Entrepreneur interviewed me to get the six simple steps to maximize productivity by 500% and it only takes 5 minutes a day. I reveal the time management secrets from our late founder, Chet Holmes, in his book The Ultimate Sales Machine.

Originally Chet learned these strategies while working for Berkshire Hathaway Vice-President Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s business partner). He noticed Charlie’s time was maximized in every way and once he adopted the practices of his billionaire boss he found the secret to mastering time effectively. Chet always used to say that majority of businesses are terrible at time management, and if he could see how we waste it with our phones today he’d be utterly shocked.

To hear the full interview only takes 15 minutes press play below. It could be the best 15 minutes you spend this year if adopted with PIG HEADED DISCIPLINE AND DETERMINATION.

You can also read the steps below!

BUT FIRST. Good advise is contextual. Would you like to talk to a real human about how to grow your business? That’s what we’re here for, to help you grow faster, better, smarter! Schedule your own breakthrough strategy call where we find you a breakthrough in your business in under 20 minutes, click HERE to get your complimentary session!

SIX STEPS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY 500% 

Six proactive steps to time management can transform your day. They take five minutes to do and can double the amount of results you get daily. The problem is not whether or not these steps will work, because they will absolutely work. The problem is whether or not you will fully commit to doing them, repeatedly. The key to time management is commitment to the following six steps:

Step One: Touch it once 

How often do you pick up something on your desk and say, “I have to take care of this, but I can’t deal with it right now”? If you do that a few times per day with a few different documents/projects/tasks, by the end of the year, you will have spent an entire month touching and rereading information without taking action. So, if you touch it, move it to the next step. If you want to see how often you waste time, each time you pick up something, put a red dot on it. After you have three red dots on a piece of paper, you begin to feel pressure to do something and move on. If you touch it, take care of it.

Step Two: Make lists, but stick to the six most important things 

When we conduct this time management seminar, we ask how many people in the audience make lists. Practically everyone does. People often have lists with 25 to as many as 40 items on them. They are proud that their lists are so long and that they are so busy. Further investigation quickly shows them that long lists are the perfect way to be busy, but not productive. When you have a long list, your energy is focused more on trimming the list than it is on being productive. Each day, pick the six items that will produce the highest level of results, put them on your list, and finish all six things by day’s end.

Step Three: Plan how long you will spend on each item 

You’ve started your day by making a list of the six most important things. That took two or three minutes. Now take another minute to plan how long each item will take or how long you will dedicate to the items that are ongoing. When we conduct this workshop, the people with long lists usually find that they can have an incredibly productive day with only six hours spent on their six key items. Most people who use these steps find they get more important work done in less time because their time is focused on the most productive tasks.

Step Four: Plan when 

Now that you know how much time to dedicate to each task, you need to plan when you will do them. In addition, you must build in time for the reactive mode. For example, if you are a sales manager interrupted by frequent “got a minute” meetings, plan a fixed time when you will accept those types of meetings. Otherwise, unless it is an emergency, do not allow people to come to your desk and ask if you’ve got a minute! Think of any top executive you know. Can you simply call them up, or do you have to schedule time with them? Many top executives plan their day down to the minute. Everything is done according to a schedule, including time for “got a minute” meetings. Scheduling time is the key to time management.

Step Five: Ask the results 

Few people are highly productive. People like to have items on a list, so they can cross off the items. But that’s not enough. The things that produce the best results are generally the most difficult. Thus, they get left off of the list or are scheduled at the end of the day, causing them to get bumped to the next day…and the next…and the next. Schedule important tasks in the beginning of your day. Cold calling or trying to get appointments with key prospects or clients are the things that produce the best results. However, they often get pushed off by average salespeople. After you make your list, ask yourself if the items on it are the ones that will produce the most results.

Step Six: Will it hurt me to throw this away? 

Of all filed information, 80% is never referred to again. After hearing this time management idea, I began to throw away four out of five of the items I used to keep. It’s been 10 years, and I cannot think of a single time where it has hurt me.

Making The Training Stick

Human behavior can only truly be affected in two ways: Repetition and direct involvement. You can agree intellectually that these six steps will cause a productivity increase, but until you practice them (direct involvement) and continue to use them (repetition), your behavior will not change.

Common wisdom is that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. My experience is that it takes years. But for now, if you can stick to this program for just 21 days, you will be forever reminded of its power, and you will be more likely to use these important steps.

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A MANAGER’S DAY

8:00 – 8:30am Plan day; have quick look at staff’s planned day.

8:30 – 9:30am Work on strategy to overcome our new, most frequently heard objection.

9:30 – 10:00am Create a standard promotional piece or standard letter that addresses the problem.

10:00 – 12:00pm On sales call with Bill

12:00 – 1:30pm Lunch with important client, Smith

1:30 – 2:00pm Miscellaneous

2:00 – 3:00pm Got-A-Minute meetings

3:00 – 4:00pm Review “Six Musts of Marketing” for the month

4:00 – 5:00pm Work on improving systems

5:00 – 6:00pm Meet with Boss

Question: How much of this day is proactive?

Answer: All but 90 minutes

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN! Write down your top six RIGHT NOW!

Want to share them? Comment below!

with love and light,
Amanda Holmes
CEO Ultimate Sales Machine

P.S. Did you see this earlier? Good advise is still contextual. Would you like to talk to a real human about how to grow your business? That’s what we’re here for, to help you grow faster, better, smarter! Schedule your own breakthrough strategy call where we find you a breakthrough in your business in under 20 minutes, click HERE to get your complimentary session!

“Retailers are really going to have to get smarter about how they use technology because we’re in a retail apocalypse right now,” says Amanda Holmes, CEO of Chet Holmes International. Many consumers are forming purchase decisions online based largely on peer reviews – this could spell death for salesmen who refuse to adapt to current buying trends. Amanda reveals her sales conversion strategy, and explains the concept of the ‘Buyer’s Pyramid’ which is detailed in her late father’s book, The Ultimate Sales Machine.

To hear the full interview listen here:

How has the retail apocalypse affected you? Please feel free to comment!

with love,
Amanda Holmes
CEO Chet Holmes International

P.S. If you like what you hear, you can always take advantage of our latest opportunity to have your very own Growth Session with a Chet Holmes Growth Coach. Learn how you can get 9x the results from your marketing and sales, click HERE!

Studies have shown that superstar salespeople spend 60% of their time focused on building rapport with a prospect, way more than the average sales person. What better way to gain their trust than to release a natural “feel-good” chemical and make them laugh! I happened to be searching LinkedIn last week and I came across a fantastic LinkedIn group called “Brilliant Ads.” I took the most hilarious ones just for you because…

1. Seeing these massively successful campaigns will give you some good creative muse for your next marketing campaign.
2. I’ve been using these pictures as a sales tool to send to my potential clients to break the ice, crack a good joke, and win some rapport through text message, facebook chat, and email. (I even put #8 in a proposal right before the pricing to soften them before the close).
3. Because I find these hilarious and I want you to enjoy them as well

How can you do something like these ads in your next campaign…

The Funniest Insurance Ad Ever. Can you create a picture and caption like this for your company?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Can you capture the perfect picture that puts your buyer in urgency, pain, or laughter? This Diamond company did all three.

Can you use the holidays to post something seasonally funny? Welcome to the scariest day of the year…

Educate your buyer about why you’re better than your competition! Even something as simple as this, highly effective! (Notice how many likes this got on LinkedIn, almost double what all the other posts received).

Can you create something that’s innovative and grabs attention? How many employees do you have in the field? Did you ever consider using their cars as billboards? #guerillamarketing

Can you come up with a creative place to put your ads where people haven’t seen them before and find it clever?

McDonalds took thinking out of the box to a new level. What out of the box thinking can you create in your marketing mediums?

