If you’re like most managers or executives, you are dealing with having fewer people to do more of the work. Your people are smart and hard working  . . . but they need to increase their effectiveness to keep up with the growing workload and help you build a foundation for the future of the organization.  Yet they don’t have the time to go to lunch, let alone attend long training sessions.

Sound familiar?  Training may not be the answer.  Consider coaching.  Coaching is a technique used by leaders and managers who want to increase the productivity and success of their team in the most effective, time-efficient way possible.   Years of experience have taught us that when managers and leaders coach people around four core traits seen in all highly successful individuals, they succeed in any arena and at whatever they undertake.  

To get the most from your key people, use coaching as your strategy, and follow this process:

1. Identify your high-potentials.  These are the people who have demonstrated an interest in seeing the organization succeed.  You know who they are.
2. Invite these high-potentials to work with you in a coaching process over a specific period of time.
3. Use a structured and disciplined system to conduct effective individual coaching sessions.
4. Keep the sessions brief, specific, and concentrated around developing four key traits:  goal clarity, high achievement drive, strong emotional intelligence and excellent social skills.
5. Properly prepare for each session using a pre-session planning sheet; debrief after each session using a post-session analysis tool.
6. See more in your people than they see in themselves – the secret to building self-confidence and achieving more than they believe they are capable.

It’s important to remember that the four key traits (also known as success factors) can’t be intellectually learned, as in a classroom, but can only be experientially developed with quality coaching.  When you apply this process, it’s not uncommon to see 20% to 35% sales increases, employee retention challenges drop drastically, and organizational goals achieved that were previously viewed as unattainable.

By Richard Bender

You have a business and no doubt you know a lot about your product and services. You may be a professional with a specialty or a retailer that targets a very specific type of person or persons. If this is you I would love to address something very important. REACHING THAT SPECIFIC PERSON…

It is not about web site traffic or hits – It is about the right people, your target visiting your web site or blog. You want to reach people that are interested in what you have to offer. You want them then contacting you and asking for more. This is a relevant visitor. It’s not about web site hits unless you sell auto insurance. It’s about relevant web site or blog visitors. When you get traffic because of your provided content then your traffic will be relevant. I know this is simple in terms of a concept but so many people, professionals, home business owners, even retailers, etc. do not understand how the internet works. It’s a big, big world out there with lots of data – how is your future customer going to find you?

That’s where we come in and help. You provide the content and we do the rest..

Richard Bender Communications. Online Content Management – 949.370.8491

My buddy called me the other day, and I knew by the tone in his voice, he wanted something!

Author : ARDHANA, ARIA

PT Sratu Supramukti Elhasurya merupakan sebuah perusahaan yang mendistribusi kan Air Minum Dalam Kemasan Total. Persaingan yang terjadi saat ini mulai menjurus ke arah komoditas. Untuk dapat bertahan dalam persaingan yang ketat ini, perusahaan perlu meningkatkan penjualannya dan memberikan nilai tambah kepada produk sehingga produk tersebut tidak dianggap sebagai produk komoditas saja tetapi produk yang bermerek.

Keyword : increasing sales, commodity goods

Sumber : http://repository.petra.ac.id/3010/

What is social networking?  Many people are not clear about what social networking entails.  This may be due to the fact that they may have heard the term used differently years ago.  Well social networking is simply the grouping of individuals into a particular group.  In years past, this definition may have pertained to a group of people meeting face to face.  Today social networking takes on a whole new meaning, thanks to the internet.  The internet has made social networking extremely popular.   Social networks are now the 4^th most popular online activity; just ahead of email.   It has brought singles together, reunited friends and changed the way people do business.

 Sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (just to name a few) are hot topics for professionals.  They are finding out that social networking is beneficial in every industry.  Studies have shown that online networking can be extremely helpful with marketing products, finding manufacturers, and even hiring employees. 

Sites such as LinkedIn are tailored towards business professionals.  LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and launched in 2003.  The site now has over 50 million registered users spanning over 200 countries and territories worldwide.  

Facebook currently has 150 million active users and about half of them use the site on a daily basis.  Facebook is used in more than 35 different languages and 170 countries and territories.  Facebook is proving that it is not just for young people.  The number of Americans users over the age of 35 has doubled in recent months.  Women seem to be leading the way.  Women 55 and older are the fastest growing in that group.  Currently there are more members between the ages of 45 and 65 than there are 13 to 17 year olds.

Twitter is slowly becoming one of the most popular networking sites, reaching 4.1 million monthly users.  Twitter seems to attract more educated users and more female users as well.  Studies have also shown that Twitter users are more technologically advanced than those on any other site. 

Social networking is vital for business professionals.  Networking sites give business professionals access to clients/customers all over the world.  There are many networking sites to choose from.  The great thing about social networking is that individuals can belong to as many sites as they choose. Where am I going with this? Every business, large or small, is able market globally for FREE.  There are no limitations when it comes to social networking. 

written by: Gminski Stubbs

Wouldn’t it be great if, as a leader, you could wave a magic wand and initiate two simple tools that would almost guarantee an increase in employee productivity, customer loyalty and company profitability?  Impossible, you say!  After all, those increases require exhaustive planning, numerous employee training and business development initiatives, and a dogged determination to cut costs.   In some cases, they even requires massive company reorganization – and everything  takes lots of time and with no guarantee of success.    Well, all that may be true.  But consider another truth:  By improving just two things –employee engagement and inclusion –you can immediately increase employee productivity, customer loyalty and profitability and it doesn’t take a long, drawn out program to pull it off.  Let me explain . . . 

According to Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership, employee engagement is generally thought of as the degree to which employees view the goals of the company as in line with their own lives so that when they have choices, they will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests and vice versa.  In Getting Engaged: the New Workplace Loyalty, author Tim Rutledge explains that truly engaged employees are attracted to and committed to, inspired by and fascinated by the work they do.  In my experience, I’ve found that engaged employees are more productive, make more money for the company, and create loyal customers.  They contribute to good working environments where people are happy, ethical, and accountable.  They stay with the organization longer and are more committed to quality growth.   (I’ve been fortunate to have had many of these employees over the years, and I’ve always wished I could “clone” them!)   In fact, studies show that engaged employees outperform their unengaged counterparts by 20-28 percentage points.  Yet, according to the Gallup Management Journal’s semi-annual Employee Engagement Index . . .

