Blog: How to Become a Business Coach

Fail More! (oops, the F word again)

7/11/2015

Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, has an easy formula for success: “It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all.”

Double your rate of failure. In other words, if at first you don’t succeed…you know the ending!…try, try again! I know at least three times in your life that you failed miserably, but kept trying, and eventually succeeded. In fact, you went on to become pretty good if not an expert in each one.

You:

1. Learned how to walk after countless head-knocks on walls, doors and furniture. I mean, talk about bouncing back!

2. Learned how to speak a language. Do you know how ridiculous the English language is? But you didn’t give up!

3. Learned how to ride a bike (or swim or skateboard or sprint) . Are you kidding me? How many skinned knees did it take? This all just supports the previous post about Resolve. We can’t fail. That’s why I say just remove that word from your vocabulary. In each step of the way, you are just getting that much better at your business. Your sales strategy is improving. Your marketing efforts are paying bigger dividends. Your customers service is getting to be top-notch.

As long as you don’t take your eye off the Big Picture, you are on your way to success.

Where Should I Go Now?
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Become A Business Coach like Stuart

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Shut Up and Sell!

2/17/2014

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I like to say that marketing can be summed up as, “Ask your market what they want and give it to them.”

I think that good sales can be conducted in the same way. Many of us have been to training or seminars that taught us to get our prospects to tell us why they’re saying ‘no’ so that we can help them overcome this block, or objection. Keep pushing, keep prodding, until they finally break.

Ugh!

The key to making a successful sale is to create a win-win situation. How do you do that? Easy.

Ask your prospect what they want and then offer it to them. A while back, when I was doing sales, I was asked to land a key account. ‘Asked’ in the form of an order, really. I was coached how to close a deal, how important this was, etc. etc. etc. I decided, rather than using the ‘close the deal’ method, that I would use two separate meetings on this one. First, I would sit down with this prospect and listen — find out what was really important to him. Second, I would go back to my office (or, in this case the hotel in Vegas), and put together an offer that was tailored to what this guy wanted. And that’s what I did.

Do you know what he wanted? He wanted to be #1 in his market. Recognition. He wanted to be recognized. Easy. I offered him the opportunity to be #1 instantly by carrying all of our products, and I offered him a title to be recognized by: ‘Elite.’ He would be our only ‘Elite’ dealer in Vegas. I offered what he wanted and he signed on. Win win. I shut up and listened, then made a good offer.

Rather than think of selling as an exercise to negotiate and win a deal, start thinking of the win-win component. Get to know your prospect and start making offers that make sense for both of you. A funny thing, but in the process, you’ll also start to weed out those prospects that would have made for bad customers. Even more win-win!

Where Should I Go Now?
Main Blog Page
Become A Business Coach like Stuart

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Vision: Building a Strategy for Success in Small Business

12/10/2013

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As small business owners, it is very important that we direct our companies toward a clear vision of success. In order to do so, we need a well-defined strategy. Here is how I define strategy:

1. Know where you are today

2. Know where you want to be tomorrow

3. Have a good plan to get from here to there.

I’m going to focus on #2 for now: Know where you want to be tomorrow. This means having a vision of your success. If you can envision your company as it will be at that moment you have achieved success, then you can start building that company today.

To you imagine your company the way it needs to be once you've achieved success, think about the following things:

1. How many employees will you need?

2. How much are you doing in sales?

3. What kind of profits will you need (gross and net) to feed the growth?

4. What process and procedures need to be defined and implemented?

5. Will you need more financing?

6. What about your facility…will it need to be larger?

If you can keep this vision in your mind (where you want to be tomorrow), then the third step above, creating a plan to get there, will become very clear. At this point, you will know that you are creating a winning strategy.

Where Should I Go Now?
Main Blog Page
Become A Business Coach like Stuart

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Finding A Mentor

10/3/2013

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I was fortunate enough to speak to the great group of small business owner the Chandler Chamber of Commerce at their event a few weeks back. I did a presentation called ‘Do You Have What It Takes to Succeed ?’. In answering that question, we revealed that a key component is having a good business mentor.

As I combed through my past business ventures, my clients, and other small business owners , I realized that having a good mentor has been a key to just about every successful small business. Mentors can range from a former boss, a relative, or somebody in the industry who is willing to lend advice and a helping hand.

In my case, I sought out my mentor on my my first day as a Sales Rep (a million years ago!). I had just started my own rep business by basically becoming a sub-rep to existing firms that didn't have an office in Phoenix. The national sales manager for my biggest product was in town, and we met at the office of one of my accounts to do some ’sales.’ I showed up in sandals and shorts. What a lesson. This national sales manager realized right away that I needed help. Over the next two years, he became the mentor I needed. I called him for advice. I asked him to visit my accounts frequently. We had very different selling styles, but we had the same goal: increase sales.

Today, I credit my success in that venture to my mentor. I was able to increase my sales from $1.9M to over $3.5M in just over two years thanks to his mentorship. The bottom line here is that I recommend you go out and find that mentor. It can be a friend, family, competitor, or somebody on the verge of retirement. Seek him/her out, ask for a lunch meeting, and let them know you’re looking for a mentor. It may just be the difference you’re company needs!

Where Should I Go Now?
Main Blog Page
Become A Business Coach like Stuart

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Square Watermelons: Think INSIDE the Box

9/27/2013

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How's that for listening to your market?

Provide your market what they want and need. It’s a simple statement that implies SO much. It requires an intimate understanding of your market and how your products fit their desires. This is a lifelong, ongoing exercise for any business, large or small.
In order to grow your sales, increase customer satisfaction, and keep tabs on quality, you must have your finger on the pulse of your market.

This all comes to mind because of something I stumbled upon on in cyberspace. The square
watermelon! The problem with a big round watermelon is that it is hard to store and hard to slice (as it rolls around the counter, slipping out of your watered fingers) Turns out, this Japanese farmer is an expert marketer. Check it out at the BBC site.

Where Should I Go Now?
Main Blog Page
Become A Business Coach like Stuart

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Fail More! (oops, the F word again)

Shut Up and Sell!

Vision: Building a Strategy for Success in Small Business

Finding A Mentor

Square Watermelons: Think INSIDE the Box

Stuart Preston

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