Category Archives: Visualize Yourself Successful

How to make your business dream a reality.

Converting Leads into Customers

Posted on by petergwaction

By Rich Allen

One of the biggest tragedies I see in business is watching a business owner spend significant time and effort generating leads for their business, but then not acting on them in a logical, methodical, repeatable way to convert those leads into paying customers.

You haven’t done that in your business have you? But I’ll bet you know someone (better to keep them nameless) who has a stack of business cards on their desk that they have collected through their networking activities but they have not been added to their customer database, no follow up has taken place, and they are essentially growing colder by the day. If that is you, no need to raise your hand. But it is time to get out of the trap and start turning those leads into paying customers- wouldn’t you agree?

To make improvements in this area, you simply have to start doing one thing- MEASURE your current conversion success rate! Most business owners have no clue what their conversion rate is. By simply measuring where you are, you will improve. It happens every time. Once you start measuring, you realize what you should be doing that you are not, and your results begin to improve.

Add to that a specific, focused approach to handling your leads and your conversion rate will go through the roof! And, the best part is, you can grow your business without spending one more dollar! You’ve already invested marketing dollars to generate the leads. Now, make the most of that investment by defining your specific, repeatable sales steps that will convert your leads into customers.

To get started, take a few minutes and write down the specific steps that you take each and every lead through to get them familiar with you and your business. Each business has a different set of steps in their selling process. Some have just a few steps- most often where the average ticket price for a transaction is relatively small. Others have many steps- most often where the average ticket price is relatively large. You must decide how familiar a new prospect needs to be with you and your business in order to pull out their wallet and make a purchase. If it is a complicated product or service, you will likely need more steps in your selling process.

Once you have your current process steps written down, ask yourself, is everyone in my business doing it the same way? If not, why not? How can you have a “best in class” approach if you allow each individual to “roll their own”? How can you test and measure new approaches if you don’t first start with a standard? How can you improve and predict your outcome if there are multiple approaches? The answer to all of these questions is you cannot!

I often hear business owners say they would lose their best sales person if they made them follow a standard sales process. Let me ask you- whose business it? Is it your  or your sales person’s? Who has all the risk in the deal? Who is setting the expectations and limitations? My hope is that it is you- the business owner. Don’t let the personal preferences of others dictate how you will run your business- unless you like working for them!

Establish your specific selling process steps, train your team to follow the selling process, support it with the necessary materials, and measure the results of each specific step. Make changes to your sales process based on the results of your measurements. Test and Measure. Test and Measure. Again and again. Make incremental improvements and hold yourself and your team accountable for the results. This is the recipe for success.

One last thought. As you build your step by step sales process, be mindful of the thought that in every sales process there is a point where your prospect will do some specific physical something to indicate they are ready to buy. If you can identify that “physical something” for your business, then point all of your efforts to make that happen, your conversion rate will improve. I call this the “get on the boat” moment. One of my clients has a 100 person catamaran on a local lake and does corporate events, private parties, wedding, etc. His specific physical something for his prospects is to get them to step foot on his boat. Once they do that, they are so impressed that they are very likely to sign a contract. What is your “get on the boat” moment?

Stay focused. Stay determined. Be determined. Build a repeatable process for converting leads into customers. Your business success will become a certainty.

10 Challenges Business Owners Face and Their Solutions

Posted on by petergwaction

by Peter Williamson

All business owners have challenges. Here are some that can make or break a business and what one can do to ensure success . . .

Change: One would think that a small business could change quickly, if need be, but that is seldom the case. One, as humans we are creatures of habit and will sometimes stick to something we know not because it is the best solution, but because it’s familiar to us. Change involves risk and risk involves confidence. Confidence in oneself may be shattered if one’s business is faltering, so it’s important to find mentors that can give you the advice and strategies you truly need to succeed without worry that they have a hidden agenda.