• 20 percent of employees are actively engaged in their jobs;
• 54 percent are not engaged; and
• 17 percent are actively disengaged.

Employee inclusion suggests that people of every position or title, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, aspiration and disability feel that they have a place at the table.  Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, describes inclusive culture as “the way you feel when you enter a building.  It’s the people who take time to say hello and are interested in answering your questions.  It’s about respecting people you work with; about knowing they’re there when you need their support and that they’re willing to listen to your opinions.”

Many companies place a priority on including and engaging their employees (mandatory training programs on work place diversity and team building are some examples of common-place happenings), yet few succeed as evidenced by the dismal scores.  Why?  Because inclusion and engagement can’t be feigned, trained or forced.  They can’t be taught in some required online course or dry management seminar.  Inclusion and engagement starts with you, the leader.  Whether you’re a front-line manager, department head, senior exec or owner/CEO of the company, it still starts with you. 

Let me ask you this:  On a scale of 1 – 5, with 5 being completely engaged, how engaged are you? How engaged would you say you are in your work, with your team, your boss, what it is your company hopes to accomplish?  Unless you answered “5” your employees are not actively engaged, and I guarantee your productivity, customer loyalty and profitability are suffering.  The good news is, while there are a lot of things beyond your control these days, you CAN control your ability to effect a change in the area of employee engagement and inclusiveness.   And it doesn’t take a massive amount of resources like time, money or training.  You can do it right now; just begin by following this personal action plan:

1.  Stop talking about leveraging the diversity and talent within your company and start doing it.  Focus your team on something tough, important.  Bring together people from throughout the company and ask them to accomplish something significant and difficult in a short period of time.   Make sure they’re from different departments or workgroups, perspectives and job descriptions.  Get them to think out loud about a problem, a decision that needs to be made, a strategy that needs designing, an opportunity that needs evaluating.  Then execute on decisions that are made.  Even if you take small steps to begin with.  Execute something.
2. Don’t fire and forget; don’t allow someone to resign without an exit interview.  Find out what went wrong.  Act on what you learn.  Make it easier to fire people who aren’t right for the company or the job or who think that just coming to work each day is enough.   If you have a separate HR Department, work closely with them to make this happen.  This practice has a positive effect on the rest of the team — not the least of which is engagement.
3. Hold a workshop that helps people not only understand generational and ethnicity differences, but also reveals their similarities.   People will find out that they are all more similar than different – a realization that helps connect people and make them feel they have a place at the table.  Do these at least once a year, more if you have a serious engagement problem or if you’re hiring new people at an accelerated rate.
4. Make it a habit of creating consistent, enduring connections everywhere you go.  Focus on the unique capabilities of individuals on your team and on employee and client relationships.
5. Conduct effective meetings.  Respect peoples’ time by starting and ending meetings ON TIME.  Don’t allow distractions during your meetings – shut off your phone and Blackberry and insist that others do so too.   Focus on resolving problems or designing strategy (vs. unending complaint sessions).  Invite people to share different perspectives in an open, inclusive and safe environment.  Occasionally invite people to your meetings who have nothing to do with the team or topic – people whom no one would expect to see sitting at the table – and include them as equals. 
6. When you ask people how they are, or how your customer service is, don’t be satisfied with “fine.”  Help employees and customers articulate a true answer.  Keep your tone encouraging, not fear inducing.
7. Ask your people where they want to go career-wise and why they want to go there.  Be honest with them about how they’re doing relative to their goals and ask them how they think they’re doing.  Allow your top performers to grow.  Look for ways to help them develop their careers, whether it is additional training, new responsibilities, or a transfer to another department.  Even if it results in a short-term impact to your progress, if you see a natural move for someone to another area of the company, champion it.  Part of a leader’s job is to build a stellar bench both within their own department and other departments in the company.
8. Build a “conversations I need to have” list and have those conversations.  Who deserves your praise?  Who deserves an apology?  Who deserves your support?  Who deserves the truth?  Have these conversations in person if possible, or at minimal by telephone.  Don’t send an email or leave it on a voice mail.
9. Delegate more.  Then let people do their jobs.  Support rather than command.  Ask instead of tell and put your focus on developing others rather than winning or looking good.

In conclusion, it takes courage to be engaged  — and to seek out different views, different perspectives and help people feel included.  It takes even more courage to be willing to change the way you lead.   To hold people to a standard that is nothing less than their “A” game.  But I promise you if you will constantly seek to raise the engagement and inclusiveness bars both in yourself and in your people, you will see your organization’s productivity, customer loyalty and profitability soar . . .almost like magic!

*For a free copy of my Organizational Productivity Assessment, which measures employee engagement, email me at susan@susanirelandassociates.com. 

I had a recent discussion with a client about  the financial uncertainty they are facing during these tough economic times.   Sales are down nearly 30%, and they have had to scale back employee work hours.   They are concerned about letting talent go because of a very justified fear that they may not be able to get that talent back when the market picks up.  

This is a dilemma faced by an increasingly large number of employers who recognize the peril of terminating talent.  With unemployment officially at 10% and realistically closer to 18% when you factor in the under employed and those just not looking for work, it does appear that many employers believe that there is no alternative.  

The reality is that virtually all organizations can increase their bottom line by decreasing staff.   Be it the bloated federal government that many estimate to be 30% overstaffed to the small mom and pop that needs nine employees instead of ten, opportunities to shed heads abound.   But is it the right thing to do?

The one certainty for all organizations is that they have two ways to increase their profitability; increase sales or decrease costs.   During times of economic malaise it is unlikely that sales are going anywhere so the focus must be on reducing costs.  

