Communication Tips

I attended an interesting seminar yesterday where Max Walker an Australian cricketer from the 80’s was guest speaker. He reminded us of the infamous underarm bowling fiasco from the Chappell brothers (& yes he was playing in the match and well remembered the booing as they, the Australians left the field.) Interesting the number of people (Gen Y’s who had no knowledge of the event! Must be getting old …)

Anyway, I really appreciated his spin (please excuse the pun!) on communication. When was the last time YOU had a decent conversation with your team or supervisors? There IS a need to interact, to make contact on a regular basis

Some tips ….

*        Listen! Listen! Listen!

*        Show you’re interested … nod, smile, stay focussed

*        Clarify! Clarify! Clarify!                      

*        Ask Questions!

*        BE present ie be aware of preparing to reply or jumping ahead in your thoughts

*        Be aware of your OWN attitude (take ownership)

*        Be aware of mood – your and theirs (take ownership)

& remember, most importantly to ….

                       

*        Include “thank you” in your conversations.

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Lower tax and less time filling in forms

Imagine small businesses having the ability to put their time into business; not working for the government doing tax compliance work.

The Institute is putting a proposal to the Government to massively reduce the cost and complexity of tax matters for SME’s. The aims are:

• Tax takes less than an hour a week

• One GST and Income tax a month or less

• No FBT or provisional tax.

They are looking for your support and comment.

We are the people/businesses that will be most affected.

Summary of Small Business Taxation recommendations:

• A simplified tax system for businesses with turnover of less than $1.2 million per year.

• A merger of the sole trader and company/partnerships entities for tax purposes, thus removing the transactions between the business earning entity and its owners

• The owners pay tax on the basis of the personal tax rates (starting at 12.5 percent, up to 38 percent)

• Income tax will be calculated and paid two monthly on a simplified cash basis on the GST return
  
  
• No end of year balance date and square up issues
  
  
• Trading stock (except for livestock) purchases are deducted on a cash basis - no need for stock takes for tax purposes.
  
  
• No provisional tax, no fringe benefit tax and no entertainment tax
  
  
• Simplified rules for depreciation.

Download the website and report here.



An interesting summary published by the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants gives a very readable commentry.

Please share this with your associates and lets see if we can make a difference.


To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Telecom Good or Bad?

Am I the only one getting this special level of service from Telecom?

Facts

I was on the old network.

A Telecom partner offered to move me to the new network, reduce my costs and provide me a full featured phone if I agreed to a two year contract. (My understanding was there was no cost for the phone).

I was charged $800 for the phone on my next bill. I referred them to their quote; they agreed they had made a mistake. I was given three choices:

·        I could revert to my old phone and deal

·        pay $800 or;

·        have the new phone cut off.

My phone is my business so grudgingly I agreed to a compromise $400 payment.

The direction keys on the new phone failed so I asked for a replacement.

No Can Do.

Telecom’s policy is that the phone must fail three times before it is replaced so I was given a temporary phone while mine was fixed.

It failed again and I am on my second temporary phone.

Frustration

Now there may be some people who enjoy waiting an hour or two in a Telecom shop while a GenY tries to remedy the issue. They may also revel in watching their data being transferred to a different model and the challenging experience of driving that new toy for the next few days.

However I am finding this experience frustrating and expensive in both time and business opportunities and I seem to have no recourse to fix it.

Question/Feedback

If this is a typical experience for a business phone customer?  What’s your experience?

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Doing the right things

Good business is mainly common sense and applying what we know.

This article from the Microsoft site reiterates 10 low cost ways to market effectively.

While we all know most of what Joanna (writer of the article) has presented here, the challenge is to make it a priority, action the steps and build that funnel of prospects, clients and repeat business.



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

How & Where People Network

Today I ran across an article from Entrepreneur.com and I wanted to share this one with you:

There are countless online networking activities we could participate in but it's not always clear which online networking sites are truly beneficial. Plus, it can be difficult to figure out how much time we should devote to online networking in order for it to be effective.

One of the things that's changed over the last five or six years is that people no longer trust the experts very much; instead we trust our peers. Therefore--in order to try to get some answers to our questions about how much time we should spend networking and where we should network (face-to-face and online)--we thought the best thing route would be to ask our colleagues.

