It’s the season of the traditional Holiday Race, particularly for women business owners. Trying to keep one step ahead of, or at least even with, family responsibilities and running a business. Not that men don’t put in their share of holiday preparations combined with work responsibilities. But, at least in my family and social circles, it is the woman, or women, who have the lion’s share of Christmas planning and executing work. Most men don’t much care whether the Christmas tree is up (In my case, up and running, since my tree tried to run but fell on its face!) or whether grandma’s dressing tastes just the way you remember it.
For me Christmas time has become a crazy mélange of keeping up the Christmas traditions, and trying to help each and every panicky client that waited until the end of the year to dissolve a corporation, or some other crucial shore that could have been taken care of in August!
This year it is even crazier, since I am now the proud grandma of twin girls. My daughter and son-in-law have moved in with us while their house is being remodeled to accommodate the twins. It is hard to spend my time chopping onions when I could be sitting in my living room watching them eat Christmas ornaments! (Not the glass kind, and no lead, thank you very much!) And, as I told you a few days ago, for the first time in my life my Christmas tree fell and I had to re-do the whole thing.
But in spite of all the nuttiness, it is a joyous time. Maybe it is a trick that I am playing on myself, but just when I feel that I cannot do one more chore, I look all around and feel such pleasure and exhilaration at being alive and able to take on all the work that this wonderful season brings. So I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and a magical Noche Buena. As for me, back to chopping onions with one hand while I answer my cell phone with the other.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Motivating Employees
I found an interesting series of articles written by Paul Lavesque, who has written a book with the title of Motivation.
In this series of articles, on Entrepreneur.com, he talks about how cynical many workers are, and he makes the point that most of us need to feel like part of something important in order to be motivated. He believes that making the owner of the business rich is not exactly the inspiration that drives most workers. And he stresses that people will work very hard for a cause, and businesses that emphasize the importance of satisfying the customer’s needs usually have very motivated employees.
I have previously written about treating people as individuals with particular needs that we can fulfill, rather than as dollar signs; and I loved that these articles speak to that aspect of business. Many businesses have tunnel vision that leads straight to the bottom line, without much regard for the customer. That is seldom a great motivator for employees.
There are countless books and seminars on how to upsell. We are told that we need to increase our sales by pushing additional products or services to the client once he appears at our door. If he comes in to buy a toaster, sell him an egg poacher. Sell him on the great American breakfast experience. Just sell him! That will be great for the business bottom line. But does the client even like poached eggs? Or is it one more appliance to clutter his kitchen?
As a sales person, would you feel very motivated when selling clients products they don’t need, and may not particularly want? Wouldn’t it be much more satisfying if you could find out how he plans to use that toaster, and then guide him to the best model for his needs? Even if it turned out to be less expensive!
How do you want the customer to see your business and your employees? Will he believe that he can come to you and your workers to have a problem solved? Or will he think twice before walking through you door ever again? When you enlist your employees in the cause of truly helping your clients, you are more likely to keep them happy, and to keep your customers happy as well.
In this series of articles, on Entrepreneur.com, he talks about how cynical many workers are, and he makes the point that most of us need to feel like part of something important in order to be motivated. He believes that making the owner of the business rich is not exactly the inspiration that drives most workers. And he stresses that people will work very hard for a cause, and businesses that emphasize the importance of satisfying the customer’s needs usually have very motivated employees.
I have previously written about treating people as individuals with particular needs that we can fulfill, rather than as dollar signs; and I loved that these articles speak to that aspect of business. Many businesses have tunnel vision that leads straight to the bottom line, without much regard for the customer. That is seldom a great motivator for employees.
There are countless books and seminars on how to upsell. We are told that we need to increase our sales by pushing additional products or services to the client once he appears at our door. If he comes in to buy a toaster, sell him an egg poacher. Sell him on the great American breakfast experience. Just sell him! That will be great for the business bottom line. But does the client even like poached eggs? Or is it one more appliance to clutter his kitchen?
As a sales person, would you feel very motivated when selling clients products they don’t need, and may not particularly want? Wouldn’t it be much more satisfying if you could find out how he plans to use that toaster, and then guide him to the best model for his needs? Even if it turned out to be less expensive!