There are a number of ways that companies can do precisely that, but more often than not management is wary of things that appear to be too good to be true.   A great example is a company called Total Energy Concepts that uses the concept of power factor correction to reduce electric bills by a guaranteed 15% with no new money required from customers.   By reducing the utility bill, a portion of the savings pays for the system installation while the company gets the difference as new found money on their bottom line.   Learn more about this awesome way to save money and go green at www.energy-pure.com.

As I was sharing with my client, opportunities like this abound.   The key to finding this money is to think outside the box, which often means doing more than reducing staff.  Don’t get me wrong;  poorly performing or complacent staff should always be reduced during good times and bad.   But that is a topic for a different day.  

Look around your organization and see where organizational optimization can occur.   Some of it will be staffing, but more often than not it is something, such as your electric bill, that is right in front of you.   Leverage your business to business relationships with experts in workflow optimization and learn how you too can be on the path to finding millions. 

Chris Tidball is the Vice President of Business Development for Sequoia Financial Services of Glendale, CA.   He is a former executive for multiple Fortune 100 corporations and is the author of Kicked to the Curb : 20 Essential Rules For Coming Out On Top When Your World Has Been Turned Upside Down.   He can be reached at (904) 742-9031 or via email at chris@christidball.com

Contrary to what you are probably thinking… this post is not about me getting a job at MacDonalds. 

It’s actually not about my job search at all. 

It’s about a trend that I see becoming more prevalent everywhere I go.  It’s a sly little way that businesses are trying to give themselves a boost.

It’s all about the Upsell or… Suggestive Selling. 

Now, I come from the world of sales and marketing and I know how successful this strategy can be.   I’d even admit I’m a firm believer that it CAN make a big difference in your business.  And, I oftentimes applaud the companies that have learned to successfully use this tactic in their business plan.

It’s based on a few underlying assumptions: 

• People love to feel like they are getting a great deal. 
• People like to get more for less. 
• People feel that bigger is better… (oftentimes, even if it comes at a greater cost)

And, let’s be honest, most people are highly suggestible.  It’s why impulse purchase items do so well.   It’s also why a motivated company can train their employees to suggest things to you so that you spend more money without ever really thinking about it.  

And after all, why wouldn’t you want fries with that? (what’s the point of going out for crappy fast food, if you’re not gonna go all the way??)

Anyhow, here are some places where I’ve recently seen this strategy at work… places where I applaud their efforts.

MacDonalds – (Probably one of the best examples of upselling) Do you want to supersize?  Do you want fries with that?

Ruby Tuesdays – Would you like to start out with an appetizer?  Would you like to add the salad bar for only $1.99 more?

Old Navy – (as I’m buying 2 t-shirts) These t-shirts are 3 for $15.00.  Don’t you want to go grab one more?

My Local Bar – Would you like that margarita with Patron?

As you can see, there’s a time & a place where this sales tactic can work very well, and I bet that at least 50% of the time, you can get a customer to say “yes!”.  But……… 

There’s a time & a place where I don’t want to see this strategy.  Namely……. My Eye Doctor. 

Yes… I did say my Eye Doctor  (this is not a euphemism for a high pressure, boutique sunglass store).  It’s my actual licensed, yearly check-up, new prescription, Eye Dr. 

I went there today, and under the guise of concern for the future of my eyesight, they tried to upsell me to do some sort of eye mapping picture that’s, and I quote “not covered at all by your insurance”.

And, ok, I’ll admit it……I’ve fallen for this tactic before.. I mean, you can’t skimp on your eyesight right?  So, the last 2 times I’ve paid an extra $65 (not covered by insurance) for this special eye mapping picture to ensure that there are no horrible changes to my eyesight since my last visit.  

But, now that I’m unemployed and I’m counting my pennies.  Instead of being bullied by fear into paying for this service, I asked more questions.  And, I determined that I’d pass on having this done today, and I’m pretty confident that with all the other eye tests they ran on me, that my eyesight will be ok until my next visit.  Unless of course I have to keep looking at rejection emails about jobs in which case I may just poke out my own eyes with my pen… but, even then, I don’t think this mapping picture could have saved me! 

So, here I sit thinking about my decision and feeling good that I didn’t fall prey to the upsell at my doctors office… and, somewhere in the back of my mind I’m celebrating this tiny victory over the suggestive sell!

I may still get the fries, the better tequila and the extra t-shirt but, at least today, I’m basking in the joy of saving $65!

So recently I’ve been pondering the idea of potentially advertising my ETSY site on secondary web pages to increase traffic to my shop. This is really hard considering I have never done the likes of this before, and I have to wonder what percentage of ETSY shop owners actually participate in this type of marketing. This is just another hurled in my dream of creating a viable, self sustaining, shop.

If anyone has any great ideas on marketing, secondary web sites, etc. please comment below.

The bottom line of owning a business is to increase sales, right? In order to enhance the bottom line, it is very important to be equipped with the right tools to allow you to have the ability to boost your sales. Credit card processing is one of the tools that help empower business owners to increase their sales.

Several business owners have already made the commitment to accepting credit cards and growing their sales. The average amount of acquired sales from accepting credit cards is 70%. Seventy percent of business comes from having the capability to accept credit cards! That is a lot of business! If you are a business owner looking to multiply the amount of deals that are signed, then maybe it is time you decide to become a credit card processor.

Who knows the number of transactions you could be missing out on if you don’t make the decision to accept credit cards, and if you are a retailer it is almost impossible to make money by only accepting cash. Most of the population lives off of purchasing items with their credit card. With all the rewards that are offered by credit card companies it is hard not to see why consumers and business owners alike ring up the charges on their cards.

Business owners are typically more likely to do business with company who allows them to use their credit cards, because the incentives are so high, not to mention the ability to make large ticket purchases. The convenience factor also comes into play here.

Time and time again it has been shown that the benefits of accepting credit cards are increased sales; it’s time to start the increase!

