THE POWER OF OBJECTIVITY

Can you remember the last time you received some form of communication from either a personal or professional connection maybe even via email and you thought to yourself: “What is that suppose to mean? I am not sure, I like the tone or content and don’t know what to do with this...?”

Or maybe you have an unhappy client that you are trying to dodge because you are unsure of how to diffuse the situation and make them happy again? Or a prospect that you don’t know how to proceed to successfully close?

Lots of different type of scenarios all with the same underlying current. What is the best way to move forward and what should you be doing next?

So where do you go for enlightenment? Do you talk to your partner/ spouse or maybe a friend or family member? Or even a potential business connection? And what kind of feedback are you thinking you might get from a person that is either very close to you or knows little about you and your circumstances?

Being an entrepreneur one of the toughest things is figuring out every step of the way without anyone else in the same boat! Whilst in a corporate environment, you have plenty of relevant people to help you identify the next best move when it comes to business strategy.

Unfortunately this ‘luxury’ does not apply, once you start out on your own.

Retaining an objective vision of the facts can be tricky when it is you and only your own interpretation of circumstances and best next actions.

I have seen people acting emotionally, leaving themselves open to substantial damage that could have been prevented if only they had requested some objective, qualified third party input prior to reacting without considering all aspects of the wider effects.

Get savvy and save yourself from potentially initiating wrong measures or missed opportunities due to lack of objectivity or emotional interpretation. We know, we all need it and better have the right person by our side to provide us with the second sober thought.

Happy Businessing!
Yours, Conny

QUIT PLAYING SMALL

In a recent survey, business women were identified as powerful individuals that could wipe the floor with their male counterparts if only they stopped trying to improve their own efficiencies as a way to improve their business success.

Women will continuously streamline their own processes, get trained and educated on whatever subject they are not very confident in, in order to increase the growth of their business.

As women, mothers and partners we have always had to be very resourceful within ourselves. This has been elementary in providing for and fulfilling all tasks demanded by our personal stakeholders. Naturally we are trying to replicate this mind set into our professional environments and this is where our male counterparts outsmart us.

They in turn have been ‘trained’ to use other people’s resouces and are happy to pass on all or any part of their workload if it helps them get rid of pile-on work tasks that keep them from focusing on immediate results.

This is the main reason why men are getting ahead in business quicker then women.  Men are naturally inclined to let others take care of areas they don’t enjoy or have no competency in. All the important tasks are taken care off while they can focus on their own areas of strength and passion.

So my fellow women preneurs, it is time to break the mold! Passing on part of your business processes to a qualified third party will free yourself, to bring in the BIG money. When it comes to business, you need to be selflessly selfish! Concentrate on your strength and fill the voids by collaborating with professionals who will get the job done in half the time, leaving you to do what you are great at.

This is the true meaning of efficiency!

Letting go isn’t a sign of weakness but proof of clever, savvy business sense. So go on girls, it’s time to quit playing small and start acting big.

Happy Businessing!
Conny

WHAT BLOODY RECESSION?

It drives me insane when I listen to business owners complaining how sales are down and how the bad economy makes it impossible to stay profitable. Yet I continue to witness cringingly how tens of thousands of dollars in revenue potential are passed by due to pure negligence, lack of training and/ or urgency by the sales force!

I want to share with you three real life examples of ‘The Sudden Business Death Syndrome’ that I have experienced only in the last two weeks. Bad salesmanship, no follow up, terrible listening skills and massive waste of company marketing dollars have been the cause for major loss of business opportunities.

Example 1.)
Lack of Motivation
A customer visited a new Toyota showroom in town to purchase a $25,000 truck. With an immediate need to purchase a vehicle, he met the sales person who referred him to their website instead.  The sales person did not take any details from the customer or spend adequate time to understand the exact needs, budget and timeframe the customer was looking for.

Well guess what? The customer went to Ford the following weekend and purchased a $30,000 truck because there the sales guy was helpful, considered and found what the customer needed. Toyota’s loss of an easy $30,000 revenue!

Example 2.)
Bad Training
At a trade show, a customer visits a potential supplier booth to explore the possible expansion of their services. The sales person at the booth launches into a fully fledged 20 minute spiel on products and company overview without once asking the visitor what her business is, what she is looking for or see how their portfolio would match to suit.

