“If It Doesn’t Add Up, Don’t Do It”

Business coach, Dennis Kelley wrote recently about the “Language of the Numbers” and the importance of understanding what the numbers are telling us. At the risk of being blunt, business is all about making a profit. So if your numbers or business strategies aren’t adding up to business profits, don’t do it, or do it differently; plainly spoken “If It Doesn’t Add Up, Don’t Do It”.

At Action Coach of Akron/ Canton we teach clients that a successful business is, “a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you”. This means your business must give a good return on investment plus a full wage for every hour you spend working in your business. You can then pay someone to do your job and the business profits are not affected.

Our quote, “if it doesn’t add up, don’t do it” can be applied in all areas of your business. Advertising is an example. If an ad is run and does not get an immediate response, there is no point in keeping that ad running. It is wasting precious time and money. Change the ad or where it is running.

Increasing your team must also add up in dollars. Perhaps a business should consider setting training and operating systems in place so less expensive team members can be hired to follow the systems, rather than hiring seasoned veterans who have the “head knowledge” of how it should be done. Alternately perhaps the business should look at new machinery or technology instead of more team members.

If you want to buy a business the figures also must add up – or have the potential to do so. Make a list of the criteria the business must fill and make sure this list is completed before you commit yourself. Many people buy into something believing it would fulfill their needs, only to discover the figures were inaccurate or did not add up. If you are not sure, get help. Two heads are better than one, and prevention is better than cure.

A great idea when looking at a business is to check the industry average and see how your business compares. Given that four out of five businesses go broke in the first five years, you may want to be better than average.

Finally the bottom line where your figures must add up is in net profit margin. To get this figure a business must add all expenses, including an appropriate wage for all the hours put in the business, plus interest on the capital you put into the business. This will give your real margins.

“If It Doesn’t Add Up, Don’t Do It” must be applied regularly. Don’t wait until the end of the financial year to find if you have made a profit. Business is work, but it should also be fun.

The Language of Business is Numbers!!

Numbers are the language of business or your SCOREBOARD in the game of business. If you are challenged by the numbers of your business you are not alone. Many owners struggle to understand the financial statistics that are so critical to the health of any business. Most people do not get this education in school and many times do not take classes in financial management in college. The task of understanding your numbers can be intimidating at times and we tend to shy away from things that we do not understand.

The key with numbers is to gain a good working knowledge so you can make quality decisions to positively impact your success. A good accountant and/or bookkeeper can assist you getting the specific and critical numbers you need to interpret in your business. Accountants and bookkeepers have much more to give and do than just your tax returns. Use them to increase your knowledge and get your money’s worth. A coach will then help you to use this information on a weekly or monthly basis in order for you to use it to YOUR advantage in a practical sense.

Putting together the scorecard that you review on a regular basis is one of the keys to business success. At a minimum EVERY business should have an income and expense budget, a cash flow budget and the key performance indicators needed to understand how the business is performing. It is also critical to produce and review performance against these budgets as well as a Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow projections. Obtaining this information and analyzing it on a regular basis will keep your business on solid ground.

Making decisions in business without this information can quickly lead to major problems. In fact, a business that is doing really well in sales and growth can get into as much trouble as a business struggling in these areas if the owner doesn’t know the language of business … their numbers! Learn your numbers, and if you need help take ACTION today and ask for it. Your business depends on it!

Achieving Unlimited Success book launch

I am pleased to announce the completion of my new book titled Achieving Unlimited success; How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Live the Life of Your Dreams (Aviva Publishing, NY.) The book will be released at the end of March and is available for pre-sale today. Visit http://www.achievingunlimitedsuccess.com/to learn more and order a copy.

All of us have the extraordinary coded into us. Many times we just need to get out of our own way to achieve the success we seek in life. In this book you will learn how to identify what you truly want from your life and create a success plan to get you there. By identifying what has been holding you back and creating a plan for your life you will be able to accomplish anything you desire.

Whether that is a highly successful business, a strong career, a 6 or 7 figure income, or something more, this book will teach you what you need to know to create the life you want. The task of achieving unlimited success in your life is yours. Take action today to begin building the business and the life you desire. Nothing can hold you back once you have identified what you seek and commit to taking action on your plan. Order your copy today and begin your journey!

Building Trust in Your Business

Over the past several months there have been many instances where consumers have been left with trust issues about business. From E. Coli in spinach, to lead in toys -- there have been many concerns about product safety lately. Add to that the trust concerns consumers have about price increases in energy, food and health care and trust in business would seem to be taking a hit.

It's interesting then that a recent study called the "Edelman Trust Barometer of 2007" indicates that 58 percent of U.S. college-educated opinion leaders age 35 to 64 say they trust business, up from 44 percent in 2002. That is a significant increase over the last five years. The study indicates that overall, people trust local brands more than global ones. That could be a major factor in the message you convey to your clients and prospects.

Another interesting finding is that, "People are nearly twice as likely to believe a regular employee of a company as they are the CEO," says Laurence Evans, president of StrategyOne, the research arm of Edelman. Typically, your customers are interacting with your team members on a day-to-day basis so empowering your team to make decisions and take action to WOW a customer will pay big dividends in your customer satisfaction levels.

