Brand Check
Consumers are exposed to over 3,000 marketing messages a day. TV spots, radio ads, billboards, logos on t-shirts, packaging labels, coupons in the mail, pop up ads on the internet, kids selling cookies at the door – they are everywhere. And yet you think the consumers you want to talk to are going to filter through over 3,000 messages a day – just to find yours. And because this task alone is not daunting enough, most businesses decide to make it harder by hiding their messages....
Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 53 >>>
- The Rapid Wine Chiller
- Organic Vending
- Mobile Coupons
- Super Yoga Mat
- Paper Work
- Easy Party Planning
- New Parenting Lifestyle
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>
- Getting The Balance
- Leveraging On Social Media
- 6 Mistakes Of Raising Funds
- Time To Grow
- How To Attract Clients
- Business Crystal Ball
- Top Five Aspects For E-commerce
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>
Can't stand your demanding boss anymore? Start your own business! Before that, be sure to subscribe to our free informative newsletter. BIZNESS! is jointly published by CoolBusinessIdeas.com and GetEntrepreneurial.com What you get in BIZNESS! - the latest new business ideas, small business advice, business tips and info and entrepreneur resources. Everything you need for your brand new business!
Free 145-pages PDF report (worth $75) - "2006's Best Business Ideas" - included with your subscription. Learn more here.
YoungEntrepreneur: Delegation has become increasingly important for my business. As we take on more projects and continue to grow the company, I am frequently becoming the bottleneck. Decisions don’t happen without me and people can’t move forward because they don’t have the training or responsibilities to do so.
Here is what I have done to try and lighten the load. So far it has worked well and has freed up my time to focus on the bigger projects!
1) Give up some control - I liked having everything come through me. Unfortunately this can only work for so long. They can make decisions without me and have the power to implement it themselves on our website. At some point you have to have the confidence that you have the right people on board and give them the ability to run with their ideas. They are happier, I’m happier, and we’re getting more work done.
2) Give them an incentive - The two people I gave significant responsibilities to also share in the profits that are made from their work. They do not have an equity stake in my business but they do have a profit share for their divisions.They know that the more they work, the more money they will make. It has helped get them up and running as well as drive more profitability for my business as a whole.
3) Stretch their responsibilities - I have mentioned a few times about the importance of bringing on student interns as a way to cheaply expand your business. We currently have high school interns working alongside our staff. They are online savvy, energetic, and don’t cost us a dime!
Any entrepreneur who wants to avoid buying herself a job needs to look at delegation. Even if it’s outsourcing a small task that lets you focus on building your business in a more strategic fashion, until you start delegating responsibilities you will not enjoy the freedom that can come with being a business owner.
Delegation at Work [YoungEntrepreneur]
Business Opportunities And Ideas: Barclays Local Business, who compiled the figures, suggests that 44 per cent of today's business leaders were the dreamers of yesterday.
Commenting on the figures, John Davis, marketing director for Barclays Local Business says: "This survey highlights what many bosses have probably suspected for a long time - that for some employees, their current job is the last thing on their mind when they are at work.
"For budding entrepreneurs, the routine of their job can spark dreams of going onto bigger and better things."
However, it was not just the workplace where potential entrepreneurs could think about their future. Around eight per cent mull over a potential new venture while on holiday and a further six per cent think about being their own boss between pints in the pub.
Dreamer Today. Entrepreneur Tomorrow? [Business Opportunities And Ideas]
Inc.com: If only you had a crystal ball for business.
Gilbert Systems seeks to provide just that -- with a new product that helps business owners anticipate their customers' spending habits in order to maximize sales.
Proclivity is a consumer predictive engine technology that is able to analyze a customer's online activity and identify their interest in certain types of merchandise. The program aggregates the data collected and then generates probabilities for the number of customers likely to buy a certain product, during what time period, and at what price point.
Online businesses can then use the results from Proclivity to design their marketing campaigns around specific consumer interests. For example, if an online clothing retailer wants to launch a campaign around jeans, Proclivity will quickly generate a list of customers based on the analyzed data that predicts how many customers would buy jeans and how much money the company would make in a given amount of time. The company can then decide how much to invest in certain campaigns.
Ever Wish You Could Read Your Customers' Minds? [Inc.com]
Inspired Business Growth: In my experience, too little work-life balance can actually put you out of business, especially if you are a solopreneur. It doesn’t mean you can’t work hard; there are times when you have to put in extra hours in a business - just like sometimes you have to take extra family time, or extra me time to keep sanity in check.
So how do you fit little balancing acts into a busy workday, or keep your head on straight when you are in the midst of a huge project? Well, since I’m rather desperately in need of these tips right now (in the middle of a huge project!!), I figured I would share my research with you.
Set up a “busy schedule” and stick to it
You probably have a normal daily routine, and it all gets out of whack when things get busy at work. But work can suck you in, and you can justify far too many hours in the name of growth. So set up a routine for “busy days” - perhaps you work 2-4 extra hours, and stick to that schedule, working nothing beyond it.
