What is holding you back?

I recently went on a weekend retreat with several members of a group I started many years ago. The agenda was simple. All each participant had to do was answer one question: What holds you back? You could discuss personal, business, relationship issues or anything important to you.

Without a doubt the most common answer was – ME! I hold myself back. As we probed deeper we heard such things as:

“I am afraid of failure/success.”

“I fear rejection.”

“I need to forgive.”

“I know what I need to do but I am not doing it because it is not fun.”

“I need to be liked.”

“I am not a salesman.”

I could go on but you get my drift.

My experience is that business skills are easy to teach but the beliefs we have about ourselves are the deciding factors.

Can you put your biggest fears out for all to see? If you say “no,” you will have serious problems overcoming them. They lose much of their power once they are shared with others.

Each of us had a chance to put our issues on the table for the world to see. It took courage, intestinal fortitude and a willingness to risk it all. What I found was the group was supportive, nonjudgmental, accepting and each and everyone expressed a sincere effort to understand and help me go deeper.

My awaking was that we all suffer from the flaws of being human. Though I was in the room with people I consider to be successful, I realized we are all human, we all have our fears and doubt AND we are all capable of more.

Share your fears and risk being human. You will find another human will respond. It is liberating to feel heard and understood.

I now know what “I am not done” means to me.

Thanks to all who shared a powerful weekend with me. You know who you are.

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

What Can You Learn from Business Failures?

It’s a well known saying that you can learn from your failures and this is supposed to apply to business as well, but is it true? Do failures really teach anything that doesn’t lead people into another failure later in life or do people who have failed magically become model businessmen and women?

Business failures are often blamed on some specific occurrence or on somebody else. Perhaps only those who can accept responsibility can move on to be better business people rather than hoping for the perfect balance transfers to get them out of their one way ticket to bankruptcy.

What failure means

One of life’s most stressful times is when a business fails. It is like a death in the family and there is a grieving period to mourn through. Failure brings up thoughts of negativity. Most business people want to just get up and move on to their next venture but the personal and financial problems may not disappear as soon as another business begins.

People close to the entrepreneur will feel the sadness in losing their baby – their business. Some of those close enough to the events may never want to go near a business again if they have to be involved in its formation and then production. For some, it can be even more serious and the loss of their business can lead to more serious personal problems, some which even lead to the need for alcohol or drug abuse treatment.

Unfortunately, even in those trying times you need to turn around and be positive. It is part of a life journey and with those experiences you may recognize the problem if it occurs again. You will be able to see the situation and react differently and much quicker to solve the issues that caused your business to fail.

There will need to be an evaluation of why you failed. These results should set you on the right path so you will be confident you won’t fail again.

The choice is yours

Whatever happened and whatever will occur in the future, you bear the responsibility to make a successful business. How you present yourself is the first choice you make which will affect how you recover from an initial failure.

You need to be able to take the positives from your failures and build on them. You learnt how to get past failure in school. You didn’t know the alphabet to begin with, but after many failures you knew it off by heart quite soon. Business is much the same, except there is always a bigger financial and personal risk.

Failing is succeeding

Failing is a tough pill to swallow and no one wants to give up, but seeing the positive side of one’s circumstances positions you for greater chances to find success in the future.

You will need to see failure as a building block for success. Only quality entrepreneurs can see the opportunity when failure is all round. The growth of your new business will be based on the positives from your previous business coupled with the lessons you have learned. Failure is only a state of mind after your business has closed. The business is gone and it is up to you to ensure the future holds a better run business.

Time management

You will need to assess your time management and decide if this had anything to do with your business failure. Being in control of your time is a major step in moving a business forward. Too many people concentrate on the wrong priorities in business and often fail to see the bigger picture. You should excel where you have the skills to succeed and employ others to control the aspects of your business that are not your best areas. When you are not a master accountant, have someone else manage your accounts and learn how to check them carefully. If you spend too long on the wrong side of your business you can’t be expected to see the problems as they happen.

Moving with technology

You can’t expect to run your business with technology that is years out of date. Computers, software and business machinery have developed so far in the last few years that you must move with the times if you are to keep abreast of the best aids to help your business. If your web presence is lacking, your competitors will sleep easy at night.

Learn from your mistakes and plan properly to maximize the education you gain through your failure. Success might be just around the corner.

To Your Success

Ron Finklestein

330-990-0788

www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

ron@ronfinklestein.com

Using LinkedIn as a Prospecting Tool to Turn Cold Calls into Warn Calls

Jacci Adams of 3X4 Consulting, a social media consulting company, did a presentation on how to use LinkedIn as a prospecting tool. I was impressed with the simplicity of her approach that I asked her if I could share it. She agreed. Please give Jacci’s website a visit to see more details on what she does.