Hiring: Okay, so you know you are a great company and that a great company should be able to attract great employees, but if you’re a small business, it’s hard to compete with the larger corporations that offer full benefits and perhaps larger paychecks. So, how can you compete? The answer is in looking closely at what you have to offer your future employees. Will they have a better chance at promotions in a smaller company? Will they have access to more hands-on training? Are they in a culture that’s supportive and attractive? Have you created a work environment that will attract the very people you want to work for you? Create an environment that you like coming to, and they will, too.

Asking: Believe it or not, asking for help is one of the top challenges facing owners of small businesses. If you’re struggling, then asking for help feels like you are inadequate and unable to keep your business afloat. But, the fact is that those business owners who recognize that they need help and set their egos aside long enough to get competent coaching excel not only as individuals, but as a company. The challenge in asking is in knowing what to ask for, and when to ask for it. That’s where a coach can help.

Leadership: As business owners, we are good at something. We must be. We own businesses! That’s no small task, but what tends to happen in ANY industry is that we may be good at some things and less strong in others. Maybe, for instance, we can crunch numbers right up there with the best accountants, but we can’t manage a team to save our lives. Leading by example is common advice for business owners and managers, but if you don’t know how to do something then you may just lead your team down the wrong path. The solution? Put a team together that can most complement one other, even you. Respect and reward those working with you for skills they possess that you may not have, and if they are struggling in an area that you have strength in, build their skills in those areas so that they may be strong leaders as well.

Leads: Any business owner that is worth his or her salt will recognize that nothing sells itself. Effective lead generation is possible through better advertising, having a proven and successful system in place, and turning promising leads into loyal customers. Know the: who, what, where, when, and why of your advertising campaigns to maximize the impact of its success. Who is your target market, what is your promise to your potential customer, where is the best place to place your ad for maximum exposure, when is the best time to run the ad, why should someone choose you over some other product or service? Answering these simple questions will put you on the right path to generating instant leads.

Employees: Hiring the right people is only the first challenge. Perhaps more important is what to do once you’ve hired them in terms of training. Oftentimes, small businesses fail because they have no training programs in place for incoming (and existing!) employees. Today’s environment is fast-paced and ever-changing with new technology constantly present. Offering training is not only vital to your company’s growth and well being, it’s vital to your team. Think of training like food. If you don’t feed your staff, they’ll wither away and perish! If you don’t have training tools in place, consider ways you can establish some training and define what, exactly, you want your employees to learn. Or ask them what they want help with. You might be surprised at their answers!

Networking: Small business owners share a challenge with large corporations with regards to networking. As a matter of fact, they share many challenges, including security and privacy issues, effective lead generation, lack of effective metrics and measurement strategies to monitor and track results, time constraints – the list goes on. The key is selecting the networking venues that will effectively and efficiently market and promote your services. You might have a terrific blog, but if you can’t get anyone to link or click on it, it’s useless.

Goals: Sometimes business owners have what are called “misplaced goals”. They THINK one thing is their goal, when in fact it their focus and attention should be somewhere else. Think of it like someone who’s unhappy and they blame something for their unhappiness, when in fact their mood is really a result of something else. Goal-setting is imperative in business. They key is to have both short-term and long-term goals. Some business owners are highly skilled at seeing the “whole” picture, but miss all the important smaller “parts” that will eventually make up that larger picture. Others are great at seeing the “small parts” necessary to carry on day-to-day business but have no real visions for the future and the growth of their companies.  Ask yourself what your ultimate vision for your company is, then try setting smaller, reachable goals that can be the stepping stones toward reaching that higher goal.

Efficiency: Owners of small- to medium-sized businesses often suffer from burnout. They try to cut costs by doing everything themselves, only to find that other areas of their lives suffer, including family relationships, sleep deprivation, increased stress and other “symptoms” of work overload. The solution? Well, for one, learn to prioritize. If you find that you are handling busy-work tasks that you could have someone else do for significantly less, delegate. If you find that you are running in circles, take a closer look at what strategies you have in place that could minimize inefficiency and stress and maximize production. What efficiency often impacts is time. Time is something you can’t get back, so learning the techniques to make time work for you rather than against you is imperative.

