FAULT AND BLAME

 DON’T MAKE SALES!

Here we sit, small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs, on the day of the first 2012 Presidential Debate. We are seething with anger, frustration, disappointment, and stress over what has and hasn’t happened since the last 2008 Presidential Debate. We blame it all on the political candidate we least agree with. And the harder we blame, the more we lose.

We have seen our businesses and personal finances go every direction except up.

We have become more outspoken about that, especially as we’ve seen respect for America’s military and America’s job and housing markets collapse . . . and food and gas and transportation prices explode through the roof! Normally free-spending customers have become suddenly frugal and stoic. All of that must, after all, be somebody’s fault.

But let’s be honest with ourselves here. How much real fault sits on our own shoulders for not planning properly, for not adjusting our business and professional practice development strategies appropriately, for not having solid contingency plans in place? It’s true that some circumstances prevent proactive business management. But many do not.

The way I see it, we have indeed had pathetic government leadership, but aren’t we just as much to blame as anyone for not keeping our own businesses fluid as they slid sideways across the top of shifting sands. After all, we chose to stand there in the first place. With that commitment, comes the responsibility to be flexible and stay forever on the alert. Am I alone here?

I’m not suggesting that going with the flow is easy. But, with a small business, it’s essential.

And that means staying tuned in to government screw-ups and broken promises because they will–in the end–affect where, when, and if you grow… or even if you survive! Easy to “Tuesday morning quarterback,” yes, but we’re looking at a lot more shifting sand before we see solid ground no matter who gets or doesn’t get elected.

It took us time to get here; it will take time to get out of here. So, there’s no time like the present to reassess your branding efforts, to initiate an overhaul of priorities and to inject time and expertise (necessary business growth ingredients that no doubt feel unaffordable) into monthly, weekly, and daily schedules.

That investment alone can make the difference for you no matter what happens on November 6th. And hopefully something will happen. The bottom line:

SALES MAKE BUSINESSES GROW.

FAULT AND BLAME AND PROMISES DON’T MAKE SALES!

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

How un-balanced ARE you?

No matter how much you may think you are in tune or in touch with yourself, if you own or operate or manage a business –new. old, big, small, medium, family, self-employed or otherwise– take it from me who’s experienced all of the above firsthand: you are UN-balanced!

This means that negative stress is seeping in. It’s invading you even as you think it’s not. And it’s taking it’s toll.

How to regain control? First, you need to know where it’s coming from. Odds are it’s some combination of emotional, intellectual, and physical upset or dysfunction. The challenge is to isolate how much is coming from where and when, then to determine the how.

Once you have done an honest self-evaluation, you’re in a better position to reverse the flow and the damage.

Aaah, but this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Read that How to regain control paragraph again.

In some rare instances, it may be just a matter of seconds, minutes or hours to do all these analytics (and you thought analytics were just for SEO geeks doing website tricks?), but if you’re serious about rising to the occasion and getting your act together, be prepared to take days or weeks or months.

(Maybe years!)

Once you’ve done a be-honest-with-yourself inventory (like the doctor’s diagnostic work-up), separate and identify the key issues or stress points that seem to be creating or causing the most unbalance. Put them on paper or in a Word file bullet list. Prioritize by ranking them with 1-3 or 1-10 values in order of most critical (usually this translates to most immediate need).

Consider your own self-prognosis. What’s the best and worst you can expect in terms of timing and accomplishing the tasks associated with eliminating or minimizing the culprit behaviors or influences? What’s the quickest/easiest/smartest/safest way to get back in balance?

Okay, that’s the hardest part. Now initiate treatment. Simple? No. Painless? Pr0bably not. But much easier than the process steps needed to honestly assess and evaluate. After all, you are the only one who can unbalance you. And you are also the only one who can regain control. Bottom line: Nothing happens until you do!

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

When is a pat on the back

actually a kick in the butt?

A client tells you your service is great, then complains about it later to others. Assuming nothing changed along the way to erode the value of your praiseworthy performance, your sense of anguish may simply be the result of of a mixed message. Mixed messages find their way into everyday business exchanges with increasing regularity.