Take the time to train and build credibility with your team. Create a culture of truthfulness and integrity in your business and this culture will come out when serving your clients. If they trust you and they believe you then they are much more likely to buy from you ... and come back for more!

Build Your Referral System

Referrals are your best source of future prospects and can be one of the most economical prospecting methods you will ever use. However, before asking for referrals effective customer service techniques must be implemented.

Before you can ask clients for referrals, you must be sure they are pleased with the product or service they have received. Prior to implementing a successful referral process, effective customer service techniques must be practical, or they are unlikely to be carried out. Most of the customer service techniques are simple and can be easily carried out. This is about doing what you say you will do. Remember: Always under promise and over deliver.

Great customer service builds great relationships.

Be attentive to customers, it will gain customer loyalty and acquire new customers. When customers receive proper attention, they often feel that they are getting their money's worth and that their needs are being satisfied. It is also important for sales professionals to solicit customer opinions often about how products or services can be improved so that customers feel valued. In addition, sales professionals and then-clients can brain-storm regarding cost-saving methods, thus creating customer loyalty by accommodating customers' needs. By taking time at the beginning of a sales negotiation to create better customer service, sales professionals can ensure that customers' needs are being met while maintaining good relations.

Sales professionals need to work "smarter" to meet customers' needs instead of simply closing sales. These simple, inexpensive methods of customer service will establish good relations with customers, which is the prerequisite for requesting referrals.

When should you ask for referrals?

Is it better to ask clients for referrals during the sales closing or during the client follow-up? According to several sales process experts client follow-up is the best time to ask for referrals. Wait until you know that the customer is pleased with your service.

There are several ways to implement the referral process.

1. The direct approach, which involves asking customers for referrals after the customer-service techniques have been implemented. If customers do not immediately give recommendations, then the sales professional could mention colleagues or businesses associated with the customers. This will help customers to remember their business contacts, and usually they will give referrals.
2. Offer incentives to customers for referrals. For example, sales professionals/management could offer a 10 percent discount on the next purchase or contract after customers' referrals become new customers.
3. Give gifts to show appreciation. This can be as simple as inviting customers to lunch (under the presumption of showing appreciation), at which time you can easily request a referral.
   

Requesting referrals and implementing the referral system are both very basic. First, build a relationship with customers. Once you are confident that a customer has a favorable attitude and opinion of you and your company, it is the ideal time to begin requesting customer referrals. These referrals include the customer's colleagues, friends, or competitors, which can create a huge network and more sales. It is mandatory, once a referral system is implemented, that you create, maintain, and improve relationships with new customers while continuing to build networks.

Always remember these new customers are candidates for additional referrals. Sales professionals who continue to build this process and improve their customer relations will see a significant improvement in their overall dollar sales and number of customer accounts.

How to Sell Price Focused Shoppers

A common complaint we often receive from small and mid-market business owners is that, “we can’t compete with the big guys on price.”

The perception in the market place is that people are shopping on price alone. The only reason your customer asks the price up front is because that is what we (business owners) have trained them to do.

How many times have you called or gone into a business not really knowing what model, style, color or features you were looking for and purely asked for the price? At this point did the sales person come back with “that is $29.95” or did they ask you some questions about what you were looking to use the product/service for? In this instance let’s say it is a coffee pot.

Now in most people’s eyes a coffee pot is a coffee pot; but, they have many different features and offer many different benefits. So what if the sales person simply said to you when you inquired about price, “just so I can help you best, is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions about the coffee pot you are looking for?” Would you have answered yes?

My bet is that the answer would have most definitely been yes!

The sales person could then ask questions like; are you looking to replace an existing coffee pot or is it a gift for someone? Do you regularly use your coffee pot or is it rarely used? Would you like a coffee pot with a quick heating element? Have you seen the cordless options that are available? Are you looking for something to match your kitchen? So what color are you looking for? Is it important that it has an automatic cut off when the coffee is done? Are you after a stove-top option, or an electric coffee pot? Coffee pots come in different cup capacity; do you require 10 cup capacity or is 5 a better size for you?

From these questions the customer gets the idea that the sales person is genuinely interested in their needs and the salesperson is able to offer options that best suit their needs. At this point the price is not their primary concern. Now it is just a matter of asking the customer to buy.

A good salesperson would then ask, “Well based on what we have just spoken about there are two options to choose from, model x and model y, which one suits you best? Great, I can either put that away for now or I can process it on credit card for you – which do you prefer?”

If the option is credit card ask “which credit card is it easiest to process that on?” And make sure the prospect is aware there will be a delivery charge of x amount. If the option they choose is to have it put away, this gives the sales person the opportunity to get the customer’s name and contact details for your data base. If the customer chooses this option make sure the sales person gets a time frame for them to pick the item up. Be definite with the infinite. If the customer is in your business the sales person then simply takes them to the point of sale terminal and transacts the sale.

