A Powerful Business Networking Lesson Every Business Owner Must Learn

I belong to a business networking organization many of you may be familiar with, BNI, which stands for Business Networking International. I’ve been a member for more than five years.  It never ceases to amaze me how so many small business owners and supposed solo-entreprenuers just don’t get it when it comes to business networking.

We recently had a member decide not to renew his membership due to what he said was a lack of business generation from the chapter.  I was appalled by his claim as he spent most of his year in the chapter proclaiming he was too busy and had too much work and didn’t want or need any referrals.  I was not upset at losing him as a member as in addition to him receiving few referrals from other chapter members, he provided even fewer. He just didn’t know how to play the game.

A couple of weeks later I heard another member of our chapter stand up and proclaim the same thing, that he was too busy and didn’t need any referrals this week.

As a fellow business owner, who just happens to coach other business owners to more effectively run their business, I just don’t understand this approach to business.
I can understand being too busy to take on another client in the short term, but I absolutely can not understand not wanting to meet someone who may have a need for what you do. It may be an immediate need, but more likely the business which is going to come from that referral today is going to generate business revenue in, at best, sixty to ninety days, and at worst, never.

I’ve had referrals given to me in my BNI that have taken eighteen months to generate real business. But that business only was able to generate business because in those eighteen months I was working on building a relationship with that other business owner who was referred to me.

The business lesson of the day is to never, never, never, never, never, ever turn down the opportunity to meet someone new who may, at some point in the future, be able to use your product or service, or whom if they get to know, like and trust you and what you do, may be able to refer you to someone they know.

 

 

From my youngest older sister

My youngest, older sister, who is in the process of planning to circumnavigate the world in a sail boat when she turns 60 in 2008, sent me an e-mail today and I have to share it.  It read:
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My latest quote from a friend who sent me a bunch of pictures of life in the 1950s…….

“The best age is when you are old enough to know better and young enough not to care.”

That’s exactly how I feel at this moment.
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Congratulations, Marlene on your decision to follow your dreams! You have my full supprt.

Skip

p.s.- I’m off on a two day mini-vacation starting this morning…be back Tuesday. Enjoy!

Business Development Never Ends If You’re Serious About the Growth and Success of Your Business

Tonight I reinforced another powerful business lesson every business owner needs to understand and practice. That lesson is that business development never ends.  This sounds fundamental. This something you would imagine every business owner understands. Most do, but translating that understanding into action seems to get caught in up in the net of inertia.

Even though I teach and coach other business owners to invest time to work ‘on’ their business, many times I too get stuck ‘in’ the business. That’s why its always good for a business coach to spend some time with another business coach and consultant. Tonight was one of those nights.

I’m in a business networking organization called Business Network International (BNI). I’ve been in BNI for five years. Every Tuesday morning I get up and tell 25 other business owners about my business and what a good referral would be for me.  Yet, I learned for the third time in going through this similar workshop that I’m not working it as effectively as I should be and need to get better at it.

So, this weekend, I am going to spend some time creating a series of sixty-second messages to deliver to my BNI Networking group over the next three months.  These messages will be geared at generating business that will germinate in six-to-nine months as my present marketing funnel is generating enough business for the iimmediate future.

What about you? Is your business marketing setup to generate qualified business three, six or nine months into future? If not, I suggest you do as I and begin crafting the messages and the media to make it happen. Today would be a great day to start.

 

Progress for Clients in the Focus Coaching Program

We had two great teleseminar calls this week for my Breakthrough F.O.C.U.S. Coaching program. I’m excited about the feedback I’m receiving from the program participants and am looking forward to officially launching this business coaching program as a full time product this fall.

The feedback I’m receiving on the business coaching and the focus strategies has been tremendous and after three weeks the gang is making outstanding progress.

Thus far fifty percent of those in the coaching program are reporting nearly a 50% improvement in their F.O.C.U.S. Score after just 4 weeks.  You can assess your present F.O.C.U.S. Score level by clicking on this link and completing a two minute questionnaire.

