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.

Find Success From Within

We love the start of a New Year. It brings hope and energy and renewal to most of us. It is a chance to review what is important, how we spend our time and evaluate balance in the things that matter most. Often we get lost in the details of the day to day activities. We can be good at planning the priorities but how do we keep them in the right order? Often we get on the permanent schedule of other people's to-do lists and can't seem to get off. In the beginning of the day we have a perfectly executed plan that somehow gets derailed in the first hour. When we realize that success comes from within, we learn that all the plans and good intentions will not stick unless they are attached to our core values and dreams. If you are feeling frustrated and even lost it could be because you are going through the motions without really knowing why. Our WHY for doing what we do starts from within. Determine the authentic path that you once dreamed about and evaluate the key areas of your life like your career, community activities, family time, spiritual time and overall well being and see how they line up with that path. Going through the motions is not very satisfying if you are not looking at the bigger picture and long term goals. What you do today ripples through many of your tomorrows. Look at your eating habits, family time, TV time, and work time. How has the past affected today? Are you on track with your long term goals? Are you healthy, are you happy? What about your relationships, are they deep and caring or casual acquaintances? This year, take some time to soul search and re-prioritize what matters most to you. Get off the roller coaster of cramming in too much and stick to the things that build and achieve the lifetime dream stuff.

Re-Energize Your Business

There are a lot of ways to add energy to your business. First and foremost, be prepared for Change. The economy fluxuates, employees come and go, products and services are being updated or outdated and change is required for business to grow. The next thing on my list is Attitude, it affects everything in business. Ever notice how one negative person in your company can drag down everyone if you let them? Raise your awareness of the attitude atmosphere, is it healthy and fresh or polluted with negative vibes? Next, freshen up your company's Processes, maybe the old way of doing things is not the best way anymore. Can you be more efficient? Is there a different way to do things that makes more sense? Are you getting ideas from people who you share common goals with? Are you letting people or things stay in place longer than you should? Are you and your employees utilizing your strengths and doing things that you enjoy? Have you crossed trained to fill in if a position becomes vacant? Have you reviewed job descriptions lately? Now, let's add Enthusiasm to the list, do you still have it or has it been put on a shelf to gather dust with some of those great ideas you use to believe in? Becoming cynical is the number one enemy in business. It takes the life out of the dream. Gather up all the great stuff you believed in when you first started working and throw it back out there. Get up in the morning with full intentions of making things happen. Negative thoughts and discouraging emotions will prevent success. So raise your awareness, embrace change, stay positive and enthusastic and review your processes. Use these tools to re-energize the workplace and rock your world!

To Network Be a Information Gatherer

It's easy to find a comfort zone in networking. You show up, tell a few people about your business and call it a day. That kind of comfort zone probably does not give you the results you are looking for. Before attending a networking event, determine what you want to accomplish and who you want to meet that can help you grow your business. Networking works best when you find others who work with the same type of clients you do but is not a competitor. By working through the crowd and asking good questions you will discover those people who can help you and you can help them. Your referrals grow by 40 to 60%. A trusted referral is a warm market contact. The new relationship grows faster because someone they trust recommended you. Visit http://www.openlinestraining.com/ for training information.

Give Good Synergy

Effective networking is a learned skill. Often a networking event is dominated by people running around to see how many individuals they can dump information on. Talking fast is not the best way to network. Listening makes sense. Asking questions makes sense. Adding value as you work to build relationships makes sense. Connecting and gathering information is a good way to network. Organizing the information and staying in touch with the people you meet will add customers and referrals to your business. Evaluate your actions at the next networking event you attend. Spend time being interested in others. Make notes on the back of the their business card so you remember the highlights of the conversation. Schedule follow up calls to learn more about them and see if there is a fit for you to work together or refer others. Be on the look out for ways you can help others build their business. It always comes back to you and will build solid relationships along the way. Good luck as you add quality and information gathering to your next networking event.

Building Relationships in a Tough Economy
Attracting and keeping customers is an art. It requires us to get out of our own head and think more about the people who we want to attract to our business. If we use a networking event as an example, you start up a conversation with someone you just met. Did you find out about their hobbies, their families and something about their business before you started sharing information about you and your business? When our thoughts are dwelling on our own agenda of business, rarely do we leave a positive impression. To find out if a new contact is a qualified prospect for you, it is important that you learn as much as you can about them. Win-win situations are created when two people meet and find they have a service or product to share. Not everyone is a customer but everyone can be a referral source when you work to build relationships first. Leaving good first impressions starts with tonality and body language. Pay attention by raising your awareness in how you may be perceived. Ask friends to critique your tone if you come across to abrupt. Most people are not aware of how they sound. Next ask interesting questions that draw in a prospective client. Questions that help you learn more about them. Business today is based on the long term relationships we build. Make it a point to network everyday and give more than you receive. Go through your files and evaluate who would be a good referral for someone in your network. Your business will grow even in a tough economy when we work together to help each other.

Happy New Year and may it prove to be more prosperous than you expect. When our business or jobs are in question, we often panic and lose our way. Don't let that happen to you. Instead remind yourself of the goals you set and how much you have already accomplished. Learn to adjust to the changing times, watch expenses, run leaner than usual and don't give up. Have a brainstorming session on ways to grow business. Go find where your customers are hanging out. Now is the time to be proactive, efficient and productive. Be careful how much news you watch or read and make your own agenda to keep moving forward. There are many ways to market your business that are cost effective. Grow referrals, find industry partners and work your plan. Remember the reasons you do what you do. Don't allow outside influences to take away the things you have worked hard for. We often help companies to gain a more positive prospective and find ways to grow their markets. If we can be of assistance please call us at Open Lines Training 208-850-6526 or e-mail openlinesinc@msn.com.