Sales: Selling is easy if someone wants to buy whatever it is you are promoting, right? But sales is less about the selling and more about the enthusiasm with which someone is promoting a sale. Think of it this way: When you stop trying to sell something, you start selling something. Have you ever noticed that you may have gone somewhere with no intention to buy whatever it is at the store, but a very enthusiastic sales person will convince you that you can’t live without that very thing. Then what? You buy it! To understand selling, one must understand who the seller is. Are they someone who waits for people to ask about a product or service? Are they a product pusher who talks of nothing but the product? Maybe they’re the person who asks what you need and then bends over backwards to find it for you. Or how about the person who promises the world just to get you to buy? Which one do you want working for you? Determine that and that’s who will be attracted to your company! Trust me, it works.

3 Tough Business Decisions And Their Solutions

Posted on by petergwaction

by Peter Williamson

If you’re considering asking someone for help in your business and have done research on the Internet, you’ve probably discovered the difference between a consultant and a business coach. There are some questions you’ll want to ask before hiring a coach.

The reason I’m writing this article is to fully disclose the 3 most common reasons business owners are skeptical about hiring a business coach, but I have no intention of leaving you hanging. I’ll also share the questions you’ll want to be sure to ask a business coach. We’ll review the reasons some business owners are skeptical, and we’ll offer some ways that you can avoid the pitfalls they fell prey to.

Because we have coached thousands of business owners just like yourself, because we’ve been voted #1 Business Coaching Firm six years in a row by Entrepreneur magazine, and because our clients are winning awards and raving about unparalleled revenue increases, we feel we are a pretty good resource and business coaching firm.

Now YOU get rewarded, because I can now share some of these secrets with you.

#1 Reason for skepticism: My business is struggling, so how can I benefit by spending even more money to hire a coach.

#2 My business’s downfall is just the economy. When things turn around, my business will, too.

#3 Are you serious? I work 24/7 just to keep my business afloat, and now you want me to schedule time I don’t have to work with a coach?

All these points are valid. The four areas most business owners define when targeting areas they need help in are: money, management, marketing, and time.

Now, I know it sounds all sales copy-ish to bring up ActionCOACH business coaches, but there’s a reason I have to with regards to skepticism #1. You see, ActionCOACH offers a guarantee, making your decision to work with us risk free. Wait! Go back. Read that again: Risk Free. So, number one worry is already off your list.

Number two. Wishing does not mean something is going to happen. We can wish and wish and wish that we’ll double our revenue, land a great team, or have the time we’ve pined for to do all those things we gave up for our business. And while an improved economy would definitely help you and your business, it’s not a given. One has to make it through the tough times to see the kind of growth and increased profit you are aiming for. Again, your ActionCOACH business coach helps you put the strategies in place that will allow your business to flourish, even in tough times.

Ah, yes. Skepticism #3. Time. It’s an elusive little bugger, isn’t it? I used to say that time is relative (or was that Einstein?). Anyway, it’s especially relative around the holidays. Okay, that was a joke, but my point is that time is a commodity that we can never get back. We can’t bank on it. We can’t harness it. But with an ActionCOACH business coach, you can stop needlessly eating away at it. Because, it IS disappearing. The secret is learning how to turn your time into an INVESTMENT. An investment in YOU, your business, your dreams.

Now, are you ready for the secret? Your ActionCOACH business coach can’t grow money. S/he can’t snap a finger and have the economy healthy and balanced. S/he can’t flick a switch and have time suddenly expand. But, with a trusted ActionCOACH business coach at your side, you can learn and implement process and strategies that will:

  1. More than pay for your coach’s services and boost your business to heights you didn’t even know were possible.
  2. Turn your focus to the success of your company rather than any decline in the economy, and show you ways to profit when times are tough.
  3. Help you manage your time so well that you’ll FEEL like it is being given to you. You’ve certainly felt long enough like it’s being taken away. And there’s no greater feeling than having your business run successfully without having to be there 24/7, trusting that things are running as they should.

