless Temporary Tattoos.

Because they don’t require water to apply, waterless temporary tattoos eliminate the need for kids to use their saliva when there’s no water available. That greatly reduces the spread of saliva-related germs and the mess commonly associated with applying temporary tattoos.

Because of their sanitary issues and ease of use, waterless tattoos are quickly finding a following within such organizations as the March of Dimes (MOD). A Michigan MOD chapter began using them for their walkathon in the fall of ’06. Word quickly spread within the organization. Currently, the MOD uses waterless temporary tattoos in 12 states.

Another example of a fun product with potential for calamity is flying plastic disks (FPD). Many companies manufacture or otherwise offer FPD’s for the promotional market. On the face of it, most people see little harm in throwing the disk back and forth with a friend or perhaps teaching your dog to make spectacular catches in mid-air. The problem is, not all plastic flying disks are the same.

Many of the most inexpensive are made of plastic that can splinter when broken. If, as a promotional item, the FPD’s are intended for children or the pet market, physical harm can come to a child who falls and breaks a FPD or to a dog that breaks one while biting it.

On the other end of the spectrum, the more expensive flying disks are made of a more pliable plastic that may tear and become deformed through rugged use — but will not break and splinter.

One way to avoid possible problems is to test samples of products you are considering for use in your promotional marketing campaigns. Role play with the product, use it, play with it and attempt to uncover the negatives. Can the product be used in a way other than its intended purpose?

Several years ago a popular kids fast food chain changed the design of their coffee stirrers after it was discovered that drug addicts were using the spoon-like stirrers … to snort cocaine. Not exactly the publicity the company wanted.

Probably the best way to avoid problems is to consult a local promotional marketing or advertising specialties professional. These knowledgeable people can provide valuable insight and steer you toward products that will serve your best interests.

When the purchase is based solely on price or without proper thought … the results can be undesirable at best. However, with a little guidance, thought and sampling … products such as temporary tattoos and flying plastic disks can be used safely and effectively to promote your company or event.

Can thoughts really create your future?

Apr 2

Posted by Debbie Carr in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

You bet! Can I create a million dollars by sitting on my backside and meditating each day? No way!

With all the hype about The Secret and the Laws of Attraction, there have been many people jumping on the bandwagon to make a quick buck. All of a sudden there are experts in abundance thinking appearing everywhere. I like to consider myself as one of those people except I am not foolish enough to talk about something I have not experienced results with – and I am talking about in the real world, not some massive internet marketing expert.

In 1987 my late brother told me about affirmations “everything you think becomes your reality” he said. I noticed at the time that when I concentrated my thoughts on happy positive things, I was happy and people smiled at me constantly. I have also experienced the Law of Attraction working its magic in the reverse i.e. whenever I have had doubts about myself and worried, I got more of the things I worried about. If you were to sit back and think about this with regards to your own life, I am sure you would find the same thing.

Let me explain how the Law of Attraction really works. Firstly, words alone won’t change things for you but they will help you feel better, if you constantly think happier and more positive thoughts. Feeling happy is what attracts more into your life of what you want. Feeling bad attracts into your life what you don’t want. Put simply if you concentrate on your doubts, insecurities and your problems you will FEEL terrible, hence you will get more of what you don’t want because that is where your thoughts are focused. Like attracts Like.

Try this experiment for just two weeks. Every time you worry about your business or something that you are not happy about, concentrate on something you would like. Erase all doubts and worry from your mind just concentrate on something you would really like. It’s not easy to do this, you have to make a commitment to yourself and believe in yourself. Whenever you start to feel a doubt you have to erase it immediately and think and visualize of what it feels like to be in the place you really want to be.

What happens when you apply these laws of attraction is; that you start to meet the right people, you start to have creative ideas, you are in the right place at the right time and hence you start to grow your business, your career improves or some other great positive change happens.

