“Apparently, human

beings don’t need

to know someone in

order to believe that

they know someone.”

–Malcolm Gladwell, in his article”The New-Boy Network” from his book, WHAT THE DOG SAW

     Astonishing confirmation of the news most of us know instinctively but probably never openly acknowledged has surfaced as a little tidbit of information in a remarkable new book from Malcolm Gladwell, the author of three best-selling books: The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers.

     A sale is made or broken in the first ten seconds!

    Gladwell doesn’t claim this. I do. Sadly I have no relationship with the man beyond being a great admirer of his brilliant writing skills, but I just finished this collection of his and had a hard time not bookmarking the thing beyond recognition. He raises the spectre that many new hires end up being ushered into businesses because they give great handshakes and eye contact and say the right first couple of words when they’re interviewed, regardless of how often or long they’re interviewed.

     Those of us who’ve spent careers engaged in sales and selling know this kind of responsiveness is what attracts customers and what closes sales. 

•      SECOND #1, #2, and #3 of every sales encounter (which, if you think like most successful small business owners think, means: every encounter with every person every day . . . because when you run your own business, you must always be selling) is consumed with your smile, your appearance, your eye contact, your tone of voice, and your handshake.

•      SECONDS #4-#10 are consumed with confirming or denying what the other person’s brain has taken in about you in those first 3 seconds. Skepticism usually leads to rejection  (or possibly some level of tacit approval, but not genuine receptivity).

     So, you’re in sales? Own or manage a business? Well, maybe it’s a good time to backtrack a bit and examine how you come across to others (especially strangers) in those critical  first 3 seconds?

     Do you communicate energy, enthusiasm, positiveness, good cheer? Do you just transmit these qualities like a reporter, or do you radiatethem like a tie-game coach at halftime? (No, not locker-room trash talk or yelling; radiating is all about inspiring and motivating.

     In the same context, is your handshake firm and sincere? Ask others to rate your handshake between a wet fish and a bone-crusher; it should be dead center between them; skewed to either end of that spectrum will cost sales . . . and friends.)

     The secret is one we all tend to forget or get careless about. It’s called (pssssssst!): authenticity. It’s a great thing to be true to oneself. It’s a sure bet to communicate/radiate your most genuine, most positive self to others at every opportunity. It will come back to you many times over in your life. It surely will make you more sales.

     Act like you mean it.

More importantly, mean it!

Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US 

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

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

 Cars, Copiers,

Cabbage,

Colonoscopies,  

 Microchips,

or French Fries

     It doesn’t matter WHAT a salesperson sells. It’s HOW he or she makes a sale that counts. 

     If you’re “in sales,” you know what this is about. And if you’re NOT “in sales” (technically speaking), you ARE in sales. Think about that one for a minute. Aren’t all of us engaged in some form of selling every day?

     Not knowing or accepting that you are in sales even though you’re not “in sales” is probably a bigger roadblock to your success than a dysfunctional family (which each of us reportedly has!).

     Savvy sales managers and business owners recruit “sales personalities,” not robots dripping with product/service knowledge. Of course salespeople cannot be effective without substantial product/service knowledge, but they also cannot be effective if they are not social animals. Performance features are easy to teach; performing is not.

     We are human so it’s only natural that we gravitate toward people with personalities that come across as authentic — people with “sales personalities.” Why would this be the case? Here we go with this sentence that sounds exaggerated but is true: All customers make all purchases (even those that seem completely unemotional) based on emotional buying motives, not logical, rational, objective ones.

     You may want to re-read that last sentence and give it some open-minded consideration. Human beings do not buy product or service features. They use product or service features to justify their purchases.

     Those people gifted with “sales personalities” are able to sell virtually anything. If I’m looking to hire someone to sell rocket ship parts to scientists, I’ll take a guy who sells railroad cars full of ketchup packets to university buyers over an interplanetary science major who has major research experience in rocket ship construction.

     The ketchup guy can learn the rocket ship parts business. It’s not likely the scientist is going to all of a sudden learn how to turn on the charm and be a great listener. The scientist will typically be preoccupied with talking about what the scientist is interested in talking about, not about first hearing and processing and then emphasizing the benefits the buyers are seeking.

