Archive for the 'BRANDING' Category

Aug 15 2016

Fewer than 10% of salespeople rise above the rubble!

Only 10% of salespeople

                                                   

make more than 3 contacts

                                                         

with a prospective Customer.

 

 

sales contacts80% of sales are made

                                                               

on the 5th to 12th contact.

 

 

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the message behind these stats from the National Sales Executive Association, as brought to the surface on LinkedIn by Douglas Green, National Field Market Manager, Healthcare at LanguageLine Solutions, Austin, TX.

 

Take the bitter pill! If you own or manage any part of a small or medium-size business, or if you are part of an individual or group professional practice, like it or not, you ARE a salesperson! If you can’t accept that and move forward, your business or practice won’t move forward. It is that simple.

So let’s explore this for a minute:

As a salesperson, what keeps you from making more than three contacts with a Customer or prospective Customer? What makes you stop short? Hint: It’s not likely to be the prospect or the circumstances. It’s your CHOICE — active or past– that’s holding you back!

If you’re so easily discouraged in representing your ideas/products/ services more than three attempts, imagine your credibility–never mind the credibility of your ideas/products/services–plummeting in the eyes of someone or group or entity after you’ve made only three attempts.

But whom, you may ask, wants to visit with someone five to twelve (12!!!) times to make a sale? A top performer, that’s who! The top performer you are capable of being, if you CHOOSE to be!

Frustration doesn’t fall from the sky and land on your shoulders. It’s something you intentionally or inadvertently CHOOSE.

 

Here’s a cage-rattler for you, from the good-fortune experiences I’ve had working with and learning from some of the world’s greatest salespeople: IT IS at least AS easy to choose to make the challenge of 5-12 contacts easy as it is to choose to make the challenge be hard.

And you must be lost in the Stone Age if you interpret “contact” or “visit” as a physical movement of your being back and forth to a prospect’s space. It’s true that physical back-and-forth trips may actually be called for in the case of high-ticket projects, but most of the time, contacts and visits take the form of phone calls, emails, text messages (when requested or agreed to ahead of time), or –Heaven Forbid!– a handwritten note or two (Huh? Handwritten?). Yes really! It’s all about Communication.

It should go without saying, but I’ll pop the comment in anyway: It’s not probable that 5-12 prospective Customer contacts will succeed if they constitute a bombardment or avalanche anymore than if they are as far apart in time as most dentist visits, so common sense must be paired with choosing persistence.

The bottom line: If you want to rise above the rubble, make a conscious choice to rise and a conscious choice to not be sidetracked.

 

Play the 10%-80% odds! Remember that Consistency Sells! And guess what else? Repetition of the benefits, repetition of the product or service brand image and brand message (including design and word ingredients), Repetition sells, repetition sells, repetition sells. Repetition sells, repetition sells, repe. . .

# # #

 Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US        or comment below

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

 Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

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Aug 03 2016

Not Leadership, Not Teamwork, Not Investors, Not…

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS?

GROWTH BLOCKS

 

…STOP LOOKING OUT SIDE!

 

If you thought leadership, teamwork, investors or data-based analysis would boost your business into the spotlight, you’re probably wrong.

 

All of these are ingredients –that used wisely– can contribute to business success, but none will make the kind of difference that entrepreneurial thinking can deliver. This single quality offers the greatest success dynamic possible.

It is at the heart of all Internet, and tech innovation, as well as product and service-product development.

It is the cornerstone of all brick and mortar and service businesses. Yet it is most often overlooked, unacknowledged, intentionally disregarded, and seldom credited.

Creative ThinkingBut it is entrepreneurial thinking that ignites and electrifies all other business-boosting ingredients. Entrepreneurial thinking is what launches leadership, teamwork, investor support, and data-analysis meaningfulness into a flexible productivity orbit.

Entrepreneurial thinking is the funnel through which energy, enthusiasm, and reality must pass in order to lift a business enterprise off its feet.

Okay, so how does one acquire this magical capability? By nurturing free-spirited approaches to problem-solving.

Is this the same thing as “out-of-the-box” thinking? Not really:

Entrepreneurial thinking has no box to be out of.

It is unconfined to start with.

 

Sadly, not everyone understands it or has the wherewithal to coax it out onto center stage. Remember (especially academia!!), that entrepreneurship is an instinct — not a learned skill.