I have been to the edge of despair and back many times. Firstly with my brother committing suicide, my marriage failing, being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, finding out one of my other brother’s baby isn’t really his and struggling to build my business which was far harder than I had ever anticipated. There were times I just wanted to walk away from it, when I didn’t want to wake up in the morning, but once I really started using the laws of attraction, things changed dramatically.

I will put this to you in a nutshell. What you worry about makes you feel bad, the bad vibrations attract more of what you don’t want. If you are worrying try and change your thoughts to feeling what it would be like to experience your desire. Maybe you are in business and want it to take off. How does it feel when it has taken off? What do you see? Where are you? How many staff do you employ? Who do you meet with? How many customers do you have?

Please do not be fooled into thinking that you will win the lottery or some miracle will just appear. If you really use these laws, things will happen to you and at first you will think it is coincidence, but you will soon learn that the things are happening because of your own positive mental attitude. This is not some New Age waffle either, it is a proven science.

Some tips to help you stay in an abundance way of thinking:

(1) Write out I AM statements. This is very powerful. For example, I am driving my brand new Peugeot 207cc, green in colour with a black leather interior. I feel the sun’s rays on my face as I drive with the top down. I AM feeling exhilarated and happy, feeling and hearing the wind rush by as I drive up the coastal road, on my way for a week-end in the vineyards . Statements like this are descriptive, and you can FEEL what it is like in your vision.
(2) Have a vision board – get a board and stick pictures of all the things you want and look at it whenever you can. Every time you look, make sure you feel like you already have it.
(3) Jump at opportunity. Once you start using these laws opportunities will be given to you all the time – seize and act on them.
(4) You still have to work at it – $1,000,000 isn’t going to magically appear whilst you are sipping cocktails in the hammock.
(5) Read! Every day, read everything you can on these laws. Try this free e-book to start with As A Man Thinketh
(6) Don’t give up! It’s hard going to keep your thoughts on what you want when the chips are down. Don’t stop.

If you would like to learn more about these laws of attraction visit www.coyote.com.au and go to the motivational products page.

How do I know these Laws work? Here is just one example how it has worked for me. How much do you value your health? If you were diagnosed with a debilitating, incurable disease what would you do? Would you say to yourself “Oh woe is me, I am sick, I can’t work any more, I have an incurable disease”. Or would you, like I did, say “Oh, well I will keep really fit and that disease won’t bother me”. Now you can see how powerful the law of attraction is. I chose the first option.

Trademarks, not what you think…

Mar 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

I know you are probably thinking I am going to chat about the little TM symbol signifying a registered trademark on an item, short answer, no

And so to “trademarks”, I heard about this through my wife’s school, they are working with the students on establishing things that are of value to them and they call them trademarks, the things that clearly point out what their class stands for – tolerance – forgiveness – support etc… Now when I talk to businesses, large med or small, the values they have become an issue and its usually early on in the discussion. Now if I talk about “trademarks” I can do the same but make it a bit more ‘street smart’ for some of these organisations.

Which does it for you? Which do you appreciate and or understand better, values or trademarks? I guess for me it was a difficult paradigm shift at first but when I looked at it in the cold hard light of day, using ‘trademarks’ was in many cases more straight forward.

So lets give it a go…

What things are your trademarks? E.G. things that are vital and or important above all else to your business. Here are some examples.

• Profit

• People

• Customer service

• OHS

Okay there are some basics, now what would you do to embellish these to make them MORE of your ‘trademark’, things that you would be able to assist or tell your staff about the CORE things of high interest (of value) to your business.

Profit, (hey you’re in business right… not a charity) lets focus on this one for now, so how do you add to that one word to ‘tell yourself and the staff’ about it, what qualities if you like would make it stand out, or seem better for you (and in the end them). – lets try this, “We develop sustainable profitability as it is one indicator that we are providing goods and or services that are valued by our consumers.” Okay now instead of just profit, we are afer sustainable (ongoing) profit, and we use it as an indicator our goods and services are valued, now it has more MEANING, meaning that is of use to us.