     The scientist will tend to emphasize features (which could just as easily be presented in writing and diagrams) and probably gloss over if not downright disregard any emotionally-based purchase considerations that may –as just one example– have to do with how the buyers’ decisions may have the impact of helping to protect organizational integrity.

     If you own or manage a business and need strong sales support, put aside industry-specific and technical backgrounds as criteria. Focus your recruitment efforts instead on finding someone who’s proven to be a quick learner, who has enthusiasm, exceptional listening and communication skills, and who has demonstrated ability to sell. Period. You’ll get more for your money.

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Hal@Businessworks.US or 302.933.0116

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

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

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Your Moment of Truth

is NOW!   

     Who’s reading this stuff on a Saturday night? YOU are. Why? Well, I can’t answer that one, but I can report that you’re not alone. Saturday nights are — believe it or not — one of the highest quality visitor nights here at BusinessWorks.

     I have to think it’s because entrepreneurs never sleep and are always looking for that innovative edge they can grab hold of . . . so, okay, here are some innovative edges:

     If you’re the geeky-type, intent on being the next great Internet-market guru, OR if you’re a down and out sales-type struggling to make ends meet, OR you’re a business owner-type who feels like you might have been losing touch with reality lately (like who hasn’t?), please allow me to offer the following advice: (Consider it my investment in wanting to see you succeed because you came here on a Saturday night.) 

1) GET OUT! Put down and turn off all the hi-tech trappings for just an hour a day and use that time to take the risk of meeting and one-on-one socializing with real living people. Go out for breakfast tomorrow morning and actually talk with the waitress or waiter and the people at the next table instead of texting your Facebook friends or Twitter followers.  

2) INSTEAD OF BRUSHING OFF THIS IDEA, and deciding it’s a waste of your time (and I guarantee you it’s not!), listen to what those around you have to say and how they say it. Withhold your judgements. Just listen and absorb. Clarify. Ask for examples. Take notes (with a real pen and paper pocket-pad!). Then go sit somewhere quiet and write down what you learned about your SELF in that process.

Go to a busy street corner and ask three people for directions. Listen to what they say and how they say it. Ask them if they would repeat the directions slowly enough for you to write them down because you’re not good at remembering things like that. Then go sit somewhere quiet and write down what you learned about your SELF in that process.

3) GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY! The best vehicle I’ve ever found (and I am now nearly 300 years-old!) is this one:   http://bit.ly/Bb1Tw  Do it! I promise you will NEVER regret this piece of advice. It may be the single most important thing you ever learn in your life, or are ever able to teach anyone else.

4) REMEMBER THAT THE MORE YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT YOUR SELF, the better you will be at dealing effectively with others, and you can never be a success in life (regardless of how you define “success”) until and unless you can deal effectively with others.

     These 4 suggestions go F A R beyond using cell phones and social networks, and F A R beyond wallowing in self-pity about how bad finances are, and F A R beyond being swallowed up by nonproductive, fantasy (non-here-and-now) thinking.