A special thanks to Jacci for allowing me to share one of her “trade secrets.” In being transparent, Jacci is a client of mine. Because I know her so well, I am confident she can help if you are confused about how to use social media to grow sales through social media lead generation.

I cannot give you LinkedIn training here so I am assuming you are a member of LinkedIn and know how to use the search tool.

1. Click on the advance search icon in the top right of the LinkedIn home page.
2. Type in the industry keyword/title for the people you are trying to reach (i.e., Chiropractor, Manufacturer, Realtor, etc.)
3. Enter the zip code of where you want the search to target and the mileage radius of how far you are willing to go.
4. You can find any connections you have that meet the search criteria.
5. For the 3^rd connections and beyond LinkedIn provides only the first name and last initial. If you click to see the full name, LinkedIn will ask you to upgrade. Here is where you get creative
6. Click on the company’s website link (in the search results.) Go to the About Us tab and see if the information you are looking for is there. Many times it is. You can get all the background you need.
7. Do a Google search on the person’s name
8. This search will tell you things like where they went to school, businesses they are associated with and how long they have been in business.
9. Using LinkedIn you can do a search to see if anyone in your network knows them. If so either request an introduction of call them directly and introduce yourself. You already have enough information about the individual to know what you have in common.

If you do not have time or do not what to do this research yourself, you can hire someone through:

www.odesk.com

www.fiverr.com

www.99percent.com

If you know how to use the tools above and you are uncertain about making the call, consider improving your people skills so you are more comfortable. You can learn more www.akris.net.

Happy Prospecting

Ron Finklestein
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

ww.businessgrowthexperience.com

You can subscribe to my blog at www.ronfinklestein.com

Your pricing formula (or pricing a product or service)

I recently received a request from one of my blog readers to do an article on pricing your product. He sent me some great articles he found on the net. After reading them I realized he may have been over thinking the pricing issues. To me it is fairly simple. There are only three outcomes to consider:

1. Your product is priced too high and no action is taken (the competition is complacency.)
2. Your product is priced too high and it invites the buyer to buy from someone else (I need to make sure I am getting the best VALUE.)
3. You price your product to low and you introduce concern from the buyer because he wonders what is being missed (lack of trust.)

Pricing your product can be simple if you let it but you must price it from the buyer’s perspective. As a business owner you need to know both your fixed and variable cost and ensure you cover those cost while remembering the buyer is not concerned with your cost. They simply don’t care.

From my perspective, here is what you need to be concerned about. What does your competition charge? This is important if the consumer has a preconceived notion of the value of the product. For example, if I go to a paint store and see a gallon on paint is priced at $50, I might go to another store to see if I can get the same quality (different brand) for a better price. I may have a belief that I am not going to pay more than $30 for a gallon of paint (or $20K for a car, or $3 for loaf of bread, or $1 for a pen, etc.)

The bigger issue for me is the value proposition. I believe people will pay to solve a problem and in many respects they will pay a premium if they believe you are the right and safe choice. Making the buyer understand that you are the right and safe choice is both hard and critical. Understand this is not a universal construct. For example, if I have $1 to spend for pen it may not matter if it is a BIC or another brand as long as it fits my budget. If I have a Rolls Royce for sale and my buying audience cannot afford a Rolls (or do not want it) then price it does not matter.

The hard work is the unique value proposition, helping other to understand your value, where and how to market your product and knowing how the problem you solve will allow you to charge more.

Pricing the product is in fact telling a story about the product. For example, why would I pay $50 for a gallon of paint when I can a similar product for 40% less? If price is not an issue, you can focus on the parts of the products story that are important to a client. The higher price for the paint can be told in a story: it is safer (less smell), easier to clean (important to a busy mother because it save time), last longer (don’t have to do it as often), provide a better finish (looks better), or is easier to apply (saves time.)  If those concepts are not important to your audience, you have a different kind of problem.

Sometimes price is not a consideration. If you are selling to high net worth individuals, they are buying prestige and convenience. The price is secondary. If I am buying a gallon of paint, price is primary.

Finally, pricing is impacted by the demographics of the audience. It is harder to sell your product using “pain” as the value proposition when selling to an older audience because their life experience tells them that “been there done that. This too shall pass.” Pain works better on younger people who have a need for more immediate gratification.

Bottom line is that pricing is an effective marriage between cost to produce, what people will pay, and the story that motivates them to buy.