Again the sales person did not take down details or make arrangements to meet again. Instead he alienated the customer, wasted her time and lost massive revenue potential for a possible new sales channel. Order value approx. $15,000 per month!

Example 3.)
No Follow-up
A company looking to find the perfect promotional item, finally sees exactly what they have been searching for. Handmade ware from Italy that could be personalized with the company logo and details.

The shop assistant takes the business card and does a great job selling the concept and design to the customer. Two weeks after the meeting, the customer still has not been contacted to finalize their order and have now found an alternative due to the lack of follow up by the shop assistant. Initial order value approximately $5000!

It is not bad economic times that are causing businesses to hurt financially but the inability and complacency to close each sales opportunity as it presents itself. Therefore read & learn and get a tight handle on your sales process, regardless if you are a big company or a sole proprietor. With the right attitude there is tons of money to be made.

Happy Businessing!
Conny

MY V8 MOMENT

Do you sympathize when I tell you, that every once in a while I have a V8 moment? This is what I call it, when I did not do the obvious and it comes to bite me in the butt.

To give you an example, whenever I have a new connection and I arrange to meet with them, their contact details go directly into my Blackberry. Makes perfect sense, right? And every so often, I get busy or distracted and forget to update my phone with people that I am scheduled to meet.

Guess what happens when I urgently need to get hold of them to change our arrangements due to unforeseen circumstances? That’s right, I scramble! Now I am late and flustered and giving the wrong impression! It already puts me at a disadvantage which could have been so easily prevented if only I had done the right thing which would have taken no time at all.

This is when I have to hit my forehead as they do on the advert! How could I be so careless and not even check before I left the office?

It comes to show that having processes and systems in place and sticking to them religiously, will eliminate those horrible V8 situations! So why do we do it? Why do we set ourselves up for the self instigated sabotage?

It seems pretty silly that we know what works best, it has been proven, yet we are still not compeletely committed sticking to the process?

So I put it to you - lets reveal our V8 moments publically so that we may never default but stick to the things we know work so well! No more sabotage, no more excuses!

I want you to come forward with your V8 moment! Email me cmillard@mcgbusiness.com and I will provide you with the absolution to let go of past examples of bad behavior and promote the new and reformed YOU!

Jointly lets eliminate V8’s for a stress free better business future!

Happy Businessing!
Conny

PREPARE OR FAIL

In my career I have the opportunity to attend lots of events with a variety of speakers. It is always most surprising to observe, how few presenters are truly messmerizing and how even the most exciting topic gets boring, when it is badly prepared and never rehearsed.

Typically people pay good money to hear a specialist talk on a topic in order to educate themselves and deepen their knowledge on a subject matter. Courses, seminars, webinars and workshops, there are plenty of well paid speakers trying to deliver content, to expand the horizon of professionals. 

So how come that the quality of the delivery is so often very questionable and frustrating to the audience? I suppose this is a two folded answer:
1.) The presenter is highly qualified and technically minded but lacks the ability to speak at a normal level
or
2.) The presentation has been badly prepared, without a clearly defined path or objective and possibly never rehearsed. And yes, it shows!  It can be annoying to the audience and discredits the individual almost immediately.

In the first instance, you somehow can’t blame the speaker. However perhaps the question should be raised to the organizer for ensuring good quality content and delivery beforehand.

In the second instance I can think of a number of reasons why the presentation was not adequately prepared - lack of time, procrastination, maybe even due to lack of self confidence and/or lack of topic knowledge. Whatever the reason the speaker will allianate their audience and potentially damage their reputation.

The lesson to be learned here is simple. Get prepared! And this does not just apply to public speakers or lecturers but to all entrepreneurs as well.

Don’t leave it up to chance to deliver a strong message. Think well in advance about what you want to get across and than rehearse this with objective professionals to get it just right. Practice until it becomes embedded into your mind and feels like the powerful reality that you deliver. Now, enjoy how your audience will hang on your every word.

Suddenly your value can not be measured in dollars!

NOTHING BUT EXCUSES

Meeting so many business entrepreneurs all of the time, one commonality is becoming very apparent, perceived challenges or events are used as justified reasons why business cannot be done.

Some claim the bad economic times are to blame for slow or no business. Others declare that the Olympics have caused pretty much all business activities to stop. The next find that summer holidays are a tricky time to do business because everyone is away on vacation. A different group thinks that winter is too cold and dark for people to want to do business and autumn is a time when many seek sanity in warmer climates. And as for moms in business, lets not even get started on school holidays, children's sick days and ProD days.