This example was based on a coffee pot, a relatively small dollar item. How does this apply to your business? This process works equally well on cars, houses, furniture, service based businesses and any other product I can think of, including plumbing, remodeling and construction projects. You just need to work out what your customers are actually looking for when they ask for the price, and what’s most important to them in their buying decision.

Remember you’re not selling, but you are building relationships and helping your customer to buy from you.

5 Reasons to Learn Via Live Events

Today I received an e-zine from Alexandria Brown that I found very interesting and want to share with you. As I've mentioned before, I subscribe to several different e-zines and newletters that help to continue my education and help me grow. I have found that Ali Brown always has some insightful ideas to share. Take a few minutes and review her article below. It reinforces what we have said before about taking the time to invest in yourself by attending programs that will help you advance your business, your income and your life in a very meaningful way.

"5 Reasons to Learn via Live Events"

by Alexandria K. Brown

I remember six years ago making a decision that would change my life and business forever. I decided to travel across the country to attend a marketing seminar. A few things about this were completely new to me.

1) The fact that I was going to spend over a thousand dollars of my own money to invest in myself. (And also maxing out one of my credit cards to do so - yes, things were pretty tight back then!)

2) Traveling across the country alone and paying for my own flight, hotel, ground transport, meals, etc.

3) Throwing myself into a new environment where I didn't know anyone else.

I'm so glad I made that decision. Not only did I learn amazing information to help my online business (which was brand new at the time), but I met some folks who remain my friends to this day. And my investing in myself in that manner also sent a message to the universe that I was stepping up and "ready to play big."

Today, I spend a minimum of $30,000.00 each year on continuing education, including home study courses, coaching, and especially... attending live events. I'd say the latter is the most important, and it pays off TENFOLD! Here are 5 reasons attending live events is one of the BEST ways to leapfrog your business forward:

1) Complete Immersion in Your Subject.When my friend Jen was in college, she wanted to learn French, so she took the opportunity to spend a semester in France. She shared with me that by doing that she made progress faster than she'd ever thought possible. They call that learning by immersion, and it's proven to be one of the BEST ways to learn fast.Hey, I'm a big fan of home study - books, CDs, and courses - and learning in "bits". But NOTHING compares to getting away from your office or home, spending a few days with teachers and other "students", and completely focusing on learning new strategies to improve your business.

2) People Who "Get" What You Do.When I first started my online business, I really didn't have anyone else to talk with about it. My friends, while supportive and sweet, didn't "get" what I was trying to do and of course couldn't offer advice. I remember walking into that first seminar and within five minutes realized I had hundreds of people to talk with who "GOT" what I was doing! We could exchange ideas, share resources, coach each other, and even cross promote. It was a whole new world and I could never go back.

3) More Business, More Leads, and more High-Level Opportunities.It wasn't unusual -- even in the beginning of my attending live events -- to come home with on-the-spot sales, more subscribers to my ezine, a few joint venture partners, and speaking invitations. Another tip I'll give you: The quality of the people at an event often correlates with the price tag of the event. I've found I generally meet more successful people at the events that cost more. Case in point: In 2003 I attended a very expensive training (the deposit alone was $5,000.00) and for the four days there I sat next to a very successful marketer from Australia whom I got to know well during that time. Well, a few weeks later, he invited me to come speak overseas in Australia, all expenses paid and including a business-class flight! (I doubt that opportunity would have manifested so soon, had it not been for my being there live.)

4) Deals on Continuing Education and Coaching.Many of the speakers at these events also offer home study courses or some type of continuing education. So it's a great place to check everyone out and decide whose stuff you want to get and who you want to continue learning from. Plus there are usually special offers given there to encourage buying on the spot. This is a smart move, and you should plan to invest in at least one speaker's package while you're there. I recently attended a seminar in Dallas where I happily dropped $10,000.00 on three different programs while I was there, because their content had just what I was looking for to help skyrocket my sales for the coming year.

5) Visit New Places and Have FUN - in a Tax Deductible Way!Talk with your accountant about this one, but in most cases these events and trips are completely tax deductible. After all, you're traveling there to learn, network, and increase your business. And for many of us who work alone a lot, these trips are a great way to let off some steam and enjoy the company of others who are in the same types of businesses we are! Tip: Even if you don't imbibe, hang around the hotel bar. You'll find that's where everyone congregates and deals happen. But be sure to get OUT of the hotel at least one night to enjoy the city you're visiting!

BONUS: Access to the "Gurus" - in Person. One more thing I forgot to add is that the speakers at these events are usually very accessible. You'll find them hanging out in the hallways, in the lobby, and in the bar. You can catch a few minutes of their time to ask them a quick question or discuss a point they made in their presentation. This is an extremely rare opportunity - you can't just call these guys and gals up and get them on the phone! This type of access is priceless and will also get you more exposure and credibility.

And When All Is Said and Done...And when it's all over, you'll be dead tired, but you'll have more energy and enthusiasm toward your business than ever before. Plus you'll have new, powerful connections with people and proven strategies ready to implement!

© 2003-2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 22,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at http://www.ezinequeen.com/