A New Take on SMART Goals

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With the New Year fast approaching, almost everyone I know is thinking about what they want to accomplish next year.  Though few express it, I believe there's a bit of overwhelm in the air as we all go about this ritual of committing to goals that will help us better ourselves, our businesses, our health, our surroundings. Why the overwhelm?  I think we feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the process for the very same reason we find ourselves on the brink of abandoning ship on many of our goals before we accomplish them - they are things we think we SHOULD do and not things that we truly WANT to
do.  Let's turn the overwhelm into overdrive!

What if we made our goals about making shifts that truly build on our strengths and cultivate new habits that support our growth?  What if we kept our thoughts about ourselves positive?  Just because there's something you could do better or something else that you need to start or stop doing altogether doesn't make you a miserable person or a failure if you have to go at it more than once. Be kind to yourself on this journey!

As I'm putting my goals in place for 2012, I've decided to not only make them SMART goals, but to make them energizing goals. I truly want to achieve these goals because they're MY goals - they mean something to me, I know that achieving them will make me feel great and open my mind to fresh possibilities.

Here's a new way to look at SMART goals:

Specific/Simple:  Be specific, but keep it simple.  Don't be tempted to make things more complicated than they need to be.  We can change the world by starting with our own little piece of it. If gaining control over your paperwork happens to be one of your goals, "getting more organized" isn't a goal...it's a wish.  Commit to a system that will help you operate more effectively.  For example, each time you return from a networking event, immediately enter the contact information and pertinent notes for all the people you met into your database.  Then file or toss the cards. No piles of business cards all over your office and wondering why you have them a month later.

Measureable/Meaningful:  Why track something that doesn't have a real impact on your life?  As you think about your sales goals for the New Year, quantify absolutely everything.  How many appointments do you need to gain one new account?  How many new accounts do you need each week to meet your goals for the year?  What will it mean to your life and your business to meet your goals?  Think about all the benefits, not just the monetary ones.  How will your life improve when you're not buried in mounds of paper and worried about what you've forgotten to do?

Attainable/Authentic:  Here's where the SHOULD's should be tossed out the window.  Not only do your goals need to be attainable, but for you to succeed, they need to have heart.  Your heart.  What do you truly WANT?  What will make you feel successful, satisfied, confident, worthwhile?  Authenticity is the key to unlocking your greatness.

Relevant/Rejuvenating:  If your goal is really important to you, you'll find a way to achieve it.  And because you begin with the end in mind, getting there will be half the fun!

Time-Based/Timeless:  Funny about us humans...we're so time-conscious, if we don't give ourselves deadlines, we can just procrastinate ourselves out of doing something.  Either we do it by MM-DD-YY or we assign it the "whenever" designation.  We all know that doesn't work.  Give it a date and make it something that will make an impact well beyond the foreseeable future.  Maybe you want to shed a few pounds or exercise regularly each week or start an IRA.  Achieving those goals can impact your life forever.

I know we can achieve what we really set our minds on!

To Great Success in 2012!


     

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Get Social!

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Social media continues to rise as a key component of overall marketing strategy.  Great time to get started if you haven't already...chances are your competition has!

Check out this report.

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How to Build a Successful Sales Team

Becky McKinstry, owner and founder of Open Lines Training visited with KTVB's Carolyn Holly today on her "It's Your Business" segment.  Check it out!

Training Your Sales Team

Top 5 Ways to Beat the Holiday Momentum Busters

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Yes, Santa Claus is coming to town, but I highly doubt that his bag is full of new clients for us…no matter how good we’ve been.  Don’t be lulled into believing this is the time of year to slow down and kick back.  This is actually the perfect time to kick your business up a notch or two!

1. Close all the business you can before year-end.  What have you done to make a compelling case for your prospects to see the advantages of buying now?

2. Make sure the pipeline is full going into 2012.  Have you checked in with your existing clients to see how satisfied they are with your product or service?  If there was a problem, did you swiftly and courteously correct it?  Have you asked for referrals?

3. Take an objective look at your systems and processes.  Do they support your business-building efforts?   Are opportunities to provide value and say ‘thank you’ to your client base part of your process?

4. Check your attitude.   How do you respond when you get a ‘no’?  Are you focusing on the right stuff and truly hearing what your clients need?
 
5. Write down your goals and dreams for next year.  What do you need your business to look like in order to create the life you love?
 
Use the last few weeks of this year to your advantage, and start 2012 prepared for the best year ever!

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The Giver Mentality

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How do you sell your products and services?

Are you getting the results you want?

Do you work with strategic partners who serve the same target market?

How do you add value?