So last autumn we created a questionnaire, asking people like ourselves how much time they spent networking, what specific marketing tools they used and how they balanced online and real world networking. The last questions we asked pertained to how they liked to network, which events worked best, what size group proved was most beneficial for them and how the process of trust development played out. In the end, 650 people completed the questionnaire; mostly entrepreneurs found through BNI, Ecademy or LinkedIn.

The results of the questionnaire provide very useful information to consider when contemplating a networking strategy.

* The average amount of time business owners spend promoting their business is 12-15 hours. Promotion activities include everything from sales to networking to online and conventional marketing.
* While face-to-face networking activity proved to be overwhelmingly important to respondents, it's also clear that LinkedIn has become an important networking tool, especially for small businesses.
* Other popular tools include workshops, PR, online advertising, and e-mail (more than 25 percent of respondents did one or all of these activities regularly or said they depended on them).
* On the internet side of networking, LinkedIn and Ecademy were favored sites. In the physical world, BNI and other structured events seem to be where people are focusing their networking efforts.

Most people reported that they prefer to network in groups of 20 to 40 people, but there were some that reported a preference for much larger groups. Larger networking groups appear to be more popular among employees of larger companies, European companies, high growth and global companies.

The people who most effectively utilize online media are also good face to face networkers; it seems they're using technology to as an alternative to conventional growth business models.

We also investigated the effects of scalability--whether or not the business is limited by demand rather than its ability to supply or whether a local, national or global orientation has any effect on how people network. It turns out whether or not the business considers itself local (defined as getting 80 percent of its business within a 50 mile radius) or national in scope has a pronounced effect on networking strategies.

Entrepreneurs that think of their companies as national are:

* Twice as likely to use LinkedIn; 40 percent vs. 20 percent,
* More likely to use Twitter; 10 percent vs. 2 percent,
* Twice as likely to use online social networks; 30 percent vs. 15 percent,
* More than twice as likely to have a blog; 25 percent vs. 10 percent,
* More likely to value chance encounters; 22 percent vs. 14 percent,
* Three times as likely to prefer big networking groups of 100 to 1000 members; 16 percent vs. 5 percent.

Thomas Power, chairman of Ecademy, says the key challenge in marketing is to meet and become liked by the 50 people who can most affect your business. An analysis of the data from our survey suggests if you have a local, non-scalable business--like a small, community-oriented organic vegetable business--you can better find those 50 people by conventional, local networking.

However, if you're trying to promote ideas or scalable services nationally, you'll benefit from the random connections that internet networking offers.

Our survey also revealed commonalities across the various groups. All networkers spoke of the importance of a core, local support group. Further, most people prefer to face-to-face networking groups of 20 to 30 individuals.

In addition, all survey participants believe that trust is generated by listening, practicing Givers Gain® and following up with people quickly. A good reputation is based on the opinions of others, evidence of enthusiasm and commitment and the ability to give referrals before expecting them.

Most important to building a good reputation--you must develop the characteristic of clarity. Be clear about what you do, what you stand for and what benefits you and your business offers people who might use your services. Only after peers like you, trust you and clearly know what you do will they give you referrals; regardless of whether you're dealing in online or face-to-face networking.

Since the overwhelming majority of our survey respondents offer business services, and since most business in that industry comes by referral or recommendation, this is real food for thought.

So, where does your business fit into these findings? Do you feel that spending more time online would benefit you or not?



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

8 Tips for increasing your average dollar sale – Part IV

Today the last part of our tips to increase your average dollar sale. If you have missed the previous ones I recommend you have a look at them too!

So, the last two:

1 – Train your staff to make the higher dollar sale
Sometimes simply making personnel aware of your target sale value will help you get there. If they’re just selling what the customer came in for, you’re not going to hit your numbers. Tell them what you’re looking for, and then give them the tools to achieve it.

2 – Raise your prices
If you’re just opening your doors, price your products or services on the high side and figure out how to offer more value. Being the cheapest isn’t necessarily going to pay the bills, and you’ll be left high and dry when a competitor beats your price.

If you’ve been in business for a while, don’t be afraid to bump up your prices by 5 or 10 percent. Most customers won’t care (You don’t stop going to local Starbucks or your hair salon when they raise their rates.) and you’ll increase your margins, so a few lost customers won’t make a difference.