Schedule down time
Schedule things like “break”, “coffee”, or even “video games” into your calendar just like you would a conference call. Protect and honor your downtime with just as much care, too.
Squeeze in walks
Whether you park further away from the office or store, or you work from home, try to squeeze in short walks (I’ve started walking my kids to school regularly). Not only does it force you to reconnect with yourself, but it also gives you some exercise which will improve your concentration when you are working.
Ask for help
Sometimes so hard for an entrepreneur to do, but so necessary if you ever plan on growing your business long-term.
20 Work-Life Balance Tips for the Overworked Entrepreneur [Inspired Business Growth]
FoundRead: Can social media actually do anything for your company’s image or to sell your product – especially when you’re, let’s say, running a start-up with no marketing or PR budget? I was in just that position not too long along ago, and I can tell you the answer is absolutely ‘Yes.’ So how can you leverage social media to achieve your goals?
Be real.
I’ve seen it time and time again; executives start blogging because it’s trendy. Blogs are not a “if you build it they will come” proposition. If you’re going to blog, take the time to think about the unique insight you can bring to the market. What jobs have you held in the past that bring bearing on your viewpoint today? What companies have you worked for? Who are you hanging out with in the community that surrounds your business? What broader issues surround the company or project you are trying to get off the ground? Start out picking a few key themes and watch how they are discussed within blogs and mainstream media, then write up your reactions. Don’t be afraid to be bold – there is nothing worse than a milquetoast corporate blog.
Watch and learn
Figure out who already has mastered the art of blogging. You probably already know who they are. What are their secrets to success? How often do they blog? How are their blogs organized? Who do they go to for information? What’s their writing style? Most of all, don’t over think what is already working for folks you respect. In social media, simple is good!
Assess your network.
As an entrepreneur or a founder, your own network might hold the influential spark than can start a fire. Vet your ideas and thoughts with this group. What parties or events do they regular attend that attract other influential people you want to meet? Our CEO Rob Crumpler was introduced to me this way. Ditto for many others on the BuzzLogic team.
Share the love.
Bloggers love it when someone demonstrates they’ve read their blog by linking back. Similarly, comment on relevant posts of bloggers you admire – or those who are influential on the topics you care about. Trackback other bloggers within your post and reference or compliment whatever point was made. Start a blogroll and feature all of the bloggers you follow.
Keep an eye on the conversation.
As important as getting involved is, monitoring the blogosphere for what people are saying about you is just as important. Buzz, both good and bad, now moves faster than ever and you need to be plugged into it to maintain visibility and be effective at adding value with solid content. Because at the end of the day, an informed opinion, unique insight and compelling content are what it’s all about.
Small Business Branding: Consumers are exposed to over 3,000 marketing messages a day. TV spots, radio ads, billboards, logos on t-shirts, packaging labels, coupons in the mail, pop up ads on the internet, kids selling cookies at the door – they are everywhere.
And yet you think the consumers you want to talk to are going to filter through over 3,000 messages a day – just to find yours. And because this task alone is not daunting enough, most businesses decide to make it harder by hiding their messages. If you are not consistent in ALL your marketing materials, you are wasting thousands of dollars and losing potential customers every day.
Here are some questions you should ask yourself to check your brand’s consistency.
- Are you using just one logo? Is it always in the same color?
- Are you consistent with paper stock – color, texture and weight?
- Is the tone of all your communications pieces the same – is it in one voice?
- Does that one voice match the personality and soul of your company?
- Do your sales, recruiting, internal documents, and other communications match your marketing materials?
- Do your ads reflect the same look, feel and voice?
- When you do your radio/TV ads – do you use the same talent for the voice of your company? Is he/she also on your answering system?
Do a Quick Brand Check [Small Business Branding]
Entrepreneur: Many financing efforts fail because of avoidable mistakes that are made in pitching potential lenders, structuring the agreement or managing the money once the deal is done.
Steering clear of these missteps can increase your chances of success, both in obtaining startup funds and keeping the money flowing. Be sure to avoid these blunders:
Half-baked business plans
There's nothing worse than going into a money meeting unprepared. If you haven't put the time and energy into writing a full-blown business plan complete with elements, such as a cogent business description, financial projections and a competitive market analysis, the people with the cash won't put the time into evaluating your proposal.
Focusing too much on the idea and too little on the management
It's not enough to convince potential backers that you've invented the next must-have gadget or can't-miss clothing store concept. You also need a team that can generate the revenues to repay a bank loan or provide an exit strategy for a VC or angel investor. Many business novices ignore the second part of the equation; that can doom their money quest. Showing that you have recruited a top-notch salesperson, a skilled marketer, an accountant with startup experience, other key personnel, and even outside experts like an attorney or business coach who can supply professional guidance is essential to finding a funding source.
Not asking for enough money
In a 2004 U.S. Bank study of reasons for small business failures, 79 percent cited "starting out with too little money" as one of the causes of their collapse. That's often because entrepreneurs who are wet behind the ears don't realize that they should calculate their borrowing needs based on their worst-case scenario instead of their best-case forecast. If you're underfunded, you won't have a cushion to tide you over in the event of slow initial sales or unexpected market conditions.