HILARIOUS. This is the one I’ve been using in my emails and proposals to potential clients… “P.S. I saw this ad a couple days ago on LinkedIn and found it amusing. I think it’s a great analogy of what our work will do together… All you need is [insert what you will give them] and it changes everything. ;)”

What clever merch can you place your company information on? I’ve been keeping this stick of chapstick for years because it tastes amazing and the provider that put their information on it has been on the top of my mind years later because of it. Where can you place your information where people will continue to see it for years to come?

Who is your target market? Can you speak in their language? Jacoby&Meyer knew millennials liked emoji’s and this campaign has been a huge hit for them.

Hah. Too funny. Be clever and remember laughter is a great way to gain rapport with clients. The difference between superstar salespeople and mediocre is their ability to build a lasting relationship.

If you’re looking to spice up your marketing material, or find more compelling ways to close more sales download our chapter that changes lives from our New York Times Best Seller The Ultimate Sales Machine. Or if you’d like to speak to someone about growing your company faster, better, smarter, sign up for a 22 minute strategy call with one of our growth specialists.

Love and light,

Amanda Holmes
CEO -Chet Holmes International

P.S. Have YOU ever put together a clever campaign? Tell me about it below in the comments box!

In anticipation of our upcoming webinar 4 Step-By-Step Strategies To Win 42% More Business, we thought we’d share a sneak peek at one of the strategies we’ll be covering—HOW TO CREATE A GREAT SALES SCRIPT.

This concept will be addressed in greater detail in the webinar (you really want to hear this sales script delivered LIVE by an expert in order to grasp how ridiculously effective it is, but we’ll do our best here just in writing). That said, any enterprising CEO should be able to implement the concepts contained solely within this post to huge benefit in their company. In fact, for greater ease of implementation we’ve included a download at the end of this post containing a blank template for creating this kind of killer sales script in your business today.

But enough preamble, in the words of music producer Berry Gordy, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus!”

What follows is the sales script used by the salespeople of a 1.5 Billion Dollar home-building company in Mexico—BEFORE CHI got involved.

THE PRE-CHI SCRIPT:

SALESPERSON – Hi, this is Pedro Gomez from X Company. I would love to come talk to your employees about buying a home.

PROSPECT – Homes? No thank you. We’re not interested.

END SALES SCRIPT.

That’s basically what they were saying.

Train wreck…

Their solution to the resulting low rate of appointment setting was to pound away at the phones with the hope that maybe ONE business owner SOMEWHERE would be mildly interested.

At CHI we’re all in favor of pounding away at a sales effort, but we also live by the maxim: work SMARTER not HARDER—and this was not an example of working SMARTER.

BUT THEN AGAIN, MOST SALES SCRIPTS ARE NOT.

Our experience is that most sales scripts look like the one above. Such a script accomplishes three things—none of them particularly useful.

1. It lets the prospect know who you are. OKAY.
2. It tells them what YOU want. BAD. Hint: they don’t care what YOU want. What’s in it for THEM?
3. And it opens the door for the prospect to say NO immediately. VERY BAD.
4. If a sales rep does manage the sale from here, he/she deserves a medal—it’s going to be an uphill battle against a foe that is in control and LEADING the whole time.

Oftentimes this limp script is all the sales rep is provided. After that they’re left to their own devices while in poor strategic position and with poor tools. Good luck, buddy.

ENTER the strategic, SMARTER approach…

THE CHI SCRIPT:

By contrast to the three weak accomplishments of the previous script, this new script accomplishes 11 carefully thought out, strategic objectives:

1. It lets the prospect know who you are. OKAY.
2. It positions your company as well respected in its field. GOOD.
3. It only opens the door for the prospect to say, “Yes.” And does so REPEATEDLY. GREAT.
4. It focuses on THEIR needs. Not yours. GOOD.
5. It positions your company as altruistic and outwardly focused—trustworthy. GREAT.
6. It educates the prospect (allowing for objectives 7, 8, 9, and 10). EXCELLENT
7. It builds rapport (educating builds rapport while selling breaks it). GREAT.
8. It allows you to reset the prospect’s buying criteria in your favor. GREAT.
9. It keeps the prospect INTERESTED. GREAT.
10. 10.  It positions the salesperson as a knowledgeable expert. GREAT.
11. 11.  And finally, it makes the Call To Action a breeze. RESULTS!