But if you are one of those who find this subject elusive, there are others –probably within your own circle of contacts– who readily exercise entrepreneurial thinking processes and who may find the opportunity to apply themselves to your pursuits in ways that prove personally rewarding to them, or at least tempting. You’ll never know unless you ask.

So use it, or find it, or buy it . . . nothing else can truly boost your business to where you think it deserves to be.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

931.854.0474 Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/ Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking

 

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Jul 22 2016

NEED A BOOST UP YOUR LADDER?

Boost Your

 

PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL LIFE

 

and BUSINESS REVENUES NOW!

 

Image converted using ifftoany

 

Rapid results from your own private on-call,

national-awards expert, Hal Alpiar.  He

combines directly-related experience

with challenging creative solutions,

and the kind of motivation that best

fits your needs . . . you get realistic

affordable guidance with each step

up your ladder.


Call 931.854.0474 now

 

Schedule your 19-minute Q&A

courtesy call with Hal to decide if

you’re ready to move forward with

this kind of “strategic partnership”

that has helped thousands to

climb their ladders!

To save telephone time, you may

want to review this blog site first to

get a feel for Hal’s background

and coaching approach.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/CONTENT/CONNECTION

Coaching for Higher Branding Impact

——————-

Business Development/National-Awards/Record Client Sales

Personal & Professional Growth/Creative Entrepreneurial Thinking

One response so far

Jul 03 2016

4th of July Sparklers

Seeking sales fireworks?

                                      

Check your sparklers!

 

star rainbow

Business owners constantly want more sales results than they’re typically ready to put their shoulders to the wheel for, in terms of the marketing words (their “sparklers”) that they use.

The average response to meeting the need for coming up with the right sets of marketing words to represent business products, services, and ideas is a lazy one. Most small business owners, it seems, either wing it to save money, delegate it because they’re afraid of it or want to “give someone a chance”

. . . OR they hire some fancy high-priced group of self-proclaimed experts to get it done.

What works? None of the above.

When you wing it

. . .  it’s like not fastening the screws that hold your product parts together, or not providing the terms of the services you offer. It’s a great deal more than that because you’re dealing with peoples’ brains and that delicate experienced edge of psychological savvy mixed into the creative pot is what makes the difference.

You are not in business doing what you’re doing to be a great marketing writer any more than you’re in business to be a great lawyer or accountant (unless of course you’re a lawyer or accountant!).

So why waste time and energy (and ultimately money) trying to be something you’re not, when you have the option to be driving your business to a successful destination by applying your full resources to operations, finances and sales? Okay, so promise you won’t wing it, okay.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND!

When you delegate it 

. . . you’ll hand it off to that assistant of yours . . . you know, the one who’s always writing some book, or poetry, or funny Facebook posts. When you delegate the task, regardless of what you think might be signs of talent rising up from someone on your staff, you should expect to get the inadequate results you will get.

I can assure you after seeing years’ worth of these dynamics, what you get back will simply not be professional enough a representation of your business strengths. Nor will it be put into the customer-benefits language you need in order to succeed at producing the sales results you seek.

What you get, in fact, could very well end up undermining your other sales-building efforts.

When you hire a fancy group

. . . an advertising or marketing or PR agency — you should know that this choice delivers about 85% odds that the group you hire will be very skilled at not letting you know that they are more preoccupied with winning themselves some type of marketing, advertising or PR award than they are with helping you make sales.

When “getting sales” is what’s important, being “pretty” and having the best designs don’t always count for much.

Odds are also that they will be fantastically talented at not letting on that they don’t really know how to help you make sales. Ask them if they’re willing to work on a expenses plus performance incentive basis. That question usually separates reality from fantasy.

"BREEZY" The Volunteer State's Cutest Patriot on Independence Day !

“BREEZY” The Volunteer State’s Cutest Patriot on Independence Day !

If the words you’re using don’t sparkle enough to spark action, find a wordsmith. Do some homework and scout around for an experienced individual who has a proven track-record in writing words that get sales results. Find someone who demonstrates interest in your business but not an “expert” at it. An expert writer is what you want.

You need fireworks? Start with someone who knows how to spark sales with “sparkler” words . . . words that attract attention, words that create interest, words that stimulate desire, words that bring about action, words that prompt satisfaction. Want an example? Go to: www.FEARLESStheMusical.com

FEARLESS Poster

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” 

[Thomas Jefferson]

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474

 Open minds open doors.

Thanks for visiting. God Bless You.