4^th Quarter 2009 action plan

It’s all about timing.  As business owners and managers, we find ourselves in scary times.  It seems like just yesterday we experienced a very different picture.    We had economic expansion, low interest rates, easy credit and customers with seemingly limitless wealth.  Okay, maybe I’m dreaming a bit but you must admit it wasn’t too long ago that times were quite different than they are today.  Now we’re faced with threats of Al Qaeda, bank bail-outs, Bernie Madoff and the government take-over of the car industry.  Did I mention the spiraling cost of health care? 

As the threats continue, how do we survive and even prosper? How do we get more sales revenue?  More importantly, how do we get it all done with fewer resources, shrinking profit margins and seemingly perpetual customer, employee, (not to mention personal) anxiety?

What I’m about to share with you are the three most powerful steps you can take as a business owner or manager in 4Q 2009.  Take them now if you want to survive and thrive in 2010.

1.  BECOME CLEAR ON YOUR VISION

Vision is having a clear picture of where you’re going.  Not just a clear goal, but a strong commitment to achieving it.  It’s expressed in a leader’s actions and confidence level.  The visionary leader has a deep belief that their objectives are possible and that they’ll find a way to achieve them.  As a business owner or manager, you have an important competitive advantage.  When the founder is leading the company,  and the manager is steering the ship, you do it with an authentic passion to deliver on the vision.  You’re always designing, revising, and carrying out the plan of action.  When your vision is energized by a strong mission or purpose, you become unstoppable.  Are you clear about your vision?  Do you know where you’re going?  Do your people, your customers, and the rest of the world?  Is it being clearly articulated on a regular basis so everyone “gets” it?

2.  INVEST IN A COURAGEOUS CULTURE (BACKED BY A STRONG TEAM)

A courageous culture is critical when the stakes are high and uncertainty abounds. Successful business owners and managers must have courage, determination, backbone and persistence.   Let your courage spill over to your entire team.  Even if you have few (or no) employees, you still have a “virtual” team.  They are the vendors you work with, colleagues in the industry and your suppliers.  Communicate with them often – form alliances, build camaraderie.  Strong teams achieve more than any individual can, reinforcing one another to do what they could never do on their own.  Want to expand your team?  Form a mastermind group with your peers.  Mastermind groups can be run very inexpensively and the agenda is set by the group based on group needs.  It’s a great way to share best practices, learn new strategies from one another, and hold each other accountable for the things you know you should do but don’t. 

3.  GET AND STAY FOCUSED

Finally, focus.  On what’s working.  You can create calm out of chaos by identifying the things that have worked for you up until now.   Write them down.  Determine why they’ve worked and resolve to stay focused on them.  And by all means, quit focusing on the “small stuff.”  This quarter, put your energy into the most important company priorities and be sure these get done first.  To pull this off, deal with at most three to five things at a time.  Don’t do other things until these top priorities get done.   Need help staying focused?  Work with a peer or colleague.  Agree to call each other regularly to keep each other on track.

News of bankruptcy, foreclosures, terrorism, bank failures and corporate greed persistently remind us of the threats we face.  In some ways, these things may seem like the new normal. But YOU don’t have to accept them as the new normal. Take steps now, in the 4^th quarter 2009, to confront these realities.  Do it with vision, courage and focus!

There are at least two reasons why you might visit www.supply2.gov.uk  , the only official government lower-value contract opportunity portal, created specifically to provide businesses with visibility and access to smaller public sector contract opportunities.

First, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur but are lacking that spark of an idea, supply2.gov.uk has 1,866 service classifications that you can browse through, and which could give you inspiration for your new business.

But if your business is already established and you take the time to register as a supplier, you can get free contract alerts in a region of your choice as well as gain access to UK-wide contracts through the online search function. For a small cost, you can upgrade to get alerts in a wider geographic area.

So if you haven’t already visited the website, make sure you take a look at this route to winning potentially lucrative Government contracts.

In the world of effective marketing, most of us have heard of the Unique Selling Proposition, which is the statement about what makes your company different from your competitors.

This is now being taken to a higher level of understanding and purpose. In the book written a couple of years ago by Jill Konrath, Selling to Big Companies, she instructs the selling organization to always approach the customer from the customer’s point of view. “What is in it for me?” In this approach, the customer must understand the tangible results he/she gets from using your products and services. It defines to the customer the value of your product and/or service in financial terms.

You must totally understand your market, and your customers’ market. Value propositions are financially oriented and speak to the critical issues your customer is facing in his/her market. Communicate tangible, measurable results. This is difficult and takes time, but it is well worth the time you invest in the process.

This is especially difficult for service businesses, as it may be more difficult to quantify your offerings. As a result, your value proposition must be stated in exciting and interesting business terms.

To clarify your value proposition, it must be expressed in numbers and/or percentages. Based on your understanding of your customer’s business, you should be able to predict the amount of cost reduction your service or product will contribute to their organization. Or it could be additional margin from features you can provide that your competitors can not. You must indicate to the customer that you understand their business. In addition, you should try to include the intangible value gains for the customer. An additional step would be to define the opportunity costs to the customer if they do not purchase your product or service. Opportunity costs are the losses in profits for NOT taking some action.

If at all possible, you must work directly with the customer so that you understand their perspective. This will strengthen your value proposition, as well as strengthen your relationship. Work with others you know in the industry to gain more knowledge and use industry statistics to help quantify your work.

You will come to realize that strong value propositions are the best tool for getting appointments with buyers, as you can identify to the buyer tangible outcomes and measureable results.

Your value proposition could be somewhat different for each customer. How do you determine the value proposition for a specific customer? Look at the customer(s) from the viewpoint of their current operations: if they are not currently using your product or service, how are they doing things today? What problems will your offering solve? What opportunities will your offering create? Then determine if is there is a “ripple effect.” What other areas could be impacted by your service? This could actually be a new problem or gap. When you are able to indentify these and offer solutions, you will become much more valuable to your customer. In the end, you must be able to identify the pay-off to the customer for purchasing your product and/or service.

