Business coaching, Business consulting, Business help, Cash, Client Retention, Communication, Culture, Goal Setting, Marketing, Mindset, Money, Motivation, Personal Growth, Profit, Steve Brock, Success

Truth in advertising and marketing….

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OK, so stop laughing.  Right now you might be thinking “sure, just like truth in politics”.  But hold on, if you want your business to be successful long term you need to give prospects the straight story.  Sure, there have been lots of baits and switches in the past:

  • The “sex scandal” headline that ends up being about vacuum cleaners (talk about disappointment)…
  • The “free headline” that ends up with something that no one wants…
  • The “7 reasons for success headline” that gives you three things none of which will let you be successful…
  • And my favorite most recent, Go Daddy.  The ads are well written, quick, interesting concepts and at the end there is a quick disclaimer that none of the companies discussed are actual businesses…
  • As they say on the pre-game show for the NFL, “come on man”…

Here’s the problem with the bait and switch.  It grinds peoples gears.  Successful businesses are built on telling prospects what you can do, getting them to say yes, and then delivering on your promise.  The money in a business starts with the yes but continues with them being customers for a long time.

So take a look at your marketing and ask yourself:

  • Does my head line attract the right audience?
  • Can I actually deliver on what I am marketing?
  • Would I want my grandma to read the content?

If your answer is no to any of the above, take a look at redoing your marketing message.

If you need help, reach out to your local ActionCOACH business coach.

Oh, and keep focused even though the weather is nice and summer is here.

Enjoy your week.

Steve Brock

ActionCOACH NC & CT

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Here’s what grinds my gears on customer service…

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In channeling my inner Peter Griffith this month, I need to share a way to drive off customers.  Now I don’t want to sounds like an old guy telling the kids to get off my lawn, but…

It happened again yesterday.  Another promotion from a company that I have been a customer of for some time offering a cool item (Panthers gear) for new customers only.

Really?

So the best bet is for me to end my membership, wait for them to court me again with cool free stuff, and then sign up again.  Does that make any sense?

In businesses, profit is not in getting customers but in keeping customers.  For most businesses, the cost to acquire the customer is not made up on the first sale, it is on the second (or in some cases the third).

So why would you not invest as much time in keeping customers as you do in getting customers?  In fact that would be an interesting study.  Take a look at your business and gauge the ratio of time and money invested in keeping customers as opposed to getting customers.  You may be surprised.  Sorry, I think you will be surprised.

Relationships break down when someone feels like they are being taken for granted.

So this month, take a look at what you are doing to make your “A” and “B” customers feel great about working with you.  Do you:

  • Drop them a note to say thanks
  • Take them to lunch to say thanks
  • Take them to a basketball game to say thanks

And whatever you do—don’t send them a promotion that only applies to new customers.

If you need help with a few retention strategies, reach out to your local ActionCOACH business coach.  Enjoy your day.

Steve Brock

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THREE WAYS TO NOT ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS…

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This month we are going to take a look at what not to do to accomplish your goals. Which means, if you do the opposite you should be in good shape.

Here are three sure fire ways to not accomplish your goals in 2016:

  1. Be unclear around what you want. When I see goals of “more revenue” or “happier employees” or “better life balance”, I cringe. The desire is not bad, the lack of specifics is. How will you know when you have achieved any of those goals—they are all subjective. As you set the game plan for the rest of the year make sure you are clear around what it is you are after.
  2. With the goals unclear, it becomes near impossible to measure how you are doing. For a goal to be achieved, there needs to be a metric that is monitored to know if you are on the right track. Unclear goals create unclear measurements that are open to interpretation, debate and ultimately a lack of success. When you are feeling under the weather and walk into a doctors office and tell her that you are not feeling well typically she says “that’s nice” and then takes your temperature, weight and blood pressure. All things that you can measure.
  3. With unclear goals, and poorly defined measurements it is difficult to pick the behavior that leads to success. If I don’t know what I want, and am not sure how to get there ,then any behavior will do.

Alice asks the cat which way to go. The cat asks her where wants to get to. She replies that she doesn’t care. He says that it doesn’t matter which way you go then.