God Bless America and America’s Troops.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Jun 19 2016

“FEARLESS!” The Musical Business Lesson 3

 Business Lesson #3 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 

 “Less Than Perfect World”

Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2014 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

imperfect daisy

“Less Than Perfect”?  Yes, indeed. So accept that fact, and do whatever it takes to stay focused on each present moment as you move on with your life and your business. Here are three how-to’s:

 

 1. PRACTICE MORE DEEP BREATHING. If you doubt this or aren’t sure what it means or what method works best for businesspeople, try this: Are You Breathing?Dog deep breath

 

2. RESPOND INSTEAD OF REACT. If you don’t React, you can never OVERreact. If you’re puzzled by why this matters or want more than this single truth, try this: Are You Reacting or Responding? reactions3. STOP THE NEWS. This single step may be the most important light for you in the world’s dark tunnel . . . and perhaps the single hardest task of all.

 

cartoon seagullcartoon jugglerJUGGLING SEAGULLS?

But if you sometimes start to feel like you’re trying to juggle seagulls . . .

Shut down online, print, TV and radio news for a week! (Will you try it, even for just a day or two?)

Before you click away into the distance at this suggestion, consider the advice I once had from a wise old friend that if something really major happened that was so profoundly important while I was on “news shutdown,” that I could be sure someone would call or text me, or come knocking at my door to tell me about it — and all I will have missed is some reporter’s biased, overkill analysis prompted by the quest for advertising dollars.

The bottom line is that we most assuredly live in —and this is stating it mildly of course— a “Less Than Perfect World.”

We must remember that our behavior is our choice! If we continually choose not to rise above the world’s evils and “imperfections,” and not take a break from them —to be so caught up in all the tragedy that literally fills every second of existence and be obsessed with actively seeking to grasp every nuance of detail— we are choosing failure for ourselves and often for those around us.

By choosing preoccupation with the errors of mankind, we are road- blocking our own talents and pursuits and our own abilities to make a difference!

To rise above the rubble, accept the fact that nothing is “perfect” and work harder at being here-and-now instead of then-and-there. Be “FEARLESS!”

FEARLESS Poster

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION             Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

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Jun 13 2016

“FEARLESS!” The Musical Business Lesson 2

Business Lesson #2 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 

“Yesterday Is Over”

     Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2012 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

 

FEARLESS Poster

If you own, operate and/or manage a business

or professional practice of any kind,

consider this reminder a kick in the butt!

 

STOP talking and thinking about what’s more than a minute old. There are only two legitimate exceptions:

When your mind needs to stray for a few moments to take a pleasant relaxing reminiscent journey as a break in your stressful activities.

reminising

When you need to tap your memory banks for a quick assessment of what you once did or failed to do that will help an immediate circumstance.

memory banks

If you’re dwelling on past events, you’re wasting your time, your energy and your money . . . and probably the time, energy and money of others as well.

Anything more than a clock-tick old

is in the past!

 

When you find your mind drifting into the past for anything other than to seek a relaxing, pleasant memory or to retrieve a decision-making bit of information, pinch yourself!

losers live in the past

Zing your brain into accepting that what’s done is done. If something done calls for you to make amends, make amends. Then move on to the next minute.

Now that you’ve had your butt kicked, and you’ve pinched yourself, you have likely increased the odds of being able to focus more on the present. That’s a major step toward maximum emotional stability and good health.

The sign on my wall (since 1970!) says:

“Now is the

only time.

the past

is over;

the future

not yet here.”

 

And consider that the future, by the way, may never arrive . . . so the only healthy place for your brain and your body and your emotions —AND YOUR BUSINESS AND CAREER GROWTH— is right here, on each of these words, as you read them, here and now, in the present moment as much of the time as is possible each day because all the rest is fantasyland, and. . . because:

“Yesterday Is Over.”

 

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

 

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Jun 05 2016

“FEARLESS!” The Musical Business Lesson 1

Business Lesson #1 from FEARLESS! The Musical . . .

 “Nothing Is Ours But Time”

Song Title From: “FEARLESS The Golden Love Musical” ©2016 Valerie Connelly and Nightengale Media, LLC.

 

FEARLESS Poster

So, how do you make the most

of what time you have left when you

don’t know how much time you have left?

 

If you’re in your twenties or thirties and have been thinking you have plenty of years ahead to spare, you may want to do some googling on the subject of reality. If you’re lucky enough to still have a living grand- parent, you may want to solicit some of her or his ideas about “time.”

