Forgetful Fridays- Hello Operator...

That’s right- you are most likely your company’s operations manager- along with all of the other titles that you have as an entrepreneur.

Being an operations manager is very different from being the person who is delivering your product or service on a day-to-day basis. Chances are you are doing both and are so busy trying to deliver in a way that makes your customers happy, you haven’t spent much time thinking or planning like an operations manager. The big problem with this, is that you are spending very little time improving your operations process, simply because you aren’t spending time thinking about how things could change.

I encourage every entrepreneur to review their operations process on a monthly basis. Identify where problems are arising.

Where are the bottlenecks?

Where is money being wasted?

Where is time being wasted?

Where have inefficiencies had negative impacts on customers?

Are there any quality issues arising?

Am I approaching capacity?

Doing this and coming up with strategies to tackle these problems will make the job of delivering your product or service easier. You will reduce stress by knowing that you are continually improving your operations process.

More to come on this subject...

Jen

Thoughful Thursdays - Don't Sell Your Customers Something They Don't Need

I took my car into a shop yesterday to have them determine if I need to replace the suspension struts. The 9 year old car has more than 200,000 kilometers on the odometer and it runs like a clock. I felt it would be worth having this work done as the ride has deteriorated over the past few years and I was concerned other damage may be occuring as a result.

I expected the estimate to be anywhere from $700 to $1000 and was quite prepared to pay.

As it turns out, there was nothing wrong with the parts; no broken springs or leaking inserts. They even took it out for a test drive to get a first hand feel for how the car rode and handled. The ride is what to expect for a 9 year old car that has travelled over 200,000 kilometers. They would be happy to take the work, but suggested I would not notice a $900 difference in performance.

The bottom line here is that the shop had the opportunity to make the sale, but in the interest of a very satisfied customer chose to save me a lot of money.

Guess who is going to be getting a lot more of my business in the future?

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays - A soft spot for quotes

"Don’t let your victories go to your head, or your failures go to your heart."

"I don’t know what the key to success is, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."

"A winner listens, a loser just waits until it is their turn to talk."

I have a soft spot for quotes. A good quote can capture the essence of an experience, or a deeper lesson in life. It can make us pause. In our busy- busy- hurry- hurry world taking the time to contemplate can be reassuring. Reaffirming. This is especially true for entrepreneurs.

Re-committ to you business idea, your passion. Everyday. Just be open on how it is to unfold.

Cheers,

Dominik

Forgetful Fridays- Reinventing the Wheel

Are your sales what you want them to be? What are your plans to grow your sales?

Before you start inventing new products and services and spending your precious time on research and development- not to mention creating new marketing materials for these new products and services- ask yourself if you have done all that you can to sell what you already have developed.

Are you:

-Going to networking events where your target market will be

-Making sales calls to qualified prospects

-Following up with all qualified leads on a regular basis

-Asking questions when you get objections

-Filling up everyday of every week with the above tasks

Until you have done these tasks consistently for a period of time that exceeds 3 months, you should not start inventing new products to increase your sales. 

If you start inventing new products or services to remedy poor sales results before you have given a concentrated effort to selling for more than 3 months, you will be:

-Spending time on research and development for a product or service that still will have no method in place to sell it

-Create consumer confusion by taking your company in more than one direction at a time

-Spend money that you cannot afford to spend on product development and new marketing materials

-Still not have addressed the issue that was standing in the way of selling your previous product or service

-Frustrate yourself and potentially “fail” at selling another product or service

Stay Focused,

Jen

Thoughtful Thursdays - 3 L's

We talk at length, sometimes ad nauseum, about how important it is to communicate your message of value to your customers.

Unfortunately one can be so focused on delivering a value proposition, the customers' needs become secondary. Be mindful that some get the point more quickly than others. Remember that it is about the customer, not the you.

There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to make a purchase, and finding the seller is not ready to take the order because they too busy talking about how much they are going to help.

Today's thought is to look, listen and learn from the signals given by your prospect.

Look for indicators that your prospect doesn't want to hear any more:

• Eyes glazing over
• Loosing interest
• Looking at their watch
  

Listen for the customer indicate their willingness to purchase.