This sounds very difficult, but it will be very rewarding. The implementation of your value proposition will result in significant improvements in your company and in your customers’ companies as well.

When I ask most people that question the typical responses are a wrinkle of their nose and words like, pushy, intrusive, won’t take no for an answer, an interruption, and even rude. It is a reaction born from experience and stereotypes. Just think of the last time you interacted with someone trying to sell you something. Was the experience a good one? Did you find yourself becoming defensive?

Salespeople who act in ways that make us uncomfortable have confronted us all.  For example, there is the sales person that just would not leave you alone or tried to push you into buying something you didn’t need. Not all of our experiences have been bad, but they are the ones we remember…and tell others about! The good experiences tend to be ones that feel right and you did not feel pressured into the purchase. The salesperson may have been very persuasive, but their style and approach did not leave you feeling pressured.

Many times, I find my clients struggling with the concept of truly selling in their business. They are concerned others will see their business in this same negative light. “If I’m just nice to my customers and give them a good product, then they will buy,” is the common position many owners take.

But, here’s the real shocker…we are all salespeople! That’s right; we are all salespeople.  We sell every day…in our personal life, with our spouse, kids, friends and others we meet, during our normal daily activities. In your business life, you are selling to your employees, co-workers, vendors, and yes, even with your customer.

You see, selling occurs anytime you are trying to persuade someone else. In fact, the most successful sales people are those who can talk to people, listen actively, and uncover their needs to reach agreement. Selling is actually a very positive activity and extremely important in every business. No business can survive if selling is not a key priority that is practiced and coached daily.

It is also critical to understand your sales numbers. Three areas you must focus on in order to improve your results are: your conversion of prospects into paying customers, the average amount each customer spends with you each time they make a purchase and how many times they buy from you. Let’s take a quick look at each one.

Sales conversion rate – set up a simple process to measure the number of prospects your business generates and how many of them make a purchase. Your business already generates prospects so converting more of those prospects to paying customers is a low-cost way to increase revenues. This includes how many people contact your business through website visits, phone calls, personal visits, pro-active salesperson contacts, etc. Improve your conversion rate and your marketing efficiency increases making your business more profitable.

Average amount sold to each client – measure the average ticket size per sale in your business. Increasing this average through cross-selling and up-selling will increase revenues very cost effectively. Your average will increase by offering your prospects and clients additional services or adding value to their purchase. It goes without saying that this must be done ethically and be in the interest of the client. However, there are many ways to increase the average amount sold. Some of these include offering additional products or services, service agreements, or other valuable items that are in the best interest of the customer.

Number of times a customer buys from you – keeping your current customers coming back again and again is cheaper than finding new people to buy from you all the time. Build a base of loyal customers and keep them coming back to grow your business. Successful businesses know how to keep their customers coming back while also attracting new ones. Build customer loyalty programs, communicate with them on a regular basis, understand and meet their on-going needs and be sure to thank them for their business.

I define selling as “professionally helping others to buy.”  Note the term professionally as that is a critical part of the process.  It is not about being pushy, rude, aggressive, etc.  It is about finding a need and showing the prospect how to meet the need through your business and its products…professionally. 

Changing perceptions, either yours or those of your team, about what selling is and how to do it will help you grow your business revenue and even more importantly your profits. 

Now go sell, sell, sell…professionally!

To your success,
Dennis

2009 Business Growth Strategy  

The 13%, 15% and 26% Difference

Just yesterday I found an article in the Integrity Solutions® toolbox that was written by Bill Kowalski, their Sr. VP.  In it, Bill reveals a very recent market research survey of over one thousand sales executives from a diverse range of companies in both size and industries in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.  It’s fascinating because the findings parallel my own unscientific survey of managers and small business owners in sales organizations within my own network.  It seems that in today’s global economy, there is commonality in the priorities of sales executives regardless of geographic location:  The # 1 priority is increasing sales, followed by increasing sales effectiveness, increasing market share, increasing customer loyalty and reducing sales cycle time. 

Two primary strategies.  The 1,040 firms in Bill’s study do two things to increase sales and sales effectiveness.  They do sales training and implement a sales process.  Not surprising so far, right?  Here’s what blew me away, though.  Based on the data gathered, the organizations were placed into one of four categories.  Here are the definitions of how they were categorized:

A.   Level I firms do not have a formal sales training program or process – sales reps are left to their own devices about how best to sell.

B.  Level II firms conduct sales training and have a formal sales process but only encourage reps to use the knowledge and principles introduced. 

C.  Level III firms conduct sales training, have a formal sales process and expect reps to apply the knowledge and principles introduced and follow their sales process.

D.  Level IV firms conduct sales training and have a formal sales methodology and process.  Sales reps are held accountable to practice and apply knowledge and principles learned and managers are also held accountable to provide coaching and feedback.

The following table illustrates the percent of sales quota achieved of firms in each category:

Incredible!  Level I firms who provide no formal sales training or process achieved performance to quota that was 11% better than Level II firms who provide both sales training and process but only encourage people to apply what they have learned.  Level III firms who also provide both sales training and a process and expect people to apply what is learned performed essentially the same as Level I firms who employ neither sales training or a formal sales process. 

How can this be?  It’s pretty simple, really, and it bears out all my years of “unscientific” observations of sales organizations and sales people everywhere:  Sales training and sales process either has no material impact on improving sales effectiveness, or they can actually hinder performance absent true accountability to insure knowledge learned is practiced and applied and there is steadfast adherence to a formal sales process.

In other words, without a formal process to hold people accountable to immediately apply and reinforce training material, retention falls at an accelerating rate.   Consequently, there is little to no behavior change or performance improvement. 