 

time slips through my hands

Or—like many (perhaps most) corporate and government executives —in case you thought that your long-range business and career plans will actually work, you’re probably wrong.

And unless you’re in a “first responder,” scientific research, or space exploration position, you’re likely to discover at some point that the plans that work best are almost always those that are informal, immediate, initiated with reasonable spontaneity and constantly adjusted “on the fly.”

Why?

Because “Nothing Is Ours But Time,” . . . and GOOD LUCK! with trying to hold back time or make that clock stop.

man climbing clockWhen you trust yourself to be fearless, to act (instead of pretend, instead of talk, instead of endlessly analyzing the data), you make the most of the time you’ve been gifted with.

Even when it turns out to be wrong, some action is always better than no action. Taking steps forward increases your odds for success.

take action nowTaking action also increases your odds for success of one thing you care most about: to make a difference with your life!

 

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION          Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

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May 11 2016

Business Decision Time

Business Decision Time:

 

decision time

COMPRESSION or EXPANSION?

 

Sometimes it’s a clear-cut conscious decision. Other times, it’s like deciding to eat more or eat less depending on your mood, the notches on your belt and what’s put on the table in front of you.

But the bottom line is that –in business–  while many factors and variables need to be weighed, too much time is often wasted deliberating, which serves to host that dreaded government disease: “Analysis Paralysis” . . . where nothing ever gets done, or even decided.

When you look carefully at the downside possibilities of either a business expansion or compression option (vs. potential rewards) –and determine that the risk involved is reasonable— AND when you see a clear path for taking a first step: take the damn first step!

If it doesn’t seem to be working as you imagined, make adjustments — to the path and/or your imagination.

Change The Towel!

towel

Are you convinced the direction is right? Whether you answer yes or no (unless you see insurmountable financial or legal odds stacking up), don’t be so quick to throw in the towel when something goes awry. Instead, change the towel!

What do you learn from listening (which needs to be 80% of the time) to what your existing and prospective customers say about the towel? What’s their take on the changes you make in product or service or facility or staff or pricing or value?

Take away what you hear and learn and adjust the size, and/or the shape, and/or the color, and/or the consistency . . . then take a second step.

“Nobody counts

the number of ads you run;

they just remember

the impression you make.”

— William Bernbach, All-Time Madison Avenue Ad Agency Guru

[With special thanks for the reminder and source to @DigitalShawn on Twitter]

 

And get yourself in stride for what may turn out to be an endless road of adjustments. While government decision-makers (and competitors of the same mindset) assess and evaluate and review and consensus- seek and never move forward, you can be light-years ahead.

Go for it! It’s all a matter of choice. And the choice to stand still, or to shrink or expand your business is always yours! Don’t belabor it. Be FEARLESS! Trust yourself.

self-trust

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

 

 

 

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Apr 14 2016

Small Business Breakthrough

Don’t trip over your own face!

Finish Line Runner

7 Thoughts to Stimulate Your

Small Business Breakthrough Now

 

Sometimes in our hurry to the finish line, we become obsessively focused on our destination and crumble into a helpless heap that competitors simply hop or step over as they race past. How can we best avoid this common catastrophe? Here’s some of what I’ve learned:

1. Even if you’re on the one-yard line, STOP seeing yourself dancing around the goalpost. Pay attention instead to your feet. Zone your brain into the immediate breath you are taking, right now, right this very moment of high expectation. Expectations, let us remember, breed disappointment. SOLUTION: Paying attention to your inhale and exhale forces you to concentrate on and make the most of every passing moment AS IT HAPPENS!

2. When your mind is in the “here and now,” there’s no room for dwelling on past attempts that failed or for worrying about future events.There is only the present moment. And that present moment is where you excel! Isn’t it? Of course it is. Think about it.

 BREATHE DEEP T-SHIRT

 

3. Excuses don’t cut it! Trying to explain your way out of failure that occurred because you lost contact with your present-moment breathing? That simply wastes more present precious-life moments.

4. It doesn’t hurt to constructively review and assess how you went wrong, but it hurts deeply when you choose to let your mind wander off into a place of dwelling on what happened and what you should have done. SOLUTION: Instead, take some deep breaths. Reconnect with the here and now . . . what you are actually doing. And move forward.

5. The pervasive problem with academia thought patterns that all of us are taught from grade school through PhD studies is the enormous resistance to truth and reality — the pursuit of what I’ve often called “analysis paralysis” that so embodies and emboldens the ranting and raving of so many unrealistic faculty ranks that blanket our campuses, and unfortunately tend even to infiltrate elementary school innocence.