“Pretty good job . . . for a woman!” is a typical example. “You’re doing this the right way, but you need to slow down and think it through better!” is another. Have you ever heard something like: “We need to move forward with plans to collaborate, but not at the expense of our own department (division, team, group)?”

Mixed messages are nonproductive. Mixed messages often couch hidden agendas. Unlike much problem solving that requires “two to tango” and cannot be realistically addressed by a single entity alone, mixed message situations can be resolved by one person taking preventive measures. These include paraphrasing, note taking, feedback, diagramming, and offering/ requesting examples. 

1)  PARAPHRASING. Instead of simply taking statements at face value and then squirming with them later, ask: “Do I understand you correctly to mean . . . (and repeat back what you think you heard, using your own words)?”

2)  NOTE TAKING. The biggest problem with note taking is that most people do not take notes. And even when they do, they fail to directly request the speaker to allow for it. “Would you mind please slowing down on (or repeating) that point for me  so I can make note of it because I don’t want to forget what you said.” is not just called for; it’s flattering to the speaker. But write it!!

3)  FEEDBACK. Speakers need to pause periodically and take inventory: “How are we doing here so far? Do you have any questions? Is all of this information clear?” Listeners need to politely interrupt periodically and take inventory: “Excuse me. Can we take a ‘Time Out’ minute here to summarize this last bit of information? I want to make sure I understand what you mean.” Write it!!

4)  DIAGRAMS. When speaker or listener is not 100% sure that communications are clear, ask for a diagram of the information; arranging keywords and ideas visually helps ensure accuracy, and can often illuminate a new perspective.

5)  EXAMPLES. Ask for them. Very few exchanges of information fail to become transparently clear when examples are offered and discussed.

Getting tangled up in miscommunication can be frustrating and annoying, and stressful. One person who is determined to “get it right” the first time, and who is willing to accept that it may take longer and be more work, will ultimately experience greater accuracy in dealing with others, and accuracy spells success.                               

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant  302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

 National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Real Entrepreneurs

Don’t Waste Time.

There are those who will undoubtedly be late for their own funerals, but they are not entrepreneurs. True entrepreneurs live to be early for everything. It’s a reflection of their eagerness and enthusiasm. It’s also a function of knowing that they only get one chance at a first impression, and don’t want to risk screwing it up just because of some lame excuse for not being on time.

Ah, but it’s not all that simple.

Most entrepreneurs, it seems, strive to

be early for appointments, presentations,

meetings, sales calls, and other events,

. . . but they don’t know HOW to wait! 

They jitterbug around the lobby; fidget in line; make dumb phone calls; play games or work on puzzles; watch some locked-in, mindless network TV channel in the waiting area; strike up a conversation with the nearest fellow-waiter or the receptionist; prissy-up in the restroom; wait in the car while reading the newspaper; or sink into some nearby seat and watch the world go by.

What’s wrong with this picture? Wasted time. Instead, we can make the most of waiting time by planning for it. Well, that may be easier said than done for some, but the truth is that those who make the most of every spare minute succeed more often –and this is not to suggest being rude or antisocial about it, or not to take advantage of some no-brainer down time opportunity to relax.

It is simply a suggestion that more can be done with the thousands of hours we spend in our lifetimes, waiting. . Lawyers get paid for creating delays. Corporate people get paid for doing only what is exactly defined to be done. Government people get paid no matter what they do or don’t do. But when we run our own business, time is money. Strong productivity leads to rapid success.

And, needless to say for the benefit of those who have recently suffered the unexpected loss of a friend or family member, but worth the reminder for those who’ve been more fortunate: life can end in an instant and we only go around once in life. It’s not myth: life on earth is short indeed.

So, making the most of time because “time flies” and “time is of the essence” and “he who hesitates is lost” as my father often lectured, are all legitimate notions, but –more than that– they represent an unofficial credo for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial pursuits. It’s all about having a sense of urgency!