This is further backed by research conducted by G.V. Goodard and John R. Anderson.  It’s known as the “Forgetting Curve” which illustrates that without reinforcement and application within 48 hours of a learning event 75% of the information covered is forgotten.   I believe (as does Bill Kowalski) that if the sales training is “event based” it may even hinder performance due to creating cognitive dissonance.   That’s a fancy term that simply means if an individual is introduced to knowledge or concepts they do not believe they are capable of applying, anxiety results that hinders performance.    Think about it.  How many times have you attended a seminar, workshop or course and thought, “that’s great, it sounds exciting, but I don’t really see myself doing it.” 

Now, take one more look at Level IV firms’ performance to quota.  It was 13%, 26% and 15% better than Level I, II and III firms, respectively.  This clearly supports the notion that converting knowledge into performance requires accountability and the experience of practicing and applying what is learned.  It also validates the importance of sales managers being held accountable for effectively coaching staff as this leadership activity is a strategically critical link in the performance improvement process.

Imagine.  If you are a Level I, II or III firm, what would an increase of 13%, 15% or 26% in sales would mean to your organization if you became a Level IV firm?

Bottom line.  To improve business growth in 2009 and beyond, coach your people.  It will make all the difference. 

So, you have been selling online for a few months or years, you have built of a decent amount of traffic through paid ads, affiliate programs, etc, however your sales continue to lag.

Increasing your conversion rate is the quest of every online business. There are numerous philosophies on how to increase it, however some can be very expensive, and some not terribly effective. So where can you look to get the best return on your investment?

My suggestion is to first look at the design of your site. A custom, professional design is the first, best thing a business owner can do to make the most of the traffic they are already getting. I have seen businesses increase their conversion rate 1.5% – 3% with no other changes than a custom design.

How is this possible? The answer is relatively simple. The second a visitor lands on your website you have approximately 15 seconds to capture their interest before they move on to your competition. So, in those precious few seconds you need to effectively answer the following questions in order to turn them from a browser into a buyer;

1. Who are you?
2. What do you do/sell?
3. Why should I buy from you?

A professional, unique, look and feel will answer the above in a way that draws the visitor deeper into the site to explore your site in more detail. The longer you keep their interest and on your website, the better the odds are they will become a customer.

So, you know now what you need, but how do you choose a designer from the seemingly endless numbers that are out there? My suggestion is you start by looking at websites that you like or think are well designed. Usually you can find a name or a link at the bottom of the page. Ask friends or business acquaintances for a reference. Failing either of those options you can begin an internet search.

Before hiring a web designer you should ask a number of questions about a number of topics. The following is only a partial list or things to consider when thinking about a new website:

• Frames – Websites designed in frames are undesirable for a number of reasons. However, the largest of which is the inability of the search engine spiders to index your all the pages on your website, which makes search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) very difficult.
• Flash – This is a wonderful tool that many designers overuse. Too much flash again inhibits the spiders, which makes SEO and SEM difficult. However, if used judiciously it can be a very effective design element
• 3 Click Rule – Your designer should be very familiar with this concept, if not find one that is. The navigation structure should be configured in a way that a visitor can find what they are looking for in 3 clicks. Any more than that and you risk them getting frustrated or bored and clicking over to a competitor’s site.
• Product Search – ALL e-commerce sites should include the ability to search products by keywords, description, etc. This is another way to make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for, and to BUY it.
• Blog – Web 2.0 is all about the online community. It may very well be advantageous for you to have a place where your customers can come to discuss product use, an interactive Q&A, tech talk, or anything that is of interest. This not only gives them the impression that you care about them and their thoughts/experiences, it also keeps them coming back to your site.

You should also ask for reference site. Spend some time looking at them, but more importantly clicking around them. Do they tend to look the same? Are they intuitive and easy to navigate? I further suggest that you call the businesses. Talk with them about their experience with the designer. Did they get what they wanted? Was it a good experience? Would they do business with this person again?

By doing a little home work and asking the right question you can not only ensure you will have a nice looking online business, but one that makes the most of your valuable traffic.

Phil Clark

Training & Services Manager

Flashecom Services Inc

One Way to Do More With Less

A client recently hired me to help him with a problem I’m seeing with more and more frequency.  Since the beginning of last year, his company has downsized staff in nearly every department; budgets have been slashed and the people remaining are frazzled with longer work hours, larger workloads and an overall feeling of “what’s next?” He happens to be one of seven middle managers in a multi-office company. In this case, his situation is not unlike many other people, though. Small and medium-sized business owners, professional services providers, division heads – most are facing similar circumstances –and trying to figure out how to do more with less.

A little more background: Lately, my client finds himself spending most of his days fighting fires, dealing with one problem after the other. And worst of all, his business seems to be stagnant. He knows he and his team could be doing better (despite the economy), but no matter what he does, nothing seems to improve.

So, I recommended an action step to help him do more with less by tapping into available resources just outside his own department (world). What is it? Participate in an internal mastermind group with other members of the management staff, or join one of the many groups that are thriving all around the country. The benefits are big and the costs are low:

• Built-in support system. Being a part of a mastermind group boosts energy and confidence. It helps overcome the isolation factor and plugs its members into the experience and talents of a peer group.

• Practical advice. Members of the group provide ideas and guidance about things other members may not be good at.

• Novel solutions. It’s easy to get tunnel-vision when you’re working on the same issues and struggles day after day. A mastermind group helps its members get a different view of their individual situation and to think outside of the box when dealing with business challenges.

• Accountability. Mastermind groups set and share goals with one another, and hold each other accountable to reaching them. They offer their members encouragement and advice if they fall behind in meeting targets; support and praise as they reach each new milestone.

• Convenience. Most mastermind groups meet on a pre-scheduled basis; usually bi-weekly or monthly via teleconference. No need to travel, fight traffic, or take enormous blocks of time away from the office and family. Members of the group “take turns” leading the meetings or enlist the help of an experienced coach/facilitator.

• Affordability. Masterminding can be achieved for little cost. Nowadays, there are free conference call services, and if the group self-facilitates, the only cost is for each individual’s telephone calling plan. Or for a nominal fee, the group can obtain a coach/facilitator to lead the meetings, keep the group on track and introduce additional support mechanisms.