Analysis Paralysis

6. More time and energy is wasted trying to figure out approaches to problem situations (based on history, available data, Past performances, new analytics, etc.) instead of simply approaching problem situations, recognizing them as opportunities, taking action, and making adjustments. What difference does it make “who did what when” if you’re confronted with the need to survive. Many don’t realize it and many dismiss the reality, but my educated best guess is that most small business enterprises are in a constant state of needing to survive. SOLUTION: Even if you’re not one, think like an entrepreneur!

7. The face of your business is what the world sees. It’s what you show others all day every day. How can you expect to be in touch with the impressions you make on others when you are consumed with what you did or didn’t do yesterday or immobilized by worrying over what tomorrow will bring? SOLUTION: Look in the mirror and talk to yourself more. Remind yourself of the real you — what’s in your gut. Then work harder, not smarter!

 racing the clock

Concentrate on what you are doing each moment as much as you possibly can, and work at returning your mind there as often as you can. Deep breathing helps. Being committed to exhilarating customers instead of just “satisfying” them helps. When you pay attention to where your feet are and not the finish line, you’ll achieve more, more often, and avoid tripping over your own face.

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

No responses yet

Apr 03 2016

In a rut? Here’s a shovel!

Be FEARLESS!

 

Live, Love, Make it Easy.

 [The Underpinning Theme of FEARLESS! The Golden Love Musical]

 

Put “Entrepreneur” in this site’s Search window and scroll. You’ll get hundreds of definitive traits and characteristics. Values. Instincts. Behaviors. Ingredients. Challenges. Strategies. Personal/professional and entrepreneurial family issues.

The consistent message in these posts has been that no matter who you are, no matter who you think you are, no matter whether you own and/or operate a small business, or are a corporate muckity-muck or government doo-dah . . . no matter that you’re out-of-work, or in professional practice, a family business, or entrenched in –or on the cusp of– retirement . . . or whether you’re a student, teacher, Walmart Welcomer, laborer, or a stay-at-home Mom or Dad . . . makes no difference. None.

Being FEARLESS is what makes a difference!

lightning

Sound too easy? You are of course free to read more here or click on the little “x” and go somewhere less threatening.

You ALWAYS have a choice.

You can choose to think like an entrepreneur even if you’re not one. Why would you want to do that? Because entrepreneurial thinking is one way of putting you in closer touch with the real you — the you that wants to reach out more to help others, the you that’s not afraid to take reasonable risks, the you that craves being able to see problem solutions all the way through to the end . . . the difference between creativity, and innovation.

ANYone can have creative ideas. Making creative ideas work by taking them all the way to completion, is innovation. Innovation breeds entrepreneurial thinking. And there at least 5 ways to breed innovation!

 

Still with me?

 

Do you really WANT to be in touch with the real you? Of course you do. It’s what you’re here on Earth for, isn’t it? It’s the path to making a difference with your life. So, HOW  do you “go for it”? (What’s the process? What are the steps?)

Here’s HOW: You make the conscious choice to let go of what’s holding you back. You make the conscious choice to move forward with fueling the fire inside you that’s never been more than glowing embers. You start by taking a reasonable risk or two or three or more that will open that door and lead you through it!

Why?

Because the biggest failure you could ever be in life is to look back at what you wanted most to do but that you never took serious steps to make it happen.

Notice the intentional absence of the word “TRY.” To try is not to do. To try is to offer an excuse for not making something you believe in, actually happen.

You will never feel fulfilled if you don’t live your life as fully as you know deep down that you are capable of, with love and devotion to making the choices you need to make, to make it easy. “To thine own self be true” said Shakespeare’s Polonius in Hamlet. Channeling energy is a choice.

Try asking yourself this in the mirror:

cartoon woman in mirrorAre you choosing to brighten up and dig yourself out of your rut (I gave you a shovel!) and move in the directions you want most to go, OR are you simply bitching and whining and accepting your circumstances?

# # #

hal@businessworks.US

STRATEGY/ CONTENT/ CONNECTION

Higher impact. Lower costs.

——————-

Business Development/ National-Awards/ Record Client Sales

Entrepreneurship & Expansion Coaching    931.854.0474

Go for your goals, thanks for your visit, God Bless You!

OPEN  MINDS  OPEN  DOORS

Make Today A Great Day For Someone!

 

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