They are telling me the difference in this program is that they have made a commitment to themselves to step up and begin doing something different. They are learning that creating focus is not difficult once you make the decision.

One member of the program, Cameron, a CPA, after months of haggling over a decision to bring on his first employee in his first decided to do so after just one 30-minute coaching session with me.

Another, John, a small business coach and consultant, realized that he was overwhelming himself by imagining he had too many priorities. After a 20 minute coaching session he came to the conclusion he only had three core objectives to focus on over the next few weeks.

Two others, Bikas and Tracey, are shifting the focus on their own individual identities and how they see themselves so that they can accomplish more and lead themselves better. They have been diligently working the Focus Identity worksheet I introduced this week and are expressing delight in their beginning transofrmation.

I amazed at the individual and business results program members are reporting thus far after just four weeks and look forward to reporting even more in the weeks ahead.

Yoga Progress Leading to Better Business Focus

Yesterday morning I got up early and did something I haven’t done much of recently. I did my own private yoga session in my front patio from 6am - 6:30am. It was an awesome way to start the day. I know that and still don’t do it enough.

I had a breakthrough, too. The last couple of poses I did before my meditation were balancing poses where you stand on one leg in various positions. I selected two balancing poses (the tree and the standing bow).  For the first time in my almost ten years of practice, yesterday’s session was the first time I felt as though I could hold the balanced pose as long as I desired.

I was amazed. I wasn’t wobbly or buckling at any point. I focused on one spot on a tree across the street from where I was positioned and just kept breathing, it was so cool to be in control of that.  I can’t wait see how long I can hold the pose, yesterday in each pose on each leg, I held it for a count to 100.

There is nothing better for practicing focus than doing yoga and breathing exercises. I’m getting better every day. What about you? Want to learn how to create greater focus for greater business results, click this link?

Why Employers Aren’t Getting the Best Out of Their Employees - The Reason Is In the Questions You Are Asking

Jimmy Roberts of NBC Sports asking Bjorn Borg why did came back to Wimbledon this year - the answer “because its a very special place for me. of all the places I played tennis this one is above all others. Today, this year, was also special because of Roger Federer, yadda yadda yadda.”

What Jimmy Roberts really wanted to know was the same thing all tennis fans wished Roberts had actually asked Borg, “why did you stay away for all but 2 of the lastr 25 years?” but that’s not what he asked and so we never got the answer to that question.

In my executive business coaching I find that business leaders follow a similar strategy many times in interviewing subordinates on their performance. They beat around the bush and ask vague questions and as such get what a former coaching client of mine used to call “ibitta bibitta,” after the sound that comes out of the mouth of the employee when asked a question of supposed accountability. 

 It’s the type of answer that sends business leaders walking away shaking their heads in disbelief as to what they just heard. But they never follow up demanding a clear and specific response.

If you want to get the best out of your employees and build a culture of accountability and performance, you must ask direct and specific questions and set the expectation for the appropriate responses.

You can find other articles on business leadership strategies and building a championship team at my website.

 

 

 

Some Sales People Will Take Whatever They Can Get - Where’s the Real Value?

This is another in the UGLY category:

Was at a client today observing their operation on the first day of a new consulting project and I learned a lot.

When I got there they company principal and his partner were flipping through a new yellow page directory that had just arrived for a territory they do not cover. I asked them about the diretory and if they were in it.

They told me they are in a number of yellow page directories and just had a recent experience where they decided they were not going to renew their annual package for which they paid in the last year a total of $67,000.

Upon hearing that rejection, the sales person immediately dropped the price because they were on deadline to an unbelievable rate of $37,500.  My client blew a gasket and threw him out of the office for ripping him off the past few years at the higher rate.

In business its all about the perceived value from the customers perspective. If you’ve been charging a certain price and they are happy with the value they receive in exchange, there should be no question about moving forward in a continuing relationship. 

