E-Guide to Business

Many businesses and salespeople concentrate all their energies on the really "hot" leads - the people who want something right now and are willing to pay for it now.

I've seen it myself working in different sales departments at different companies. People only have so much time and energy to commit to making sales and so they concentrate on the leads that seem to be the most promising. The guy they saw last month who said "maybe" gets bumped way down the list in terms of importance and top-of-mind with the salesperson.

I believe this is a big mistake. I think that ALL of your leads are valuable. Just because they aren't customers yet, doesn't mean they won't become one later on when their circumstances change or their need becomes more acute.

Let's face it, unless it's a problem that's happening right now and having immediate impact - like a burst pipe in the basement or smoke coming from the car engine - most of us don't take action right away.

It's the same with your business - most people don't come to your website and purchase something immediately. They need to check you out, see if they like your way of approaching things and if they find your offerings interesting and possibly beneficial to them.

There are many reasons why prospects may not be willing to engage your services immediately:

- they are dealing with more pressing things at this time

- they do not have enough information about your product or service

- they are not ready to make a decision

- they do not yet feel comfortable or trust you enough yet

- they are comparing information from other companies and trying to determine the best choice for them

You need to keep your name in front of your leads - whether they're already customers or have yet to purchase something. By following up repeatedly with prospective customers, you have a better chance of getting the sale when they are ready to buy - because you've remained top-of-mind by providing valuable communications with them.

When you keep in contact with your leads - warm or cold - you are sending them a powerful message: that you believe they are important and worth cultivating a relationship with - even if they haven't bought anything yet.

So be a smart marketer and treat all of your leads - wherever they are in your marketing funnel - with the same level of respect and importance. Remember that today's leads are tomorrow's customers.

While working hour upon hour may pay off where your bank account is concerned, it's sure to wreak havoc on the rest of your life. Success is meaningless if it doesn't touch all areas of your life. Who wants to be rich if it causes the rest of your life to be empty? Being a success isn't only about being at the top of your game in your business life, it takes into account all areas of your life.

For workaholics, it's a hard prospect to consider: taking a step back from their business lives. Often they feel that if they let go of any part of their work, they stand to lose everything previously gained. In reality, slowing down doesn't mean giving up on achieving your business goals, it simply means finding ways to work smarter to give you balance in your life as a whole. It means getting your working (or shall we say "over-working") habits under control and optimizing the time you do spend working in order to get more done in less time. The following are some tips that are sure to help you curb your workaholic tendencies:

**Keep an agenda.** Use it to schedule your day. Plan your work time, family time and whenever possible, schedule some time for R & R. Remember that overextending yourself is sure to result in burnout. The goal here is balance, not adding more hours to your day. Foregoing sleep is unlikely to make you more productive in the long run.

**Allow yourself to forget about work for a while.** For workaholics this step is easier said than done. Time with friends and family can become stressful when your mind is swimming with all the things to be done at the office. A conscious effort to forget work is needed to break this habit. Remember, someone that is distant and distracted does not make for a fun companion and will likely damage their relationships.

**Learn to delegate.** Studies show that successful individuals are not those that bury themselves in work, they are the individuals that simply know how to delegate to make the most of their time. Many workaholics have a hard time with this, believing that the best way to get a job done well is to do it themselves. This belief could actually damage your career instead of helping it. For example, when a business owner takes on non-incoming earning tasks such as research, data entry, fielding the company`s incoming emails or calls, and micro-managing employees, he or she is losing time that could be spent on the money earning aspects of his or her business. Delegating these tasks to an in-house employee, or outsourcing to a virtual assistant to save costs, would free up the entrepreneur's time to earn more money for the business.

These are just a few of the many strategies that you can use to find the balance that is needed to become a success in all aspects of your life. The key is stepping out of your comfort zone and away from those workaholic tendencies to see what works best for you. I guarantee you will be glad you did.

Many people think business success is all about being in the right place, knowing the right people, and having the right knowledge.

All that helps, of course. But true, lasting success comes from deep within ourselves - character traits that we nurture and grow.

The odds of achieving true success - whether in life or in business - can be increased or decreased by how well you cultivate the following.