Here’s how it’s done…

FIRST, A WORD OF CAUTION

Don’t use this script on the WRONG PERSON! Every word of this sales script has been painstakingly chosen, and pitching it to the wrong audience will absolutely ruin its effectiveness. Who is the RIGHT AUDIENCE you ask? ALWAYS PITCH THE PERSON WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO SAY, “YES” WITHOUT ASKING SOMEBODY ELSE’S PERMISSION! If you pitch what we call a “gatekeeper,” chances are they have the power to say, “No, we’re not interested,” but not the power to say, “Yes, we’re buying!” The best you can hope for is that the gatekeeper will try to get you in front of his/her boss. Then you end up with the gatekeeper pitching YOUR script.

WITH NO PRACTICE.

WITH NOTHING INVESTED IN THE OUTCOME.

AND PROBABLY IN LESS THAN THIRTY SECONDS.

Don’t do it! If you want to know more about getting past these gatekeepers, click HERE.

With that essential warning out of the way…

HERE IS THE SMARTER SCRIPT:

SALESPERSON – Hi, this is Pedro Gomez from X company. Are you familiar with us?

PROSPECT – Yes/No.

SALESPERSON – Okay then you should know (or already know) that we’re the largest homebuilder in Mexico.(This lets the prospect know who you are, and also why your company should be respected—objectives 1 and 2. We’re off to a good start)

Now the reason I’m calling you is because we recently commissioned a study of issues facing Mexico and how that’s going to impact you and your employees. (Objective 4, focus on THEM and THEIR needs)

Are you interested in making your employees more secure, less stressed, and more effective on the job? (Again objective 4)

PROSPECT – Uh, of course. (Remember how quickly the prospect said “No” before? This time we don’t give them that option—objective 3, get them saying YES. On that note, what is a question that you can ask right away in your sales scripts that the prospect CAN’T say “No” to? Remember: the best way to close a sale is for the prospect to close themselves)

(Side note: who is leading this conversation? With that last question we passed the ball to the prospect, but they have no choice but to pass it right back)

SALESPERSON – That’s where we can help. You’re probably aware that Mexico is emerging in several areas as a leader in the world market. Since our company is one of the largest companies in Mexico (Objective 2), we feel it is our responsibility to assist this country in any way we can. (This establishes our company as both altruistic and trustworthy, accomplishing objective 5. Now watch as we keep the prospect saying “Yes,” and continue to LEAD the conversation with another question the prospect just can’t say “No” to)

Are you interested in making Mexico a stronger nation if it doesn’t cost you anything to do it?

PROSPECT – Uh, yeah, I guess. (Objective 3 again—what self-respecting Mexican citizen can say no to this?)

SALESPERSON – I’m sure you’re aware that there are government programs that make it so almost every employee you have can own a home. (This is where the sales script begins to educate the prospect. Education based marketing is an incredibly powerful and advanced tool—that we’ve developed into something we call a Core Story—that deserves a whole blog post unto itself. For now we will say only that this approach accomplishes or enhances almost all of our previously established objectives, particularly objectives 4-10)

PROSPECT – I didn’t know that. (But it’s an interesting piece of information, right?—objective 9)

SALESPERSON – Oh it’s a fantastic opportunity for individuals and also for the entirety of Mexico. See we work closely with various government agencies (objective 2) and now have a program that educates you and your staff about the growth of the Mexican economy, why you should have more pride in Mexico, and how almost every employee can afford now to own a home. (Objectives: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Perhaps you get the picture and I don’t need to point out all the different strategies at work in every line. From here on I’ll mention just the highlights)

You see, if your employees own homes, they are more tied into the job, and need to keep it even more. Do you like keeping good staff around?