Full circle around, now, leads us back to the HOW part. HOW can we make the most of waiting time? What’s that comment up above about “planning”? Let’s answer the questions with questions: How much more successful could you be if you used waiting time to make notes about a new business strategy? A new line extension? A new revenue stream? New sales opportunities?

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US   931.854.0474 

Open Minds Open Doors

Consider the worst,

 but assume the best!

There’s no longer any excuse for being surprised in business (or life) when you’re able to discipline yourself to practice the thinking: “What’s the worst that could happen?” in every major decision . . . and then proceed to believe that only the best outcome will actually occur to reward your efforts!

Mind over matter? Perhaps. But, more than that, each worst case scenario situation you consider will better prepare you for the reality of what’s possible while it protects your belief in making happen what’s probable.

In other words, you will move forward most effectively when you’ve weighed the risks involved realistically.

Every leader worth her or his salt will attest to this thinking. The difference between it and a proverbial doomsday attitudes is simply that considering bad outcomes need only be a momentary departure from the positive thrust of making something positive happen.

Dwelling on negativity produces negativity.

Well, you say, making negative thoughts be fleeting ones is easy to SAY, you say. Ah, but it’s also easy to DO. Doesn’t it all come down to a matter of choice, after all? We do, by the way, choose our behaviors, yes?

So can we not simply choose to make  negative thoughts be benchmarks with a caution flag?

Who’s to say that considering the worst possible outcome has to be a long, drawn-out, analytical affair? It’s as quick as saying, “If I take this deal, I could lose the farm” and then realize the risk is not a reasonable one. (Contrary to popular opinion, by the way, Entrepreneurs take only reasonable risks.)

If you have trouble stopping your own runaway train when decisions come to the surface, force yourself to close your mouth and take a deep breath through your nose. Get more oxygen into your brain and more blood-flow into your muscles. Then exhale the stress slowly through your mouth.

Every choice you make is a better choice when you have better control of yourself. More deep breathing more often will put you in better control of your self. Is that a no-brainer, or what? All from making the choice to consider the worst that could happen before moving forward? Whew! Look at what you just taught yourself. The lesson is worth repeating:

Make the choice to consider the worst

that could happen before moving forward.

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

When to draw the line_______

You’ve already done all that you were contracted to do, but the client keeps making changes, causing delays in the agreed-to timeline. The result is you are unable to move forward (or even sideways) with the next phase, and unable to send an additional invoice. Okay, so maybe a “client-changes” policy should have been put in place or made clearer from the outset.

But what’s done is done, and here you are, getting stressed.

What to do? When do you draw the line?

“I know, I know,” you say,

“it’s just a matter of being more assertive.”

Right! That always sounds like the right answer, but you run the risk of losing the client, future business and referrals if you are perceived as too pushy or demanding, or if some request you make for added fees gets interpreted as sounding unreasonable.

What to do? When do you draw the line?

Renegotiate.

Okay, that makes sense, but every professional salesperson will tell you that the starting point for virtually every successful negotiation or re-negotiation is to ask questions!

So maybe the answer to: “What to do? When do you draw the line?” is:

As soon as you have a strong, meaninful,

and productive list of questions to ask!

When you start with questions, you can use questions to make your point without risking your relationship.

Y’think?

Well consider how you’d respond to being told that you look like a nervous wreck and should get better control of yourself vs. simply being asked: “Are You Breathing?”

Think about your present circumstances. What are the three most important questions you can ask to win your client’s relationship security, project support . . .  and open the door for your next invoice? Making things change is, after all, your choice. Yup! YOUR choice!

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Does Your Mission Statement Have Vision?