      It’s all about getting back to basic, real, in-person, human contact . . . no matter how much that threatens you. Because the moment of truth for your business and your SELF . . . is NOW!. 

~~~~~~~~~ Visit Hal’s Recent Guest Blog Posts ~~~~~~~~~

“Every Sales Pro A Small Business Owner” @ www.iSalesman.com ; “The SALES Snow Job” @ http://bit.ly/bYHmXx ; “Got A Sick Website?” @ http://bit.ly/6iYe6g ; “Leadership Puzzles” @ http://tinyurl.com/yfsczbk ; “What’s Your T-Shirt Say?” @ http://bit.ly/7K0s4a   

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

Hold your nose

and dunk under

 the wave . . . or 

 ride it to shore!

     Surfers (not the TV channel kind!) are actually smarter than they look. They know enough to take a deep breath and either dunk under a wave to get out of the way, or stand up and ride it onto the beach. When your business cash flow is outbound, it’s time to make that same decision.

     If you choose to dunk under — like leave town, change your name, and disappear into some cave or head for the islands (until your butt’s hauled back to jail) — go for it! But prepare (at least) for a stiff neck from looking back over your shoulder 16 hours a day … maybe work for a chiropractor?

     My guess is that when payables tip the receivables scale into the stratosphere, most of us will opt for survival instead of surrender. Certa Bonum Certamen say the Latins (“Fight The Good Fight”) and giving our businesses CPR is certainly preferable to filing Chapter 11. Rule of thumb: One first aider beats a full house of lawyers.

     Okay, so where to start? Make the unpleasant calls to creditors; beg for mercy; give them (and stick to) payback plans. Stay in communication with them no matter how awkward, uncomfortable or embarrassing it feels. DO NOT borrow money to pay back loans; it will catch up with you.

     Consider reputable debt consolidation services. Fill in staff-cutback areas with interns. It’s true a recent President kind of ruined that idea, but truth is that if you’re willing to provide the proper guidance and leadership, you can literally build an empire on the enthusiasm and energy of young interns.

     The best source of interns (and usually a structured program that keeps students focused and offers employers recourse) will come from your nearest community college, though some major universities have established highly successful internship (often called “cooperative education”) programs.

     Interns will occasionally work for free, sometimes for commission or bonus arrangements, and often for minimum wage or less. They require ongoing supervision. You may have to fill out evaluation forms and meet with a faculty or administrative advisor once a semester. That’s it. If this is something you want to make work, make it work.

     If you’re a one-man-band, ask family members for hours in exchange for breakfasts or dinners out, or periodic sports or concert tickets … i-tune cards? Be creative.

     One boss I know who’s struggling to get his business back on its feet reports getting productive work hours from his cousin’s teenage son in exchange for covering periodontal work (teeth braces) not covered by insurance. He gets six months of work from another relative in exchange for new tires on two family cars.

     Be creative. Make it work. Ride it to shore!

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

If every decision you face 

is a coin toss, you’d make a 

good referee. But business 

and life decisions demand

 L  E  A  D  E  R  S  H  I  P. 

     Referees toss coins and make judgement calls about physical actions and movements within physical boundaries. Small business owners and managers must make informed decisions about psychological, mental and emotional  behaviors as well as physical ones, and business has no boundaries.

     Business owners and managers focus on accumulating coins, not tossing them. Referees need 20/20 vision. Business owners and managers require leadership vision. Referees put together all the pieces of a complex, moving jigsaw puzzle. Business leaders never have all the pieces.

     According to the likes of great minds as diverse as Albert Einstein and Henry David Thoreau, all we ever have is limited knowledge. Certainly that’s no truer anywhere than it is in business, especially because daily business decisions revolve around how others think, and we can never know all of what others think.

     Customers, associates, employees, suppliers, competitors, prospects, referrers, professional advisers are all focused groups of individuals with common interests but uncommon (i.e., unique) minds and brainpower. This depth of differences (and the selective perception filters of each) call for decisions that are customized and personalized as much of the time as possible if they are intended to have impact.

     Other than mathematicians, accountants, and engineers, not many careers thrive on rational, logical, objective, unemotional decision making. And EVERY purchase decision–no matter how rational, logical, objective and unemotional (even rocket-ship parts!)–is in fact emotionally-triggered.

     What all this means is that business decision making needs to go FAR beyond refereeing into the land of leadership that recognizes the individuality of emotional platforms and experiences, and that addresses those with respect, grace, and finesse. Decisions are the lifeblood of leadership.

     Making decisions that motivate others to strive wholeheartedly to achieve is what great leaders of the universe have done through the ages. The dynamics apply equally to Washington, Lincoln, Churchill, Eisenhower, and Reagan as they do to Gates, Jobs, and the owners of the successful “Mom and Pop” deli down the street from your home or office.

     It’s probable that there are hundreds if not thousands of factors to be weighed in every small business decision, from investor and government influences to inventories and service supply lines, to the demands of unions, communities and the weather.

     We can only decide based on what’s available to weigh, our related base of experience, the input we get, and our gut instincts. True leaders decide, then move on. Make-believe leaders (usually those of political and big business persuasion) analyze to death then drag out decisions past the point of relevancy.   