By using tactics like these to maximise every transaction, you help keep the cash flowing while you’re getting your business off the ground. Once you’re airborne, these same strategies can develop your flight plan for generating peak profits. Master the art of supersizing your sales early, and it will pay off many times over.

Share these tips with your team and you’ll grow your business, guaranteed! And let me know if you’ve got any more tips by posting a comment.



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

8 Tips for increasing your average dollar sale - Part III

So, we’ve discussed McDonald’s, measuring numbers, changing your products and bundling your offerings.

Today I’m going to give you another 3 tips on how you can increase your average sale.

1 – Go for the add-on sale
“Do you want fries with that?” is a textbook example, but the same approach works for any business. One attorney I know started asking whether every client had an up-to-date will. Two out of three didn’t. the result was an extra $4,000 in average weekly billings. Later he repeated the feat with living wills.

Another way to drive add-on sales is to create a checklist of related products for a particular kind of purchase. If you’re a hardware store, a paint customer might also need brushes and drop cloths. Hand him a checklist and he’ll likely walk out with more than a can of Antique White.

2 – Create weekly or monthly sales challenges
Focusing your sales team on a particular area for a week or a month can also generate add-on business. I know someone who owned some photocopy shops and he pushed coloured paper one week and banners the next. Some grocery stores offer specials at the checkout counter to trigger impulse sales.

3 – Take hidden products or services out of the shadows
I once coached an insurance broker who sold only 1.27 policies per customer despite offering more than 14 types of insurance. A survey revealed that most clients didn’t know he sold those products! He was failing to show his entire hand. Signage, newsletters and other tactics can help.

The last 2 tips will be online within the next week!

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

8 Tips for increasing your average dollar sale – Part II

Last week I was talking about the great strategy McDonald’s has developed to get more money from each order by asking one simple question: “Do you want fries with that?”

I already mentioned that you should measure your current numbers to be able to make changes and increase your own average sale. Today I have got 2 more tips for you:

1 – Change your product or service mix
Adding or subtracting to what you sell can help grow your typical ticket size. Take the case of a bakery that had an average sale of just $5. The problem was they offered virtually no higher-priced items. When they added specialty cakes and other premium goods, that figure jumped to $14.

The same effect can sometimes be achieved by dumping lower-priced products. If you sell three different toasters, drop the $35 model and the customer will spend $45 or $55 instead.

2 – Bundle your offerings
Encourage customers to spend more by giving them a package deal on multiple products or services. At McDonald’s, the bundles are Extra Value Meals that include an entrée, fries and a drink. At a car repair shop, it might be a tune-up and lube job rolled into one visit.

You can also bundle your time. One computer repair company that wasn’t making enough money charging by the hour started selling services in 10, 20 or 30-hour blocks. That new option yielded higher average sales and ensured return business.

Think about how you can apply this in your business to leverage your time and get better results! The next 3 tips will be online soon!!


To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

8 Tips for increasing your average dollar sale – Part I

I was reading some old hints and tips by founder of ActionCOACH Brad Sugars and thought I'd share some of these with you today:

Walk into any McDonald’s, order a Quarter Pounder, and the clerk will invariably ask, “Do you want fries with that?” Each affirmative answer adds $1 or more to that particular sale. If just a fraction of McDonald’s’ 54 million daily customers say yes to that question, that’s millions of extra dollars in the burger biggie’s pocket.

The same strategy is important for any business! You haven’t yet built a large customer base, so you need to coax as much money as possible from each person who does show up. It’s the old story: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

The issue at this stage isn’t market share but wallet share. Boost the dollar value of your average sale, and you boost your cash flow and bottom line. Here is the first tip how you can bring in more of those sales. The other 7 will come in the next posts, so make sure you keep an eye out for them!

1 - Crunch the numbers.
Begin by figuring out the dollar value of your average sale. If you have 20 customers and total sales of $1,000 on a typical day, your average sale is $50. Then you can set a new target and plot your strategy to hit it.

Depending on your business, you might also want to calculate your average sales per hour, day of the week, employee, location, marketing campaign or other variables. Frequently the answers will lead directly to a plan of action. If your numbers are low on Mondays, for example, you can plan special Monday promotions. If one ad typically brings in a $2 sale and another weighs in at $12, you can adjust accordingly.