Now, isn’t that worth its weight in gold? Still a little skeptical? Try this. Call the coach in your region and ask for a one-hour complementary coaching session. Tell you what. Call now and get an extra hour of coaching. That’s two FREE hours of coaching. But do it now, because this is a limited time offer. It’s only good through April, 2012.

Here are the names, regions and numbers of our California coaches.

So, ready to turbo to success? Trust me. It feels good.

Our goal is to get you there – fast.

No games. No gimmicks.

Just results.

5+ Ways Entrepreneurs Can Tell If They’re Truly Fit For Business

Posted on by petergwaction

by Peter Williamson

In just about any sport, toughness is measured both in physical strength and mental abilities. Some of the challenges include endurance, persistence, perseverance, practice, self-confidence…

The same can be said of business.

There are plenty of books out there  comparing sports to business, but as an entrepreneur, you’re in your own game, and there are some strategic tips you should think about to make sure you are not only “in the game” to win it, but truly fit for business! Let’s pump some mental iron and address these three areas first:

1)     Answer: “What is my business a solution to?”

2)      Define: Who has the problem?

3)      Then ask, “What is the price of NOT using my product/service?

By addressing these questions you’re actually creating a business vision. Not only will this help you define your game plan, but it will help you create a branding for yourself AND your business.

Bonus tip!

If we go back to the sports analogy, it would be hard to play any game if you didn’t first establish the goal and the steps needed to reach that goal. So, let’s go back to the challenges:

  • Endurance. Are you “up” for running a business? Are you taking care of yourself mentally AND physically, strengthening your mind and body?
  • Persistence. Are you making sure to control your emotions, recognizing that success generally takes time and determination? Everyone has meltdowns, but do you give yourself a time limit to vent and melt? If you don’t, a good portion of your time and energy can be spent exerting emotional energy instead of channeling that energy into positive action.
  • Perseverance. Are you in for the long haul? Do you convey the urgency of using your product or service? Do you relentlessly prioritize, making yourself accountable for each step of the way? Are you relentless in your pursuit of your goal?
  • Practice. Can you define your business in 30 seconds or less? Can you define the value you provide your customer in one sentence? Do you practice positive self-speech to build your confidence? Do YOU believe in YOURSELF?
  • Self-Confidence. Do you read every day and keep your mind-muscle in shape? Are you an expert? Is your passion showing? Are YOU emphatically sold on your product or service?

Each one of these strategies can be put into play with practice. Let’s face it. Most of us have a daily routine: We get up, we shower, brush our teeth, get dressed for work, eat, and begin our work day. Why not add the strategies above to your daily routine? Factor mental and physical exercise time to your routine; use driving or travel time to work on positive self-talk; practice your elevator speech;  remind yourself of why your service or product is important. It must be important, right?

After all, you’re exchanging one day of your life for it, so make each day count.

10 ways to conquer your fear of public speaking

Posted on by petergwaction

Public speechby Tia Jackson

One skill that will immediately make you a better business owner, is the skill of effective public speaking. Unfortunately, that’s not a skill that comes naturally to most entrepreneurs. Those who struggle with public speaking either work hard to build their confidence and ability, or they settle for the fact that public speaking is “not their thing” and constantly pass the
mic to someone else.

Unfortunately, the fear of public speaking is one thing that often keeps entrepreneurs from taking their businesses to the next level. As small business owners, we are the face and the voice of our company. In order to attract a larger audience, and keep our existing audiences engaged, we need to be able to tell our own story in a compelling way. Whenever you pass up opportunities to speak in front of large groups, participate in media interviews, and present during meetings, you are are shutting your business off from the growth opportunities it needs. Your
company’s future depends on your ability to speak up.