• Agreement with you
• Questions about ordering

Learn from these signals

• Test close
• Ask for the order

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays - Let Go

"Remember, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!" ~Allison Gappa Bottke


Let go of customers who require so much from you but don’t see the value in what you do - they will only drain you.

Let go of suppliers who provide poor service – the only reason you deal with them is because they have cheap prices – this will cost you in the long run

Stop hanging on to something only because your started in that direction i.e. you bought the wrong software, website, marketing material etc – cut your losses now or continue to get frustrated.

Don’t give up what matters to you but be prepared to change strategies - things rarely go according to plan.

Let go. Look ahead. Move on.

Cheers,

Dominik

Retreat! Retreat!

“Times are tough”- I hear it everyday and I understand these words to be true, but I also see many new entrepreneurs retreating because of it.

Making sales and growing your business in a recession is not an impossible task, but it certainly could become one if you retreat. Right now is the time to get out there and let people know what you can do for them and why you are the best person for the job. If you are business to business, let your potential customers know how you can help their business thrive. If you are business to consumer, let people know how you can help them save money, reduce stress, and solve a problem they are having.

People still have needs and you still have solutions that can help.

Thoughtful Thursdays - The Beautiful Noise

You have made the calls, set up appointments, met with the prospect, asked questions that correctly identified their needs, assessed the situation, offered solutions and made recommendations - so far so good...

Then it arrives. Deafening and mind-numbing - The Beautiful Noise.

The uncomfortable moment when there is nothing left to say and the conversation ends. Seconds tick by and it feels like hours. You can not stand it any longer, you open your mouth and begin to talk for no other reason than you feel that you must to put an end to the silence.

The inexperienced will often begin to sell again. This is akin to speaking louder to one who is visually impaired.

Relax and enjoy the peaceful moment. When you do decide to break the silence, attempt to close the sale. Your prospect will either say yes or no. Yes is easy, no will re-open the conversation and give you the opportunity to find out what more is required to make the sale.

Either way, it is a Beautiful Noise, so take advantage of it.

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays -- Three Simple Questions

Whether you’re just testing your product/service or have an established business asking your cusotmers these three questions (and then following up) will make your buiness go from good to great:

1. What do you like about our product/service?
2. Is there anything we can do to make our product/service better?
3. What other services/products would you find valuable that would complement what we already do?

Question 1 will let you know what you’re good at. Build your business on your strengths.

In Question 2 listen to feedback on the quality of your product/service AND on the process of doing business with you. Many times people have a great product/service but terrible customer service.

In Question 3 discover untapped needs that your customers want. It is still important to stick to your core services/product however look at possibly adding new products/services or partnering with others. This will increase the value you bring.

When your customers say they love your product/service get it in writing. Use it as a testimonial. It can do wonders for your business.

Running a business or starting a business is a continual improvement process.

Cheers,

Dominik

Thoughtful Thursdays - Did You Ask For The Order?

It sounds easy, but how many times has an opportunity passed by because you did not take action?

A common reason for not asking for the order is the fear of rejection. After all, as long as you are making the calls and there are few objections, whay rock the boat? At the end of the day you need to put that boat in the water and test it for leaks.

Your goal is to make the sale and once you believe all questions have been answered and concerns addressed, the prospect should be in a position to make a decision.

You will have by this time determined the urgency of making the purchase and at what point in the decision making process they are. You will not be offending them by asking if they would like to go forward with the purchase and they will tell you if they are ready or not. If they are not, it is critical you find out what more needs to be done to seal the deal.

You may loose the opportunity if you do not ask, and you do not want to be thinking about that after the fact.

Good selling,
Richard

Wise Wednesdays - Implementor more important than Innovator

“Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.” — Howard Aiken

Too many people are afraid to share their business idea because they think someone will steal it.

I don’t care how great your idea is -- what matters is how you will implement your business.

Entrepreneurs, are first and foremost, implementers. Ideas are dime a dozen. For every great idea there are probably at least a dozen other people who thought of the idea.

The difference is, that those who were successful, made it happen.

Cheers,

Dominik