The next 2 tips will be online next week! For today; go crunch those numbers!



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

4 Ways To Make Television Ads Work

Last week I gave you some tips on how to improve your newspaper advertising. This week I thought we could take it one step further and look at some things we can do to improve television ads. It might not apply to as many of you, but there are some things that don't just apply to television only. So have a look!

1 – Remember you are not in business to entertain, you are there to sell! Many ‘clumsy’ TV ads sell more product than the famous big budget ones that win awards. When making your own TV ads concentrate on packing the ad with product benefits. Your audience will forgive you for a clumsy ad if it tells them how your product can improve their lives.

2 – Your customers don’t care about USP’s, just give them benefits! USP’s are the ‘unique selling points’ of your product or service – e.g. the leather seats in your new car model. But customers don’t care, they want to know about your benefits – e.g. ‘upholstery that gently hugs you in all the right places, making you feel one with the car’. You only have 30 seconds, if you waste it on USP’s you will be disappointed. Stick to benefits, it’s what they want to know.

3 – Use a mix of 30, 60 and 15 second ads. It’s more cost effective. 30 seconds is the most common for TV ads. Most TV production studios can be persuaded to make 60 and 15 second versions of the same ad for little extra. The 60 second version allows you to tell more of your selling story. The 15 second version may help you get FREE bonus spots. Run about four 60 second ads for every six of your 30 second ads. Supply the 15 second versions so the TV channel has more options when giving you small letters bonus spots.

4 – Learn a lesson from the infomercials. Spend less money, sell more products! Infomercials never win awards, but they DO WIN SALES! Don’t be afraid to use some of the tricks of the infomercials. Demonstrate your product – and if you can’t afford actors, just speak to the camera yourself. Holloways ads for TrustPower do this and the ads have out-performed many bigger budget ads. If you’re afraid of forgetting your lines, don’t worry, ask the production studio to use a ‘Teleprompter’ so you can just read your lines like the newscasters do.


If you have any more tips, please share them with us!


To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

4 Ways To Make Newspaper Ads Work!

Too often when I read the paper I see ads that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with just one look. Most of these ads are almost certainly a waste of time, but they could improve so much by just a little tweeking ... which is why I want to give you 4 tips on how to do this:

1 –
Six simple rules that increase sales from newspaper ad headlines… Research shows that 80% of people will only read your headline – and that’s if your ad is stunning! Here are six tips to make your headline work:
*Most important, mention a benefit – “The handles on these webstone designer coffee mugs fit even the biggest hands”.
*Speak well of your product. They’re not just coffee mugs, they’re designer coffee mugs.
*Mention the name of the product – Webstone designer coffee mugs.
*Use rhetoric to pull more readership in your headline – “Sick of coffee mugs that are hard to hold? The handles on these Webstone designer mugs fit even the biggest hands”.
*Don’t be afraid to make your headline long. E.g. See the headline in point 4 above. Short headlines often don’t sell any more product.
*Use news – “Now Webstone’s designer coffee mugs with the big easy handles feature Ken Done’s latest native art designs”.

2 –
Use photos that have ‘story appeal’. Don’t use illustrations! Choose photos that make the reader thing “what goes on here?” E.g. don’t run a photo of a car company chief standing next to the latest model – have him/her in a suit, but lying on a mechanics gurney under the car or standing in the open driver’s door holding up the optional ‘Momo’ steering wheel. Where possible avoid illustrations. Your customer finds photographs more believable.

3 –
Always run a ‘caption’ under the photo. Imagine if the NZ Herald ran a photo of Helen Clarke with no caption underneath. You’d know very well who the photo is of, but instinctively you’d look under the photo for the caption. Research shows that twice as many people read the caption under the photo, than read the body copy. So never miss the opportunity to tell all those readers your selling story in the caption under the photo.

4 –
Write long copy, but tell the whole story in your first 50 words. Readership falls off after your first 50 words, so you’ll need to tell your whole selling story right there. But remember that if your copy is good, many of your customers will read more than a thousand words. You’re still reading after 441 words on this page alone!

So I hope to see some of your ads in the paper soon, and some that might even tempt me to buy your products!


To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

The Winner's Bible

I am reading a really interesting book at the moment ...
It has got some awesome strategies for addressing those negative thoughts we all have.