We are typically good at defining what we don’t want and less skilled at defining what we want.  If you need help, reach out to your local ActionCOACH and let us guide you through the process.

Have a great week!

Steve

 

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Why you should keep the corners in 2016…

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I had the pleasure of coaching kids soccer for a decade and really enjoyed it (in fact I am surprised at how much I miss it).

When the girls were running laps, inevitably a few would round off the corners and cut the run short. At which point, I’d have them run again because keeping the corners was important.

It was holding them accountable for what they were going to do.

During any given day, it is simple to let up a little bit and not give 100%.

And that is where the bad habits starts. When we do a little less we begin to accept that it is OK. Which leads to doing a little less next time.

You see where this goes?

In 2016 make the commitment to yourself that you will keep the corners and go 100%.

If you need help, reach out to your local ActionCOACH Business Coach.

Best regards,

Steve Brock

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GETTING THE MOST FROM LIFE IN 2016…

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It is resolution time! Each year, billions of people decide that it is time for a change and kick it off Jan 1 (ok maybe Jan 5). When I think of resolutions, I think of getting the most out of life through the experiences that life provides.

We all want to get great experiences. The question is how?

I like to think of a three legged stool with:

  • Seat—Experiences
  • Leg 1—Health
  • Leg 2—Money
  • Leg 3—Relationships

These three legs support the experiences of life.

Health—it is impossible to enjoy all that life has to offer if you are ill. So in 2016, make the commitment that health will not hold you back. That means you need to take a look at what you eat, how often you exercise and how much sleep you get at night. These three things are the cornerstones of being healthy.

Money—it is nearly impossible to enjoy all that life has to offer if you are constantly worried about money. So in 2016, make the commitment that you will both grow your revenue and watch where your money goes so that you are spending less than you are making. Start that travel account so that you put aside money each month so that you can experience life.

Relationships—it is nearly impossible to enjoy all that life has to offer if you are going to do it by yourself (and no, social media does not count). Invest the time needed to keep your relationships strong. That means with your spouse, kids, family, close friends, whoever is important to you.

This year, take a look at the legs of the experience stool and get a little better at each one. Then enjoy the results.

If you are not sure where to start, reach out to your local ActionCOACH business coach and come up with a game plan to get the most out of 2016.

Happy New Year – Steve Brock

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Tick Tock Tick Tock – 2016…

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Happy holidays. As of today, there are TEN shopping days before Christmas which means the malls will be packed, the post office will be a mess and your internet will be in full use placing orders. Nothing like a deadline to create a little urgency.

Where else do you feel urgency? As I come to the end of the year, I like to take an inventory of my life:

  • How are my relationships doing?
  • How are my businesses doing?
  • How is my health doing?

When I think about it, those are the big three. The people I care about, the ability to do things health wise and the funding needed for both from my business or job.

What questions are you asking yourself?

I bring this up because time is moving and is moving quickly. When I was in my twenties, the future was infinite. As I hit my thirties, there was time to catch up, make up and maybe grow up. Now that I am in my mid forties I view things differently and with more urgency.

Not quite a crisis, but urgent.

The reality is that time is short—or at least that is how I need to treat time. When the temptation is there to take my foot off the gas, I need to do just the opposite. I need to push the pedal to the floor.

So in 2016, there are a few things I need to focus on:

  • Where am I wasting time—stop doing it.
  • Where can I get the best return—do more of it.
  • Who do I need to spend more time with—allocate the time to it.

How about you?  If you need help walking through the exercise, reach out to your local business coach with ActionCOACH.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and profitable 2016.

Steve Brock

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Fear Vs. Excitement…

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I was watching a Simon Sinek video the other day (always a good investment of time) and he was commenting on the physical reaction to fear which goes something like:

  • Heart rate increase
  • Muscle readiness
  • Perhaps some extra perspiration on the hands
  • Quick breathing

What was interesting was that when you are excited, almost the exact same things happen. Think about waiting to get on a roller coaster (ok, that might be fear talking), or playing in a competitive game or walking on stage for a presentation or talking with a key potential customer.  These things that are exciting solicit the same physical responses as fear.

