Attitudes Toward Change

Did you ever wonder about the process of making changes? Or put another way, what motivates some to make changes while others avoid change at all costs?

Most consultants, advisors, coaches and psychologists drill down to a single word: Attitude. We see the word, hear the word and even act out the word and yet do we really attempt to improve our attitude first - or do we instead attempt to move mountains with a frown on our face?

Review these points adapted from, ‘Taking the Fear Out of Changing’, by psychologist Dennis O'Grady:

1.) The hardest thing to change is a hardening of attitudes; nothing kills change faster than attitudes that resist it.

2.) Failures stem from two sets of words: "I can't" and "Yes, but..."

3.) Those adept at change don't reject good advice just to prove they aren't being controlled by those who give it.

4.) Complaining is good, if it isn't a substitute for action - unfortunately it often is.

5.) High self-esteem results from making small positive changes in spite of fear. Confidence comes from conquering fear of change.

6.) Unexpected pain can result from either huge set-backs or successes.

7.) Change artists analyze how fear of success can stop them from changing. They also know success does not magically bestow happiness.

8.) Fear of commitment to goals can make one stop short of setting appropriate goals. Commitment forces an answer to a tough question: "What do I really want?"

9.) Choices and options are all open. One can make new choices anytime.

10.) Giving positive strokes to one's self is as important as giving them to others. But self-criticism is easier than self-stroking.

11.) Balancing pleasing one's self with pleasing others is often difficult.


So...What's your Attitude?

Turning Website Visitors into Customers

If you’re reading this you likely believe in the “Power of the Internet”. It’s rapidly becoming your most powerful marketing tool. But, while big business is embracing the Internet with a passion, many other business owners are still wondering “what's in it for me?”

How can your business start benefiting from the Internet?

Here at Action COACH of Akron-Canton we teach clients that the starting point is to cut through all the hype and confusion and start thinking of the Internet as part of the marketing mix. Just like all other marketing elements of the business, the Internet is a tool that can be used to get more profits from your business.

It can be used to generate more leads, increase the number of customers, increase the number of times people buy, increase how much people buy and increase your profit margins.

Let's examine just one of these areas and look at how the Internet can be used to generate more leads for the business.

First, how do you get noticed? Whenever you advertise your business, advertise your website. If properly designed your website becomes an extension of your place of business and your sales process. Just as you advertise to get people to visit your business, you need to advertise to get people to visit your website. Another fantastic way to be noticed is linking your website to other websites and blogs. My friend Ron McDaniel, CEO of Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing, did a nice job of pointing at websites to read and link to, in his blog article "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

However, getting visitors to your website doesn't mean you will have more leads.

You have to capture the details of visitors to your website. The reason is (and here's the point that is often missed) when someone visits your Internet site you can be sure that they have an interest in what you’re selling. This means that just about everybody visiting your website is a potential customer.

Business Coach Dennis Kelley reminds clients that, “visitors to your website are just the same as visitors to your place of business with one important exception. There is no one to talk to on your web site (yet!).” So, turning the visitor into a lead requires a strategy to capture the prospect's details. It doesn't matter if your website sells or doesn't sell product on-line. If you let the visitor “surf” right by, without tempting them with an offer in exchange for their contact details, you’re losing qualified leads and potential revenues.

Promotional incentives work well to encourage prospects to part with their email address as well as other information. As an example, a major airline used its web site to offer a chance to win a business class trip to New York in return for email numbers and permission to send travel information.

Information gathered on your website including email address, work or home address, phone and fax numbers can be put directly into your contact database. Once in your database you can start on converting leads into customers.

Converting leads into customers can all be done automatically and at little or no cost. You can enable programs to send newsletters, special offers’ or any other useful information at pre-set intervals. In every case, your contact with customers provides the opportunity to provide a link back to your website and another opportunity to sell or promote your products and services. Remember to test and measure the website’s results, just as you would any marketing program. Make adjustments to the system and move continuously toward your goal of stronger sales.

Get this far and you are well on your way to turning website visitors into customers. Your website will become an important part of your marketing mix and start generating more profits for your business.

Leader - You're Being Watched

Coach Bob Roberts' last post included some thoughts on leadership. I'd like to follow his comments up with a few more thoughts about this subject.

Do you ever wonder what your employees think about your leadership style? Would they say it is too demanding or too bureaucratic? Maybe they would say you are too much of a push over and don't hold people accountable equally. The question is ... would they be willing to do more for you?

In order to get your employees to follow your lead and be willing to do more for you and your business, it is important to establish an environment conducive to personal growth. Your employees are following your lead and they are watching what you are doing. Make sure the actions you take each day are consistent with the mission, vision and culture you want your business to be known for. Everything you do counts! If you create the right culture and environment in your business, then your team will follow your lead and get the results you are looking for.

There has been so much written about leadership and there are some great books on the subject. I encourage you to pick one of them up and brush up on the subject. A book I recently finished is from Kevin Eikenberry titled Remarkable Leadership. I found the book to be a good source of practical steps every leader needs to take to grow as a leader. It will give you some great reminders and also a few new things to think about. Visit Kevin's blog at http://www.kevineikenberry.com/blogs/index.asp to learn more about remarkable leadership.

If you are looking for support to build a team that can support your business send me an e-mail. At ActionCOACH we offer several programs that can help.