How do you want the customer to see your business and your employees? Will he believe that he can come to you and your workers to have a problem solved? Or will he think twice before walking through you door ever again? When you enlist your employees in the cause of truly helping your clients, you are more likely to keep them happy, and to keep your customers happy as well.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Of People and Things
Every year I look forward to putting up the Christmas tree. I open up boxes and boxes of ornaments, and I am always surprised to see some that I had forgotten about, a few make me smile, and others make me a little teary eyed. Every year I add to my collection, to me it is like adding to the joy of life. By now you can guess that I am rather sentimental about these ornaments. I always think about Christmas past, and people that I love, including those who are no longer with us.
Last weekend I spent two days decorating the tree. I had bought special ornaments to commemorate my twin granddaughters’ first Christmas. We had the traditional teasing, as my son-in-law chuckles at my extravagant tree. You see, he is a minimalist kind of guy with a mother-in-law who believes that there is no such thing as too many ornaments!
Well, Wednesday evening I came down the stairs and I had the shock of my life. I saw my beautiful tree on the floor! I am amazed that I did not hear the crash; but there it was, broken ornaments all over the carpet, and the carefully placed tinsel now tangled up with the light strings. Just at that moment my daughter and son-in-law walked through the door. They were mortified to think that one of their dogs might have knocked the tree down. We all knew that that was not the case, and that it was much more likely that I did not do a good job of securing the tree to its stand. But they were worried, and I was upset at the loss of my priced ornaments.
After a few minutes I came to my senses. I felt terrible that my sadness over the ornaments had made them feel bad. I tried to reassure them that as much as I like my “stuff”, that is all it is, stuff. The last thing that I want, especially at this time of the year, is to make my family feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in my home. The ornaments are things, beautiful and priced, but still only things. They make me think of people I love, but they do not substitute them. I reminded myself that things, beautiful as they may be, never are as important as people.
This is a key lesson. How often do we catch ourselves valuing objects more than people? Do we see our clients as dollar signs rather than individuals with needs? Do we treat our employees as if we owned their soul, rather than as the valuable colleagues that make our lives better? Fairness and considerate should be our most important principle. As business owners, as well as human beings, we must not forget that things can be replaced; people, not so easily.
And the good news is that I did not lose as many ornaments as I first thought, and that my most beloved ones, including the barrister ornament that I got the year I became a lawyer, survived the ordeal!
Last weekend I spent two days decorating the tree. I had bought special ornaments to commemorate my twin granddaughters’ first Christmas. We had the traditional teasing, as my son-in-law chuckles at my extravagant tree. You see, he is a minimalist kind of guy with a mother-in-law who believes that there is no such thing as too many ornaments!
Well, Wednesday evening I came down the stairs and I had the shock of my life. I saw my beautiful tree on the floor! I am amazed that I did not hear the crash; but there it was, broken ornaments all over the carpet, and the carefully placed tinsel now tangled up with the light strings. Just at that moment my daughter and son-in-law walked through the door. They were mortified to think that one of their dogs might have knocked the tree down. We all knew that that was not the case, and that it was much more likely that I did not do a good job of securing the tree to its stand. But they were worried, and I was upset at the loss of my priced ornaments.
After a few minutes I came to my senses. I felt terrible that my sadness over the ornaments had made them feel bad. I tried to reassure them that as much as I like my “stuff”, that is all it is, stuff. The last thing that I want, especially at this time of the year, is to make my family feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in my home. The ornaments are things, beautiful and priced, but still only things. They make me think of people I love, but they do not substitute them. I reminded myself that things, beautiful as they may be, never are as important as people.
This is a key lesson. How often do we catch ourselves valuing objects more than people? Do we see our clients as dollar signs rather than individuals with needs? Do we treat our employees as if we owned their soul, rather than as the valuable colleagues that make our lives better? Fairness and considerate should be our most important principle. As business owners, as well as human beings, we must not forget that things can be replaced; people, not so easily.
And the good news is that I did not lose as many ornaments as I first thought, and that my most beloved ones, including the barrister ornament that I got the year I became a lawyer, survived the ordeal!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Fusion Marketing: What is It?
