One of the key principles within the coaching system I belonged to was that your business is either growing or dying. This is another one of those statements that is hard to disagree with whether we are referring to companies or people. But you know me well enough by now to know that is exactly what I intend to do. By the end of this article you will see more options for growth than you are currently seeing.
Money, money , ...
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Lots of businesses in the area seem to be very busy at the moment. Some companies have full order books and are actually struggling to keep up with customer enquiries. This is cause for celebration (providing of course that your margins mean this is profitable business).
This type of activity is what I like to call ‘hamster wheel’ work. It is the core activity or the ‘quote to invoice’ process that every business has in some form or another. Without this ...
Continue Reading →My old boss at Tesco had an interesting way of considering whether to invest the companies money on stuff that we told him we needed. He calculated the profit in an average shopping trolley using this value as a unit of currency to measure whether expenditure would provide a good return for the business.
For example I wanted to do an advanced facilitation training course. We worked out that 55 trolleys of shopping would have to be sold to pay for ...
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I bought a new car just before Christmas. My homework was done and I knew what manufacturer I wanted but I was not entirely sure which model or specification I was going to buy.
On arrival at the dealership I was excited at the prospect of picking the right vehicle for me. My salesman (let’s call him Gareth to protect his identity) proceeded to ask me absolutely nothing about the type of driving I do, what I look for in a ...
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Ladder Rung 1 – Suspect to Prospect
Out there in the world there are plenty of potential customers who would be perfect for your business. In ActionCOACH we call them suspects. They don’t know you and you don’t know them. Your goal with suspects is to find them and turn a percentage of them into prospects. This is the process that you know as marketing.
Watch the short video for an explanation of how to find suspects and ...
Continue Reading →Most of you will have had experience of hard selling at some point in your life and will know how it actually puts you off making a purchase. Even if you do buy you are unlikely to become a regular. We can sniff out a sales pitch from a hundred yards so the historic “foot in the door” approach just doesn’t work. Sales is about professionally helping the right people to buy your products and services. Start thinking like that and see what ...
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1. Resolve to be a global citizen, fully open to the cultures and influences of others. There is a direct correlation between personal well-being and openness to other peoples’ ideas and cultures. If someone has a different point of view, they’re probably right as well. There are no absolutes anymore, so welcome different opinions. Become a one-person champion of plurality. Not only will you make lots of new friends, but you’ll also gather multiple ...
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1. Resolve to stay brutally optimistic. See the opportunity in every difficulty and anticipate the most favorable outcome out of every situation. Whatever you look for, that’s what you’ll find. We can get better or we can get bitter; it all depends on the lessons we draw from each experience. Optimism is like electricity — very little happens without it. Know this truth: you have all the resources you’ll ever need to handle all the challenges ...
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I hope you enjoy this clip. It is the most important principle I can share with you as your coach.
Click on the image and watch – it’s under 3 minutes.
If you want to explore this idea further why not read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, particularly Habit 1, Be Proactive.
Here’s my top tips for staying above the line:
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We all have our own favourite stories about rubbish customer service (ask me about my experience with the Festival Place car valeting service some time!!!) – how would your customers describe your service?… honestly!!!
Click on the image and enjoy the ideas in this months video and here’s my top tips for great customer service which will keep your customers coming back for more: