I just received a note from one of my coaching clients last night. She was telling me about the lack of speaking dates on her calendar. I offered a few suggestions and told her that I expected a report of her results within 24 hours. She ended up booking 2 speaking dates. Regardless of if you are a speaker, author, or just want to achieve better results in any area of life; follow this system:
1. Get a coach or trainer. A huge mistake that a lot of people make is that if they find something that doesn't work that well, they do more of it expecting different results. Whether it is a personal trainer who shows you that you are off by 3 degrees on doing a bicep curl, a golf coach who teaches you to bend your knees just a tad more, or a business coach who teaches you the 2 crucial words that can make your offer irresistible; you can leapfrog the learning curve by leveraging the experiences of others.
2. Practice the new technique and expect it to be uncomfortable. New things take a bit of getting used to.
3. Push yourself, and find an accountability partner. This person can be your trainer or coach. It could be a spouse or friend. I have a "Nag list" that my coach requires me to report to her twice per week. This allows me to accomplish a heck of a lot more than I would if I did not have that accountability.
We are living in an age of ever-changing technology, expectation, and aptitude. Tap your passions, discover a way to market it, and Always Better Your Best!
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Drift Throught Life..Get Hit by a Barge
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591
Friday, July 23, 2010
Pancakes or a Poke in the Eye
Last weekend, we were craving whole grain pancakes that are offered at several national restaurant chains in our area. When we entered restaurant #1, there was no one at the hostess table or the cash register. I understand that this was a Sunday morning and that it is one of the busiest times for breakfast.
While we were patiently waiting with others who had come in after us, a woman hurriedly rang someone up on the register and ran off to somewhere else in the restaurant. There was no "Welcome to our restaurant, we will be with you shortly," greetings or any other type of recognition. When we finally were able to get our name on the list she said, "There is a 15 minute wait." I understand that people need to wait in line at restaurants, but the absence of a greeting turned us off and we left for their competition.
When we entered the Village Inn restaurant, they were just as busy, but the manager greeted us warmly and informed us that it would be just a few minutes before we could get a table. The server we had was excellent and tended to our every need. The manager also popped by our table just to make sure everything was to our liking. We were thrilled with the experience and will gladly go back again soon.
What does this have to do with your business?
1. A smile and a warm greeting is one of the easiest and cheapest openers to any relationship. Keep in mind that you pay a lot of money to get people to come into your place of business, or for your phone to ring. Invest the proper amount of time with the "Director of First Impressions" so that the foundation is set for a good experience. If after the proper training they still turn people off, start working on a separation process.
2. Listen and fill the needs of your clients. I often hear people say things like, "He is a great talker, he could sell anything!" Actually, show me someone who is a great listener and I will show you someone who will be far better in sales than someone trying to work a "canned" pitch.
3. Ask people to buy. I don't know why this is so hard for some people. Zig Ziglar refers to salespeople who don't ask for the sale as "Professional Visitors." Even though we were stuffed from our breakfast described above, our server still offered to send us home with a pie. The worst thing that people can do is tell you "No" they can't shoot you and eat you.
Enjoy the sweet taste of success!
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591.
While we were patiently waiting with others who had come in after us, a woman hurriedly rang someone up on the register and ran off to somewhere else in the restaurant. There was no "Welcome to our restaurant, we will be with you shortly," greetings or any other type of recognition. When we finally were able to get our name on the list she said, "There is a 15 minute wait." I understand that people need to wait in line at restaurants, but the absence of a greeting turned us off and we left for their competition.
When we entered the Village Inn restaurant, they were just as busy, but the manager greeted us warmly and informed us that it would be just a few minutes before we could get a table. The server we had was excellent and tended to our every need. The manager also popped by our table just to make sure everything was to our liking. We were thrilled with the experience and will gladly go back again soon.
What does this have to do with your business?
1. A smile and a warm greeting is one of the easiest and cheapest openers to any relationship. Keep in mind that you pay a lot of money to get people to come into your place of business, or for your phone to ring. Invest the proper amount of time with the "Director of First Impressions" so that the foundation is set for a good experience. If after the proper training they still turn people off, start working on a separation process.