Having too many lenders or investors
One of the hazards of securing financing from multiple sources is managing too many relationships and expectations. It takes time away from your core business. These not-so-silent partners may have conflicting interests or demands and the consequences can be devastating. This is particularly true when you raise money from friends and family.
Failing to get the proper legal agreements
This is arguably more important than a prenuptial agreement for a couple with significant individual assets. Every lender or investor eventually will need his money back, and a legal document covering everything from the terms to the timing can avoid the kind of acrimony just described.
Poor cash flow management
Too many new business owners burn through their seed money too quickly and fail to reach cash flow-positive status in a timely manner. Some causal factors, such as late product deliveries and economic downturns may be beyond one's control, but the executive team is clearly at fault for others, such as unnecessary spending and overly optimistic expense/income forecasts. Financial sponsors don't take kindly to that sort of mismanagement. And if they turn off the tap, all of your hard work may go down the drain.
The 6 Biggest Mistakes in Raising Startup Capital [Entrepreneur]
NYTimes.com: Remember when white earbuds had status? Jonathan Hall does. But these days, as he and his fellow rail commuters in the tristate area know, the iPod’s once-cutting-edge headphones confer as much distinction as a gray-flannel suit. A couple of years ago, Hall and his wife, Kate, decided that there must be a way to capitalize on this shift. IPod add-ons, including cases and “skins,” had become big business by then — but those items decorated only the main device, which was usually stuffed in a pocket, out of sight. Today, the Halls, who are both 29, have sold tens of thousands of pairs of flexible rubber charms called Emotibuds, which clip onto earbuds, almost like earrings. Each pair (they sell for $12 for a set of three pairs) features a blocky little face that incorporates an emoticon into a cute cartoon visage. There are a variety of faces, each set against a bright color and corresponding with a mood, like “starry-eyed” or “frisky.” Recently, Emotibuds were part of the online design store FredFlare.com’s Next Big Thing contest, and while they didn’t win, the store has had to reorder them at least four times to meet demand.
Earphone Identity [NYTimes.com]
There are many business blogs dedicated to small business and entrepreneurship on the Internet today. The bloggers put in a lot of effort on their blogs, sharing helpful small business content and resources for the many aspiring entrepreneurs out there. The road to your own start-up is full of uncertainties and unknowns, and as such it's always great to learn from the entrepreneurs who share their guidance with their useful advice and comments on their business blogs. Likewise, here at GetEntrepreneurial.com we're always learning from and aspiring to reach the same levels as entrepreneurs like Anita Campbell, Yaro Starak, Adnan, and many others.
Evan Carmichael is no exception. His YoungEntrepreneur.com blog is another fantastic resource for all of us young, aspiring entrepreneurs around the world. Filled with entrepreneurial advice, business growth strategies, startup experience and marketing tips, YoungEntrepreneur.com is an useful resource which we watch very carefully on our blogroll. We particularly like the entrepreneurial advice which he shares based on his own experience, such as delegating tasks in your startup:
If you want to build a company of any substantial size you need to learn how to delegate. It can be a difficult process for many entrepreneurs because it means they are giving up some degree of control but you can only do all the jobs in the business for so long. Here is my advice on how you can successfully delegate some of your work.
There are many other interesting insights and useful articles on the YoungEntrepreneur.com blog, and it'll continue to be a great resource for us to depend on.
Mind Petals: Here are a few simple ways to apply the Law of Attraction to get the right clients:
You might ‘call’ your clients in innovative ways. Instead of reaching out to your customers and clients in traditional forms—e-mail, voice messages, or even IM—think of ways you can make an appearance in their daily life instead. This is the basis of branding, but can be used in creative ways. Try a hand-delivered thank you note for a recent lunch, or a unique gift after a presentation that you both attended. Making sure the client has you on ‘top of mind’ can help generate further business with very little effort.
It’s also advantageous to be genuine with your marketing efforts. Much of marketing yourself may seem like ‘schmoozing,’ but being genuine in your relationships and partnerships will help things flow with ease. When you both have a goal or intention in mind, the process is much simpler and much more natural.
You can also try predicting the response you want. If you have a ‘gut feeling’ that your client, or prospective clients, may be interested in something you can provide, find a way to highlight the value for them and send it their way. Sometimes simply spelling out how something can help them is all it takes to capture their interest.
Finally, look for ways to move towards a richer relationship. Attracting clients doesn’t always lead to a direct sale—maybe you can reach out to them for referrals, building your portfolio of other work, or simply as a resource. Knowing how to nurture and maintain relationships involves a positive, growth-oriented mindset and your intention can help guide you towards long-term clients with much less resistance.
The Law of Attraction for Snagging New Clients [Mind Petals]
Entrepreneur: A recent survey by PopCap Games shows it's a trend employees say helps them alleviate stress and, as a result, become more productive. In fact, the survey found that 84 percent of white-collar workers surveyed felt "more relaxed and less stressed out" after taking a short game break at work. But perhaps the most surprising results represent the senior executives surveyed, including CEOs, CFOs and presidents. Compared to their colleagues, senior executives reported a much higher frequency of play at work. 70 percent said they play "during work, when I need a short break" versus 49 percent of other gamers. And the survey discovered 71 percent of senior executives play on average for about 15 minutes or longer during each game-playing session in the office.