Sometimes businesses change and different decisions have to be made. The reason for the non-renewal in this instance had nothing to do with the previously perceived value but a changing business model that no longer required that level and type of advertising. So, the rate was a moot point because the medium no longer had any value to the customer due to the changing business model.

However, the sales rep in this instance, in not truly knowing, understanding or caring about his client’s business and strategy immediately did what most sales people do when faced with objections, they cave-in and immediately reduce their pricing, when that is rarely if ever the determining factor. Its always about value.

Now, this sales person has destroyed the advertising rate credibility and reputation for his entire company. What are your sales people doing? How are they responding to objectives?

They should always focus on value, never on price!

Customer Service is Getting Worse Instead of Better

It doesn’t happen often but its begining to happen more freguently these days. Today I experienced a small business customer service abomination.

Went to lunch with a colleague at a seasonal restaurant on the Hudson River across from Poughkeepsie, NY. I arrived today at 11:35am, 10 minutes prior to our 11:45am meeting time.

In the parking lot was another middle-aged couple meandering around the outside of the restuarant trying to figure out if they’re open for lunch. They asked me, and I said “I assume they’re open, I would think a seasonal restaurant on the river would want to take advantage of every day they could.”

After 10-minutes of waiting around, the couple leaves.  Five minutes later at 11:50am I notice a young gentleman emerge from the back sweeping the deck. I approach him and ask if they’re open for lunch. He gives me a blank stare and says in broken english, “ask her” pointing to a young woman just getting out of a vehicle.

I ask her at 11:50am what time they open for lunch and she says 12noon, I’ll be ready for you in about 20 minutes (which is going to be 10 minutes after they’re supposed to be ‘open’ for lunch).

My colleague arrives a few minutes later and we sit at tables outside the designated lunch area being set by this young lady.  Forty-minutes go by and at 12:25pm, s this young lady is posting the “Specials of the Day” on the white board, we get up figuring we need to change our location to get noticed and amble into the recently set table area.

She takes our drink order and when my colleague asks for some bread she says, “well, I’ll have to check, its Monday and we don’t usually have bread on Mondays because its right after the weekend, it depends on what last night was like. And besides, most people just use our bread to feed the ducks.”

We did get bread and in a prime example of the power of suggestion, promptly ate half of the bread served and feed the other half to the ducks.

Final note, we sat there talking ’til 2pm…only one other pair of people showed up for their lunch. So, effectually, they lost 33% of their lunch crowd today.

This place used to be one of the hottest summer time seafood restaurants in our area, and now with the waterfronts on both sides of the river being revitalized with newer, hipper and more proactive restuarants, this one is in trouble, obviously!

What is the owner of this business focusing on? Certainly not his business!

 

So Much To Do and Only So Many Hours in a Day

As I write this it is almost 11:30pm on a Sunday night. I’m already prepared for my week. I did my 45-minute FOCUS hour to get ready, and for the last two hours I’ve been writing. If you look at the posts below you’ll see that.

I once read an article by productivity expert David Allen titled, “You Can Do Anything, But Not Everything.”

It was one of those breakthrough articles that really connected with me. It’s helped me be a better coach, consultant and person.  Because so many of us are trying to do it “all.”  Someone, I’m not sure who, tried to sell us all a bill of goods that we could ‘have it all” and “do it all.” Unfortunately, that is a lie.

All of us must pick those precious few things that we think will make the biggest difference in our lives at the time, and let the rest go for another day.

Here are all the things I want to do that I’m struggling to fit into my schedule:

1) become proficient at playing the guitar;
2) get to a higher level of mastery in my yoga practice;
3) improve my focus and meditation to the next level:
4) write and publish book;
5) practice creative writing;
6) take an acting class;
7) improve my tennis game; improve my golf game;
9) reading books;
10) learning to speed read.

Each of those takes time. Being a solo-entreprenuer in the business of speaking, consulting and coaching and in the stage of still building a brand, its a challenge to fit it all in. And, my wife and I don’t have any children. It’s all I can handle balancing and maintaining a loving relationship and taking care of our cat, Sage.