PROSPECT – Well, yes, of course. (ANOTHER YES. It’s almost too easy at this point…)

SALESPERSON – Then what I’d like to do is make this program available to your entire staff. Here’s how we do it. You send out a memo and make an announcement to each staff member. We will supply the announcement and memo (See how we leave nothing to chance here? We do all the work for the prospect, but more importantly we’re in complete control. This makes the call to action SIMPLE. People have a tendency to go where there is the least resistance. So we make it as easy on them as possible—objective 11), then we come by at lunch and also after work and talk to the staff. You win from this as people who own their own homes are better citizens, better employees, more stable and more dependent upon their job. Does that make sense to you? (By now you surely don’t need us to point out how this line actively contributes to objectives 3-11. Instead I’d like to guide your attention specifically to objective 8—resetting the prospect’s buying criteria. Two minutes ago this prospect had no buying criteria and was absolutely uninterested in us selling houses to his/her employees. By educating him/her however, we’ve completely changed his/her perspective on the matter. Now the prospect sees what’s in it for him/her. Through educating your prospect—which also accomplishes objectives 7-10 if the information is good—you can give criteria to buyers who had few buying criteria beyond price, and you can change the buying criteria of more knowledgeable buyers into criteria that are favorable to your company)

PROSPECT – Yes, it does. (How can they say no at this point? They have much to gain and all the hard work has been done for them)

SALESPERSON – Great, then we could get in there next week and get started. I’ll get you over the announcement and memo. (All that’s left is to iron out the details)

END SCRIPT.

It should be obvious that strategically and tactically the second script blows the first script out of the water. Remember the salesperson using the first script, stuck in poor strategic position with no tools at his/her disposal? At CHI we don’t believe in sending salespeople into the front lines of capitalism empty-handed; as the second script should demonstrate, we want them armed to the teeth.

RESULTS

Nobody can say that any sales script is effective 100% of the time, but it should be obvious that our script was far superior to the one that the company previously utilized. As you might guess, the results reflected this. Along with other tools we provided, this exact script was responsible for the homebuilding company landing Walmart as a client—dream client. In fact, in total, our efforts for this particular company increased sales to the tune of 700 million dollars over two years.

We want you to have these kinds of results.

Below you’ll find a free download of the template used to create this STRATEGICALLY SUPERIOR sales script. If you like the information in this blog post, feel free to share it on your favorite social media platform(s) and/or with anyone you know who might benefit from it.

Also consider subscribing to our blog. We’re in the process of implementing a new initiative concerning blog posts, and future entries promise to be packed full of concrete and actionable tools to help you succeed.

TEMPLATE DOWNLOAD

Cheers,

The CHI Team

In celebration of my father’s life, here are a couple of free videos for you to enjoy:

The Exact Sales Script Chet Used to Get to the Most Successful People in the World

Now that I’ve shared these with you, I’d love to know, what’s your favorite inspiring quote? Leave it in the comments section below.

With love,

Amanda Holmes

Effectively utilize customer data to improve revenue streams.

Change is a constant, but the pace of advancement for organizations has increased as technology for businesses, clients and the general public continues to drastically advance.

Along with a lack of preparedness for change, organizational inflexibility was another major concern held by top business executives surveyed by the Boston Consulting Group and reported by eMarketer. Consider dedicating extra resources to dealing with these problems, as well as using professional consulting services to help orient your business toward success.

Changing the culture, physical operations and attitude of a company all factor into the most common challenge that businesses are unprepared for: large-scale transformation. Overall concerns about being able to adapt also apply to common concerns expressed about properly using customer data and successfully acting on digital channels. Specifically, a majority of executives in the retail and technology fields were concerned with efficiently utilizing customer data.

Customer data is not an unsolvable puzzle, however. Companies can collect a wide variety of data, especially when it comes to e-commerce, according to retailing website Evergage. Frequency of visits, method of payment and previous transactions can all be tracked by Web-based retailers.