     If you own or manage a business, you are paid to make decisions. Coin tossing is simply another form of knee-jerking and winging it. “None of the above” produces decisions that cultivate consistent high impact, long-term results. But leadership does.

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Hal@Businessworks.US or 302.933.0116

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

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

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Arrogance

and obstinancy

are not solutions to 

sales, job creation,

 or healthcare!

     If you’re searching for role-models to run up some business success, don’t waste your time copying what government and union “leaders” practice. Arrogance and obstinancy don’t work. Running roughshod over the public and small business doesn’t cut it.

     Consistently practicing integrity and authenticity (not just talking about it) is what wins sales. Treating every person you encounter with respect, every day, is what wins support.

     Giving genuine help (meaningful tax incentives) to small businesses to create jobs will produce the jobs needed to turn the economy around. This canNOT be accomplished by government plans to use the $30 billion TARP funds that are intended to offset the national deficit. All that that will accomplish will be to dig the economy even deeper into debt by having the 100% inept SBA provide loans for small businesses to pay off other loans. Seems to me that’s the definition of a vicious circle!  

     Union management is cashing in its presidential election chips and driving federal government puppets (with state governments sadly falling into step) into making decisions and spending money that no one has. These are the dynamics that are driving the American economy into the ground. 

     How far do you think you would get if you were legally insolvent and went on a family spending spree — cars, cruises, expensive restaurants and entertainment, new appliances, a vacation home…? What makes that irresponsible behavior acceptable as a government or union path?

     Has anyone asked small business people what they think the best economy solutions are? (No, not the Small Business Administration, which is comprised of corporate and government administrators who have little if any hard-nosed small business know-how or experience.)

     Yet, in the entire history of the United States, hasn’t it ALWAYS been job creation by small businesses that have bailed out sour economies? 

     It’s all about misplaced and misguided priorities. There is NO way to fix healthcare without first fixing the economy. And there is NO way to fix the economy without small business birthing new jobs. 

     The government, and union management,must learn that the solutions they seek will not come about by banging the door harder. A battering ram doesn’t produce progress or better answers. It really is time to listen to those who know best about how to jumpstart small business to create jobs — small business owners and entrepreneurs.

     Surely they will produce more meaningful answers than other politicians or big business union management.

Integrity and authenticity start with genuine respect, listening, and attentiveness. Can we please see some evidence of those behaviors offered to the small business community?

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

R.I.P. Butch Taras

     I, and roughly 149 other guys (including two women) who play senior softball (many of us year-round when weather permits) in Southern Delaware, learned today that all of us lost a special teammate, a friend … and an outstanding human being in Butch Taras.

     Hard to imagine 150 teammates in softball? Well, that’s because it really never mattered to Butch which of the ten or so teams you played for –or even whether you were playing against the team he was assigned to. Nor did it make any difference that you might be giving him a run for the money in game performance or you were the worst player in the league. He respected everyone equally.

     But don’t think his authenticity made him a pushover. Butch was the poster boy for competitive spirit, and took winning seriously (more than once I found him at the field on an off-day, by himself, hitting one ball after another from a practice T “to improve” his near-flawless swing!).

     The bottom line is that Butch was a leader through and through because he considered everyone a teammate.

     What made this behavior especially endearing is that Butch was a truly gifted athlete who could do almost everything better than almost everybody. He was arguably the finest all-around performer in our league of 150 seniors. But he never carried his superior athletic prowess on his sleeve. In fact, except for his World Championship Softball ring that he wore with great pride, he never spoke of his abilities.

     Friendliness, humility, and courage are the traits I most admired and associated with the Butch Taras I knew. He was a “gentleman” in every sense of the word, on the field and off. And now, he has left us after such an abrupt bout with cancer that it’s hard to believe that 20 of us shared the field with him just 4-5 weeks ago!

     We all knew he was battling his way through pain and stressful treatments. And each of us in our own ways let him know that he and his devoted wife Carol could count on us for support. His positive attitude prevailed to the end. It was and –I know I speak for all of us whose lives he touched– shall forever be, an inspiration to us all. 

I know, Butch, that I won’t be the only one to reminisce and compare your great lefty power with every long-ball blast to deep right field, nor will I be the only one to remember the encouraging pats on the back you gave me for meager little pop-up singles. And who can ever forget the sincerity of your pledge to overcome this terrible disease, or the sparkle in your eyes when you spoke of your wife and family? 

God bless you and your family, Butch. You will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. Thank you from us all for having made a difference in our lives.”