Just because the media and politicians tell us the economy is getting better? Just because we’re looking at a healthcare reform that has absolutely nothing to do with healthcare and everything to do with costing business more money? Just because enemy combatant terrorist situations surface from those we’re told are not really terrorists, and from circumstances that we’re assured do not exist? Just because global-warming hoaxers have us running to refrigeration investments?

~~~~~~~

We’re probably feeling like confusion is nothing new, right? So why not live with a little more?

Well, here’s why: The business you own or manage doesn’t need to be as misguided and convoluted as politicians and the media. Remember they get paid for creating confusion. Your success depends on keeping things simple.

Keeping things simple starts with a foundation of mutual trust, an integrity attitude, tenacious awareness, and consistent hard work.

First off, don’t let anyone tell you to work smarter and not harder. That’s baloney! Every business success comes from hard work. Next, don’t let people confuse you about the characteristics and values of Mission and Vision Statements. [No, they are NOT the same!]

A Mission statement is essentially a declaration of intent, challenge and pursuit. It is your goal statement that clearly and succinctly explains what you plan to accomplish over what specific period of time and by what means. It is action-focused. Its ultimate success will be determined by the extent to which you cultivate mutual Trust among those you work with and oversee.

And, like every meaningful goal, your Mission Statement needs t0 be specific, flexible, realistic, have a due date, and be in writing. [Without all five criteria, you’ve nothing more than a fantasyland wishlist!]

A Vision statement is a heart-and-soul summation of where you see your business in 5-10 years. It is a picture you paint in your mind and share with others. It answers the question: If you succeed in your mission, where will you be? Its success is determined by your practice of —and ultimately your reputation for— high Integrity on a consistent day-to-day basis.

Your Vision Statement is a set of words that best describes what you imagine your future state of existence to be, and how you expect (hope) to be viewed by others: your employees, associates, vendors, customers, markets, industry or profession, and community. It is dream-focused. Its primary value is to inspire pursuit of your Mission.

What’s your Mission for next year? What’s your Vision for  five years out? For beyond 2020?

Oh, and in the same fashion that it helps to start ANY mission with 20/20 vision, it is often most useful to put your 2020 Vision on the table (to keep focused on it) while you develop your present Mission (or while you think up the ways to get where you want to end up).

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Hal@BusinessWorks.US

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

THINKING BIG WINS!

I see small businesses every day that think small and stay small:

Vehicles and signs and ads and websites that show phone numbers without area codes; radio and TV commercials that fail to say what town a business is in, or what the address is; owners who resist free global promotion opportunities (like Twitter and LinkedIn and Facebook and BizBrag) because they think of themselves as catering to small town communities and local markets.

There’s no surer way to guarantee staying small and never earning the big-time sales you’re capable of.

If you want to get big, STOP THINKING SMALL!

For many, small, local business is a great way of life and a totally satisfying experience, but for those who seek to grow and generate revenues worth writing home about, it may be time to open some doors in your brain and realize that your body, your life, and your business are what you think they are. (READ THAT AGAIN!) Whatever you think something is, it is.

If you think of yourself as fat, you are and will be fat. If you think of your life as happy, it is and will be happy. If you think of your business as growing and successful, guess what? So the question is not what’s wrong with the business or the economy or with  you? It is instead what are you imagining it (or yourself) to be? And, how can you change that?

Start with accepting the three realizations that:

1.  Thoughts are things and what you perceive is what you believe.

2.  You are what you think about.

3.  Your behavior (in this case, your ability to think differently about things) is a choice. 

Be a detective about yourself and your motives. Why would you choose to think and act small? If your answer sounds like an excuse, it probably is. Why would you choose to offer an excuse? What can you do –starting right now– to confront the reality of what you think you’re capable of, and go for it? What mental roadblocks are in the way? How can you remove them?

Why do you think top advertisers say things like “DO IT!” and “IT’S INSIDE YOU”? The old Eagles song, “Take it to the limit” is yet another reminder. You have the choice and can choose this very minute to change, to make a difference, to start thinking BIG and HAPPY and THIN or whatever it is that you want. Thinking hard and consistently yields results!

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Hal@Businessworks.US              931.854.0474