The book is The Winner's Bible, by Dr. Kerry Spackman
One point that he goes over is the repetition of thoughts about a complicated issue you're struggling with.
To overcome these unproductive repetitions he gives you 5 things to do:

• Identify each unique thought
• Write the thoughts down in order and give them a number
• Underneath each thought, write down all possible answers
• Identify the most likely conclusion to each thought
• Whenever a thought pops into your mind, recognize it, say its number and remind yourself of the conclusion - you no longer need worry about that issue because you've already reached a conclusion

For some more information you can always look up their website, but I would also recommend you read the book! It has lots of valuable tips around your mindset and how to use this to its full advantage.



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires

Self-made millionaires are not smarter or better than you.
They have just discovered these secrets and used them to become wealthy.
You can do it too.
Here are 21 things you might want to have a think about!

1 – Dream big dreams
Thinking big will change your life. (For a crash course on this I suggest you read “The Magic of Thinking Big.”)

2 – Create a specific picture of where you’re going
The more specific you are the more likely you are to get there.

3 – Think and act like you’re the owner of a business, the business of everything you do
Even if you work for someone else, your attitude will plant seeds for your independent greatness to grow.

4 – Love whatever you are doing now
If you don’t love it, leave it. By saying no to doing work just for money you are magnetizing work to you that you can love.

5 – Create a mastermind group
Have a regular meeting with others who are committed to building great lives. Share what you’re up to and support each other.

6 – Establish a healthy work ethic
Make taking action your best friend.

7 – Commit to constant never-ending improvement
Every day be searching for how you can learn more.

8 – See your work as service
Helping others will grow your business.

9 – Know your business from top to bottom
That’s your job

10 – Prepare for opportunity
It will knock. Will you be ready?

11 – Stay physically fit
Strong minds create strong bodies. Weak bodies are the result of weak minds. Your physical and mental health are the core of your success in life.

12 – Prioritise your life
Do what’s most important first.

13 – Deliver more than your customer expects
This builds loyalty and repeat business. It feels good too.

14 – Discipline yourself
Fill your life with activities and people that make you grow. Discard activities that have negative results in your life.

15 – Pay yourself first
This is the first rule of the wealthy. Put money into savings before you pay bills. And DON’T touch it.

16 – Make time to be alone
This time is for planning and listening to what’s inside you. Give your creativity time and silence to speak to you.

17 – Go for greatness
Value the best and don’t settle for less.

18 – Honesty is the best policy
Know who you are and what you want. Express this with integrity at all times.

19 – Make decisions quickly and be slow to change them

20 – Failure is not an option
Your mindset is focussed on success. You will have success.

21 – Be determined to attain your goals
Tenacious persistence builds confidence which leads to victory.



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

How To Use Testimonials Effectively?

To effectively use customer testimonials, you must be able to turn to the right one without delay, because in most cases you will use only one or two in any presentation. Sometimes they can be used to get in to see the prospect. As a general rule they are used in the conviction step or to answer an objection.

Example: The prospect might say to you, “I’m really concerned about service.”
Your response is, “Mr. Prospect, I can appreciate your concern. Jones Johns at XYZ Company initially felt the same way, but after he had a service need here is what he said.” (Now you show him the letter that answers the question or objection.)
After he has read it, you continue with your presentation.

Professional speakers often use testimonials as their number-one referral source and tool. Find out how you can be using yours more effectively. Either to get in to see the prospect, to overcome objections or answer questions, or as credibility. Most people should use them far more often than they do now!


Source: Zig Ziglars’s Secrets of Closing the Sale



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Networking

Get your name out there.

Use the vehicle your new customers are driving to deliver them to you.

Use an online presence powerfully today.

Steve and Gaylene will show you:
How you can build your client database using social media
How you can generate sales by going online
How to test and measure the results
How to share your stories, products & services with over 160 million new clients
How to access this knowledge and market opportunity ahead of your competitors.

Only $39.95

When 29 July 8.30-10.30am
Where Level 3
Crombie Lockwood Building
15-21 Dixon St
Wellington
Email GayleneHughes@actioncoach.com for a registration form and to book.

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

YOUR EXPLOSIVE GROWTH SESSION!

I am taking a stand for Business Owners, with a kick butt offer for a 45 minute free Marketing Makeover session guaranteed to generate some great ideas and strategies!