Using this to our advantage, we can cover people that think we are too money hungry, if we just say profit for example, and use it as an idicator of our effectiveness. So over time, if we made a $10k profit and then in the next time frame we made a $15k profit then we are simply grabbing more customers and influencing them to buy, our market share must therefore be up! (It’s simplistic I know but hey its a basic indicator at this stage.)

Lets go further, lets note that it is an indicator, so for this to work we would need to measure things to be able to report it has grown, if its in decline then we would want to make urgent changes to the system to improve the profit. (Powerful huh!)

I hope you can see that the org’s values and ‘trademarks’ are one and the same, and can be very useful in making things happen in your organsiation large med or small.

Explore the idea of ‘trademarks’ with your people, ask them what are the most important things at the core of the business, start a list of words (like I did above) and then work to add to that to give each one more meaning. Then your business will develop a solid foundation to work from, be able to see what things need development and then you can put in place action plans to make them happen as they will have more meaning than before.

For more information on “Trademarks” click here.

Why be in business?

Mar 5

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

So you want to be, or are in business, how come? What motivates you, or drives you to do it, or want to do it?

For many its the percieved lifestyle (golfing fishing, haning out with business buddies while others are working for you), or is it the money, or the sense of achievement…. Whatever it is I think its vital to know.

Many businesses fail in the first 12 months or so, and its not for the want of trying… long hours, hard slog, marketing, managing, operational issues the list is extensive and it all needs work. For many the hard slog of operating a business comes as a shock when they realise the startup idea they had is now a ideal heartache!

So why be in buisness, whats the need, the want, the desire…. what is it at your CORE not on the surface. What makes you want to really do it? In a post war era there may be those that got started due to being in life threatening situations and they clearly said “There is more to life than a 9 – 5 job, my destiny is what I make of it, not what my boss, my family or my wife wants to make of it…” And if ever they needed to stop and smell the roses, they counted their blessings for being alive and knew intimately what drove or motivated them to be in business. These people have a sense of higher purpose and want to make sure they make the most of what they have.

On the other hand those that get into business for other reasons, (It’s a family business and I HAVE to take over) would possibly be doing so from a completely different angle, the need is great in one sense, but the want is different (they may not want to, but have to in some cases).

The minute you figure out why you need the business at a deeper level than “I need the money” or “I need to buy a job” then you will have a solid reason to ensure you make the business work.

Here’s a big example, what if I was to tell you a business you wanted to set up and a product you want to manufacture will “save the country from being wiped out by aliens, and keping it going will ensure they stay away”. Would that be different to “My wife says I will not get a job so I should buy a franchise so I am kept busy…” of course it is, the drive to make the business work is infinitely stronger, the sense of purpose, and the benefits are truly compelling in the first instance.

Then add to this the ability you would have to “sell” the mision and vision to the team would be VERY different. Your ability to lead would be VERY different, if things got out of hand and a staff member wanted to quit you would have a VERY different pep talk to them, “C’mon, don’t leave, your country needs you, we need you… you are a vital member of this team…” (Mind you you probably would not need to pep them up and remind them of the mission and vision, the team and the project as a whole probably would be very compelling for them.)

And the sense of achievement at the end of the process… WOW! we saved the country… PHEW! YAY! etc…

So make the need compelling, explore it, roll in it! revell in it! MAKE SURE the need is something worthy of your efforts, worthy of your time.

Leadership frameworks

Mar 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

When it comes to leadership, business operators are given the reigns often by default rather than as a planned part of the process. So here’s a framework you can use as a starting point. At any time you can refer back to it and ask yorself, “How am I doing in each of these areas?” it might just be the development framework you ahve been looking for…

A suggestion might be to grab a piece of paper and write down the practical implications to your organisation, then assess yourself and your organisation based on these.
Effective leadership utilises the following aspects:

Technical
An effective leader demonstrates the capacity to optimise the organisations, human, and physical resources through relevant management practices and organisational systems that contribute to the achievement of the organisations vision and goals.