Creating criteria to mark how engaged customers are is a good start, allowing businesses to segment and target potential and returning clients based on their behavior on a company’s website. If a customer has repeatedly viewed the same item or service over a long period of time, an automated suggestion for a similar product with a lower price point can encourage purchasing.

Combining data streams can also increase efficiency. Evergage gives the example of matching a customers overall click​streams with total transactions or website visits. When data shows that patrons are frequently visiting your website and going through various pages but not making a purchase, sending a survey asking about what they’re looking for can help identify deficiencies and drive purchasing.

There are many things that business owners must manage within their operations. One of the most important is finances.

There are many things that business owners must manage within their operations, the most important of which is finances. Money that flows into and out of a company needs to be carefully maintained. Even the tiniest of slip ups can cost businesses big time. Additionally, smaller enterprises don’t have the same financial resources as their larger counterparts, so taking close care of cash flow is vital for small business success.

Fortunately, there are ways that, as an owner, you can expertly manage your company’s finances. Whether it’s applying for business loans or adopting certain practices and procedures to save money, your organization’s cash flow can remain steady and grow with the right strategies.

Loans continue to grow among smaller firms
Loans are a great way for small businesses to get the money they need to keep their operations running. The recently released Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp and Pepperdine Private Capital Access Index revealed that smaller companies are increasingly applying for loans. Of the 1,251 smaller enterprises that responded, 58.4 percent applied for bank loans in the second quarter of this year, and 54 percent of that group were able to secure the financing.

More small businesses are looking to obtain loans in the coming months as well. The report revealed that approximately 28 percent of companies plan to apply for loans this quarter. These results show that many organizations are relying on financing options to propel their operations forward.

Money saving tips can do the trick
Not all businesses need loans. There are many that can keep their cash flow going without reaching out for financing. While loans are a great option for companies that need them, as an owner you can also adopt money-saving strategies to curb excess spending and keep finances in order.

There are many moving parts within a small business that typically require special software programs to run efficiently. Mashable recommends that you looking at using free or cheaper technology to get the job done. For example, using Google for email as well as calendar management can be done for free or at minimal cost. There are also customer relationship management platforms that can be downloaded for free, such as Zoho CRM and Insightly.

Additionally, the Internet is an extremely effective tool for small businesses as it gives you access to a wide range of materials to learn more about leading a small enterprise. For instance, you can search for a certified business consultant in your area to get advice on how to manage your company more efficiently.

Mashable also suggests handling marketing your business in-house whenever possible. Outsourcing this particular task can not only be expensive, but it gives you less control over your brand positioning strategy as well. Bringing it back into your company allows you to carefully manage how you are reaching potential customers.

With a little know how and determination, you can expertly oversee your small business’ finances to ensure your operations will continue to grow in the future.

Technology can be used to bring about positive change, and this is especially true for businesses.

Technology is everywhere. People are constantly using smart phones, tablets and computers to conduct a variety of daily tasks and while these devices have become essential for nearly every individual, they’re even more critical for businesses.

Chances are that, as an owner of a business , you’re probably already using one of these devices on a daily basis. This technology can help make operations easier when it comes to expanding your marketing reach, managing company finances or seeking out new employees.

Technology is increasingly making a mark on the business world, so it will become extremely important for any size organization to embrace what mobile devices and computers can do for them. Incorporating their use into your business growth plan will allow your organization to thrive and stay ahead of the competition.

Mobile is growing fast
A few years ago, seeing someone using a smartphone was a rare sight. Now, almost everyone has one of these innovative mobile devices., including perhaps yourself and your employees. Fortunately, you can use this technology to greatly benefit your operations and increase your business success. According to a report from AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, mobile technology, including smartphones and tablets, is changing a number of things for smaller companies . Owners experience greater productivity for themselves and their staff members, as business can be conducted from anywhere, not just in the office.