CEOs Admit to Gaming at Work [Entrepreneur]
Inc.com: Everyone likes presents on their birthday -- including your customers. Creating a "birthday club" could ensure that you have many happy returning customers.
Birthday Connections, a new service launched by Moving Targets, a Perkasie, Pa.-based direct-mail marketing company, allows small-business owners to create and send birthday offers based on specific demographics and geographic areas.
Such birthday programs are ideal for restaurants, nail salons, and other types of retail businesses that have limited ad budgets and not enough time or expertise for new marketing campaigns. Birthday Connections works with business owners to define a range of people they want to reach. Using Moving Target's database technology, Birthday Connections can compile a mailing list for customers in a certain ZIP code, age range, gender, or even income bracket.
Business owners then create the terms of their offer -- whether it be a free dessert or a 25 percent discount during the month of the customer's birthday -- and then choose the format for delivery, either a birthday card or a letter. Companies can also choose to use a pre-designed card or have Birthday Connections create a custom one for them with their company logo.
Birthday Connections then mails the offers around the month of each resident's birthday. Based on market testing results, Birthday Connections will help business owners create the best offer for their company.
Looking for a New Way to Woo Customers? Try Birthday Presents [Inc.com]
RajeshShakya: E-commerce web site design is nothing different than a traditional web design, but requires a few more extra functionalities and components to handle financial transactions. For those additional services, you will have to rely on third parties. Many startups are intimidated by the process and they do not build web sites that are capable of e-commerce transactions. I am trying to give you just a brief idea of what it takes to design e-commerce sites. I will write different aspects of online business in my future posts. Suggest you to study some of the these aspects of e-commerce site development before you start.
Transaction Security
One of the most important aspects of e-commerce web site design is security that creates confidence in consumers doing online transactions. You need to make sure that your visitors can safely and securely input their personal details, credit card information and shipping information into your online payment system.
Payment Gateway
To build web sites that accept online payments, you will need to incorporate payment gateway services for processing credit/debit cards into your ecommerce web site design. Payment Gateways are connected with your bank through your merchant accounts in those banks.
Look and feel
Aesthetics is another important aspect of e-commerce web site success. It helps to make your visitors spend their time in your site. Competition is so fierce on the Internet.
Software and Applications
There are many different software products and e-commerce applications that can be purchased and even available in the for of free and open source software to help you with your e-commerce web site design and run your online business.
Hire the professionals
If you want to build websites that are e-commerce ready, but don’t have the e-commerce web site design experience needed to accomplish the task, you can hire an e-commerce web site design professional to help you with the trickier portions of site development.
Five Important Aspects of Online Business [RajeshShakya]
LATimes.com: Richard Crasnick rode in three championship parades with the Los Angeles Lakers, wrote speeches for a basketball legend named Magic and toured Europe with Olympic gold medalists. But the biggest sporting event of his life is playing out in a drab warehouse in Carson, using a thin triangle of leather less than half the size of a credit card.
Crasnick is president of FIKI Sports, which stands for "Flick It and Kick It," a two-person business that includes his lifetime pal, Craig Matthews. They are betting on a sport that couldn't be more low tech in an era of sophisticated game consoles that contain more technology than a supercomputer did 10 years ago.
Paper football is played by two people sitting across a table or desk. The "ball" usually is a sheet of notebook paper folded into a flat triangle. Touchdowns are scored by flicking the triangle until it hangs over the edge of the table without falling off. Points also are awarded for "kicking" the ball with your finger through your opponent's goal posts -- formed by his or her index fingers and thumbs.
Crasnick's version, projected to bring in $1.5 million in revenue this year, is the result of a shared daydream with his brother, Michael, 16 years ago. They took a paper football, wrote the then-Los Angeles Raiders team logo on it and slipped it into a small plastic bag to mimic packaging.
After a long drive, tabletop football scores big [LATimes.com]
Small Business Buzz: Those of us that own a business know that, at some point, there will be cause for expansion. This can be both exciting and scary. Exciting because it only means that our business is doing very well and demand for the product/service we provide is growing. Scary because it is practically common knowledge that, next to tapping into the wrong market, the transition from a small business to a not-so-small business is one of the top reasons businesses fail.
There are some clear indications that it is time to expand your business, and being able to recognize those signs will help to eliminate some of the anxiety that accompanies such a change, since you will know it is necessary.
New Challenges
One of the first signs that your business is in need of a change is the fact that you are facing challenges and struggles that you have never faced before. There may be an overwhelming feeling that your losing control of the business.
Ineffective Management
Another indication that your business may be outgrowing itself is that your current management (which may even include yourself) is just not cutting it. As a business develops and grows, the dynamics and needs of that business change. The manager or CEO you hired when your business employed 5 people and your product limited to state wide distribution, is not going to be as effective when the demand for your product expands to a national market and you’ve had to hire 20-30 more employees.