  • Thinks and plans strategically
  • Aligns resources with desired outcomes
  • Holds self and others to account

Human
An effective leader demonstrates the ability to foster a safe, purposeful and inclusive environment, and a capacity to develop constructive and respectful relationships with all stakeholders.

  • Advocate for all stakeholders
  • Develops relationships
  • Develops individual and collective capacity

Educational
An effective leader demonstrates the capacity to lead, manage and monitor organisational improvements through a current and analytical understanding of the organisations processes and its implications for enhancing the organisation as a whole.

  • Shapes the structure and style of teaching
  • Focusses on achievement
  • Promotes enquiry and reflection

Symbolic
An effective leader demonstrates the capacity to model important values, beliefs and behaviours to the organisation and wider community, including a commitment to creating and sustaining effective personal learning communities within the organisation at all levels.

  • Develops and manages self
  • Aligns actions and shared values
  • Creates and shares knowledge

Cultural
An effective leader demonstrates an understanding of the characteristics of effective organisations and a capacity to promote a sustainable vision of the future, underpinned by joint purposes and values, which secure the commitment and alignment of stakeholders to realise the potential of the organisation.

  • Shapes the future
  • Develops the organisations culture
  • Sustains partnerships and networks

Your aim as a leader, based on all of the above, is to create an organisatation that thrives, not just survives. To do this you might have to think outside the square and stretch yourself to make relevance of the information to your organisation. However the results can be exceptional and you may just find the leadership skills you thought you might never have, have just become achieveable.

Take the bull by the horns as they say, and lead on…

10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays

Feb 24

Posted by Alexandria Brown in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don’t have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.

1. Evaluate your virtual team and make changes if necessary.

Are administrative tasks taking up most of your time and keeping you from working ON your business? Then hire a virtual assistant. (See my article on this topic at www.EzineQueen.com/everything.htm.) Are you paying too much in taxes? Meet with your accountant to talk about getting more aggressive with write-offs, or make appointments to interview new accountants. Same goes for your lawyer — do you love him/her? If not, take this time to ask around for referrals.

2. Learn how to get more leads and sales automatically via your Web site.

Would you like to be getting business leads and sales 24-7 using your website and email? Then finally take time to learn how it all can work for you. It’s really a simple process, and you can set it up for the new year! Either register for a live workshop to learn how (such as my Online Success Blueprint Workshop coming up in March 2006) or buy a home study course and follow it step by step!

3. Revamp your e-zine or launch an e-zine.

Remember that having a ready list of warm prospects is your goldmine, and having an e-zine positions you for more sales on a regular basis and for the LONG-TERM. The beginning of the new year is the perfect time to release your first issue! If you’re not publishing yet, get ready with all the great free resources at www.EzineQueen.com.

4. Clean out that e-mail inbox once and for all!

Unanswered e-mails, people to follow up with, information not recorded or filed in the proper places — need I say more? Delete e-mails that are more than a few months old. Set up e-mail folders to help you stay more organized in the future. And if your program allows, set “rules” to automatically sort incoming e-mails into those folders.

5. Clean out your filing cabinet, bookshelf, desk, etc.

Is your office a fire hazard? Do you have to rustle through giant stacks of paper like a large rodent to find anything? Will your spouse not even enter the premises? Put on some good music, start digging, and make piles. Make sure to have plenty of trash bags and cardboard file boxes on hand. (And a good glass of wine always makes it more fun.)

6. Upgrade or clean up your computer.

Your computer probably holds most of the information that’s crucial to your business, so take care of it! Now’s a great time to do an overhaul. Upgrade your operating system (do you STILL have Windows 95?), get rid of unnecessary files, archive old files to CDs, add more disk space for all those downloads, and do system maintenance. Not sure how to go about this? Find a geek-for-hire to come and help you out.

7. Let your clients know how much you are thankful for their business.

Whether it’s holiday cards or thank-you notes, this is a good practice for both your business and you. Letting the universe know you’re grateful for what you have will only bring you better things in the future.