Fusion Marketing sounds kind of esoteric, but it is nothing more than collaborating with another business in order to increase sales.
Ideally fusion marketing works best when you find another business that has the same customer base and similar target market. For example, a store that sells wheat grass juice, fruit smoothies, and other health related drinks can form a great marketing partnership with a vitamin and dietary supplement store. The two businesses have the same type of clientele, and their customers have very similar interests.
The following steps should lead you to an effective and successful plan:
Sept 1: Find a partner who has a similar client base but isn’t a direct competitor.
Step 2: Brainstorm together about the type of offer that you both want to make to your clients.
Step 3: Write a letter of agreement. This document can be simple, as long as you both agree about what you will each do, and what each will get.
Step 4: Execute. Write the offers (coupons, etc.), plan the way it will be disseminated, how you will communicate it to your own clients and to the general public.
Step 5: Combine each other’s mailing list and communicate to both groups.
Step 6: Keep the bargain. By this I mean, honor the coupons or offers that the other business has distributed, and be responsive to the other business’s clients.
Step 7: Evaluate. Follow up with your clients to see if this has been of benefit to them, as well as with your marketing partner to see if it is working well for that business.
Step 8: Continue to market to both sets of clients.
And there you are, that is fusion marketing, a simple but effective idea with an exotic name.
Ideally fusion marketing works best when you find another business that has the same customer base and similar target market. For example, a store that sells wheat grass juice, fruit smoothies, and other health related drinks can form a great marketing partnership with a vitamin and dietary supplement store. The two businesses have the same type of clientele, and their customers have very similar interests.
The following steps should lead you to an effective and successful plan:
Sept 1: Find a partner who has a similar client base but isn’t a direct competitor.
Step 2: Brainstorm together about the type of offer that you both want to make to your clients.
Step 3: Write a letter of agreement. This document can be simple, as long as you both agree about what you will each do, and what each will get.
Step 4: Execute. Write the offers (coupons, etc.), plan the way it will be disseminated, how you will communicate it to your own clients and to the general public.
Step 5: Combine each other’s mailing list and communicate to both groups.
Step 6: Keep the bargain. By this I mean, honor the coupons or offers that the other business has distributed, and be responsive to the other business’s clients.
Step 7: Evaluate. Follow up with your clients to see if this has been of benefit to them, as well as with your marketing partner to see if it is working well for that business.
Step 8: Continue to market to both sets of clients.
And there you are, that is fusion marketing, a simple but effective idea with an exotic name.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Tip of the Day: Don’t Waste Advertising Money
On the same vein as previous posts, it is important to understand the purpose of an ad, and that is to sell sell sell. Advertising professionals sometimes are too focused on creating clever commercials. The purpose of an ad is to create a need, to persuade, and to inform so that prospect will want your product. An ad shouldn’t be just amusing and entertaining, its sole purpose should be to get the sale, if it charms the public while selling products, so much the better; but make sure that the ad creates a need, otherwise you will be wasting your money.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Getting Results Not Just Reactions
Lets say that you have come up with a clever sales campaign. You try it out on your friends and relatives and they all love the story line. They think it is witty and darn right funny. They all congratulate you on your ingenuity.
You try it out on the public, and you get the same reaction. People send you emails telling you how amused they are. The whole town is using your catchy phrase. People call you to tell you how much they like the ads. You are feeling mighty proud of yourself about now. But what has it done to your business’s bottom line? If what you have gotten is reaction from the public, rather than results, then all you have accomplished is a boost to your ego, not your business.
You may argue, and you would be right, that the whole town is talking about your business when they use that memorable phrase! And your business’s name recognition has increased tremendously. Certainly that is a very enviable position to be in. Who wouldn’t want such a fantastic outcome? But the fact still remains that goodwill is good, but what you want is goodwill and money in the bank! Make sure that your witty efforts do not overshadow your product or service. Remember that you are not in the copy writing business (unless, of course, you actually are!) You are in the business of selling your product or service, and that is what you want flying out the door.