Applications developed for customers to download is another advantage of mobile technology, according to the report. This gives patrons the chance to connect with your business at anytime, which boosts consumer satisfaction and engagement.

But perhaps one of the greatest benefits of smartphones and tablets is that they allow companies to save a significant amount of money. The report reveals that organizations using these devices have saved approximately $67.5 billion a year by implementing mobile technology into their daily operations.

“Clearly, we are at a point where entrepreneurs now look first to communications technologies and innovations for solutions to improve productivity, cut costs and better manage and engage with customers,” said SBE Council President and CEO Karen Kerrigan. “That is time and money that can go back into driving sales and innovating in the marketplace.”

Cost-efficient technologies bring advantages
As an owner you may concerned about the cost of implementing software and hardware for your company. Tools such as the cloud and ecommerce technology can seem as though they would be too expensive to benefit your business. However, there are viable options available when it comes to adopting low-cost technology.

The New York Times highlighted several companies that were looking to incorporate software to make their operations easier. Each organization took the time to conduct research and find software development packages that fit their needs. By doing this, they were able to increase their sales and even make their entry into foreign markets. With some dedication, planning and time, you can find the technology that works for your operations, helping you to bring about the business success that you want.

Every small business owner knows that planning ahead has its advantages.

Every small business owner knows that there are advantages to planning ahead. Whether crafting a plan to recruit better employees, developing a solid marketing strategy or improving delivery of products and services, having a plan in place benefits companies of all sizes.

One of the most important aspects for smaller enterprises is creating a strong business growth plan. As an owner, if you don’t have a roadmap in place to outline where and how you want your operation to grow, things can quickly fall out of place. Therefore, it’s essential to develop a growth plan that puts you, your employees and your organization on the path to small business success.

By following these strategies and incorporating them into your plan, you can ensure that your company has the tools and methods it needs to grow strong.

1. Outline what’s most important – One of the first steps to creating a solid business growth plan is to write down what is is most important to you and your operations. Business 2 Community suggests mapping out these points and consider where they belong in your growth plan. Additionally, write down any goals you want to achieve along the way before moving forward.
2. Don’t be an overachiever – As an owner, you already have ambition and motivation, which are two great qualities for growing your small business. However, don’t let that drive overtake overtake your ability to be reasonable. Small Business Trends suggests that you have to let go of trying to do everything when it comes to overseeing important aspects of your company. Let your employees manage daily operational tasks while you focus on what’s in front of you.
3. Look toward your company’s future – You’ve heard the old adage that says, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” The same rings true for your enterprise. Small Business Trends recommends that when coming up with a growth plan, think about the company you want, not the one you have now. This will give you a better glimpse into what you and your employees need to do to get where you want to go as an organization.

You can also invest in professional business coaching to hash out your ideas for the future and learn how to implement them.

4. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help – Although you are in charge of your small business, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help when you need it. B2C suggests connecting with other owners and networking with professionals in your industry to gain more insight into how you can grow your company. Also, using business coaching services can provide you with a better view into what your enterprise needs to do to realize the success you want.

Every small business wants to grow, and with these methods, you can see your operations flourish.

There are over ONE BILLION websites currently active online. That means you are competing with ONE BILLION other sites for visitors attention. And to make it more difficult, even if you finally get them to visit,

55% of visitors spend fewer than 15 seconds on your website. (Hubspot 2014).

That means for all the money you spend to host it, maintain it, market it, pay for ads to advertise it… More than HALF leave without a chance to read even one whole sentence. So the QUESTION is… How are you going to GRAB the attention of your potential buyers, and KEEP them longer than 15 seconds?

The answer: focus on THEM, not on YOU. Most businesses talk about themselves. Their products. Their services. Who THEY are. If visitors are leaving your site in 15 seconds, the only way you’re going to grab them is talking about their pains, their needs, and their desires. This concept is the KEY to building a website that will unseat your competition.

STOP SELLING, START EDUCATING.