8. Plan an upcoming teleseminar.

For a quick cash-flow boost, plan a paid teleseminar! These phone-based events are easy to do and can be great income generators. Either host it yourself on a topic you’re qualified to talk about, or invite a special guest to interview. To encourage holiday signups, offer special pricing for those who register before the new year. (Learn how to host a successful teleseminar at www.EzineQueen.com/teleseminar.htm)

9. Write down your 25 best accomplishments for this past year.

This simple exercise is extremely powerful. Time goes by so quickly that we forget to celebrate the good things that happen. First I light a candle and write down my 25 accomplishments. Then, taking each one in, I read them aloud. After the last one, I blow the candle out, and then IMMEDIATELY make a list of 10 goals for the new year. (After truly acknowledging all the amazing things you did this year, you’ll feel incredibly powerful and set even higher goals!)

10. Actually enjoy the holidays!

Yes! I realized that for the past few years I’ve been running around like a nut every December and suddenly the next year is here. Christmas and New Year’s blaze by like a freight train, and I’m back to the grind shortly thereafter. Where’s the joy, peace, and love?

Remind yourself what the holidays are for — to take a step back and appreciate what you have, to enjoy your family and friends, to give to others, and to be good to yourself. So take that walk in the snow, go to that tree lighting with your kids, get that massage, and plan a leisurely shopping day during the week.

Remember, we only have so many Christmases in a lifetime.

Five back office essentials

Feb 13

Posted by Robert Gerrish in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 1 Comment

If there’s one thing that can get in the way of a smooth running solo enterprise, it’s the lack of an organised back office. Sadly it’s not unusual to see a business that fronts up well yet is a disaster behind the scenes.
Here are my Top Five back office essentials, see how you stack up:
1. Always be ready for a new client
It’s all well and good to be marketing and networking, but meaningless if you’re not fully prepared to accept a new client.
Always have blank files at the ready; welcome letters drafted; contracts and agreements in draft form and invoice templates set to go.

2. Start as you mean to go on
Get things off to the right start by taking and staying in control. Make sure you explain fully what you’ll deliver and when. Giving a new client cause to chase you up is not a good look.
3. Have help at hand
What are you going to do if the breadth of a new assignment expands rapidly or if additional work lands in your lap? Don’t automatically take on work that will prove a burden. Instead, be ready to recommend other service providers. Or outsource to a trusted ally. As soloists we need to have a strategy to accommodate these situations. What’s yours?

4. Be clear about money
If you frequently find yourself in uncomfortable financial situations, it’s almost always due to a reluctance to confront the mechanics of money. But it’s simply not enough to tell your client how much you charge and leave it at that. When will they be billed, is it at the beginning or the end of a project? What are your terms of payment? What happens if the original brief changes and more/less work is required? Get the language right and this angst will dissipate.

5. Keep everything physical in order
If it takes you an age to lay your hands on a file when your client calls, the anxiety this causes will be sure to come across in your voice.
Keeping your back office tidy and well-organised ensures the engine of your business runs smoothly. After all, you may intend your finished canvas to look beautiful, but if you’ve left the lid off the paint overnight you’ll not be creating any masterpieces.

Should You Offer a Money-Back Guarantee?

Jan 30

Posted by Alexandria Brown in Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 17 Comments

Many new business owners ask me, “Should I offer a money-back guarantee? I know it will help sales, but the risk really scares me.” I offer guarantees on everything I sell, but that doesn’t mean you should too. Here are some factors to consider and some ideas to get you started.

The Pros:

A guarantee puts your prospect at ease, giving her no reason NOT to buy or NOT to work with you. After all, if you don’t stand behind your product or service 100%, what are you doing in business?

This is especially true if you’re selling products via the Internet. People at your website don’t have the chance to meet you in person and see that you’re legitimate, so it’s your job to give them complete confidence in buying from you.

The Cons:

With some service-based businesses such as consulting, it may be hard to guarantee your work or your results. (Especially if your clients’ cooperation is required to ensure their success.)