Do you know how to be a good referral partner?

It all comes down to giving more than you take and focusing on relationships instead of selling.    

Remember to ask people what they need and how you can help them.

Remember to share information with your clients that is pertinent to their business.

Remember to say thank you....
thank you for your business...
thank you for the opportunity to earn your business...
thank you for the referral...
thank you for thinking of me...

ASK

LISTEN

SHARE

APPRECIATE



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It Doesn't Have to Be So Hard

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I meet with clients all the time who are struggling with the very systems that are supposed to make their lives easier.  They've got CRM's, smartphones, processes, tracking mechanisms, calendars, reminders, you name it...and they still feel more overwhelmed and less organized than ever.  Technology is great, but technology overload can be paralyzing.  The best systems in the world won't work for you if you don't use them.

My suggestion is to stop and take a good objective look at two things:  1) what details are critical for you to manage in order to be productive in your business on a daily basis, and 2) how do you work best?  I'm a visual person, so I need to have my most important tasks and projects right in front of me when I'm working.  I use a combination of high tech and low tech solutions...writing down certain details cements them for me.  Some of my colleagues think it's funny when I break out my old-fashioned planner, but hey, it works for me.

As we all cram more and more into already packed schedules and sometimes cluttered minds, it's important to keep the things that can be simple...simple.

A great friend and mentor of mine shared this tidbit with me some time ago, and it pops up for me almost daily.  Maybe it will help you.  When you're responding to an ever-changing list of shifting priorities, details to be managed and other demands, evaluate them using this criteria:  What's ESSENTIAL?  What's EFFECTIVE?  What's ENOUGH?

Put your energy into what's essential and effective and enough to support your workstyle and business.

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Are you thinking about starting your own business?

 

According to the US Census Bureau, more than 18 million people in the US are self-employed.  But the SBA reports that only about 44% of new businesses survive four years.  Why do most people take the leap into business ownership?  

Given the state of the current employment situation in our country, people who have lost their jobs often feel they would create a better situation for themselves if they were in control.  They are burned out on the restrictions and lack of freedom that most traditional jobs offer.  And the illusion of security, that exists when you work for someone else, is just that…an illusion.  There are no commitments in the “at will” employment community, and benefits that companies once considered a cornerstone of their cultures, are disappearing because of rising costs. Aside from freedom and control, probably the number one reason people decide to start their own business is because they offer a service, or they’ve invented a product that they’re passionate about.  And the only way they can engage in their craft is if they’re independent. Our economy and our psyche are totally ready for the courageous individuals who take the plunge to bring to market their unique take on a service or a new product that could potentially create more revenue to pump up our local larders.

How can they prepare themselves?  They may make the best product, or have the most innovative service and of course, they know their product or service inside out and backwards.  But if they don’t know the business basics, they will end of up part of the 56% that don’t make it beyond four years.  A must read for anyone contemplating starting their own business is The E-Myth Revisited.  Author Michael Gerber explores the difference between working in your business – what you do.  And working ON your business – how you do what you do.  This is the information that not enough of the 18 million take the time to check out, and contemplate, and incorporate into their business plans. 

Yes, you may have invented the next best thing to sliced bread, but if you don’t have systems to run your business…if you don’t have a marketing plan and a method for executing it…if you don’t have a clue how to sell (and the thought of selling makes you feel geechy…), recognize that if you want to be one of the elite 56%, you should first assemble a team of professionals who have the experience and passion to do the things you aren’t trained to do or interested in doing.  So you can continue to invent the next best thing…and the next…and the next.

If You Build It, They Will Come

We’ve all experienced this dilemma. You have a new prospect for your product or service, and you’ve had an initial meeting. Hopefully you learned something about your prospect’s problem and the perceived consequences to him or her if the problem isn’t solved. You believe you can solve it.

Now what do you do? You don’t want to annoy them by calling everyday, but if you don’t stay in contact on some regular basis, you don’t stand a chance of earning their business. So, what do you do?

First of all, don’t give up. Most people do after reaching out to their prospect only one to three times. The fact is, 50-80% of all new business is developed after the fifth, sixth or seventh contact. The key is to make the right kinds of contact with your prospect that focus on building your relationship with them.

Think of ways you can provide value to your potential client. Have you read an article that is related to their problem? Share it. Maybe you know of another business that needs your prospect’s product or service. Introduce them. Know of a networking event that would expose them to business opportunities? Invite them.

Focusing on the relationship with your prospect will position you as their business partner and a perfect fit when they need a solution that you can provide.

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Rest, Recharge, Revitalize!