Revenue Plateau
If your revenue has been within the same range for the past two or three years, chances are the demand for your product/service has increase, but your business is not currently capable of meeting that demand. Not only do you have too few employees, but it is likely that many of the ones you already have don’t have the ability to perform at the level the business needs to succeed.
How You Know It’s Time to Grow [Small Business Buzz]
Entrepreneur: Marketers have found a new opportunity for more intimate and direct communication with consumers. Not so long ago, families gathered around the TV; now individuals surf the web and watch video on personal, handheld devices. Consumers have grown comfortable with--and even come to expect--a one-on-one dialogue with marketers. And personalized marketing messages are a smart way to get customers' attention and deliver communications that increase sales.
As a small-business owner, you're in the enviable position of interacting with customers you know on a first-name basis. You can more easily maintain a database with in-depth customer information than larger businesses. The key is to use this important data to ensure your communications strike a personal chord with customers.
Personalization is a powerful marketing tactic that's easy to incorporate. Here are three ways to create messages that personally appeal to customers.
1. Transform mass e-mail into one-to-one.
E-mail is an exceptional tool for small businesses thanks to its low cost of implementation and high return on investment when sent to an in-house, permission-based customer or prospect list. While e-mails range from product promotions to soft-sell e-newsletters, in some instances, a one-to-one approach can have a more powerful impact.
For this e-mail tactic to work, the simpler, more direct and less "crafted" your message appears, the better. Avoid graphics and other advertising design elements--including photos--which you might use in less personal forms of e-mail solicitations.
2. Personalize your offers.
Whether you're a retailer, e-commerce merchant or direct-mail marketer, if you sell merchandise, you need to know your customers' purchases, how much they spend per sale, and when or how often they buy. Knowledge of past behavior is a valuable tool for predicting future purchases. Not only can this information guide your business and merchandising decisions, but it's also critical for creating personalized marketing messages that increase sales. For instance, suppose a customer purchased jogging pants out of a wide range of clothing from your website or catalog. By customizing an e-mail or direct-mail follow-up based on this purchase history, you could successfully sell this customer additional exercise attire and related products.
3. Put it in writing.
What better way to make your message stand out than to express it in a handwritten note? After all, with fast online and mobile communications the norm, a handwritten note emphasizes that you've taken the time and thought to communicate something in a special way.
The Power of Personalization [Entrepreneur]
Marketing Deviant: Making a radio advertisement is a good way to target consumers into buying your products or services. In this short article, I’ll show you how to make your very own radio advertisement for little to no cost. You can use a voice recorder to record your ad, but I advise using a computer or laptop with a microphone so you can record your ad and mix in music much easier and faster to create a radio ad.
To record from your computer, you can download some free voice recording programs from Download.com or use the “sound recorder” provided from your Operating System. It should be located inside the “accessories” folder in “program files” (Windows Vista). Most radio ads run for 15, 30 or 60 seconds. In your radio ad you could explain what products or services you offer with the name of your company, website, location, and phone number. If you are selling a very high advance product then you would need to explain the functions and the reason why it is beneficial to buy it from your ad.
Next you would need music to make your radio ad more appealing. There are free programs to combine your recording and music file together. Using download.com again, type in keyword “music mix” and use the “freeware filter box” and choose the programs you want to use (Window Vista users may have a hard time finding free music mix programs). The music you use for your ad cannot be “louder” than your message or your advertisement would be ineffective. If you use music for your ad, you must ask for permission from the music artist (expect to pay a royalty fee) who created it unless you created it! However, there’s a site that gives insight on public domain music which can be used without paying royalties.
Once you are done with your ad, you just saved from a few hundred to a thousand dollars just by creating the ad yourself.
How to Create a Radio Ad [Marketing Deviant]
Business Opportunities Blog: Despite many work places banning the use of sites such as Facebook and MySpace, online networking sites offer opportunities to interact with other businesses and customers without the constraints of cost or location.
Sites such as www.linkedin.com and www.konnects.com offer online networking specifically for the professional and commercial sectors* and can sometimes be more effective than traditional methods of networking such as trade shows, business clubs and breakfast meetings.
Social networking allows users to talk directly to new contacts and send people straight to their website. On some sites it is even possible for businesses to make money through selling subscriptions to their networks.
Social Networking Sites Good for Small Business [Business Opportunities Blog]
How To Avoid The Top Seven Presentation Bloopers
Blooper #1: Not telling us why we should listen to you. Never assume that just because you have an audience, we are obliged to listen to you. We may love you (that’s why we came in the first place) but never take advantage of the trust we have for you. It is an extreme turn-off when the audience has to do the work i.e. figure out how your presentation is relevant to us...
Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 52 >>>
- iPod With Toyota
- Rebranded Munch Seeds
- Mobile Wallet
- EatSmart Nutrition Scale
- Smart Alarm Clock
- Midnight Special Offers
- SMS Privacy
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>
- Tips & Tricks To Find Customers
- Beer Pong Opportunity
- The New Work Revolution - Communication
- Entrepreneur’s Checklist
- Serial-preneurs
- What Drives You
- Business Partners Wanted
Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>
Can't stand your demanding boss anymore? Start your own business! Before that, be sure to subscribe to our free informative newsletter. BIZNESS! is jointly published by CoolBusinessIdeas.com and GetEntrepreneurial.com What you get in BIZNESS! - the latest new business ideas, small business advice, business tips and info and entrepreneur resources. Everything you need for your brand new business!
Free 145-pages PDF report (worth $75) - "2006's Best Business Ideas" - included with your subscription. Learn more here.
Personal motivation is fundamental to your personal success both in sales and in life in general. Given its obvious importance you’d think that people would be experts at motivating themselves wouldn’t you? Unfortunately this is often not the case. I believe that the reason for this is the general belief that people are either motivated or they’re not.
Most directors and business owners that I work with believe (before we’ve worked together) that you can’t teach motivation. Well, if there’s nothing you can do about it, why bother right?
Wrong!
Some people may be naturally more motivated than others. Some people have learned to be more motivated than others. Some people have been brought up in environments where self-motivation is encouraged and fostered. Some people will be able to self-motivate far easier than others…
But remember, although changing your current habits might be difficult it is possible.
Think what it would mean to you if you were more motivated to succeed, more hungry for success and more driven on a day to day basis. What could you achieve if you had more energy, more vitality and more drive.
Using these 10 strategies you can…
1. Know why its important to you
One of the biggest challenges with motivation is that people try and motivate themselves to do things that they are frankly just not interested in. Have a look at the things you struggle to get motivated to do. How many of them do you actually care about?
Many salespeople adopt the targets, goals and aspirations of their managers but are these genuinely what they want? Quite possibly not. When I work with salespeople and business owners one of the questions I always ask is, “Why is this important to you?” As we go through life most of us forget why we are doing things. We get stuck on the 9-5 treadmill going to work because we think we should rather than because we actually want to achieve anything.
Many people think they ought to increase their activity levels but they consistently fail to do so. Ask yourself, “Why is this important to me? What will I get when I achieve this? What will happen if I don’t achieve this?”
If you’re starting to get some great answers, build on them. If you’re struggling a bit, get persistent. If you have utterly no idea then consider whether this goal is actually important to you!
2. Have written and specific goals
Motivated people set goals. Motivated people have goals. Take time out right now and write yourself 10 year, 5 year, 3 year, 1 year, 6 month and 3 month goals. Read a book on goal setting. Check out SMART goal setting and Well Formed Outcomes from the field of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
Buy yourself a log book or a diary and start recording your goals. Capture them, study them, refine them. Take the time to visualise them and take them for a “test drive” in your head. The more time you put into them, the more real they will become for you. The more real they are for you, the more your unconscious mind will seek to attain them for you.
3. Set mini-targets and stepping stones
Work out what the milestones are on your way to achieving your goals. Write them down and plan them into your route to success. In today’s society most of us seek early gratification. Few people are prepared to sweat away with the rewards nowhere in sight. Make things easy for yourself as a newbie goal setter and check your progress early.
When I set out to write my first book I broke it down into tiny bitesize segments. Each of this was allocated a start and a finish time. Only by setting mini-targets and stepping stones can you see where you are in relation to your goal.
4. Treat yourself for a job well done
What would you do when your dog behaves well? What would you do when your child behaves well under difficult circumstances? How did your parents and teachers do when you behaved in the way they wanted you to?
Rewards!
People thrive on recognition and reward whether it’s from others or from ourselves. We know this! Why then is it that, as grown ups, we think that we can stop rewarding ourselves and stay motivated. Doh!
Few people work well in a vacuum and few can work well without rewards. Rewards do not have to be financial and they do not have to be big to work.
Action point: Create a list of 100 cheap and easy rewards that you can use to acknowledge to yourself that you have done a good job?
5. Reward activity not just results
Most sales managers, directors and owner reward results. Whilst I applaud this practise, it should not be the only way. As sales professionals we should reward ourselves for activity not just reward.
Imagine you have two sales people on your team. A works incredibly hard, has the right attitude and has consistent activity. B however is a bit of a slacker, has the wrong attitude and inconsistent activity. A unfortunately, through a piece of bad luck misses target but B, through a contact of a mate, swings in a lucky deal.
Clearly B has to get his commission but shouldn’t A get something too?
If you don’t reward A you have just rewarded B for all of the behaviours you don’t want and given nothing to the perfect employee. Hmmmm.
Task: Think about ways that you can reward activity as well as results in your team.
6. Make it easier to feel good than to feel bad
In my role I meet thousands of individuals every year and I am always amazed how difficult people make it for themselves to feel happy. Ask yourself what has to happen for you to feel good? What has to happen for you to feel successful? Most people have a list as long as their arm (and then some)!
Now ask yourself what has to happen for you to feel bad? Most lists have tiny little things like … one client being rude to us or one lost deal. That set up is never going to work is it!