Here are 10 ways to conquer your fear of public speaking, so you can become the charismatic speaker you always wanted to be:

1. Identify what you are really afraid of. “The key to overcoming the fear of public speaking is really getting down to what it is that you are afraid of…After all, fear always seems to include a future event: I’m afraid I’ll forget my speech, I’m afraid they won’t like me, I’m afraid the company won’t follow my lead, etc. Be specific in your fear, and ask yourself: is this fear realistic? If a fear is realistic, take steps to address it.” -Chris Westfall

2. Challenge your fear with comedy. “As a senior engineer with Intel Corporation, my job was to travel the world, doing technical demonstrations on stage. I was incredibly nervous about speaking on stage. First I went to Toastmasters, but that wasn’t anything like what it was like to be on stage in front of thousands of people. Looking for something more terrifying, I took a comedy class to get over the fear, and the comedy kind of took off. Now I perform all over the States as well as in many foreign countries.” -Dan Nainan

3. Don’t focus on yourself. “I came to the conclusion that I just had to fight my fears and get over it. I called my friend who’s a psychologist and we met in the nearest restaurant to talk it over. She explained that being nervous before presenting a speech in front of a group (no matter who the group consists of) is absolutely normal. The most effective technique that she taught me (and that really helped) is to take my attention off of myself. When in front of the audience, it’s important to think about anything in the world, but yourself. Pay attention to your audience, concentrate on the environment,– etc…

My friend’s tips have helped me tremendously. Though I still do get nervous before public events where I have to stand up and speak, once I begin talking it all disappears.” -John White

4. Have confidence in what you are saying. “I had a tremendous fear of public speaking for many years. I was extremely shy but I did know what I was talking about. I learned to be self-confident with what I was saying and to not only act like I knew what I was talking about, but believe it. Practicing in front of family, friends and smaller groups also helped me overcome my fear.” -Chris Russo

5. Understand what your audience wants from you. “The usual ‘record yourself’ or ‘look in the mirror’ techniques many preach actually backfire on me. I hate to hear myself speak and can’t focus in the mirror. So, I learned a strategy that works – and works very well. I studied the art of communication and learned the key is to actually pay attention to what the audience wants from you and to find a comfortable way to deliver it.” -Nate Silverman

6. Preparation is key. “When I transitioned from being a teacher to being a presenter, I had to overcome the fear of facing large crowds….of adults. And experienced, polished, professional adults at that. I’ve learned that preparation is key. This includes finding out as much as possible about the audience in advance. And then, rehearsing the speech at least 20 times so it rolls trippingly off the tongue. It also means studying the best in the field and learning what makes them so good at speaking.” -Marlene Caroselli

7. Practice on a less intimidating audience. “Although it’s necessary for me to speak publicly to promote my books, I was terrified at the
prospect of doing so. I started by speaking at a retirement community figuring residents might not hear as clearly as some other audiences and therefore miss any nervousness in my voice. I also thought they might be more forgiving because I was coming as entertainment for them. They were a wonderful group for a beginning speaker; they bought my books, too.” -Nancy Lynn Jarvis

8. Don’t memorize your speech. “I will always remember the first time I stood in front of a group of people. Once I got to the podium my mind for the first (and last) time in my life went completely blank and I could not utter a word. I finally decided to start reading my speech and, even then I did it like a robot. I couldn’t wait for that moment to be over. After returning to my desk, it was time for constructive criticism. The Professor said NOT to memorize a speech, just make an outline of the topics you want to talk about and then practice your speech by presenting those topics in different ways. Memorizing a speech can get you in trouble because if you forget any of the words you start stumbling, and it can be downhill from there. The next time I used that suggestion and I brought down the house.” -Bianca Delle