Also, a few turkeys may capitalize on your generosity. For example, my “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine” system was originally an e-book when I launched it a few years ago. It would not be unusual to see a person purchase it, download it, and request a refund 2 minutes later. Obviously they hadn’t even read it yet and they just wanted to get it for free.

But in my experience with Internet info-products, the amount of sales you GAIN from offering a guarantee dramatically outweighs the risk.

Types of Guarantees You Can Offer

Money-Back Guarantee: You promise to give your customer her money back if the product does not work, or if she’s not happy with your products or services.

Satisfaction Guarantee: Pretty much the same thing as the money-back guarantee.

Price-Protection Guarantee: This can mean either locking in a price forever, such as with services that are billed on a recurring basis, or guaranteeing that you have the lowest price anywhere for that particular service or product.

On-time Guarantee: If your clients are always concerned about getting your service or product on time, this is a good one for you.

And these are just a few ideas!

Should You Make it Easy, or Hard?

Some business owners make their customers jump through hoops to get their money back. While I understand not wanting to make it TOO easy to get an instant refund, there are risks. If you make it really hard, your customers may just skip dealing with you and go direct to their credit card company.

I had to do this last year with a company whose seminar I signed up for. After registering for their event, I was scheduled to speak that same week across the country, so there was no way I could attend. My assistant called their office multiple times, but we kept getting the runaround. Finally, after three weeks, I just called my credit card company. They took care of the matter promptly once we filled out a simple form.

This process is called a “chargeback”, which can reflect negatively on the vendor’s merchant account standing as well as result in penalty fees for the vendor. So obviously, as a vendor, you want to avoid chargebacks by making the refund process easy for your customers.

Should There Be a Time Limit?

Setting a time limit is up to you. Common ones are 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, a year, or a lifetime. Some studies show the longer the guarantee, the less returns you’ll get. Why? Customers are more likely to mark their calendar regarding a shorter guarantee. With a longer guarantee, they don’t feel pressured, so many of them forget about it.

Here’s Some Wording You Can Use

Here are some effective phrases that are often used with guarantees:

* unconditional
* no-risk
* risk-free trial
* no hassle
* hassle-free
* cancel at any time
* double your money back
* 0rder now, decide later
* 0rder today, make up your mind anytime
* no questions asked

In fact, feel free to copy the guarantee I have on my own sales page for my “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine” system at http://www.ezinequeen.com/tutorial/. I won’t mind at all!

Verbal Legibility: The Secret To Understandable Messages

Jan 23

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

After my third attempt to de-code the phone number from my voice mail … I gave up. Seems Frank Janson … Johnson …  Jorson or something like that from some company in Mauzoula or Missouri wants me to call him back. His number is 269-6 something, four, 36 or maybe it’s 3 zero then 6, 8 then something. Whatever! Point is, I’m not calling him back. And if he ever does get a hold of me, I’ll be less than enthusiastic about dealing with him since he’s already wasted my time and caused me a fair amount of frustration by leaving a message I can’t understand. He has what I call a “Verbal Legibility” factor of zero.

Where I come from, the whole point of leaving a phone number is so people can call you back. But too often, the person leaving the message is too bored, tired, lazy or busy to put a cohesive, understandable sentence together. Or they try to be cute with the way they say 55 triple 4 oh 2. Is that 50 then 5 or is it 55? And by the way, it’s a zero not an “oh”.

It seems silly to tell people to speak clearly and slowly. But an enormous number of people talk way too fast, way to soft, talk “mush-mouthed” or combine 2 or more of these traits to create a message they themselves couldn’t possibly understand. So yes, while it seems silly … I’ll do it anyway. “At the tone, PLEASE, speak clearly and slowly.”

As far as the number goes, here’s a tip I use. While you’re saying your number — write it … neatly.  Say your number NO FASTER than you can write it. Then repeat it. If you have no writing utensil, pretend to write it in the air.

Another tip, leave your phone number at the beginning of the message. In the event your target doesn’t get your number the first time they hear it, they don’t have to listen back through your whole boring message to get it.