You need to make it easier to feel good than to feel bad. That way you know that you’re going to be able to stay on top form and focused. Long ago I decided that my criteria for feeling good was to wake up in the morning! Now, I know it’s not guaranteed but so far I’m doing pretty well.
Have a think about what rules you have for feeling good and feeling bad and manipulate them to help you feel good every day.
7. Make a list of everything that you are tolerating and get rid of it
What do you tolerate in your life? The dictionary defines toleration as the process or practise of enduring or permitting. In other words, putting up with stuff that we don’t like!
What stuff do you tolerate in your life? Make a list of stuff that you’re tolerating – you’ll be amazed quite how much stuff there is. The first time I did this exercise there were literally hundreds of things on my list. Letting go of them was exhilarating.
Remember: Whilst a portion of you is tolerating stuff you are not totally focused on what you want to achieve.
8. Think of a time when you were motivated. Work out why and replicate it
Take a few moments and think of three times in your life that you were totally motivated. Not slightly motivated or half- motivated but really, truly 100% motivated.
What motivated you? Why were you motivated? How did you get motivated? How did it feel to be motivated? What could you do if you felt like this all of the time?
When you have worked out how you got motivated practise replicating it. This ability to get motivated an “up for it” will help you to achieve more in your life than you ever thought possible.
9. Take control of your emotions
Most people pretend that what goes on inside themselves has little to do with their behaviour and the results that they are getting. Most people are wrong.
Think about a day when everything went well… were you in control of your emotions? You bet you were. Emotional control is fundamental to sales and business success. If you cannot control your own emotions you will always struggle to motivate and inspire others – whether that’s motivating them to work, to buy, to build a team or to reach for more.
Now think about a day when everything went wrong… how did your emotional control differ? How does your emotional state affect you on a day when everything is going wrong? Doesn’t help at all, does it?
Start now to pay more attention to your emotions. Start to control them more effectively and you will start to get better results.
10. Surround yourself with motivational people, books and audios
Someone once said that you become most like the people that you spend the most time with. I believe they were right. If you hang around with negative, “mood-hoovers”, “wanabees”, “whingers”, “whiners” and “moaners” guess what you’re most likely to become?
Spend your time with motivated, successful achievers however and you will take a major step to catapulting yourself to sales success.
But Gavin, what if I don’t know any motivated, successful people?
Great questions! When I first uncovered this concept and I decided to use it to lift my game I had a bit of a problem because I didn’t know anyone who had the values, beliefs and attitudes that I was looking for so I created my own “virtual” support team. I read, listened to and watched the motivational superstars in books, audios and DVD programmes.
Action: What can you do to create your own real and virtual success team right now?
Gavin Ingham is a speaker & author. Get free tips, articles and strategies and join his newsletter now at www.gaviningham.com now.
BusinessKnowHow: Networking is about creating an extended family. It's about developing connections, caring about people, increasing the size of your "tribe." Most of all, networking is not the awkward social ritual many of us think it is--networking is actually FUN!
Practice "Palm Up" Networking. When you network, are you giving, or grasping? Palm up networking embodies the spirit of service, of giving and wanting nothing in return. The universe has a perfect accounting system. Give to others, it'll all come back to you in time.
Do Daily Appreciation. Appreciate at least one person daily. Sometimes I do this via e-mail so I can be thorough. Simply tell someone how much you appreciate who they are, what they do, whatever about them moves you. They'll be flattered and you'll feel great.
Equalize Yourself with Others. We're all equal. Practice equalizing yourself with others--this will enable you to more comfortably interact with others, and to reach out to people of all walks of life.
Rolodex Dip. Flip through your contact database and pick a name. Then think of all the things you like about them. Now call them up to see how they are doing. They'll be surprised and delighted.
Pick a "Sensei of the Day": Your sensei can be a person, a pet, a plant, it doesn't matter. The important thing is to acknowledge that there is much to learn and you are being offered valuable lessons constantly.
Six Essentials for Networking [BusinessKnowHow]
BusinessWeek: When you mention the company you represent or the products you sell to prospective customers, do they ever look at you funny and say they don't know what you're talking about? Take heart. This is a common challenge for many sales pros.
So what's a salesperson to do if prospective customers don't understand what he's selling? Here are some tips:
1. Analogies work.
If your company is not well known, you can say it is like company X but with quality Y with corresponding benefit Z. The idea is to springboard off the well-known supplier while carving out your niche and identifying your unique benefits.
2. Clarity matters.
Make sure your analogies are clear; don't be cute or clever. Your customers won't take the time or energy to figure out what you're selling.
3. Having to start your pitch from scratch can work in your favor.
There are several advantages to selling to a prospect who has never heard of your company or product. When representing a new company, you start fresh—few bridges have been burned before you got there.
Another advantage is the cachet factor. With almost every group of customers, there are going to be a few who want to buy something simply because it's new or unique. They want to be the first on their block to own what you sell. Look for customers who like to display their new watch, vehicle, or computer gadget. If they like cutting-edge products in one area, they probably like them in another.