9. Take a public speaking class. “I was a wall flower with a business to market. When I went to a professional conference to learn how to market, I was shocked and dismayed to hear everyone telling me public speaking was the best route and Toastmasters could help. I came home and spent three months trying to decide which would be less painful – trusting someone else with my career and financial well being by getting a job or learning how to speak in public. I chose speaking. I went to Toastmasters and not only learned a skill that now generates revenue for me but I found another whole side of myself that has enriched my life enormously.” -Susan Lannis

10. Trust your mind to fill in the blanks. “My very first public speech, I stood in front of a room of 100 people and stood there for about 2 minutes until I pushed myself to say something. Since then I’ve have improved immeasurably, and now I am completely comfortable in front of people. The key to this transformation started with a class. The key thing I learned (and now teach) is that we have to trust our minds to be able to fill in the blanks between the major points. Meaning you don’t need to have a fully scripted speech, just the main points. Then you are free to adjust and adapt to the audience in real-time, which makes for a more engaging presentation.” -Coach Eamon Rooney (eamonrooney@actioncoach.com)

* Bonus – Change your beliefs. “There was a time when I was a very soft spoken and fast talking person. This combination created a problem because one-on-one or in front a large group of people the audience couldn’t hear me nor understand me. Once I decided that I wanted to be an awesome speaker I had to change what I believed about myself. It was my time to take charge to be who I needed to be. To do this I re-set my inner voice from telling myself that I was meek and shy to telling myself that I am bold and courageous. Since I believed so much in the material I was conveying not sharing became a question of morality and helping others. Not speaking was no longer an option. I verbalized this over and over again until my vision became true and my beliefs changed.” -Mary Miller

 Fill out the poll to the left

You can become a great public speaker. As you can see from the stories above, many other entrepreneurs were exactly where you are, but they worked through their fears and are now very effective public speakers. Choose one, five, or all of the techniques above, and give yourself the
confidence to represent your business to anyone, anywhere. Good luck on your journey.

If you have any other tips to help entrepreneurs conquer their public speaking fears, please feel free to share them.

Fear in the Market? Adjust your strategy

Posted on by petergwaction

written by Dave Gazave (davidgazave@actioncoach.com)

Chicken Little is on the loose.

Our friends in Washington, Wall Street, and the News are at it again, creating that vicious cycle of self fulfilling negative outlook resulting in corresponding negative behavior that pushes economies into recession. So, if we as business owners cannot influence all of the lemmings to reconsider jumping off a cliff, what can we do to protect our own economy from following the herd?
A Lemming reports on the current stock plunge as he prepares to dive off a cliff.
The WORST thing you can do is hunker down, do nothing, and wait it out like many of the interviewees in the news seem to be planning to do. That is the same thing as being carried by the lemmings off the cliff.

Now is the time to be preemptive in your marketing strategies, create efficiencies in your operations, and buy your competitor’s customers… or just buy your less optimistic competitor and capture his/her customer base.

If you have been operating without a strategic plan, build one now. If you have one, revise it. Review your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and Guarantee. Have a prospective outlook. Will your ideal customer and available target market look than same in 6 months or one year as it does now? If not, start thinking about alternative markets, product, and service mix. Begin redesigning your marketing collateral to align with market trends. Understand the five key numbers every business should be measuring and start measuring them religiously.

These are all activities business owners should do continuously but defer in favor of managing daily operations. Don’t defer them any longer. If you can’t seem to find the time to do it, get outside help from professionals who will show you how to get back in control and take positive action.

Above all, avoid Chicken Little as much as possible and join the Optimists Club.

David GazaveActionCOACH's Dave Gazave
Certified Business Coach
ActionCOACH
The World’s #1 Business Coaching Firm
4340 Stevens Creek Blvd
Suite 161
San Jose, CA 95129
Main: 408-899-6875
Cell: 408-960-4526
Fax: 866-729-7230
Email: DavidGazave@actioncoach.com
Website: www.actioncoach.com/davidgazave