2. Listen and fill the needs of your clients. I often hear people say things like, "He is a great talker, he could sell anything!" Actually, show me someone who is a great listener and I will show you someone who will be far better in sales than someone trying to work a "canned" pitch.
3. Ask people to buy. I don't know why this is so hard for some people. Zig Ziglar refers to salespeople who don't ask for the sale as "Professional Visitors." Even though we were stuffed from our breakfast described above, our server still offered to send us home with a pie. The worst thing that people can do is tell you "No" they can't shoot you and eat you.
Enjoy the sweet taste of success!
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Is Your Business Suffering from "World Cup" Syndrome?
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last month, you are probably aware that the world has been going absolutely nuts about the World Cup. Whether or not you were one of the fans who found themselves glued to the television to catch any part of the tournament; you were undoubtedly aware of the economic impact of the tournament.
I'm not talking about the billions of dollars that were generated in South Africa, who hosted the event. Rather I'm talking about the impact of lost productivity in many countries who literally shut down for a matter of days to view the World Cup.
One study suggests the German economy, Europe's largest, loses more than $8 billion in productivity, about 0.27 percent of gross domestic product, during the month long tournament. Surveys in Britain predict output losses there of $1.5 billion to $2.3 billion.
What does this mean for you and your business? Perhaps you and your staff spend 30 minutes at the beginning of the day checking Facebook or other social media sites. Perhaps you are prone to answering a ringing phone, even when you are in the middle of a project. You may even engage in idle chatter or water cooler talk throughout the day. An hour here, an hour there...pretty soon you find yourself with projects not done and no more time left in the day.
Here are a few tips that I have found useful in ridding myself of "time vampires":
1. Return calls and check voice mail at certain times during the day. Obviously if you are in retail, this does not apply, but my outgoing message says, "I check my messages at noon and at the end of the business day. I will get back to you as quickly as possible. If this is an urgent matter, please text or email."
2. Schedule "Blow off" time. This time can be a bit of a mental break, a chance to catch up if you are off schedule, or it can allow you to mentally shift gears when switching activities.
3. Delegate, delegate, delegate. I can't tell you how many times I have found myself spending an hour trying to figure out a computer problem, plumbing problem, or some menial task when I could have and should have delegated the duty to someone else. If you don't have a staff, find someone to handle some of the non-revenue producing activities for you. Sites like Elance and oDesk offer people who would love to tackle your time wasting activities for a few bucks.
I hope this helps you add a few more hours in your day.
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591.
I'm not talking about the billions of dollars that were generated in South Africa, who hosted the event. Rather I'm talking about the impact of lost productivity in many countries who literally shut down for a matter of days to view the World Cup.
One study suggests the German economy, Europe's largest, loses more than $8 billion in productivity, about 0.27 percent of gross domestic product, during the month long tournament. Surveys in Britain predict output losses there of $1.5 billion to $2.3 billion.
What does this mean for you and your business? Perhaps you and your staff spend 30 minutes at the beginning of the day checking Facebook or other social media sites. Perhaps you are prone to answering a ringing phone, even when you are in the middle of a project. You may even engage in idle chatter or water cooler talk throughout the day. An hour here, an hour there...pretty soon you find yourself with projects not done and no more time left in the day.
Here are a few tips that I have found useful in ridding myself of "time vampires":
1. Return calls and check voice mail at certain times during the day. Obviously if you are in retail, this does not apply, but my outgoing message says, "I check my messages at noon and at the end of the business day. I will get back to you as quickly as possible. If this is an urgent matter, please text or email."
2. Schedule "Blow off" time. This time can be a bit of a mental break, a chance to catch up if you are off schedule, or it can allow you to mentally shift gears when switching activities.
3. Delegate, delegate, delegate. I can't tell you how many times I have found myself spending an hour trying to figure out a computer problem, plumbing problem, or some menial task when I could have and should have delegated the duty to someone else. If you don't have a staff, find someone to handle some of the non-revenue producing activities for you. Sites like Elance and oDesk offer people who would love to tackle your time wasting activities for a few bucks.
I hope this helps you add a few more hours in your day.
For more information about booking The Shef for your next event, visit http://www.theshef.com or call our offices at 1-800-863-2591.
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