Some thing has to be put on the back burner. As much as I’d like to do it all, I can’t.  So, I’m picking my top three things to focus on for the next few months, my guitar, my yoga and meditation, and tennis.

Each of those three will get significant attention each week. My guitar I’m committed to practicing at least 30-minutes a day, my yoga I’m committed to attending a minimum of two classes a week and practicing two other days at home for a minimum of 30-minutes and meditating a minimum of 15 minutes a day.  I want to practice my speed reading program at least 5 of 7 days for which I will need about 45 minutes. As for tennis, I want to practice at least two hours a week.

The only way to make this work is to schedule it in and give up wasting time in front of the idiot box (TV). Usually I don’t just sit and watch TV, I’m usually doing something on my laptop while the TV is on in the background, I believe that has to change for me to achieve the above outcomes, its worth it!

The rest is going to have to wait. Although I still think I can start creating the book concept and outline in my spare time. I’ll keep you posted on my progress as we move along. Wish me luck.

 

Doing What It Takes to Be Successful - Borg & Federer in a Class By Themselves - What About You?

Today is a very special day. For at least the last 27 years, and probably longer, I have spent this Sunday morning doing the exact same thing. 

I guess you could call it a tradition. I (and now with my wife at my side) watch NBC-TV’s “Breakfast at Wimbledon.”

Today was quite a day. My tennis world came full circle as it was 27 years ago that Bjorn Borg won his record fifth consecutive Wimbledon Mens’ Single’s Championship, and with Mr. Borg and his opponent on that 1980 summer day, John McEnroe, in attendance, Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive to tie Mr. Borg.

For me it was a very nostalgic day, seeing Borg and McEnroe together again, along with their other toughest competitor from that era Jimmy Connors also on hand.  I felt like I was 20 years old again.

Watching men compete in Grand Slam tennis tournaments is one of the most awe inspiring things I do.  No offense ladies, but playing the best of five sets can not compare to the best of three sets the women play at all tournaments throughout the year.  Playing a five-set tennis match has got to be one of the most grueling individual professional sports, right up there with the Tour De France or Ironman Triatholon.  But even those two events, I believe, you are basically competing against yourself and your own endurance.  A five-set tennis match has all of that, plus you have to overcome the best your opponent can throw at you.

Best of five-set tennis matches have the ebb and flow of the best theatrical dramas.  Every time you think someone is down and out and on their last leg, they get new life from somewhere only they know.

In that 1980 match when Borg defeated McEnroe in five-sets, Borg won the fifth set after losing the fourth set in the longest tie-breaker in history, an 18-16, 34-point marathon. Today McEnroe said something to the affect (I’m paraphrasing here from memory), “I took for granted that after winning four Wimbledon Championships, and losing that fourth set in that grueling tie-breaker, that he (Borg) would cave. I didn’t understand how dedicated and how comitted he was to being a Champion, and it cost me. We saw the same thing today from Federer when we all thought he was down and out.”

Few of us (myself included sometimes) are as dedicated and committed to being successful as we need to be. I find that in my coaching every day. Now I don’t expect everyone to invest their entire livelihood in one area of focus to the detriment of a balanced lifestyle such as a professional athlete, but people come on, at least show up in the game of life and business and make an effort.  I believe just basic effort is lacking and I just don’t understand.

I gave six people a tremendous opportunity three weeks ago to join me on a special journey to create the focus they need to achieve more amazing results than ever before.  And, yet few are participating at a level I expected.

Amazingly only about one-half have fulfilled my expectations thus far in terms of participating fully, which really consists of some very simple success strategies and completing a weekly update log to keep me abreast of their challenges and successes and where they need help.  There is an online Discussion Forum that a few people are using but certainly not to the fullest.

Oh well, we have our second conference call this Wednesday and we’ll see who shows up. I can tell you that the ones that are staying in touch with me seem to be making progress.

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