At the end of this you’ll walk away with:

-A renewed sense of vision, purpose and clarity

-Identification of some of the hidden challenges in your business

-An easy 3 step Action Plan

-A sense of energy and motivation to take your business to the next level

I only have 3 spaces in early August so please respond now while it’s fresh in your mind!

NB: The first 6 people to respond will receive a free copy of “CASH, CUSTOMERS, and ADS THAT SELL” (Valued at $39.95)

Email me at gaylenehughes@actioncoach.com to register





To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

How to do what you know

I’ve just returned from Christchurch where I met up with 12 coaches from around the country – The A-Team: all committed to excellence within their own coaching fields. I shared with them my recent learnings about closing the gap between knowing what’s required, & the actual doing!

All very interesting stuff –
• The right side of your brain is actually responsible for our behaviour;
• There’s a need to reach the unconscious mind, which is responsible for over 90% of our behaviour.
• Most people rely on will-power, discipline, desire and logic to get the changes they want, which is mainly working the left brain (only 5-10% of our behaviour)!



As a coach, I’m aware of this on a daily basis, as I show people how to change their mindset or beliefs to achieve better results.

Your current results are a reflection of current thinking. This means that when you change your thinking you will take different actions & decisions and get different results.

Tapping into the emotional side of the brain is imperative, but can be as simple as using a story or a metaphor to explain something. Using real life examples instead of only facts and figures makes a huge difference.

If you or someone you know is having a challenge with knowing what to do versus actually doing it, then have a go at the above, & remember to let me know the changes that come about.

Talk to you soon…

Making the Sale

I was reading from Jeffrey Gitomers book "The Sales Bible" over the weekend, & was reminded just how tenacious we need to be to make sales & that on average it takes 7 "no's" or objections to get the sale!

His chapter "You've been selling since you were a kid!" is an absolutely awesome read.
It's all about persistence and acknowledging how many no's you're willing to take before you give up on the sale. Chances are it's not many!

Think back to when you were 7 years old,with your mum at the supermarket. Your question... "Mum, can I have this candy bar?" & mum says, "I said NO!"
Not one to give up, you say: "Aw, come on, PLEASE!"

According to Jeffrey she thunders NO & you immediately try to find out what the objection is. "Why can't I have a candy bar, mum?"
"Because it'll spoil your dinner," she responds, true to form. Can you remember saying something along the lines of "No it won't, mum. I promise to eat it after dinner?" I can!
And especially that long bleat of "PLEASE!"



You of course get the lollies, just as I did! The point that Gitomer makes though, is that when we were 7, we were willing to risk public embarassment, corporal punishment, and verbal abuse to make the sale.
In his words... "Somewhere between diapers and getting your business card printed, you forgot how tenacious you need to be to make that sale."

I for one, will be sitting back & reminiscing just a little, & then taking some action! Let me know how you get on & talk to you soon!

Gaylene



To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Lost Wisdom

I had two wisdom teeth removed (under anaesthesia) a couple of weeks ago and have been absolutely shocked at the time it’s taken me to heal and recover. The exercise has become almost overwhelming at times, with headaches and phenomenal pain. The feelings I’ve had can best be expressed as….

Aaahhh!!!!

Recovery has been my focus of the last two weeks.

It reminds me though of these economic times and how for some, they are immersed in what’s going on around them. They cannot see a way out. There is perhaps a feeling of loss of control, of overwhelm and maybe the thought it’s hard to keep going! Of pulling up those covers and going back to sleep!

I am reminded like never before, of John Kehoe’s affirmation: “Every day in every way, it’s getting better and better.”

The principal of Kaizen (a concept created in Japan following World War II) also applies… It’s a concept where we can and need to make small improvements and on a continuous basis. The Kaizen philosophy is to “do it better, make it better, improve it even if it isn’t broken, because if we don’t, we can’t compete with those that do”

Remember to do something different everyday – even if it’s something small, it’ll make a big difference in the longer term.

Keep on keeping on & talk to you soon.

I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing differently lately.

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Challenge yourself

M.I.H.

I was talking with a client the other day who's wanting to get some increased activity into his business and I was reminded of the story about the young US student in high school with a very bright future thanks to his focus on three letters, M.I.H.