Do mastermind groups really succeed in helping members do more with less? A recent survey of solo entrepreneurs who had participated in peer mastermind groups revealed that over 75% said the experience was highly beneficial. I’d say that’s pretty good odds in today’s world!   So get going!  Start or join a mastermind group today!

For more information on forming your own mastermind group, or joining one already up and running, visit me at www.susanirelandassociates.com.

Need to Increase Sales?  Get Your People Back in the Game.

Nothing is more perplexing to a manager than having a bright and knowledgeable sales person whose productivity level is subpar.   They exist in every organization.  Some managers lose sleep at night trying to figure out why they don’t produce more, take more initiative, or exhibit a greater desire to succeed.    I know I have.

But then one day I had a blinding flash of the obvious –  everyone’s performance is controlled not by what they know, what product they sell , the economy , or the competition,  but by their internal achievement drive.   Achievement drive is the foundation upon which every CONSISTENTLY successful sales professional’s career is built.   The hard part is that people with low achievement drive can be very good at masking it.   They run in fits and starts; going along for weeks, even months selling just enough to get by and sometimes even meeting or exceeding goals.   They want us to believe they’re just days away from hitting their stride and we WANT to believe them! 

Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, “yes but there’s nothing I can do to motivate someone with low achievement drive. “ Or, “how do I know if achievement drive is even the problem?”   I have an easy formula that addresses both issues.  Why do so many managers use it?  Because it allows people to self-discover their strengths and weaknesses AND ENABLES THEM TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR OWN ACHIEVEMENT-DRIVE.   Here is the formula:

First.     Have a brief one-on-one discussion with the underperforming salesperson.   Keep it focused and limited to not more than 30 minutes – that means listen more than you talk!   Praise them for the talents and skills you see in them (regardless of how insignificant they may seem).    Ask them, “what  have you done during your life, specifically, to enrich that talent or build that skill?”  In other words, ask them to reflect on their strengths.    Listen to their answers.    Next, share with them the vision and goals of the team/office/department or organization and ask them to tell you what NEW action they could take to help be a part of it?  Keep the discussion positive . . .  don’t allow it to wander, become a complaint session or a time to place blame.   Ask, “if you could make progress on any one goal that would improve your own success and  support the organization’s vision,  what would that be?”  Ask, “what additional tools, skills, or resources do you need in order to make progress on the action?”  Ask them to make a commitment to looking within to discover strengths that will help them and areas they may need to develop.   Before you end the session:

Second.    Introduce a powerful tool:  The Achievement Drive Self Assessment.  It’s a valuable development tool your person completes on their own and reviews with you on a specific date – preferably within 3 days of the first session.   Don’t forget to set the date and time for the next session and remind them to commit to completing the Assessment before they arrive.  Need a copy of the Achievement Drive Self Assessment?  Go to my website at http://www.susanirelandassociates.com and click FREE RESOURCES.  Or just email me and I’ll send it to you.

Third.    Conduct the next session – again keeping it focused and limited to about 30 minutes.  Briefly review the results of the Achievement Drive Self Assessment.  Ask the person to tell you what they discovered.    Pay particular attention to how they answered the last two questions.  Ask them to expand upon their answers.  Ask them to tell you how they could use the results of the Assessment to achieve their goals . . . and this is key . . .ask them to commit to taking the step(s) necessary to achieve their goals.    Praise them for taking the time for look inward and discover areas where they could increase their effectiveness.   Believe in them and see more potential in them than they see in themselves.  Challenge them!  Say, “I know you will do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal – and I’m counting on you!” 

Is that it?  Almost.  For ongoing success, and especially in tough economic times, I’ve found that managers need to continuously coach their people.  That’s what these 30 – minute sessions are all about.   Coaching people to higher success.

 So, make a commitment to coaching your people on a regular basis.  Consistent coaching, using the same process I’ve outlined above, will get your people back in the game. 

Get your people unstuck (and more productive) by addressing the elephant in the room.

In a recent poll, I asked managers, “What is the biggest challenge you face in 2009?”  The #1 answer was “ Increasing sales and doing more with fewer resources.”   Before you can address these challenges, I encourage you to take care of what’s likely to be the biggest roadblock you have, and you may not even realize it’s there.

The elephant in the room. Your company feels the economic pain.  Sales are down, morale is low, your people know you have to make cuts.  Everyone feels tired, overworked and taken for granted.   Underneath it all is fear, anxiety, and even paranoia.    It all points to INSECURITY – the elephant in the room, and it’s keeping your people stuck in lower productivity levels.

Let me backtrack for a minute.  All people are motivated by wants, needs, and values –for hope of gain and relief of pain.  As a leader who wants to get the most out of people, one of your most important jobs is to help people relieve the pain of insecurity. Indeed, “security” is one of the basic levels in the progression of human needs . . .people need to feel safe, experience freedom, control choices and determine their own direction.  If you can help them do this, you’ll see their productivity increase.  By leaps and bounds!  And no, you don’t have to be a junior psychiatrist to do it.  Just follow this simple process:

1. Make an effort to re-connect with your people on an individual level.   I’m not talking about group discussions and team brainstorm meetings.   Your mission is to make a genuine attempt to understand where your people are coming from without filters or biases.  To do that you must communicate with them individually, in a safe and supportive environment.
2. Schedule time to meet with each person one-on-one, for 20 – 30 minutes.  Mostly to listen.  Don’t challenge, disagree, or lecture.  Don’t try to solve their problems.   Share what is currently happening as well as the game plan for surviving the recession.  Ask for their ideas.  Ask, “If you personally could make progress on any one goal in the next 30 – 60 days, what would it be?”  Ask, “How do you think you could do that?”
3. Begin a weekly series of 20 – 30 minute “listening sessions” with each person.  Ask questions that get them talking and thereby discovering for themselves things that are going on in their lives that impact their job performance.  Help them uncover that elephant in the room.    Again, don’t give advice.  Just listen and attempt to understand their feelings.  Ask them what actions they could take to overcome the elephant.  Many times I’ve listened to people, asking occasional questions that cause them to look deeper within themselves, only to have them smile, relax and say, “Thank you, you’ve helped me so much!.”
4. Give specific praise.  I’m not talking about the generic “you did a great job,” or “you’re a wonderful sales person.”  I mean dig deep!  Recognize specific talents or skills you’ve observed and value in that person.  Connect these to the positives (strengths) you see in them.   One of the best ways to do this is through the use of handwritten notes.
5. Finally, use these sessions to challenge your people to be part of the solution.  Empower them to take ownership of their own success and that of the company.  Encourage them to stretch outside their comfort zones.  Hold them accountable to the actions they commit to taking.