Yes, lots of reasons why business development could be a challenge. So how about looking at creating a more sustainable business model whereby you will not be heavily affected by seasonal changes or perceived downturns. Impossible you say? Then it is time to find yourself a professional adviser who can show you how you can be sustainable in any market at any time of year.

So stop making excuses and start taking control of your business!

DO OR DIE - BETTER REPLY!

One of my pet hates in business is, when people don’t get back to you. You send nice emails following some great conversations and then.......nothing!
You have meetings with people at their request, you follow up and then.......yes, you guessed right, nothing!

You are ready to place a large order or want to make an inquiry on behalf of a client, or have a small question following a purchase you have made and then.........nothing!

I come across this time and time again and so do lots of my clients and friends.

So initially one can’t help but thinking, that it must be a personal thing. Maybe a business cultural thing, I must have missed during my immigration! Because where I come from, businesses will always (!) respond to you, it is not just good manners but plain decent business ethics.

What gets me the most is, that everyone talks about business slowing down, or not enough opportunities or not sure how to continue to grow. Well guess what, if you ever bothered looking into your Inbox and dealt with all the people within, you would be surprised about the value that is locked up right there!

So here is some food for thought for people who have come across this strange phenomenon that has taken hold of business on the West Coast, if this irritates you as much as it does me, lets make a pact! Lets set a new standard of good communication!

Because you never know; the person who is trying to communicate with you, could hold the key to something great, exciting and valuable and if not right away, then certainly in the future.

A HEAD OF THE GAME

I have just completed my certification as a Donald Trump Associate and I must say it was intense! It has been a steep learning curve and I have met a number of incredible people on the way.

The interesting thing was, that in an audience of about 80 people, one of our tasks was to stand up and briefly introduce ourselves. Everyone had about 30 seconds to state who they are, what they do and what their goals are. How do you think that went? One would imagine that 80 professional and educated people have got this simple task right down to a ‘T’. Likely that they would need to do this on a regular basis in their chosen fields.

Interestingly the majority had to write their introduction down and read it straight from a piece of paper. Others tried it without and failed to deliver a powerful or even coherent message.  This really surprised me. However I could see that lots of my clients are challenged with the same apprehension, struggling to clearly state the introduction about their businesses and benefits.

If this rings true with you, consider how important the first impression is and how you can set yourself apart from the rest of the competition with a carefully orchestrated and practiced introduction.  Take the time and understand who you are targeting, what your unique benefits are and why you are the perfect and only choice to new prospects.

This sounds an easy task however most people find it incredibly difficult. So if you are one of those people, take control now and if necessary get professional to prepare a strong and powerful message.

The first impression is everything!

Kicking it to you!

Wow, first week of the New Year already behind us and I am sure you, have been busy getting back into the swing of things. The time to put New Years resolutions into action, making things better, working smarter, living healthier, being more present, spending more quality time with loved ones, achieving, creating and enjoying. Phew!

Why do we think, we have to be able to do it all, and all at once? Who has been given us the impression that we must have the first million in the next 12 months? Life coaches and counsellors have never been more busy trying to patch people up, when they are not coping well, with all the pressure that they are either putting themselves under or feel from outside sources.

Being the best at everything, well that is just plain impossible! Being the best mom, wife, cook, hostess, business entrepreneur with the highest standards of a healthy, loving, intellectual lifestyle with a twist of perfection.

I ask you, how is this all going to be achieved without a huge pre-programmed f*** up?

So here is the cure for my clients this year:  We are carefully looking at the Must Have’s first. Setting priorities in the beginning and writing them down together, is the first step. How much time will you be spending on yourself, your family and your business?

Divide it up and then set realistic financial goals and business milestones. Make them timely and together review at regular intervals. With those identified, we then break down objectives on how to get there, how much of that we can do together and what external resources and relationships we need to put in place.

With accountability thrown in, support & objective advice, my clients will have a professional advisor to keep them on track as well as sane!

Make your business manageable and therefore enjoyable in 2010!
Kindest,
Conny

VALUE VS VOLUME

With 2009 coming to a close, you will receive plenty of advice from business advisors around the province to reflect on your business performance over the past year and plan ahead for the next 12 months.