1. Think positively.

My husband sometimes calls me "Pollyanna" because I insist on giving everything a positive slant. I wasn't always like that...it was a deliberate cultivation on my part. And if I can do it, so can you.

Why should you strive to think positively? Quite simply, successful people are positive people. That doesn't mean you need to walk around with a phony smile pasted on your face all the time. It just means that when you improve the quality of the way you think about things, you'll improve the quality of the outcome.

If you believe a situation will turn out for the best, then chances are your actions will follow your thoughts. The reverse is also true, which leads me to the next step...

2. Avoid the negative.

Negativity sucks the life out of you. It seriously does.

In fact, here's a quick exercise for you: Name three successful people who are negative. Can't do it, can you?

Many of us still haven't realized that negativity attracts negativity. Call it karma, call it the Law of Attraction, call it whatever you want. It's just a fact of life that people who are negative rarely succeed. We all know these people. It's like they have a little black cloud hanging over their heads all the time. They insist on making lemons out of lemonade. They're the ones we look at, shake our heads sadly and say, "But they had so much potential."

Why is this? Negative people believe if they don't expect too much means they won't be disappointed when it doesn't happen. Unfortunately, if they don't expect much chances are they won't get much. When you expect good things to happen, then you believe good things will happen, so you work toward making them happen.

We obviously can't totally avoid negative people. They're everywhere! But we can limit the amount of time we spend with them on a regular basis - unless, of course, you happen to be married to one or are a parent to one. If that's the case, perhaps you can try asking them to stop complaining or being negative when you're around. If this doesn't work, you may simply have to remove yourself from the room when they start.

3. Cultivate self-discipline.

People who do what they need to do when they need to do it are the people who will get to the finish line first. These are the people for whom self-discipline has become second nature. They may not have been born with it, but they have developed it over time because they know it's necessary for them to be successful in business and in life.

After all, if you have a hard time staying on track, or get easily distracted, how are you going to be able to focus on building your business? If you don't keep your promises to others or yourself, how are you going to build trust within your organization or your customer base?

Try this: start every morning by telling yourself that you are someone who finishes what they start; someone who keeps their promises; someone who does what they need to do.

Then do it.

4. Be self-motivated.

What's the difference between someone who lives a motivated life and someone who lets life dictate how they think and act?

Success.

People who are successful are people who are motivated. They don't sit around waiting for someone to tell them what to do - they figure it out for themselves and then go accomplish it.

When I hire people, one of the first things I look for is their level of self-motivation. The reason for this is because I don't want to have to micro-manage them. I don't want to have to be constantly asking them if they got it done. I want to hire the best person for the job, them let them go do it.

You don't have to be Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, or Stephen Covey to live an upbeat and motivated life. But one of the first things you can do to start living a motivated life is to read books by people like them. There are a lot of motivational books out there - find some that resonate with you. I usually have four books going at once, one of which is usually motivational in nature.

Another thing you can do is to seek out other motivated people. If you network with people who are positive and upbeat, you expand your horizons and opportunities.

5. Go the distance.
Whenever I ask my daughter to do something that she feels a little nervous about, she inevitably says, "Sure, Mom, I'll try." Okay, I appreciate her willingness to try new things. But saying you're going to "try" is setting yourself up for failure.

Successful people go into every situation ready to give 110 percent. When you are focused on not just "trying" but "succeeding," chances are pretty good that you're going to get a lot closer to the goal.

Regardless of where you are in life or business, if you cultivate these qualities and persevere, you will realize your dreams and accomplish your goals.

Profits for many businesses have taken a big hit...

And unfortunately, some are facing a profit death spiral that brings everything into question -- and throws all traditional business planning into the wastebasket.

Many business owners keep their business operating at levels beyond what's called for by circumstances -- often for extended periods of time while they are understaffed and overextended -- by going into debt and hoping that the profitable business they've experienced in the past will come back to them (sometimes it will... but, this time might not be one of them).