~~~~~~~~~~~Visit Hal’s Recent Guest Blog Posts~~~~~~~~~~~

• “The SALES Snow Job” @ http://bit.ly/bYHmXx
• “Got A Sick Website?” @ http://bit.ly/6iYe6g    
• “Leadership Puzzles” @ http://tinyurl.com/yfsczbk 
• “What’s Your T-Shirt Say?” @ http://bit.ly/7K0s4a   

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

It’s A Best-Kept Secret

… Among Men.

     From my early days in Madison Avenue’s “Top 10” ad agencies, where I worked for the industry’s two most famous and successful leading ladies, to active roles in women’s rights marches, to a professorship career which led me to ignite a campus women’s program,  followed by group counseling facilitator days with a female partner, I learned I was barely able to hold a candle to the feminine wiles of business leadership.

     I moved into serial-entrepreneur pursuits with a bevy of talented female business associates (the most important and influential of these being Kathy, whom I married 23 years ago), I have always preferred working with women. I can’t speak for many product industries, but to my way of thinking, women have always been smarter about all the things one needs to be smart about in running a service business and dealing with clients.

     And TODAY, I can finally say to all those smirking owners, investors, and VCs who’ve always equated quarterbacks, fighter pilots, and five-star generals with required business leader traits and qualities: “See. It’s not just me who thinks women are better business leaders!”

     The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute has just released new findings that predict women entrepreneurs will create close to 6 million new jobs in the U.S. by 2018, more than half the expected new job total. “That’s great,” you say, “but so what? How does that make women better business leaders?”

     Ah, it’s HOW this new job creation tsunami will occur that’s important. Women entrepreneurs are reported in this research study to be “more customer-focused, more likely to incorporate community into their business plans, and more adept at creating opportunities for others,” according to a report of the findings earlier today by Lisa Pateus Viana in the “Small Business” section of FOXBusiness online.

     Viana says these characteristics are “helping women excel in 1) running a business 2) keeping employees driven and productive and 3) building a loyal customer base.” She goes on to say that the research shows “the only things more important to women entrepreneurs than their customers are family and religion,” and proceeds to make a strong case for the values of something few male counterparts strive for: a sense of balance.

     It seems to me that the only ones who disregard the validity of these kinds of study findings are those who have never learned to accept themselves or be able to respect others anyway. So, good riddance to all those stimulus/bailout-dependent corporate and government muckity-mucks who think entrepreneurship is an irritating business nonevent without promise.