I am so fortunate to be able to spend my days doing work that doesn't feel like work. Connecting with and helping other people is as natural to me as breathing, and I couldn't survive without it. I'm grateful for this passion I was given, and for the wonderful people that come into my life on a daily basis.

I am guilty, however...sometimes those closest to me...those who most feel the repercussions when I get so deep into a project that I forget to eat...have to take me by the shoulders and lovingly remind me to "stop now" and take a break already. Reluctantly at first, I heed the message. Then my logic of course kicks in and I remember that I'm really not going to give my best to anyone else unless I give to myself first. Ah, thank goodness it was a wonderfully productive week and it's Friday!

Seize the weekend, my colleagues! Take care of you so you're ready for another round come Monday. Whatever you find restful, do it. Whatever recharges your batteries, plug into it. Whatever revitalizes your passion for your work, reconnect with it!

You bring the spark to what you do like no other person in the world. Stay fired up!

Photo by Bill Longshaw:
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=341

Go Ahead...Jump Into the Fishbowl!

If you haven’t started using social media to market your business, don’t wait another day. Even Facebook has evolved from a way to connect with old friends and collect farm animals to a dynamic business-to-business marketing tool, a way to announce new service offerings with lightning speed, see what your competition is up to in real time, and research prospects and potential employees at virtually no cost to you, except for your investment of time. We’ll discuss that in a minute…

Social media guru, Jeff Bullas, has amassed some staggering statistics on the use of various social media platforms. Would you believe…

• One in every nine people on Earth is on Facebook ( This number is calculated by dividing the planets 6.94 billion people by Facebook’s 750 million users).
• More than 250 million people access Facebook through their mobile devices.
• More than 2.5 million websites have integrated with Facebook.
• 30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook each month.
• YouTube has 490 million unique users who visit every month (as of February 2011).
• If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 3rd largest (after China and India) and 2x the size of the US population.
• 80% of companies use social media for recruitment. 95% of them use LinkedIn.
• 71% of all companies use Facebook for their businesses. 39% of all companies use blogs for marketing.

(For more, read Jeff’s entire article here.

LinkedIn is a must do for businesses and is typically viewed as the ‘professional’ social media site, although Facebook is becoming more of a player with the advent of ‘brands’ and ‘companies’. YouTube allows you to produce your own video marketing messages and Twitter is like a mini-blog…you share what’s on your mind (hopefully, pertinent information) 140 characters at a time (that should keep you focused!). Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Twitter, and haven't found it to be as effective for businesses as blogging and keeping an updated LinkedIn presence.

Now...back to the time element involved in all of this. While social media should be a component of your marketing strategy, be careful not to make a career of it. Just like surfing the net, it can be addictive and time-sucking if you don’t manage yourself appropriately. The point of using social media, as with any other marketing tool, is to create interest in your business...leave your prospects wanting to know more about your company and what you do. You want your profiles and postings on the sites you use to drive traffic to your web site and entice people to contact you.

So, if you’ve resisted jumping into this 21st century practice which I like to call ‘fishbowl marketing’, think again. How else can you potentially reach a Super Bowl- sized audience with the click of a mouse and not spend a dime? Have fun, make it count and let us know how it works for you!

Slaying the Social Media Dragon

Where on your schedule does is say update blog, create a business Facebook and check LinkedIn updates? If you are like most businesses who have just ventured into the social network maze or have been struggling with it for a while, finding the time and the topics to keep up can be a challenge. At Open Lines Training we have recruited an expert to get us up to speed and make sense of the current social media highway madness. Patricia Geesaman, Marketing and Content Specialist has taken on the challenge to keep the flow of information coming out to you in short and concise bytes. She is also offering her expertise as a content specialist consultant to help businesses get up to speed on this crazy mass media train ride. Look for fresh new postings every week. Watch for news of how to be a member of the boardroom, upcoming training workshops and helpful tips to help keep your customers interested. If you are ready to slay the social media dragon, email  patricia@openlinestraining.com to request information and share your social media stories. Since social media is here to stay, we just as well get good at it!

Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces in Processes
Evaluating processes is a good way to see what is missing in your business. Look at every area and make notes of the strengths and weaknesses. Patterns start to emerge with scary consistency that show in most cases the patterns are tied directly to the business owner or manager's own strengths and weaknesses. This is where an objective point of view becomes very important. Bring someone in to review some of the areas you have concerns about and get a different viewpoint or suggestion on how the process could work better.  This creates a well balanced business floor plan that can be tweaked and improved upon as you grow. Don't be afraid of change or moving forward to try something new. Not everything may work, but in the long run your business will keep a competitive prospective and adding the types of services that matter to your customer base.