How’s your verbal legibility when leaving messages? Record yourself some day when you’re busy returning phone calls. Listen to yourself … you just might learn something.

Do it with massive action.

Dec 6

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, Starting out in business | No Comments

Many people in prosperous businesses will gladly tell you a significant part of success lies in just doing it. Many times a challenge, project or endeavour may seem too much, or it may seem as if the project is made up of too many smaller parts and things that must be done before anything else can get done . . .  in time we may simply give up, or make a mental note to do it next week, next month, next year. Soon the whole thing is forgotten only to see that someone else has done it months or years later, and often not as well!

Don’t forget, don’t let life’s daily grind get in the way, and avoid making excuses for why you can’t do something. Don’t have enough money? Find a way to get what you need, whether through barter, a loan, or another investor. There are various ways to get what may now seems unattainable, it may take a little ingenuity and some research.

Not enough time? Think, for example, about all the successful entrepreneurs who once may have held down full-time jobs while plotting, scheming and building in their shed at night. Make the time, it may not always be easy, but you can often make a realistic time plan and work the plan by using “idle” time (commuting, lunch breaks, twenty minutes before work, T.V. time, etc.) to work on your ideas.

What about courage? Forget it!. Feel the fear and do it anyway. You haven’t really lived if you’ve never tackled a project that made you excited, motivated, confused, depressed and challenged you to come up with a good answer (all in the one day!). Everyone, even the most successful people in any area, experience fear. The difference between these people and the ones that fail to accomplish their goals is simply that the achievers did it anyway.

Finally, forget about the ‘dream-crushers’. Many people spend too much time miserable in their own lives and bringing down others, which can include their loved ones who want to pursue a passion (even if it is a faint dream to begin with). If you can’t forget about them, use their scepticism as the force to drive you forward, Just like a person at war fighting for truth Justice and the allied way. Pursue your dream, work it, push it, let it frustrate you at times, but most of all give it your best shot.

In time your dreams can become reality and those sceptics who thought you could never do it will be left wondering how you did it. This is the point to move on, the point to make sure you can set more dreams to get greater results, to forge fresh ways when all else may seem to fail around you.

Above all, stick to your dreams, without them life would be a dreary affair, which most would not bother with.

In business there are those that take some action and a few that take massive action. In my experience with business and personal goals, those who take massive action will be streets ahead of the rest and be the most able to handle change, it is as if they know that massive action will get them to the destination faster, more effectively, empower others on the way as well as assissting them to handle an ever changing environment.

These people also note that the ‘dream-crushers’ are no longer a barrier to achieveing, they deflect their negativity and put the energy to more effective use.

So watch out for your dreams, the easiest idea may take the longest, the more complex may be the simplest in the long run, however the amazing thing about pursuing them is the way they will always evolve and challenge you when you least expect it!

So why do prospects say, “It costs too much?

Nov 17

Posted by Wayne Berry in People!, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

“More sales are lost by sales people who fail to get to the “real objection” than for any other reason!”

Wayne Berry

As I was saying…

A company which I eventually did some sales training for a few years ago decided to put this to the test. Their product (actually a service) was priced at $3,100 and the company authorised their entire sales team to go out and see all of their prospects who were procrastinating on their decision, or had said “no” and offer the same product for just $1,500. They were allowed to do this for a full month.

So what do you think happened?

Did their sales go through the roof as their sales people said they would because “price was the problem”?

Here’s what happened. Less than 10% of these procrastinating, price sensitive prospects actually decided to go ahead and buy or reverse their decision not to buy.

That’s right less than 10% bought!

You see price was not the problem! These prospects were not going to buy at any price. The “promotion” (which incidentally I did not agree with) was a complete failure but it did show that price was not the real problem…

The real objection was “I don’t see the value”!

Over the weeks ahead we trained these sales people to sell on value and not on price. They sold at full price from that day on and this involved developing a range of skills including; .