Explaining What You Sell [BusinessWeek]
Businesspundit: It is tough to find good business partners. Starting a company takes a special type of person, and there aren't many people out there that want to work on something outside of the normal 9-5 workday, let alone do it for free for awhile. On top of all that, you still have to find people that have similar values, interests, and work styles in order for your startup to succeed. I've been through quite a few partners over the years - not because they were bad, just because we were a bad fit. A few months ago a company launched that aimed to ease that process - Partnerup.com.
Partnerup is a fast and effective way to find people like you, looking for the same things. For finding business partners, it is much more efficient than offline networking. So if you are looking for someone to join you as you change the world, check out the site. It could save you a lot of time and trouble.
The Fastest Way to Find Good Business Partners [Businesspundit]
Business Advice Pro: Failures are good. Mistakes you have made, bad decisions, failures are there to teach you something, teach you what does not work, what you should not do in the future. And if you really do learn from your mistakes, then how the hell can they be bad, they gave you a lesson and you learned from them. And learning is always good.
While at first, after making a mistake, depending on what it was, you might feel pretty down, but think of it this way – how does that help you? Yes, you might have done something very wrong, but usually you can’t change what you have already done, you can, however, change the way you do things in the future.
Failures are good as long as... [Business Advice Pro]
The New Work Revolution - Anticipate, Prep for & Profit
Posted by John Bittleston under Work Life,
September 12, 2007
I have outlined the clash between Global Village and Balanced Life Style and how this may affect your job. There are several ways of coping with this Revolution. I now consider your present job and workplace.
If you are in a job, don't quit. One in ten employed people are actively trying to move. Never quit until the new job is irrevocably tied up. If a new company wants you earlier than your agreed notice permits they can buy the time from your present employer.
I receive emails daily from people who say they 'cannot stand it any more etc. etc'. I can help you with ways to improve the climate at work, but you won’t change it fundamentally in a short space of time. You can and must stand it. Your employer may be wanting you to quit without his having to pay any redundancy money. Don't let him do it. Grin and bear it. If he really wants you out, he will pay.
Quite a number of those who 'can't stand it' go on to win the hearts of their colleagues with their courage and perseverance. They can end up in better jobs within the company in an improved atmosphere.
Your assessment of the future of employment in your industry, to which I referred earlier, may throw up some interesting possibilities.
The numbers working in your field may be greatly reduced. That gives more responsibility to those who remain. It leads to greater profitability of the company - and better wages. You may be able to win one of those jobs if you are loyal, confident and steadfast. A willingness to learn, demonstrated by the number of courses and additional qualifications you have obtained, is always attractive to a potential employer.
There may be overseas supervisory opportunities, on a full-time or part-time basis. They might involve travel and could be very rewarding.
Even if you are 'let go' perhaps you can continue working part-time for the company. That is why you should always remain on good terms with your bosses and colleagues.
Sometimes a company needs those it lets go to help the business through a transition - or for an even longer period. Quite often they are found to have been less dispensable than the management thought.
The clue is 'valuable'. Are you valuable to the business? What do you think? Only when you regard yourself as valuable can you sell that idea to others.
So the most important step you can take is to make yourself more valuable to the business. Help others, smile, be agreeable, don't gossip, get the work done. Get to know the boss better. Seek his or her advice about how you can make a greater contribution. Be positive about the business, even if you have been negative in the past. Look on the bright side. Become an optimist.
What have you got to lose? Absolutely nothing. What might you gain? Promotion, better wages, continuity of employment, good references (when they are needed), greater knowledge of the job you are doing. It's a long list. Use it to motivate yourself. It's the first line of defence in The New Work Revolution.
There are several more stages in coping with The New Work Revolution - how it affects the home, working from home, multiple portfolios, preparing yourself for a change of industry, getting ready to shift jobs. I'll deal with them in the next articles.
Meanwhile, smile. Disaster and Triumph are both impostors.
John Bittleston blogs at TerrificMentors.com, a site that provides mentoring for those who wish a change in career or job, wanting to start a business or looking to improve their handling of people (including themselves).
BusinessKnowHow: What's the hardest thing about starting a business? For many new business owners, the answer is "Finding customers." Having a great product or service that you are sure many people will need isn't good enough. Customers won't find you or your web site just because you have started selling a product or service. Indeed, most business owners have to go on regular and frequent fishing trips to find customers and keep new business coming in their doors. But how do you do that? Here are several suggestions to get you started.
Develop a plan. Consider who would make the ideal customer.
Realize there is no one path to success. Sales often happen because prospective customers hear about your products and services in several different ways and from several different sources.
Work your local newspapers. Daily and weekly newspapers are an incredible source of contact information and leads to potential customers.
Watch for events that may bring your potential market together. Contact the organizers of the event and offer to give away your product or service as a prize during the event in exchange for having the group promote you in their promotions.
Attend meetings and seminars that your prospects might attend. If you've been doing that and haven't made contacts that could lead to sales, look in the newspapers to see what other organizations hold events that might attract your target market and attend some of those meetings.
Follow up after meetings. Contact the people you've met to see if they may be prospects.
Ways To Find Customers [BusinessKnowHow]