3 tips to help you close the sale.

May 302012
 

make the sale, networking tips, communication tips, confidence in communication, building relationships, body language

 

Communication is more than words.   The tone of your voice and your body language are even more important than the words you use.   If a person you meet is outgoing, upbeat, and full of life, then you need to be friendly and animated.   If they speak loudly and use a lot of gestures, you need to be loud and demonstrative also.   On the contrary, if they are gentle and soft-spoken, they will feel comfortable with you if you are also a bit reserved.

  • Did you know that you are either create a feeling of security or a feeling of suspicion by your body language?   You should always smile when appropriate, and maintain a comfortable level of eye contact.   Looking at a person in the eye communicates honesty.   When a person refuses to look at you, it sends the message that they have something to hide.   You should also respect personal space.   Stand or sit close enough to communicate effectively, but not so close that they start to back away.   The point is that communication   includes your facial expression, your gestures, and the tone and inflection of your voice.   If you match and mirror the person you are meeting, they will feel comfortable and connect with you because you are like them. Do you do networking to help build your business? These are great points that will help you at any networking event.
  • You set others at ease if you have a degree of self-confidence.   You can increase your confidence by a little planning.   Have you developed a short, personal story that tells others who you are?   It may help you to write out a two-minute version of your personal story.   When you are confident, others will feel at ease. Everyone likes to be with people who make them feel good.
  • Finally, one of the best ways to make a great first impression is to focus on the other person.   People love themselves!   Asking great questions followed by positive affirmations is one of the best ways to connect with another person.

 

Whether in business, personal life, or other social situations, it really is good to know how to leave a great first impression, and it’s all about making others feel comfortable.

If you enjoyed this post, I would be grateful if you helped spread the word by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Thank you!

 May 30, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Growth ,  1 Response »

Are you practicing these 4 Steps to find your Ideal Customers?

May 232012
 

customers, ideal customers, firing customers, qualifying customers, grading customers, small business growth, service business growth

  • Step One:Define Your Clients: We all have clients that drive us mad. They might always pay late or complain and haggle over invoices or prices, wait until the last-minute to lodge important paperwork, put unnecessary demands on you, have questionable hygiene habits… the list goes on. The first step is to define your clients into 4 classes A,B,C & D class clients. The definition is up to you. You might also find an ‘A’ class client might be one that always pays a month late but never questions the price.
  • Step Two: Tell them where they rate: Send all your ‘A’ and ‘B’ clients a letter telling them that you appreciate their effort in the relationship, that you enjoy working with them and will always strive to do the best for them. Then send your ‘C’ and ‘D’ class clients a letter suggesting Continue reading »
 May 23, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Growth , ,  5 Responses »

Where does your Profit come from?

May 212012
 

profit is your purpose, profit, break even, break even point, focusing on profit, service coach, business coaching, fixed costs, cost of goods sold, gross profit margin 

The most important number in business is your Net Profit, yet how many of us look at this number when it comes back from the accountant at the end of the financial year and wonder how we arrived at that figure. One of the keys to creating a successful business is to constantly focus on the profitability in your business, in particular understanding what the main profit drivers are.

Few businesses rarely analyze the net profitability they derive from each of the different products or services they sell (and let me be clear that I am referring to net profit and not gross product). The exercise can be very revealing. When I have done this exercise with my clients they have frequently Continue reading »

 May 21, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Money , ,  1 Response »

The Key to your Small Business success.

May 142012
 

education, learn to earn, trial and error, positive mistakes, learning to run a small business, student of business

Education: “Education is the most powerful weapon”

What you EARN is equal to what your LEARN. Your  earning will never exceed your learning. 

Education NOT procrastination. Invest your time into Learning.  The key to your success is to always be in motion, continuing to improve yourself and your business. If your name is Jackson, your nickname needs to be Action Jackson.

A few ideas to help unlock to “Education” key: Continue reading »

 May 14, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Leadership ,  No Responses »

“7 Habits of Highly Effective People”-Powerful Lessons in Personal Change.- Book Review

May 092012
 

For starters this book ranks #64 as an all-time best seller on amazon.com. It also ranks #1 on amazon under the category of time management. Not only is this book a Service Coach best seller,  it’s a best seller period.

Stephen Covey first talks about the difference between character ethics and personality ethics. Prior to WWI most of the literature was based on character ethics as a foundation for success. Things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden rule. These were the basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character.

Shortly after WWII the idea of  success shifted from character ethics to personality ethics. Success become more of a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, skills, and techniques. Success became a symbol without substance. It’s the “get rich quick” scheme promising “wealth without work.” We look for shortcuts, expecting to be able to skip these vital steps in order to save time and effort and still reap the desired result.