So what if you were able to reprogram the mental response?  Since your body will react the same, when you feel fear coming on recast it as excitement.  Now the first time, your brain may not buy it.  With repetition though, it will.

Next time you feel a little fear coming on (unless it is life and death) say out loud that you are feeling a little excited and see what a difference it can make.

For more Jedi mind trick, reach out to your local ActionCOACH.

Have a great weekend.

Steve Brock – ActionCOACH NC & CT

To learn more about our monthly offer to business owners, click here.

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Did I do my best?

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Who’s responsible for your teams behavior? I hope you are quickly saying “they are”. One way to instill that is to modify the way you ask questions as well as the questions they ask themselves.

For example, if you ask the team “do you have clear goals” it is easy for them to transfer the responsibility to you as to whether they achieve them or not. If, on the other hand, they ask themselves “Did I do my best to achieve my goals” now the responsibility moves to them. Think of it as passive vs. active questions.

Questions that begin with “Did I do my best to…” force self evaluation based on my efforts.

It is also the beginning of the transfer for the team to be responsible for behavior.

As you look to 2016, it is time to start asking different questions to get different results.  If you need help, reach out to your local ActionCOACH.

Have a great week!

Steve Brock

P.S. for details on our monthly offer for business owners, click here.

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FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS TO LEAD PEOPLE…

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As the owner of the business, or manager of the department, it is your job to create the environment where those that want to thrive can. Doesn’t sound that complicated and yet it is rarely achieved. Based on the book Triggers, one of the causes may be the application of how you lead.

There are four different ways to lead:

  1. Directing—the most traditional way in which we simply tell people what we want them to do. This is the “my way or the highway” approach.
  2. Coaching—using a dialogue to help them move from where they are to where you want them to go. It uses questions and puts the problem solving onus on the individual.
  3. Supporting— the individual has the skills but lacks the confidence to run with the idea on their own. This is where you build them up and help expand their comfort zone.
  4. Delegating—the individual has both the skills and motivation to run with it. Often times you need to simply set the direction and get out of the way.

So, what is the big deal? I believe that the answer is in the fact that we can not lead based on the individual only. We must lead by the situation as well.

In other words, we have to read the situation and modify our behavior based upon the situation our team member is in. That puts the onus is on us.

You wouldn’t take a confident soccer player and drop them on a football field without instruction.

And, it is a mistake to take a top performer in one area and drop them in another, assuming they will take the bull by the horns.

As leaders, we need to read the situation and lead based upon the environment.

Where do you need to sharpen your saw on leadership and the ability to change approaches based on the situation?  If you need help, reach out to your local ActionCOACH business coach.  Or simply click here, complete the details and we will be in touch.

Enjoy your day.

Steve Brock

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A default calendar model that works – finally…

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How do you plan your time? When I was younger I relied on my memory to keep track of things. I also had a boss that reminded me of the things I had to do.

As I get a little older, and run my own business, I find that those old methods are not sufficient. My memory is not as ….. what was I talking about? Oh right, not as good. And being my own boss takes care of that external influence.

So now I have embraced tools to help me be more efficient and make sure that I get things done that need to be done. Here are a couple of tools that work well.

  • Facebook—great for remembering birthdays of people that are not in your inner circle.
  • Software calendar (doesn’t really matter what brand) – great for reminders to send birthday cards, anniversary cards, etc. Yes, go back to sending cards that you hand write—a novel idea.
  • Checklists—knock them out the night before or the morning of, to keep you on track. It also feels good to mark tasks as complete.

Default calendar—now for the biggie. There are certain tasks in your business or career that need to happen every week/month. Instead of relying on your memory, drop them into your calendar. Things such as:

  • Team meetings—especially with new team members. Help integrate them into the culture.
  • Marketing—the lifeblood of every organization. Make sure you are allocating time to it
  • Planning—do you schedule an hour or so a week to plan your business? If not, it’s a great add.

Use the tools available to increase your productivity. Need help,  reach out to your local ActionCOACH business coach.  Have a great day.

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