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
www.BusinessGrowthexperience.com

ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

330-990-0788

I am a co-host on Small Business Talk radio with Dale Stefancic. Dale wrote an article for a local newspaper that I wanted to share. It does a great job of helping you get ready to have a great year. If you would like to contact Dale, you can reach him at dale@dalestefancic.com. We invite you to listen to our radio program at welw.com, Be sure to press the listen now button. We are on air every Wednesday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST.

A Year in Review for a Great 2012

For many small business owners 2011 was more of a game of survival. Many challenges still face us and the economy as we try to press forward and identify opportunity and how we can take full advantage of it.

We discussed many items and topics this past year in my effort to try and make you better in your business and create some awareness of what needs to be accomplished to move forward and be more profitable.

So what I wanted to do being the end of 2011 and as we think and decide what 2012 may bring is a review that I hope renews some fresh ideas and thinking of how to win the challenges ahead of all of us.

LEADERSHIP:

People identify with leaders. They are well respected and have a strong voice with accomplishments in their field of expertise. As a business owner, you must constantly strive to be the leader in what you do. Some of the points of leadership to keep in mind are:  Leaders should know and understand that people are the core building blocks of their team and/or organization.  To be an effective leader, you need to understand the core building block of your people and their respective values.  Leadership begins from within.  Identify core roles, prioritize them and plan on development and then acting on them.  Any relationship begins with you.  Leadership begins with you.  To be effective, it is dependent on your ability to communicate effectively.

NETWORKING:

This is a great time of the year. The holidays are here and the thoughts of 2012 and what we might expect in the new year with business.

Many of us will be at social and business events meeting  many new people as well as many friends.

For these reasons the topic of networking is very timely.

Today  if you are networking correctly, it’s more than meet and greet with an exchange of business cards and contact information.

You have to network with the intent of turning contacts into connections and eventually business allies or customers.

As you attend your events you need to have a specific game plan in mind.

Make your connections, and then build relationships with these individuals.

The relationships can range from identifying some of the needs of your business or relationships that will bring more business to your company.

The key here is to develop your network with great people and cement those relationships to be a resource for you.

You cannot do it alone. All great businesses have very successful networks in place.

Also keep in mind the relationship is a two way street. Don’t just talk or think about what’s in it for you but lead with a value proposition that will make the person you are connecting with have a reason to develop the relationship further.

Over deliver and your investments of time, money and energy will be repaid ten fold.

TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY:

Time relates to productivity more than you might realize. Time can be as big a loss of profits for your company as almost anything else. When you better manage time you will be more productive. When you are more productive you will make more profit.

Here are some SMART things to think about. S.M.A.R.T. being an acronym for:

S- SPECIFIC- Being as specific as you can with bringing the reality in site of your goal.

M-MEASURABLE- You must be able to measure your results.  You can only measure your results if you are tracking all your activity that pertains to your business.

A-ATTAINABLE- Is your goal one that is reachable and in the time that you have allotted?

R-RELEVANT- Is the goal relevant to the purpose of your business or

your  personal life?  Is the goal you set bringing you closer to that purpose?

T-TIME SENSITIVE- Does your goal have a deadline?  With a deadline in front of you, your mind realizes it has to accomplish certain tasks within a certain time.

So to be productive, be S.M.A.R.T.

I think as business owners, we all realize what it takes as well as what we need to do.  But, how we measure, track and evaluate the activities we do, will help in becoming better, more profitable and leaves  us with more time to do the things we enjoy.

SELLING:

We may not like it but we have to constantly adjust and adapt to the process and fully understand the needs of the market and the consumer. Here are some points to keep in your selling mindset.  First, people in your target market will first buy you. Also making sure you know your market and the needs and what your market is looking for will be key in this step.

If your prospect has not bought into you, I doubt if you have any shot at a sale even if you are the cheapest price in town.

I’m sure you have heard the phrase that attitude is everything, well if you are in sales, it’s a really big key to your success in sales.

People will pay more for an agreeable, enjoyable experience with a great product than just one based on it’s the cheapest.

The individual that combines a great product with a great attitude can be unstoppable.

Today, many  companies are basing lost sales because of price. Granted some people do just shop price, but in most categories on products and services, price is only a factor in 14%-20% statistically.

Secondly, you need to think more in line with the buyer’s thinking. While your buyer may be objecting to price, here’s what is swimming around in his or her mind.

1.)Is there a better product? 2.) Is the proposal right? 3.) Will this really solve my problems? 4.) Will we use it? 5.) What will others think if I buy this? 6.) Will the company really service me and honor the guarantee?

With this partial list of objections, you need to be going through your prospects thought process and be prepared to present in a more thorough manner making the buying decision safe for you prospects instead of just driving the price factor home.