After a certain point, that's not possible -- and a drastic cut in expenses is the only option. And, if you have to cut to the point where you lose key people who handle essential functions of your business -- then you're faced with a business that isn't possible to be run at the same level -- or that can't produce the profits you were getting previously.

This is a classic example of where strategy... rather than tactics... can possibly be the best solution. You simply can no longer continue doing the things you used to do -- since they are one of the reasons you're in the mess you're in now. It's time to completely re-assess and re-evaluate everything you do -- and be very clear about where your profits are coming from.

Profits are what's important... profits are what pays you... profits are the reason for having a business. Because, without ample profits to comfortably cover your costs each month (not cashflow or gross receipts) -- with room to spare -- your only option at some point will be to shut down your operations.

Hopefully things aren't that dire for you... and never will be... and you can use these suggestions while your business is comfortably in the black -- to re-examine your business and further improve your prospects. But, if you're experiencing a profit crunch... knowing the answers to the following six questions are critically important to your business's future.

Start by getting Very Clear

Take out paper and pen to write down your answers... while you ask yourself the following six essential small business recession survival questions:

1) "What are my most profitable business activities right now -- that are likely to remain consistent and keep producing in the current environment?"

(Consider if, in the best case scenario... doing only the most profitable business... will that be enough to support you?)

2) "Do these activities produce enough profit to warrant a business to support them?"

(This is important... just because you've been in a business or you want to be in a business... is not enough of a reason for the business to exist.)

3) "What activities are least profitable -- that I can no longer afford to do?"

(Don't delude yourself. If an activity produces below average returns on your investment of time, money, energy, or resources -- dump it. Don't wait.)

4) "What are my EXACT costs each month -- and what can I do without?"

(You must know to the penny... no kidding. How can you possibly know what you're aiming for unless you have your exact monthly target in mind. No guessing allowed.)

5) "How can I sub-contract and hand off all work that doesn't directly produce a profit"

(You must overcome the loss of your help by not consuming your time with administrative tasks such as doing paperwork, sales tax, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc. -- that can easily be done by other professionals and specialists "as needed.") ... And,

6) "How can I leverage my tangible and intangible assets to profit in different ways?"

(Here's where you can start to get creative -- and harness your business in ways you might not have considered before. We'll go into this a bit more, below.)

One Profitable Business Alternative

First, a couple of observations about profitable businesses:

Sometimes what seems like good business because it causes larger amounts of revenue, really turns out to be a lot of trading dollars once you take a closer look at it. If your employees were putting out work for you at low margins... then anything less than ideal circumstances for your business will cause a strain.

Whether you have employees now or not, you should constantly be looking for ways to upgrade the work you do to be more profitable business -- preferably ahead of any slowdowns.

Also, your ability to make a profit in your field is often unrelated to you actually doing the work yourself or in-house.

Let me explain...

Often the best resource you have... the main thing that really produces the most profits for you... is your ability to attract, sell, keep, and re-sell your customers/clients.

The real profit-generating assets of your business consist of your customer list, the brand you've built, the reputation you have in the marketplace, the contacts you have in your field, and your ability to conduct business and sell. None of this has anything to do with actually doing the work in your business that turns out the goods or services.

If you have people who are buying from you -- and who you expect to continue as customers -- what's to stop you from sub-contracting out the work related to the manufacturing... and setting yourself up as a broker for the deals with your customers?

You may even be able to have a friendly competitor take over your "physical assets" (or otherwise liquidate your support of those operations) -- while you maintain and keep your ability to conduct business with your clientele.

You have the knowledge about your business... you have the relationships with your customers/clients. Give some deep thought to how you can continue to transact business without supporting the facilities and operations connected with your business -- and you may be able to discover something that will work better to produce profits than you might now imagine.

Joint ventures are the hottest business trend right now and will be well into the future. In fact Common Wealth Alliance says "25% of ALL Revenue, more than $40 Trillion comes from Joint Ventures. Isn't it about time your company learned how to use a joint venture strategy. Shouldn't your company be benefiting from it now?

Hands down, joint ventures are the fastest way to grow your business, find more customers, gain exposure and launch your product or service. You can cut out advertising expenses and save thousands of dollars while sharing risk with a JV partner.

