SUCCESS QUOTES

“We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.”

 

Dwight David Eisenhower

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under Quotes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Reminder And You Can Change It All!

Have you found yourself caught by ‘bright shiny objects’ lately? You know – those great ideas that are too good to pass up… So you take on one after another until you’ve completely lost focus on your key objectives.

Let’s get you back on track!

Ask yourself:

“What single key objective do I want to make measurable progress on this week?”

Write that goal on 5 Post-It notes. Put one on your phone, one on your computer, one on your calendar or PDA. The fourth goes on your note pad and the fifth on the center of your steering wheel.

They’re there to give you pause before you leap into action on any new idea that comes to mind

March 25, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting | Leave a Comment 

3 KEYS TO HIGH PAYOFF OBJECTIVES TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

The world is full of fabulous ideas. Some of them are extensions of your current products and services and would add materially to your bottom line profits. Others are outright innovations that could dramatically launch your business to new heights.

And sometimes those ideas pull you ‘off focus.’ My client’s management team is running around like…. Hmmm, ‘chickens with their heads cut off’ is the typical expression we’d use here. But let’s shift the metaphor to one that’s more useful for building effective businesses.

I sat in employee feedback sessions on behalf of my client. The questions I posed to more than 30 people were “What is working well here?” and “What could be working better?” and also “What are your impressions of the management team as Leaders? As Managers? As a Team?”

Over and over again the senior professionals were described as well-intentioned, but poor on execution.

The common phrase that was used by the people I spoke with, at every level in the company, was “We all run around like everything is a fire drill!”

The irony is the entire team spends hundreds of hours preparing plans and key objectives for the coming year. They agree to all of it. Yet that’s not how their behavior shows up the rest of the year.

Everyone on the management team drops everything to take on projects that aren’t on the plan. They run to solve customer emergencies, and work overtime on special projects that were never planned for. They all operate this way for a very specific reason: the head of the company rewards people for being flexible and looking urgent.

Let me say that another way: one of their key performance indicators is how quickly they jump to take on any new thing that is proposed, simply because someone paints a compelling picture about how valuable the effort would be.

No one steps up to ask “How does this fit with the objectives we set for the year?” Their personal focus has become to ‘jump’ and prove to their boss that they will whenever called.

As you can imagine, at the end of the year, many of the goals they set out in their plan have not been achieved.

You can sure bet they hear about that when it’s time to review their results.

Most important of all, the reason for the fire drill is basic: The team needs to learn to tie all their activities to their key objectives.

So I’m rolling up my sleeves to teach the entire management team how to set and keep objectives in a new way. I’ve found there are 3 Keys to setting objectives that stick:

First – Set objectives that have a measurable value to your business – a value YOU actually want.

You may ask why this even needs to be said? It’s all about the trap of ‘shoulds.’ Many times when I begin my work with new clients, they have a list of objectives that reads more like a list of ‘shoulds’ than actual goals.

At times the goals they set come from industry standards. At others from articles or advisors or lists of ‘best practices.’ They may sound right, but that doesn’t make them right for their business or yours.

When your heart isn’t behind your goals, you’ll write them down and promptly ignore them.

Second – Keep track daily, not just weekly or monthly, if your activities are getting you closer to those objectives.

By making your goals measurable, you’ll be able to evaluate your results. And as important, you’ll be able to assess whether you should even be pursuing a particular course of action - before you invest time, money and energy towards it.

Third – Politely turn away all other activities.

Remember those ‘fabulous ideas’ I mentioned at the top? Check any and all new ideas that show up against your list of objectives. If new ideas don’t address one of your objectives exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, put it on a list for next year’s plan and get your attention back on focus.

I know, I know. It’s a true challenge to see them and to not pursue them. To put them on a list and get back to them later, if at all. Yet it’s the only way to leverage your efforts.

If you use these three Keys, you’ll achieve your true objectives and create powerful results. They’ll keep you on track so you can get the highest payoff from your planned activities.

March 23, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting | Leave a Comment 

SUCCESS QUOTES

“The first thing I do in the morning is to make my bed and while I am making up my bed I am making up my mind as to what kind of a day I am going to have.”

 

Robert Frost

March 21, 2008 | Filed Under Quotes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Action And You Can Change It All!

Have you been making it easy for your ideal clients to find you?

Are you creating your own identity in your marketplace?

