Want to create a growing, prosperous business? Then focus on creating a great experience for people today, tomorrow and forever. I know everybody thinks they are providing a great experience, but are they really? Low attrition and better sales are very closely related to how well you understand providing a great experience for the people in contact with your business. A great experience is an emotional expe ...

“My employees aren’t committed enough”. “I can’t get my people all on the same page”. One of the biggest complaints I hear from business owners is that they just can’t get their employees to take full ownership of their jobs. Most small business owners all make the same assumption: “My employees should feel just as passionate about the business as I do”. This assumption is generally promptly followed by the ...

There are two kinds of businesses in the world. Those that are in sales and those that are not. Ok, well really there is also a subcategory, those that are still in business and those that are out of business. The fact of the matter is that every business is in the sales business. Yes, I hear you in the back of your mind saying, “I have no need for sales as long as I provide quality work”.  In fact, a lot s ...

I hear it from people all the time. You can hear the frustration and the sadness in their voice. Business owners constantly complain that they bend over backwards for their clients, yet it is never good enough. Why? Is it the business owners fault? Or, do clients just have unrealistic expectations? The real issue is that business owners set themselves up for failure by giving the client unrealistic expectat ...

Managing employees can be rough for a small business. Most likely you are team leader, department manager and CEO, not to mention head of HR and payroll. How does a small business manager find time to instruct, motivate and supervise while also having time to manage the books, customers and projects? More times than not small business owners begin to neglect their management duties as “more pressing” issues ...

No Salesperson likes cold calls. The idea of having to spend hours dialing numbers, leaving messages, and talking to strangers, makes most people cringe. That is one of the reasons that the lead generation and marketing industries our booming. Anyone in sales dreams of the idea that willing and ready customers are just going to call and ask where to sign up and who to sign the check out to. The problem is t ...

When was the last time you bought something because of a really good sales pitch? I am constantly reviewing my sales processes looking for ways to improve my presentations and really capture people’s attention. But, it hit me today that I am wasting my time. Sales presentations don’t sell. The problem with the old idea of the traditional sales presentation is that in today’s market there is always something ...

                While the news is preaching doom and gloom and scaring us with political battles, I know a secret. Neither the newscasters, nor politics create jobs or wealth. The secret is that in America we are responsible for our own future. No matter what the headlines say or who shakes hands behind closed doors, the American economy is not built by such things. T ...

Are you at war with time? Many business owners and executives find themselves shocked at the end of every work day by the fact that the day is over and their lists of high priority items are still incomplete. The excuses we give ourselves are always the same; “my time is just too unpredictable, “I ran out of time”, “there is not enough time”. The ironic thing about our surprise at the end of the day is that ...

When I started my business one of the first pieces of advice I was given was to write a business plan – my initial reaction was really?  Then it was why? I am not seeking outside financing, I know in my mind how I want my business to flow and grow and I am a sole proprietor with no co-owners or partners.  My own reactions prompted me to investigate if everyone in business needs to develop a business plan.  ...