Take this example, if you went to a coaching company’s website and the page started by saying:

“Our coaching team is made of professional, executive coaches that focus on generating results for clients. Our coaches are highly trained, often running successful businesses of their own, have experience and have proven themselves to be the best at creating a context for results.

If you want to learn more, schedule a free talk here.”

How interested are you? Has anything caught your eye? Would you stop to read more? Did you even read the few sentences that were there or did you already skip over it?

Now what if you saw this instead:

Why is Coaching Important?

Michael Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympians to ever live.  He has 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them GOLD.  In fact, he has DOUBLE the number of gold medals than his closest competitors.

So WHY does someone who has mastered his trade ranking in the top .001% in the WORLD, have 3 coaches to help him? Why? Because top performance requires a strategic edge, and his own eyes can’t provide the perspective of an outsider. That’s why 75% of Fortune 500 CEOs have an outside expert to guide them in their businesses.

So What are the 4 Things that a Coach Does for You?

1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Having someone hold your feet to the fire to make sure you’re executing, progressing, and meeting your goals. Do you do a good job already? Wait until you experience the progress achievable with a true master at your side.
2. EXPERTISE:Knowing that someone else has already had success in what you’re trying to accomplish, of course it’s going to be an easier process if you have someone with experience to guide you. 
3. GIVES FEEDBACK:A true coach doesn’t tell you what you want to hear.  A coach is there to tell you what you NEED to hear, to improve. Period.
4. SEE THE BLIND SPOTS:As long as you are working in your business, there will ALWAYS be blind spots –things you don’t know that you don’t know. You need an outside observer who has been there before to look over your shoulder and bring your attention to what you DON’T see.

Want someone to revolutionize your world? Metrix Global concluded that executive coaching typically has an ROI of 500-700%. We employ and train the World’s BEST business coaches to: 

• Keep you and your organization working ON your business, not just IN it
• Dramatically increase your marketing results to create massive new opportunities
• Develop your businesses Core Story™ to stop just selling and start solving your prospects needs
• Create a Superstar sales team, processes and tools to ignite revenue growth
• Achieve massive results in any business impact area you can think of! 

Schedule a No Obligation Consultation TODAY

What’s different about this example from the previous one?

1. It’s engaging from the beginning.
2. It educates the buyer on why they would want coaching even if they didn’t know they needed it in the first place.
3. It adds credibility by referencing third party data.

We switch this conversation for business owners CONSTANTLY. We incorporate this principle into webinars, websites, and sales scripts. Talk about your buyer, not you. Education based marketing is an unbelievably powerful tool at it’s finest and your website is a great place to start wielding it!

 MORE EXAMPLES

Here are some business owners and clients who have incorporated this key technique:

• http://www.earthkind.com/ -Click on the Learning Center to see Kari’s education portion, have you ever seen a rodent repellant company be so thorough in their education? This is one of the techniques they used to go from $800,000 to $2.4 million in 8 months. That’s TRIPLE her revenue in less than a year! Educating the major distributors in the market made her Dream 100 strategy highly successful in a very short amount of time.
• http://medicaloptics.ie/ -Look at the links to the left, a wonderful array of Free reports that add VALUE unlike any other Optician. Doug said his sales increased last year by 20% which is a much better growth than the Irish economy which was only 3.4%. He credits his new online ad campaign using his free reports to provide value for his visitors, entice them to come to his site, and read further, instead of talking solely about his business’ product and services. No other Opticians are this advanced in their marketing efforts.
• http://sorensenwealth.com/ Sorenson is a great example of someone who has really mastered this distinction. GREAT education. Financial planners do not normally provide this kind of value. Because of that he has a competitive edge above his competition and truly sees results from his website.

FURTHER EDUCATION

If you’re the type of business owner that likes to take the fast track and have an expert guide you, contact us to see where we can assist you to master this distinction and increase your sales. If you want to read more about education based marketing, and the power of a Core Story, you can purchase our New York Times Best Seller “The Ultimate Sales Machine.” Or download some more of our free education in our Training and Tools tab on our website.