Ask yourself:

“What is one available channel to build my identity I’m not using today?”

You’ll easily come up with a list of 10-15 ideas you’ve read or seen others using. Pick one, just one and add it to your calendar for the next 3 months.

Perhaps writing 3 articles and getting them published and distributed. That’s a 10-hour commitment over 12 weeks and can kick-start your momentum with ease.

March 20, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing | Leave a Comment 

BE A BEACON, NOT A CHAMELEON IN YOUR BUSINESS

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

In meetings with friends and clients this past month I asked a few people to be part of my R&D team to find out what stopped them from getting out there in a BIG way to get clients.

I also asked them to tell me the goals they set themselves being self-employed. Honestly, I was startled by the answers that rolled in, and their answers were right in line with what I hear from many other people I’ve talked to about this.

You see, most people have very LOW expectations and their actions match it. They decided that it was a fair exchange to liberate themselves from the constrictions of employment to gain full control over their work and their income. And they even capped their earnings expectations.

Using SYSTEMS and LEVERAGE techniques in marketing and managing your business, you can totally change that to create an income that is FAR beyond what you’ve assumed. I know it for a fact as I’ve helped my clients achieve it.

However, leverage and systems aren’t enough. Why do I say that? Because if you do the math, you need to target $300,000 a year in revenue to pay yourself and the people and services you’ll use to do marketing or service delivery, or administrative tasks, and so on.

The biggest stumbling block to reaching that next level is ‘habit’. The habit of thinking and acting like a generalist, serving anyone and everyone. I did it myself for years. It’s a commonly held belief that the wider we spread our net, the larger our likely result. I myself held that belief for years, even in the face of all evidence to the contrary.

Being a generalist means you’re constantly working on multiple ways of introducing who you are and what you do in the hope that it resonates with the person you’re talking to. All your attention is on adapting like a chameleon rather than shining like a beacon that calls people to you.

Get out of the way of your OWN High Payoff using these three Key Activities and you’ll see your results soar:

Key 1 – Select a Target Market and Stick To It

Your services may be equally productive to a wide range of clients and customers. However, when you pick a niche, a class of clients who share particular characteristics, you make yourself more memorable. The truth is, you increase your identity as an expert.

Elsa Lucan, a landscaping specialist in Los Angeles, recently made the shift from taking a wide range of projects, large and small, to working with homeowners who want to create completely new outdoor spaces. She focuses on using little known planting techniques that result in astounding growth and exquisite spaces.

A second shift she’s made? No longer doing the hardscape herself. Elsa now designs and supervises its installation by specialists in their own right. Her time is planned farther out, her crew knows they’re booked, and she’s seeing a doubling in her revenues in the space of a year.

That’s what people want – specialists solving their challenges.

Key 2 – Differentiate From Others Providing Similar Services

We often think of differentiation as being about our technical resume, dress and manners. Ironically, the personal story behind our choices attracts our market to us like a magnet.

One of my clients recently realized that when she spoke of her emotional reason for providing services to parents of young children – facing the same challenges she’s come through herself – her rate of closing doubled… and in half the time.

Her clients feel she ‘knows’ them and their challenges.

Key 3 – Take 5 Paths to Connect With Your Market

It’s easy to settle into habits unconsciously. Marketing by networking is one example. It may not actually get you in front of your ideal clients. When you expand your marketing activities that let your potential client know you’re the specialist to solve their issues you create momentum and business growth. Four additional activities that deliberately sharpen your identity include sending a newsletter to your contacts, writing articles, forming joint ventures with others who provide complimentary services to the same market, and asking clients for referrals.

Ironically, I’ve been implementing Keys 2 and 3 systematically for months. Yet I was neglecting Key 1. For 15 years I’ve worked with financial advisors, more than half my clients every year … yet I never said so. It’s time for me to declare my niche and use the three Keys together for myself.

How about you? What is one shift you could make to be a beacon to your ideal client and grow your business further, faster and easier?

March 19, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing, Vision | Leave a Comment 

SUCCESS QUOTES

“I am always doing things I can’t do, that’s how I get to do
them.”

 

Pablo Picasso

March 18, 2008 | Filed Under Quotes | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 “Gnat” And You Can Change It All!

How many gnats are you distracting your time with? Isn’t it about time you valued your time and efforts more highly?

It’s time to design a Gnat Management System. It will allow you to invite those clients to invest so they can continue getting the great service they’ve received. And at a level that makes business sense for you.