Seven habits of highly effective people is about a new line of thinking. It’s principle-centered, and character-based approach to personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Steven Discusses how this done with an “inside out” method of change. “Inside out” means to start with self; to start with most “inside” part of self -with your motives, principles, and your character.

The “inside out” process is a continuing process of renewal based on the natural laws that govern human growth and progress. It’s an upward spiral of growth that leads to progressively higher forms of responsible independence and effective interdependence.

Wow, Coach Jason. What exactly does this mean? Simply put, it means that this book is for the business owner who understands that for things to change, first THEY must change.  And your first step to changing is buying and reading this awesome book.

If you enjoyed this post, I would be grateful if you helped spread the word by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Thank you!

 May 9, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Leadership, Time , , ,  No Responses »

What does it mean to be an Entrepreneur? Part 2. How to: Stop doing the things that hurt your business.

May 072012
 

entrepreneur, manager, technician, leadership, what it means to be an entrepreneur, business coaching, build a better business, time management

 

 

Part 1.

So, what does it mean to be an Entrepreneur? If you read my blog regularly you know that I love do discuss the topic of Entrepreneur. Everyone’s idea and definition of what an entrepreneur is different.

Part of me believes that there is a lot of glamour around the word “Entrepreneur.” For example if you are at party and  you engage in the typical small talk with someone you don’t know.  When they ask you the inevitable question “So, what do you do?” You might say that you are a business owner, a leader, or an entrepreneur. Personally my response to that question is ” I run a window cleaning business. ” I say it this way because I like to take the glamour and the ego out of it. Yes, I am very proud that I own a successful business and that I have been in business for 12 plus years, but that is not the first impression that I want to give to someone I just met.

I chose this picture above because I think there is some real truth to it. There is also some real humor to it. For example: the last slide on the bottom right with the fire fighter putting out the fire, is where some of the humor of this picture lies. “What I actually do,” at first glance in funny.

However, after I think about it, I completely disagree.

  • If you find that “What you actually do” is to put out fires all day, then you have a problem.
  • If you are the answer man for your employees than you have a problem.
  • If you are the problem solver for your business than you have a problem.
  • If your customers have to talk with you in order to get anything done, than you have a problem.

 

Choose your role as a business owner wisely. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on what we need to stop doing instead of focusing on what we should be doing. Stop doing the stuff that is non-essential to achieving your goals.

 

 

Part 2. How to: stop doing the things that hurt your business. What does it mean to be an Entrepreneur?

 

Redefining Your Role

In the beginning, every business owner must take on many tasks, including even sweeping the floor. But as the operation grows and matures, hiring others to take on responsibilities becomes critical to healthy growth.

Trap: Failing to redefine continuously you’re changing role in the organization. When that happens, you end up with much more than you’re able to accomplish efficiently. If the process continues, physical symptoms such as stress… high blood pressure… and depression can develop.

Solution: Take an honest look at your workload and identify tasks that you don’t do well. You may be digitally gifted but possess little financial savvy.

Or, you may be an excellent “people person” but hopelessly disorganized. The real measure of a successful business owner is in knowing when to complement his/her own skills by hiring others who can take over certain key roles.

Example: A client who had founded a newsletter for bankers saw the newsletter grow to the point where he had 12 full-time employees. As time went on, he found himself increasingly frustrated because the demands of being editor and publisher left him virtually no time to spend on sales and marketing. After rethinking the needs of the business and in order to assure the publication’s future, he decided to turn the editorial duties over to a trusted associate and concentrate his own time on sales and marketing.

That move immediately cleared the logjam of work on his desk… freed his mind from constant worry about getting everything done… and ultimately led to a growth spurt fueled by new, highly successful marketing campaigns.

Does this example sound familiar? When is the last time that you redefined your role and delegated some of your less valuable tasks?  Take action today and perform this exercise to help you to STOP doing the things that hurt your business.

If you enjoyed this post, I would be grateful if you helped spread the word by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Thank you!

 May 7, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Time , ,  No Responses »

7 Powerful Ways to Achieve Results through Personal Discipline

May 022012
 

time management, most valuable resource, delegation, stop blaming time, lack of time is not an excuse 

You know you have personal discipline when:

The business owner in particular will have the feeling of being in control of his life and destiny. And the feeling of achievement through personal discipline is very powerful.

Here are seven suggestions to apply personal discipline within the context of achieving better management of business operations and the more effective utilization of your personal time:

  • Delegate: Delegate activities to the staff with the appropriate skills. Manage this approach through an organizational structure and individual Positional Agreements appropriate to the size of the organization.
  • Prioritize: Prioritize your daily work by reviewing the next day’s important activities in a ‘to do list’ at the end of each day. You can maximize personal productivity by Continue reading »
 May 2, 2012  Posted by Jason Vance at 6:00 AM Leadership, Time , , ,  No Responses »