I want to send a more concrete message to my readers to finish of the year and prepare for the forthcoming months. 

As a business owner, consider one thing most of all, do you want your business to deliver real value to your customers or are you in the game for the numbers only? 

This will be the most important factor when going into the New Year. If you are all about increasing volume only, you will loose the number one key ingredient for loyal, long-term customer relationships. If you think your clients don’t feel the ‘conveyor belt philosophy’ that some businesses offer, think again. Each customer is highly informed and has more choice then ever to take their business elsewhere.

So the pressure is on, to offer high quality deliverables such as your products and services AS WELL AS outstanding value and customer care. Only then will you stand a chance to retain your good clients and build a solid foundation with a first class business methodology.

To all your customers out there: Do not put up with half hearted efforts, poor service and time pressured delivery! If you have doubts about the value of a certain service, ditch the unsatisfactory expense and replace it with the value you deserve. You are worth it! 

Happy Prosperous New Year to you all!

Conny Millard

Part XVIII - Whatever Next

As truly entrepreneurial spirits who love to discover and explore, an opportunity presented itself in 2006 for us to try life in Canada for a couple of years. 

Making the most of the skill shortage experienced nation wide, we decided to put our idyllic life to the test by challenging everything we knew and seeking the adventure to come to the West Coast. 

Initially we decided to go for a little break, leaving behind anything we new and getting prepared to venture into some unchartered territories for us. At that time we both enjoyed great careers, a wonderful home and lots of friends and family around us.

However realizing that opportunities are there to be grabbed with both hands, we sold our house and made off to the self proclaimed most Beautiful Place on Earth. 

It can not be underestimated the impact such a move would have on everyone’s life! By now, back home we had both grown to be the go to expert in our chosen fields whilst financial freedom was within easy reach.

Having said that, we knew, that the more we were prepared to venture out and stretch our comfort zone, the more we would grow and enrich our knowledge and expertise even further.

So by coming to Canada, we had not only found the adventure and thrill of the unknown but soon we would realize, that now we were in the land of endless opportunities!

Part XV - Going It Alone - Almost

During my time as a political candidate, one thing really stuck out at me and that was the entrepreneurship of local small business owners.

I had the opportunity to speak to a number of different industries and sizes of companies during my campaigning. The passion and determination was incredible and fueled by what I experienced coupled with my husbands vision to own his own construction business, it was sealed - husband and wife team setting out to going it alone!

With his technical expertise and my background in sales and marketing, we figured to stand a pretty good chance of success. We knew little about the finer details of running our own business. The accounting side was a new challenge that I had to master and it is today that I wonder why we went about it in such a painful and long winded way!

I was determined to learn a Sage Accounting System to ensure our financial wealth was well managed and carefully controlled. It took hours upon days if not weeks and many very late nights to educate myself in the art of accounting. Something that easily takes years to perfect and should be left to the experts!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing however when you are very close to your own business model, sometimes you just can’t see the obvious solution to more efficient and profitable processes.

The dream of being your own boss, running the business the way you think it is best and getting the opportunity to do things your way, come with an inevitable trade-off:

No-one holding you accountable to the objectives that you set
Full responsibility for every aspect of running a business, even the tasks you may not enjoy or are no good at
Working with a partner who holds equal shares, trying to agree on the most simplest of things
Managing your cash flow to survive as a business and as an individual with bills to pay
Getting out and drumming up opportunities

As you well know my fellow entrepreneurs - the list is endless!

To be continued.......

Part XIV - Look Behind the Scenes

When I started out as a young adult, I was full of idealism on how life should be and I was very firm on the rights and the wrongs! I suppose that this is no different to the younger generation who shares their opinions quite vocally.

Then, as you get older you start to realize that things are not always as cut and dry or black and white! So my idealistic views were replaced by more realistic alternatives and I started to understand the importance of choices, opportunities and circumstances.

Now looking behind the scenes of the political world, I was having one of those epiphanies where I experienced first hand the process of decision making and the real driving factors for some political entities.

My motto throughout my campaign was to serve the greater good of others, be honest and dependable and offer a channel for voices of the community to be heard. 

I know now what it is like to have your own press officer, to run a political campaign, the endless PR activities and public debates with the opposition. Canvassing door to door was something that was very scary at first! 