Ask yourself a very basic question – no judgments, just listen to your gut:

“Which ‘clients’ do I feel are wasting my time and resources?”

Write down everyone that comes to mind. When you’ve done that craft a conversation you can start with them to let them know how much you appreciate their past business AND explain the new model you’re using.

March 17, 2008 | Filed Under Catalyst Action Tip | Leave a Comment 

USE A HIGH PAYOFF ‘GMS’ TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS?

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

“Linda, what do you think I should do with this client’s request I got?”

My client, Susan knew I wouldn’t just hand her an answer. Yes, I’m famous for having answers for nearly every type of question my clients pose. That’s what a rich full life of diverse work, travel and many interests will do for you!

But I’m also famous for posing questions… really simple, direct, to-the-point questions that shift paradigms and points of view. This was one of those days.

“What’s the Value of the work for you?” I asked her.

Susan sighed before she answered. That was a tell-tale sign that she knew the work wouldn’t be using her team’s highest and best talent, or would be diverting them off their most productive work.

“Well, Mike’s someone I’ve known for years, and he’s known the work we do, and I don’t want to say ‘No!’

“And what’s the value of the work for your business?” I probed.

Our conversation went back and forth several times, as Susan talked her way through the value of pleasing Mike: so that he’d speak well of her in the community, so that he’d come back when he had more substantial work that needed doing, and so on.

“So it sounds to me like he’s a gnat.” I proposed. “He’s nice, but the work he’s asking you to do is going to use more time and more resources and you’ll deliver it at barely break even. You’re rationalizing doing the work as if it might produce good marketing for you. At the same time it’s diverting your staff’s attention from much larger and profitable clients’ work.”

Susan got wide-eyed, startled. Not ready to label anyone that way. And then she broke out laughing and admitted it’s the perfect description of the situation.

“So, what would an ideal High Payoff result be from doing the work with Mike?” I pondered out loud.

“Having him request profitable work that makes it worth our time, and leaves him feeling satisfied with the product we create for him.”

“And what is the ideal minimum work effort, in dollars, you’d want to take on? “

“Well, $5,000 but he doesn’t have that kind of money to spend.”

So Susan trapped herself trying to please Mike and mind reading what he would or wouldn’t invest in for his business’s success.

“In an ideal world, how might you describe the type of clients you’d want to be doing your work with? What specific packages of services, OR what monthly retainer fees for what level of hours, would you say your best clients fall in today?

She had never thought of it this way, yet with very little effort, Susan was able to describe 3 levels in her current clients.

The top tier has her company on $50,000 per year retainer agreements. Her second tier clients are a group who typically budget $15,000 to $35,000 for her services.

From several Tier 1 customers, Susan’s company makes as much as $25,000 more each with special projects during the year. The retainer relationship lets her project how much work there will be, and how many employees she needs throughout the year.

Susan’s third tier clients want 20 hours of her services per month. The work is typically interspersed with the larger clients’ work and keeps the workflow steady each month. And it’s as profitable as the rest of the work her team delivers.

We drew it all out on her conference room white board and invited her staff in to take a look at it. They loved it! They even recommended a couple of modifications to what services would best be offered to which tier of clients. They even gave each tier a name.

And then they listed six more examples of gnats they took on and now spend too much time hand holding, sighing when the clients call. They knew they shouldn’t have taken as clients in the first place and won’t in the future.

As a result of drawing it all out where she could see it, Susan had a new perspective on how to speak of her firm’s services when she’s at conferences and out networking, how to respond to inquiries and how to word her proposals.

We’re calling it her “Gnat Management System.”

Moreover, her GMS is so clear that she was able to craft a reply for Mike that isn’t saying “No.”

She’ll use it for year’s to come.

“Mike, I’d love to help you. Let me tell you about how we do business. We have 3 packages that we offer and I’d be delighted to talk with you about which package would work best for you.”

With the Gnat Management System we’ve put in place in her business, Susan and the rest of her team can focus on the work and the clients that really build their success.

March 16, 2008 | Filed Under Ideas, Managing | Leave a Comment 

SUCCESS QUOTES

“You can resolve ‘I wonder’ with very little investment of precious time by merely trying things fearlessly, not concerned about self-worth, reputation, or failure.”

 

Alan Weiss

March 15, 2008 | Filed Under Quotes | Leave a Comment 

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