Motivation and Leadership

Do you ever feel motivated, charged up, and full of energy?

Frequently we attend a presentation or watch a TV show or read of the accomplishments of someone else and say something like, "That person is so motivating!" But where did the motivation come from - the person we saw or listened to?

It is my belief that motivation comes not from someone else but from within. In other words, if we all relied on hearing or seeing just the right message at just the right time in order to "get motivated" to move forward or make a change then we would be in an awful mess. Really, how many times in your life have you been party to an absolutely incredible presentation that inspired you? Now compare that to the number of times in your life in which you were full of energy, ready to take on the world - in other words, 'motivated.' Probably a much more frequent occurence. Did you rely on someone else to get you motivated in those times?

Motivation is a result of our own Passion and the internal compass that tells us that we need to pursue a particular course of action. We are inspired by others when what they say or do is in line with our passions and desires - but they are not able to motivate us directly.

So why did I include Leadership in the title of this post?

Because too many 'leaders' believe it is their job to 'motivate' their team - and nothing could be further from the truth. A leader's job is to inspire, to provide an avenue for team members' passions. The leader's role includes coaching the team to find out what their internal motivators are and align them with the needs of the organization so that there is a Win/Win/Win - the leader wins by building a successful team, the team members win by fulfilling their purpose, and the organization wins by delivering its product or service.

If you are in a leadership role are you attempting to motivate - or inspire? Are you frustrated because team members don't respond to the same things that motivate you? It's not their fault; they are different people than you with different passions. Find out what their internal motivators are. Then - as leader - inspire them to be the best they can be by reminding them of their internal motivators.

For more insight on Inspirational Leadership that results in a motivated team, read John Maxwell's "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership."

Make it an inspiring day!

WOW Factor: What Your Customer Wants

So, you’ve have a bad experience with a local business…what’s next? If you’re like most of us you tell 10 other people (whether you know them or not) and they will tell others. No matter the size of your firm, this is not a good story for anyone in business. My friend Ron McDaniel, CEO of Buzzoodle “Buzz” Marketing did a good job noting some of the WOW Factor killers.

The WOW Factor is much more than just providing a product or service. It makes the difference in how your customers value both you and your business. Building customer loyalty is not about flashy customer commitments in your marketing messages or solving problems as things go wrong. The WOW Factor is about consistently meeting and exceeding your customers’ expectations. It's about providing the right customer experiences from the get-go, through a consistent and successful effort to understand our customer’s needs and keeping our promises. The “right” customer experience doesn’t just happen. It takes planning and flawless execution.

At Action Coach of Akron Canton we often say, “Under promise and always over deliver”. It’s the essence of the WOW Factor.

Make 2008 Remarkable

In the last few posts Coaches Bob Roberts and Ralph Berge have talked about the importance of setting a plan for 2008 and changing your perspective to make it a great year. Taking time to plan for your success and think about new ways to approach your business is great advice. We seldom take the time to plan and startegize that we should.

I'd like to add to their list the need to change your beliefs or at least understand your beliefs so you know how they impact you. Making 2008 a remarkable year may, if fact I would bet it will, be determined to a large extent by your beliefs. What do you believe about your business, about the economy, about the competition, about your team...and most importantly about YOU?

As you go through your plan for this year ask yourself a series of questions about your beliefs on each of these areas. Add in some thoughts about your beliefs on your product(s), your service, your ability to accomplish your goals and your beliefs about why your business is where it is at today. Or where you are in your career if you don't own the business. What you tell yourself about each of these areas will have a direct impact on the results you get.

You can create a great plan and begin to think about what you need to do to meet your goals but, if you don't believe the plan is achievable or that the goals are just not realistic then guess what...you are not going to succeed. You have to believe that you will do what it takes to achieve and even exceed the goals and then don't stop until you do it. How much time have you put in your calendar this year to read books or information from business experts? How much time and money have you allocated to attending training or workshops to learn and grow? How much have you committed to networking or meeting other people you can learn from?

A great plan isn't just about the numbers or the tactics you will employ. To make it a truly remarkable year work on YOU harder than you work on your business. That means working on your skills, your knowledge and your beliefs. At ActionCOACH we like to tell our clients that where you are a year from now will depend to a large extent on the books you read, the people you meet and the action you take! And we absolutley believe that!

Make 2008 a remarkable year!

What is Your Perspective?

Can you believe it?

We have turned the calendar to a new year and we need to get ourselves back into the "business mindset."


As Ralph said in his blog post earlier, now is not the time to throw a bunch of ideas on the wall and see which ones stick - and call that a Plan. Now is the time to change your perspective, reviewing what went right and wrong in 2007 and establish a SMART plan to make changes so that we will achieve the results we want in 2008.

But how do we look at ourselves and our business critically? My wife and I were talking about this during the holidays and realized that 2008 WILL be different than 2007. It can't be the same since we are different people than we were one year ago; we've grown, changed, learned and adjusted based on events of the year. So by design we will be different this year - but how? How will I look at my skills, talents and results and make the right changes at the right time?

I must change my perspective and look at where I am right now from a different point of view. In other words, if I keep looking at my business and my life from the same perspective I am going to get the same view. However, if I look at the current situation from a different perspective (or point of view) then I am going to see different areas to change and improve and therefore get different results.

From what perspective will you view your business today? What might others see that you don't; how is their perspective different than yours? Take a different view and let us know what you see...