You try it out on the public, and you get the same reaction. People send you emails telling you how amused they are. The whole town is using your catchy phrase. People call you to tell you how much they like the ads. You are feeling mighty proud of yourself about now. But what has it done to your business’s bottom line? If what you have gotten is reaction from the public, rather than results, then all you have accomplished is a boost to your ego, not your business.
You may argue, and you would be right, that the whole town is talking about your business when they use that memorable phrase! And your business’s name recognition has increased tremendously. Certainly that is a very enviable position to be in. Who wouldn’t want such a fantastic outcome? But the fact still remains that goodwill is good, but what you want is goodwill and money in the bank! Make sure that your witty efforts do not overshadow your product or service. Remember that you are not in the copy writing business (unless, of course, you actually are!) You are in the business of selling your product or service, and that is what you want flying out the door.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Should we be Fearless?
Some motivational speakers talk about being fearless. How we need to be without fear in order to succeed. We hear the rah rah of the presentation and become convinced that all we have to do is be unafraid and we will master the world.
Well, I have a great deal of respect for fear. I don’t love it, but I can absolutely understand its value. I see no great virtue in being fearless because to me it means not truly understanding danger, and if we do not understand the peril that we are facing, we cannot fight it effectively.
To me being fearless is being foolish. Would you not be afraid of a roaring lion blocking your path? Would you not be scared silly if you had to enter a burning building? Of course you would! Fear is a very valuable emotion. It is built into our very being for the simple reason that we need it in our lives. Without it we would not survive very long.
But the fact that it is such a useful feeling doesn’t mean that we always have to give in to it. Fear is valuable because it makes us stop and think. Sometimes there isn’t a whole lot to think about. If we see a boulder coming straight at us, it is time to get out of the way. But when we let irrational fear take over our lives, then we waste energy and opportunity.
Sometimes fear is so strong that we feel totally helpless. We become paralyzed by it, and we allow it to control our thinking and our actions. When we feel this way, the best thing to do is to put one foot in front of the other and start moving. I am not writing figuratively here, I really mean this. There have been times in my life that I have been paralyzed by fear. It is almost as if I am under a spell of dread and I cannot move. The way I have broken that spell is by the simple act of taking a step forward. Just one little step; that is all it takes to shatter that nasty hex. Once I am released I can evaluate the situation from all angles.
Lets think clearly about the problem, can the obstacles be overcome? How would we do that? Is it prudent? Is it a risk that is well worth taking? Or is the boulder about to crush us? Life is full of risk. Getting out of bed in the morning is already a risk. But some risks are well worth taking, while others are pure disaster. Properly managed fear, and not the lack of fear, is the key to conquering our world.
Well, I have a great deal of respect for fear. I don’t love it, but I can absolutely understand its value. I see no great virtue in being fearless because to me it means not truly understanding danger, and if we do not understand the peril that we are facing, we cannot fight it effectively.
To me being fearless is being foolish. Would you not be afraid of a roaring lion blocking your path? Would you not be scared silly if you had to enter a burning building? Of course you would! Fear is a very valuable emotion. It is built into our very being for the simple reason that we need it in our lives. Without it we would not survive very long.
But the fact that it is such a useful feeling doesn’t mean that we always have to give in to it. Fear is valuable because it makes us stop and think. Sometimes there isn’t a whole lot to think about. If we see a boulder coming straight at us, it is time to get out of the way. But when we let irrational fear take over our lives, then we waste energy and opportunity.
Sometimes fear is so strong that we feel totally helpless. We become paralyzed by it, and we allow it to control our thinking and our actions. When we feel this way, the best thing to do is to put one foot in front of the other and start moving. I am not writing figuratively here, I really mean this. There have been times in my life that I have been paralyzed by fear. It is almost as if I am under a spell of dread and I cannot move. The way I have broken that spell is by the simple act of taking a step forward. Just one little step; that is all it takes to shatter that nasty hex. Once I am released I can evaluate the situation from all angles.
Lets think clearly about the problem, can the obstacles be overcome? How would we do that? Is it prudent? Is it a risk that is well worth taking? Or is the boulder about to crush us? Life is full of risk. Getting out of bed in the morning is already a risk. But some risks are well worth taking, while others are pure disaster. Properly managed fear, and not the lack of fear, is the key to conquering our world.
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