Too many businesses today are leading there marketing and advertising campaigns with price and not with value, experience, quality, strong guarantee’s and taking the risk out of the buying process.

Many times the sales person is just not totally prepared or has not taken the time to identify the needs of the prospect, as well as what the prospect is truly looking for.

Today as consumers become more savvy and aren’t as willing just to throw their money around without thinking about after the sale, don’t be afraid to lead with the value, expertise, quality and guarantee of what you are selling.

Communicate to your buyer that your service after the sale will be unmatched as you take the risk out of the purchase and make buying a pleasure for your prospect.

If you are leading with price and doing comparisons, good luck. Trying to be successful on the cheapest price is a tough place to live in.

Thirdly, sales for the most part always has the numbers factor.  You can make the numbers work in your favor.

With the correct and precise market analysis, knowing the needs and wants of your market, and taking massive action, you can make the numbers work more in your favor.

In sales, massive action is one surefire way to increase your response and success rate. Take enough action and you will achieve more.

Fourth, know where your prospects are in the sales funnel. Deliver your commitments on time and over deliver. Your prospects may be evaluating you every step of the way. Make sure you have addressed all their needs and have provided the best solution.

Fifth, don’t be afraid and come out and ask for the sale. Lead your prospect with a series of yes answers to what you have delivered in the sales presentation that makes good sense for the prospect to buy.

Enhancing Your Life so You Can Enhance the Live of Others

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
www.akris.net
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

Anyone can be successful at sales provided you have the right behaviors and mind-set.

In 2003, Tim Connor published a book called Soft Selling.   In it, he compared how poor salespeople and successful salespeople managed their selling time differently.   He allocated the salesperson’s time into six major categories:

·   Prospecting

·   Sales Presentation

·   Service

·   Administration

·   Travel

·   Self-Improvement

He found that when it came to time management, poor salespeople allocated their time as follows:

·   10% on prospecting,

·   23% on sales presentation,

·   15% on service to others,

·   30% on administration,

·   20% on travel,

·   and a meager 2% on self-improvement.

These numbers are stunning at first glance if you believe and take Connor’s numbers seriously.

Note that only 10% of a salesperson’s time was being spent on prospecting and a whopping 30% of their time was being spent on administrative duties.    In other words, the salespeople who failed were spending more time managing their paperwork and administrative duties than managing or growing their sales pipeline.

10% of a poor salesperson’s time was being spent on prospecting.  It’s no wonder their sales were falling short of their expectations and their sales pipeline remained empty. They were spending more time on paperwork and presentations when they should have been out looking for new suspects to qualify. Contrast these numbers with how well successful people managed their time when it came to selling.  Connor found that good salespeople spent their time as follows:

·   45% on prospecting for new business,

·   10% on their sales presentation,

·   20% on service to others,

·   5% on administration,

·   10% on travel,

·   And 10% on self-improvement.

If you want to learn how to get better at sales and be seen as a partner to your customers check out Collaborative Selling. To learn more go to www.akris.net 

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Facilitator
www.businessgrowthexperience.com  

Akita Mani Yo.

Robert Schepens, is part Native American and he often reminds me of the Native American saying “Akita Mani Yo.” This saying means “Observe everything as you walk your path (in life).”

Observing everything as we walk our path is hard to do. It requires both internal and external awareness.

Internal is defined a our reactions, feeling and emotions and external our environment, others and our ecology (relationships.) It requires seeing things we often pay no attention to.

It requires us to understand our life and the meaning of our life as defined by the contrast between ourselves and others. This contrast is what is observed. In this contrast lie the secrets we miss, the lost loves, the beautiful flowers that we ignore, the pain we inadvertently inflicted and the joy others experience. This observing shows us the pains of others that we missed, the opportunities lost, that opportunities missed, the opportunities we gained. It shows the joys that passed us by.

In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) this is referred to as “Our perception is our reflection.” Stated another way, what we see and perceive is what we notice and what we reflected back to others.

If things are not what you want, shift your attention to notice the things you do want. What more customers? Shift your attention to being grateful for your existing customers. Want more love in your life, be a more loving person. Want more friends, be a better friend. Remember to Akita Mani Yo.

Ron Finklestein
Someone who is learning to be a better student.

ron@akris.net

330-990-0788

Do you take Ownership for Your Situation?

In a Business Growth Experience meeting we discussed how to identify high potential individuals. One trait that surface over and over was ownership – specifically taking ownership of a given situation.

It was suggested people who lack ownership used words like: I should, I must, I had no choice, I had to, and other made me do it. The stories they tell are other focused: they did this, you should hear what happened to me, etc. Excuses are a big part of their lives. It is always someone else’s fault.