Guidance to 500+ Successful Business Startups

Creating Record-Sales for Clients Since 1981!

Writin’ Ain’t No Easy Job!

In case you thunk that writin’ business stuff be a snap, thunk agin! (And especially if you’re expecting an office assistant or website designer to be a writer!)

Oh, and just to kick it in gear, you might do the thunk agin part with a blank screen and a blank piece of paper in your face. Thirty years of business writing taught me that very few day-to-day business tasks are more challenging than performing a creative process that most people seem to think is simply a mechanical function. It’s not. Try it. Then be embarrassed.

Write a business plan for us, will you? I need it for an investor meeting next week. (Most effective business plans take months!) And, before you get started, knock out a couple of TV commercial scripts for the sale that’s coming up. (At least a few weeks, if there are expectations of having any impact.)

Oh, and we’ll probably need three or four blog posts (another week) and an online banner ad about that sale too (a couple of days). Will you also fit in a speech for me to give to the Roundtable Club? Say 25-30 minutes? (Another week!)

Sour grapes examples? No: Reality. If you own or operate a business and expect someone to write AND GET IT RIGHT, realize that the creative process doesn’t turn on and off like a water faucet. Effective writing is not about writing; it’s about RE-writing! RE-writing takes time and effort and knowledge and skill and experience. The simpler it is, the harder the task.

Also Reality: “Creative” people in business (or anywhere, for that matter) are more sensitive as a rule than say lawyers or accountants or investors or engineers. So –like flies– you’ll catch more with honey! Try always to give them extra time, to provide them with extra input, and then to stay out of their collective hair!

Nothing wrong with asking for rough drafts or updates, but avoid harsh criticism– as you would with a customer–if you’re interested in getting outstanding work back. Explain points you disagree with the same way you would want others to explain points that they might disagree with you about. It’s not that hard, and you will gain both respect and greater effort.

It’s one thing when someone takes twice as long as you think she or he should to perform a routine mechanical task, but quite another when you assume that the creative process is routine and mechanical and proceed to set unrealistic deadlines . . . unless you really don’t care about a quality image or delivering a meaningful message?

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

You’re an entrepreneur, right? 

You own or operate a small business or professional practice. You’re in the hot seat 24/7. You’re worried about sales, overhead expenses, taxes, insurance, legal issues, and making the most of social media opportunities. You are constantly trying to be two places at once. You need a break. Just thinking about priorities gives you a headache. You’re talking to yourself?

So maybe it’s time to stop worrying and stop thinking. Keep your goals, but get rid of the “overkill” and simply get on with it. Let it go. Do it. Follow your instincts. Go with the flow. You think perhaps those are crazy unprofessional notions?

I have some news to share:

You got where you are not because you followed some carefully-crafted strategic plan.

Nor did you get to be captain of your ship by dutifully following orders, or a master plan outline, or some naive business school professor’s idea of business development rules, or some archaic family inheritance guidelines.

You are a maverick. But maybe you forgot? Did you forget that you have achieved what you have achieved by taking action and making adjustments and taking action again, and making more adjustments and taking more action?

Trial and error? Sure. So what? Something wrong with that? It worked for Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey and Mary Kay Ashe and Walt Disney any other success you can name.

But, you might say, you’ve been chasing your tail to survive the economic quagmire (the one that started as a mud puddle in 2007, and has since become the recipient of relentless dumping of mismanaged government quicksand).

Or has your entrepreneurial spirit been dashed by industry or professional incompetence, corporate or union greed, misunderstanding friends or family, or by government interference, and you’ve settled into an acceptance mode.

You need to re-discover yourself! Realize –first and foremost– you are you and you are unique and no one else is exactly like you and you already have the ability and the power to reverse or redirect your engines to get where you want to go without dragging along the burdens that outside influences try to impose.

How? How does one do that? By making the choice. All behavior is a choice. If it’s not an active choice, it’s an inactive choice or the result of something you may have chosen long ago. But you don’t need to choose to keep living with it. You can stop choosing to settle for inferior quality, unproductive activities, incompetent outside influences.

Okay, so you have to pay taxes. But you don’t have to choose to worry about them.

Choose instead to move on.

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Hal@Businessworks.US    931.854.0474