I suppose not unlike trying to do some prospecting in a business sense. You know your target market and you go and engage in a dialog to see if you can close the deal or win the vote in this case!

This experience has given me a lot of understanding and training in many aspects that can be translated into the business world.

One thing is for sure, stay true to yourself and focus on your model! The rest will come!

Part XI – Corporate vs Entrepreneur

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you consider taking the plunge to become an entrepreneur.

Having done exceptionally well in the corporate world, does that automatically qualify you for success? Are you able to live with the trait offs? Do you have the courage to set it up and then hang on in there against all adversities? 

Are you a visionary? Do you seek solutions rather than worry about the challenges? Are you committed to see it through and work hard even in tough times? Do you know where to start and who to turn to for help? Do you have a plan all mapped out to help you stay focused on what the next logical steps will be?

All these questions should give you some food for thought! We will take a look at other start up stories before I continue to share my own. So lets hear it from the field and leave us with your comments!

There is a great German saying for people who are self-employed: Translated it is ‘selbststaendig’ also understood as ‘staendig selbst’, which means ‘constantly, by oneself’!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Conny

Part VII – Crunch Time

There are couples that stay together for all sorts of reasons other than undying love; some because of their children, others because of financial implications and many because they don’t want to be alone.

In our case we decided that following many attempts to mend the relationship, the only way to move forward was by separating! Not many people could understand how we could give up on each other so easily but really what we saw was that we were young and not prepared to just make do with something that wasn’t working anymore.

This was really a tough time for all of us, emotionally as well as financially. However we knew this was the only way to determine our priorities and what was really important to us. The minute our separation appeared to be final, something wonderful happened! We took notice of one another again and re-evaluated where our hearts truly lay. Now that we put some objectivity into our discussions, we could clearly see where things went wrong.

We started ‘dating’ again and within two months had moved back into the family home together! How wonderful!

From now on things were going to drastically change around here…..

Part VI – Sweet Success & Bitter Truths

Sales Manager for three European countries – I made it! My hard work and loyalty finally paid off.

I had turned around a critically underperforming division and grew profit margins by over 500%, won major key accounts and trained a team of sales people to assist with the growing demand.

If I had thought that I had achieved the ultimate goal and now I could find some balance my lifestyle, I was sadly mistaken.
Of course it only got more busy yet again and now that I was part of the management, I was invited to global events such as sales meetings in San Diego, training events in Dallas, Texas whilst the pressure to keep increasing revenue and profits was ever more paramount.

A part of me loved the ‘high flying’ career, the recognition and financial remuneration not to mention the five star hotels I had become accustomed to. Flying business class and taking clients out for lavish treats was part of my ‘scorching dessert’.

But the affect it had on my family was detrimental. My husband and I had completely grown apart. We didn’t seem to have anything in common anymore. When trying to figure things out by going on a family vacation, I was shocked how far removed I had become from my son as well. I did not know what he liked for breakfast???!!!

My husband and son had a very close relationship due to them spending so much time together and whilst on holiday, it felt that I was no part of it anymore.

What had happened? When did it all go wrong? And why did my attempt for a better life for us all backfire so badly?

To be continued…

Part II - Balance? But of course!

So there I was on my first day, enthusiastic, devoted and completely green to the corporate world!

Looking back it still surprises me how I persevered, overcoming language barriers and coping with new terminologies, complex software and services propositions and the sheer difficulty of learning the skills of telemarketing.

After my initial training week which was spent in all various departments including the manufacturing facilities, I was let loose on potential clients.
The company provided me with a phone, pen and paper and a telephone directory, wished me good luck and sent me on my merry ways!

In those days, a computer was a luxury and the internet was not really readily available, yet.
I was taught that cold calling is a numbers game! The more times you try, the greater the chance that you will speak to someone who is interested. And although I heard a whole lot of: “Not today, thank you!”, I was determined to keep this job.
It wasn’t long before I sharpened my ‘spiel’, refined my closing techniques and enjoyed my first taste of success. My first order was for 20 media cartridges and the value could have been not more than $240 but it felt as if I had just landed the biggest deal possible. I had made it!

That afternoon I went home celebrating with my family, treating us all to a special dinner – so far for any commission earned?!

While work was moving along and more little successes started to trickle in, my world primarily evolved around life at home. I worked to live and my husband and son always came first. That’s how it will always be, won’t it?

To be continued…..