  • Rapport building
  • Trust building
  • Asking questions to understand their prospect’s real needs – both “logical” and “emotional”
  • How to present the benefits of their products in a way that addressed their prospect’s real needs
  • How to ask their prospects for a decision without pressure or “clever tricky closes”, and most importantly…

How to answer the price objection when it came up

So what happened? Over the first 30 day period sales rose by 43%. During the next 30 days they rose by a massive 80%, and in the next 30 days by more 100%.

That’s right, sales doubled!

So how do you sell the value?

Well a prospect determines whether your proposition is value for money or not by weighing up the benefits your proposition offers, versus the cost (or more correctly the “investment”).

Value is a perception and you can change this perceived value by explaining the benefits in detail (not the features) as they relate to your prospect’s needs (determined by your skillful use of questions before making yor presentation) and this can then tip the “value for money scale” in favour of good value for money.

If you do this well, then you will often eliminate the “It costs too much” objection entirely.

If however it does come up, this is how to answer it.

“Mr Prospect I understand how you feel, I’ve had other clients who also felt this way, but when they went ahead here’s what they found…”

At this point you go on to sell the benefits.

This technique is called the “Feel, felt, found technique”

This is just one of the strategies and techniques we trained those sales people to use and the increase in sales was dramatic.

And this is not an isolated case, over the last 12 months alone I’ve shown tens of thousands of sales people across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia how to sell on value rather than on price and…

How to get past objections that stop 90% of sales people.

And while the price objection can be a tough one to handle, there is an even tougher objection to handle and get past to make the sale than the price objection.

So what is this toughest of all objections?

Well it’s the one that costs sales people more commissions and sales than any other objection.

It’s the un-stated objection!

It’s often disguised as, “I’d like to think it over!”

Well this is not a real objection. It’s an excuse, a “smoke-screen” to hide the real objection. However there is a brilliant way that we have developed to handle the “smoke-screen objection” and to use it as a springboard to close more sales than you ever have before.

Have a great week this week. Make it a great week

Does Your Voice Mail Message Say, “I’m An Idiot?”

Nov 7

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept | 1 Comment

So I’m on a tight deadline and I get this guy’s voicemail and he says, “Hi. I’m either on the phone or away from my desk. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” I’m thinking, “Well that’s just brilliant Einstein. Now tell me something I don’t know, such as WHEN YOU’LL CALL ME BACK!”

First of all this dunderhead apparently doesn’t know if he’s on the phone or away from his desk. Worse, I have absolutely no idea of when I might expect a call back from him. He might as well leave a message that says, “Leave a message and have fun twisting in the wind until I call you back.” Even worse is, “I’m either out of the office or away from my desk.” Yep. That’s helpful. Reaaaaal helpful.

Today, the technology exists so that we do not have to leave people twisting in the wind. Giving customers and clients some idea of when they’ll hear from you, shows them that you are mindful of their need or want to get a hold of you. Here’s how I handle it.

About 9 years ago I discovered a little thing called busy call forwarding. If I’m talking on the phone the call is forwarded to a message that says, “Thank you for calling. I’m in the office but I’m on the phone. Please leave a message and in most cases I’ll call you back in 20 minutes.” I get lots of compliments on my “20 minute message”. And, it impresses people when I do, in fact, call them back in 20 minutes.

If I’m out of the office (or in the bathroom) the call goes to my regular answering machine that says, “Thank you for calling Crooks Advertising Alliance. We’re out of the office, but please leave a message. We’ll call you back as soon as possible … most likely, today. If you need to reach me sooner, call my cell phone at xxx-xxx-xxxx”

Either way, the caller has SOME idea of when I’ll call them back. They can also call my cell phone. If I’m not in a meeting, I answer it. I usually check my office messages about every hour when I’m away.

Now some people, mostly real estate types, are really on top of things with voice mail messages that say something such as, “Today is Friday (insert date) I’ll be out this morning but back in this afternoon after 2pm. Please leave a message … etc”.

Life is unpredictable enough. Any time you can add predictability to someone’s life — you’re telling them that you’re in control. You’re also telling them you care.

What is your voice mail message telling your callers?

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