Thomson Financial said, "This may be the most powerful trend in the history of business in the America's and fast becoming world-wide!" besides what I have told you so far, why are joint venture so hot right now?

Here are 3 unspoken reasons why JV's are dominating the business front and have become the standard practice of business.

JV's don't require a banks help, credit, approval or loan to produce or launch a product.

If you understand the JV protocol and have a place you can go to create alliances then you can launch your business or product without the banks money or credit. Entrepreneurs are quickly learning how to open and conduct business by learning to cooperate with each other. Big corporations to small startups are combining their skills talents and credibility to implement usable products and services totally bypassing the need for a bank. This creates a stronger company bases because companies begin and grow being debt free and saving on what would have been interest payments. Learning to work together these strategic alliances are helping entrepreneurs all around the world in emerging markets begin to develop wealth and global goodwill.

Entrepreneurs are learning to work together

There is a new economy growing where it is understood that working together vs. competing against each other is how business can become a win/win around the world. This abundant thinking style of entrepreneurship has taken over the business forefront and is where our current business leadership is going. Entrepreneurs, CEO's Executives, and Business owners of all kinds from home based to fortune 500 are starting to come together and meet to discuss what possibilities can be created. Joint venture places are becoming so popular because CEO's and Entrepreneurs don't want to spend the time hunting for a joint venture when they can just create one right now. The private club to do JV's in is growing fast as more and more entrepreneurs find a home where they can conduct the business of creating a joint venture to make money now vs. using Social networking to hunt and sift through thousands and thousand of companies hoping to find one entrepreneur whose product is compatible to create a JV with.

Elegance and Class have comeback to the business environment

With abundant thinking entrepreneurs learning to work together to grow their businesses together so everyone wins, a new mindset and business acumen has arisen. You build friendships and alliances that last many, many years. With joint venture clubs business has become fun again. You are working with friends and colleagues who want to see your business grow and you will also want to see how their business is growing. Joint ventures have become a thriving business model that is the standard for doing business. It a new mindset, a new skill set and a global business innovation that, when you implement it, will bring you a success like no other and a life style of friends, colleagues and an environment of class. I would invite you to come join the fun.

Is it true that there are certain principles that, when adhered to, will help a business be successful? All things remaining equal, the answer is 'yes.' In the planning and reviewing of your business, these must be included to help keep your business headed in the right direction.

Customers first. Never forget why you are in business. If you do not sell, you will not survive. A cursory glance at our current economic situation will tell you that in bold colors. Meeting the needs of those who depend on your products or services is a trust that you hold in your hands.

Confidence in You. You must be self-confident and assured. This comes from knowing your business and how to deliver your goods and services. This also means that you know when to bend the rules to help a customer and create a relationship that goes beyond a single transaction. Those little things can mean a long term success with an income that will sustain you for years to come.

Concrete Goals. Write out your goals of where you are and where you want to be. Make them simple but attainable. One famous actor only has three goals at a time: what he wants to accomplish in life, in that year, and in the day.

Conceptualize your Success. Revel in how it will feel to be utterly successful in every way. Then, begin to act like you are there now. It makes a difference in how you approach life, and business alike. Successful thinking breeds success.

Concentrated Focus. Give it your all every day. Make sure that you take care of the little things that matter. The fingerprints on your business show to your customers. The encounters with you as a business person are discussed in your community. Make sure that those discussions are positive.

Continuity Check. Never give up on your dream. If it dies, make sure that it did not from a lack of trying or attention to making it work. Yes, there are other forces at work which can make running a business hard, but work to overcome those one at a time.

While all of these have their relevancy, you will get nowhere unless you have the tools that you need to build your business. You can find a great organization and communication tool in an 800 number and associated PBX system. Adding this to your business will help you become better at handling phone inquiries during your day.

If you allow the phone to rule your time, then you will accomplish very little. If you put an 800 number and PBX system in place, not only can your customers and clients reach you at no charge to them, but you can handle calls when you have time set aside for just that activity.

Having a successful business depends on being a successful person. Your business is an extension of who you are in life. Make sure that you are all you can be for your business.