This kid has a passion for everything he does, particularly wrestling. Last year he had an amazing wrestling season and ended up second at the state championships. While everyone else around him was celebrating his success, he was planning and was back at the gym working out the next day, with one small change. He had placed white tape on each of his three middle fingers, and on each piece of tape was a letter: M.I.H.

His friends, family, and teammates all repeatedly asked about the letters, but he refused to let them know their meaning.

He kept the letters on his fingers all year, and he trained harder than ever, until he once again found himself at the state tournament. This time the outcome was slightly different and not a surprise to anyone who had witnessed his daily determination in the gym; he was crowned state champion.

Finally, he was able to share his secret. While everyone had congratulated him on achieving second place the previous year, he had vowed to get better – to be the best. He developed his clear goal, designed a plan to achieve it, and created a tool to provide focus. He knew that if he really wanted to be the best, it was up to him.

He was determined to Make It Happen.

M.I.H.

Challenge yourself.

Focus on your future.

Make It Happen

To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick

Business Tips - Referrals

This week I asked Jeroen to review the book Instant Referrals & to mine for some gems that we could share with you. What better lead source than a referral?!


See a couple of his gems + our team photo below. This was taken at our last 90 Day Planning Day, where Hamish Carter was our guest speaker. An added bonus is from Zig Ziglar, who recommends you use your business card to get referrals.

(Left to right: Polly, Jeroen, Shelley. Front: Gaylene)

Remember to:

1. Educate your clients, suppliers or customers why it’s good for them to give you referrals.
   Obviously, if your business is growing, you can deliver better services and products to them and their business will grow as well!
2. Give your customers something in return.
   They will be more likely to give you something if there’s something in it for them! To use this to your advantage, as an example, you can think of giving them a gift voucher when they bring on a new client. They can give the gift voucher to a friend or another business owner, and you’ll have a second referral! Make it something of low hard cost for you, but with a good value for the customer.
3. Be sure to keep in touch with your customers at least every three months.
   It is so much cheaper to keep your old clients or customers coming back, than it is to get a new one. So keep communicating with them (think about a newsletter, phone call, birthday/Christmas cards etc.). Give them something ‘extra’ to keep them thinking about you.

Now I know you may already be doing some of this, but there’s nothing like a reminder! Perhaps something new, to be tried at the conclusion of your (successful) meeting, is…


Zig Ziglar's business card tip:
Take out your business card & hold it in your hand:
“Tell me, [name], if your best supplier or a business friend came by now, would you introduce me?”
The reply’s likely to be: “Why of course I would…”
“Well, [name], that’s not likely to happen, so I’d like you to introduce me to him in another way. If you will, give me his name & address!”
Also write on the back of my business card ‘[friend’s name], this guy’s worth talking to’ & ideally get them to make a call there & then, or at a later date: “Hey [friend’s name]. I just had to call you as I’m pretty excited at the moment… I’ve just met with…”


These are just a few examples of how to get referrals. There is so much more out there… So feel free to share your own experiences on how to get referrals & talk to you soon…

Business Tips - Networking

I’ve thought long and hard about how to start this blog, then as the name of my company goes, I thought “Just Do It!” … get the show on the road. There is no set way … no right way.

The purpose of this blog is to:
a) encourage questions around any area of business that is impacting on you;
b) to brainstorm issues and challenges that we may be having;
c) to share our knowledge;
d) to network with others; and
e) to have some fun :)
Each time I blog, ideally I can share a business tip or 2 or 3 & I’d love you to share yours!

Because I’ve recently come back from Australia with an awesome award in my suitcase (that of ActionCOACH network coach – voted on by my peers)
You can see my picture:

Perhaps the ideal place to start is with networking and the importance of this in your business. It amazing the number of business owners I meet who do not network regularly and do not like to make that first contact with someone. So some:

Networking Tips …
* To make the most of a networking event, spend 75% of your time with people you don’t know;
* Think before hand about how you want to introduce yourself (write it down & practice it!)
* Have a great attitude … & remember to smile!
* Have a plan of where & when … & remember to go where your customers/prospects go; and last but certainly not least …
* Networking works well when you employ the 2-word secret: SHOW UP!

I’d love to hear your positive networking stories and/or your concerns and also what’s impacting on you in this tricky economic environment. Talk to you soon…




To succeed... You have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes reality - Anita Roddick