     And let’s hear it for the emerging new stronger-sex business leaders! In fact, if we cut them some slack, they may actually create us some millions of new jobs sooner than later! 

~~~~~~~~~~~Visit Hal’s Recent Guest Blog Posts~~~~~~~~~~~

•  
  • “The SALES Snow Job” @ http://bit.ly/bYHmXx
  • “Got A Sick Website?” @ http://bit.ly/6iYe6g    
  • “Leadership Puzzles” @ http://tinyurl.com/yfsczbk 
  • “What’s Your T-Shirt Say?” @ http://bit.ly/7K0s4a   

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

JUST DON’T DARE

TO COME UP

FOR AIR!

     Right when we were starting to think we might be coming close to turning an economic corner, we get slammed with a Healthcare Summit instead of a Jobs Summit!?!

     In addition to extolling the new healthcare plan “affordability,” today’s White House declaration reads: “The President’s proposal puts American families and small business owners in control of their own healthcare.” 

     It does nothing of the kind. 

     First off, if you don’t have a job to pay for healthcare, what makes affordability important? And if you can’t afford it, who cares about control? Adding insult to injury, even if you are employed and can afford it, you are not in control; the federal government is in control.

     We’ve said it here before, healthcare reform can only succeed if it is free-market-enterprise price-competitive, and is run on a state-by-state basis. Citizens of Rangeley, Maine, have totally different healthcare needs than those of San Diego . . . or Dallas, Wisconsin, Kansas, or New Jersey.  

     The federal government, in its continuing resistance to acknowledge and foster the fact that small business is America’s only genuine economic survival lifeline, continues to backstab entrepreneurial leaders while smiling at them and shaking their hands.

     Anyway, whatever you do, don’t come up for air just yet because the minute you open your mouth to gasp, the socialist zealots (who decry its use in terrorist interrogation) are standing ready to waterboard small business owners with yet another obstinate attempt to shove a one-size-fits-all healthcare plan down our throats.

     This latest healthcare runaround does nothing except drain small businesses even more and further prevent them from the essential (and only) economic survival solution of creating new jobs. 

     The White House doesn’t get it. Americans simply do not want what is being sold no matter how it’s packaged and promoted, anymore than they’re rushing off to storm local jewelers to cash in on 2 for 1 diamond deals. When you’re sweating this month’s bills and this week’s meals, the healthcare system reforms someone else thinks is needed hardly matter.

     Jobs are what’s important.

     Bailouts and stimulus money are creating jobs? That’s a myth. Do the research if you doubt it. And funneling $30 billion into community banks will not jumpstart small business job creation either.  Oh, if I dare ask, by the way, where on Earth is that $30 billion coming from in the first place? How will it be used? Loans to pay off loans doesn’t seem like a promising solution. What will be the guidelines?

    Is there even a shred of Executive and Congressional awareness about the realities of small business ownership and management?

     Why have unions and big business locked arms with government to prevent small business entrepreneurs from saving all of our butts? It’s called creeping socialism, political greed and outright stupidity.

     It’s past time to stop buying what the President and Congress are trying to sell to further their own agendas under the pretense that they know what’s best, and to instead get them focused on what the American people really need: genuine and simple job creation incentives to small business.      

Comment below or direct to Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! Get blog emails FREE via RSS feed OR $1 mo Amazon Kindle. Gr8 Gift 4 GRANDPARENTS: http://bit.ly/3nDlGF

“Spread out the tools,

then go for donuts!”

No, those eight words are not part of what construction guys can teach to small business owners. In fact, those eight words may account for the building industry employment transience we so often hear about.

No, I’m talking about seven (7) magic words!

Did you ever have a house built? (No not those seven words.) If you’ve ever had a house built and asked something dumb like “Gee, when do you guys put in the main water pipe and wire connections?” (“Oh yeah! Plumbing and electric? No problem; we can run those lines after the house is done; we’ll dig the yard up again and re-cement the concrete foundation we’ll have to break, along with maybe a wall or two, but don’t worry!”)

Did you ever have an addition put on your house? (“Uh, what cough, cough, dust is that, cough, cough, that you didn’t expect? I, cough, cough, don’t see any dust!”) Was your builder marching to his own drummer? (“Duh, what blueprints?”) Odds are the lesson you learned was to never do it again, right?

Well, let me tell you that there are two great lessons to be learned from construction guys that can make a life or death difference for small business owners. One, which comes from such an unlikely pair of experts as a carpenter and a heart surgeon — but which probably started with the carpenter since carpenters have been around a lot longer than heart surgeons:

Measure twice. Cut once.

This little 4-word gem of a mantra is the unspoken guideline for many successful small businesses. It’s one way of making sure there’s minimal or no waste of time, money or effort. It’s also expressed as “getting it done right the first time” (or “haste makes waste” as Granny used to say).

It’s the idea that we can actually help ensure maximum productivity with minimum expenses and liabilities. It’s all about making sure there are no rocks under the water we’re diving into. This little piece of reassurance can have untold value and appeal to a small business owner’s wallet and sense of well-being.

And what are the other three words of wisdom?

Chunk it up!

Whether you’re overwhelmed with a ten mile-long “to-do” list or a project with altogether too many parts, or you’re looking for a value-added way to entice customers by offering them a staggered payment plan, construction guys score again!

They don’t kill their customers with the whole monster total price to pay at once, they charge you what? One third up front (to cover the costs of materials), one-third half-way through the job (to cover salaries), and one-third on completion with satisfaction (to cover profits).

If they only get the first third up front, they’ll never wind up on the short end of a parts/supplies bill. If they get the second third halfway, they can only not make a profit, but will have paid for all materials and labor and put money through their bank. This approach works for nearly all business services and most large ticket item products.

The customer is happy to not commit all their money at once and will prefer a pay-as-you-go option to keep more control on the work that’s booked. 7 words: Measure Twice. Cut Once. Chunk it up!

# # #

302.933.0116 Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US

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

Make today a GREAT day for someone!