People who embraced ownership used words like: I choose, it was my responsibility, I decided, and the stories they tell are focused on “I.” They ask questions like “why am I…?”, “in what ways can I…? ,“ why did I fail to communicate effectively with…?”, “how can I do things better?”, and “how can I change this situation?

Which side of the equation do you live on? Do you take ownership for your life, business, results, and relationships?

If you do not own your situation how can you change it? What kind of person do you want to become? What kind of person do you want to hang out with? Remember, there is no partial ownership. It is not like owning a time share. You either own  it or you don’t.

Ron Finklestein

ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788

www.ronfinklestein.com

To receive these posts directly please go to www.businessgrowthexperience.com and sign up for the free eBook, “Six Questions Your Prospects want Answered before the Buy.” You will then be added to the email list.

To receive great business training at an even better price please check out www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

The New Marketing Strategy Guaranteed to Work

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.

Marketing is designed to persuade you to take a specific action (call now, space is limited), or not do something (don’t throw that away, recycle it).

People have become cynical. Marketing has become so sophisticated that people feel tricked into doing something only to find the product or service did not perform as stated or expected. We are inundated with thousands of marketing message daily from people trying to part us from our time, energy and money.

What’s a marketer (business owner) to do? I have new and powerful marketing technique that is guaranteed to work. What is it you ask?

It is quite powerful. You simply market your products and services with Integrity. Integrity is defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”

Wouldn’t it be great when we encountered someone selling a product or service that interested us that we felt we could trust the person or company? That we could have an open dialog; that the message was to be consistent and had integrity. The honesty was there.

There are six questions your prospects wants answered before they buy. You can download the report at http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com. This report will help you communicate your message with honesty and integrity.

This message was prompted by a bad experience I had will my bank. I should say my old bank – I just left them. Here is what happened. I received my home equity line statement from my bank and the bank demanded the loan be paid in full. We are not talking about a small about of money. I called customer service to see what was going on. I was told my house was in the collections and foreclosure process, I could do nothing to stop it, and no one I could call. The process must run its course. They told me I was late 30 times (BTW, I was never late.) When I suggested they made an error, I was told I was lying.

I spent hundreds of hours trying to solve this (as a small business owner this time away from my business was quite painful) finding the right people to talk too, feeling really stressed out and helpless because of the stress it put on my family, only to find out they made a mistake. My house was not in foreclosure, it was not in collections, and all was fine.  I did not get so much as a letter of apology. I think they were afraid I would sue. Don’t worry, I am not that kind of person. The letter I did get, saying my credit was not damaged,  did not have a signature. The collection letters I received that had a phone number would not return my calls. I was even told they called me and I know they did not because I have just one phone I use for all call and the call log does not lie.

While I am going through all this I see the banks’ commercials on TV about how easy this bank is to work with, how much they care about their customers and how responsive they are to their customers’ needs. I was quite angry that there was a total and complete disconnect between their message and their actions. At this time, I should point out that I had been with this bank over 30 years. I am in process of changing banks. I paid off the loan in questions, and I am creating an arm’s length relationship with my new bank.

Contrast that with the city where I now live. They put in a new sanitation line on my property that caused all kinds of water  problems in my yard. It has been a slow process but they are taking ownership and fixing the problem at their expense and the investment they are making is not insignificant.

Problems will happen. It is how you handle the problem that is important. Which organization was more in integrity with their customers? Is your message congruent with your organization’s action?  Do you deliver what you say you will deliver? Is your marketing message consistent with your company’s actions? All people want is to be treated fairly and honestly. Do you allow people in your organization to do that?

Do you handle your customer problem with integrity? Do you handle your sales with integrity? Do you live your life with integrity? Do you market with Integrity? Are you seeing a theme here? Being in Integrity is all that you do and be? The true disconnect is when your actions are not consistent with your words.

Ron Finklestein

Http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@akris.net
330-990-0788

One of the biggest problems I see with small business owners is that they chase the money. When you chase the money, you lose focus, and people do not know what you stand for.

Focus is principle number 6 of my Nine Principles for Inspired Action.

After working with a client in the Business Growth Experience and suggesting she gets focused, I received the following email less tha a week later.

“I also want to give you some feedback on a suggestion you made for me in the last Business Growth Experience meeting. We discussed just focusing on 3 types of businesses. Well I’m getting more referrals for those types of businesses. I’m truly amazed. I’ve received about 10 referrals between cleaning, insurance, and real estate in the last week. Thank you.”

Stop chasing the money. Get focused on your customer. The money will come.

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com