Good luck!

In the decade of the ninety’s, when individual productivity was in the tank, lots of companies spent enormous sums on reorganization. It seemed like the logical answer when we couldn’t figure out what else to do. As a manager, I’ve been through several reorganizations myself and I’ll bet you have too. What I found though, was in at least half the cases, company reorganizations created more problems than they solved. The cure became more deadly than the disease. Why? Because reorganization can be a wonderful method for creating an illusion of progress, but often masks the real issues and produces confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.

The current decade. With low interest rates and easy credit, consumer demand went through the roof! No more reorganizations for us; it was time to add people, add products , expand into new markets, add office space, and celebrate the boom times! We concentrated on building our brands, aligning our people with a common vision and exciting missions and purposes. We focused on team synergy, energy and common values. Individual productivity soared! We patted ourselves on the back every month as the sales reports came out. Best month ever! Morale at an all time high!

2007. The beginning of one of the worst economic cycles in history. Oh, some of us saw it coming; many of us did not or chose to ignore the signs. But by 2008, even the naysayers were slashing advertising, cutting salaries, laying off staff and closing offices. For the sales and support staff who remained, fear, anxiety, paranoia and emotional devastation ensued. Individual productivity plummeted along with morale and job security. Why? In part because we began to lose focus on what made our companies strong, healthy and productive in the first place: team synergy, energy and common values.

Fast forward to today. I recently did a poll of top managers and leaders across the country and asked, “What is the biggest challenge you face in 2009?” Overwhelmingly, it was increasing sales and doing more with fewer resources.

How do you increase sales and do more with fewer resources? Follow these seven steps:

Step One: Address the elephant in the room: the fear, anxiety, paranoia and emotional devastation your people are feeling.

Step Two: Create an environment in which your people can work with purpose, dignity, creativity and significance. Even in the midst of uncertainty.

Step Three: Downplay logic. Keep in mind that organizational structure, budgets, processes, technology, policies, and systems are all important and yes, logical. But people are emotional and not always driven by logic. These same people produce, and nothing happens until they sell something.

Step Four: Find a way to better understand, challenge, communicate with, lead and inspire your people.

Step Five: See more potential in your people than they see in themselves.

Step Six: Empower your people to reach higher levels of productivity by demonstrating your belief in them. Realize that leaders’ beliefs about people become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Step Seven: Work on your own leadership skills.

Great leaders have the skills to see more in people than people see in themselves and they help their people discover and actualize their potential. Want a snapshot of your current leadership skills? Here’s a complimentary assessment that will help you evaluate some important leadership beliefs and core values that impact your leadership effectiveness.

As business owners, industry leaders and managers, we’re faced with a number of challenges – some caused by the recession and some caused by other factors. I’d love to hear from you. I just posted a poll on Linkedin. Take 30 seconds and tell me what you see as the biggest challenge facing you in 2009. I’m working on something for later this year . . .stay tuned for some solutions to 2009 challenges. http://polls.linkedin.com/p/44756/pdrrw

Affiliate marketing can greatly increase sales figures with only a little increase in the quality and quantity of affiliate partnerships.  The advantage of using affiliates is that it increases the leverage in the marketplace.

Imagine getting people out there selling your product all day for free, and they don’t make a penny until they start selling stuff for you.  It’s great writing checks because each dollar you write to an affiliate, you are getting two dollars back into your own pocket.

Someone once said in response to a question on increasing page ranks in search engine searches that eight simple words that has been incredibly important, ‘I rely on my own network of affiliates’.

Affiliate manager, Stu McLaren, said the advantage of increasing affiliate numbers was clear, but it was important to have active affiliates that continue to promote the product each months rather than in a one off attempt. Understanding how affiliates increases sales can be easily seen in a formula.

Fig. 1
Total Sales = Product or service price * the number of active affiliates * number of monthly sales per affiliate.

Increasing any part of the above formula will increase sales; however increasing the product’s price will have a decreasing effect on the other two variables in the formula.  Not all people that pay $30 for a product of service will be as willing to pay $40.  However increasing the number of affiliates, or sales they make will have an exponential increase on the bottom line.

Fig. 2
Original sales:
Total Sales $10,000 = Product price ($100) * affiliate numbers (10) * monthly sales per affiliate (10)
Increasing affiliates:
TS $15,000 = Product price ($100) * affiliate numbers (15) * monthly sales per affiliate (10)
Increasing affiliates and monthly sales:
TS $22,500 = Product price ($100) * affiliate numbers (15) * Monthly sales per affiliate (15)

What this example shows is that it doesn’t take huge increases in the number of affiliate or units sold to have a substantial increase in the bottom line.

It is important that the affiliates are active, and they worked each month to get the product out to the marketplace.  The role of an affiliate manager is to ensure that affiliate numbers increased and there are a high number of active affiliates.

It is just now coming to peoples’ mind that such a small increase can have such a huge impact.  Businesses are now looking for affiliate managers and if you look at the employment lists, affiliate managers are being sort after.

There is a very small amount of affiliates that would be classed as active affiliates.  I would say on the average affiliate list about 2.5 to 5 per cent would be active.  The role of the affiliate manager is to increase the number of active affiliates and train them to sell the product.

It is in the best interest of the manager to train affiliates because they were more likely to remain active and draw more affiliates into the system if they increased their own individual sales figures.