Lack of cash flow - the Number One killer of small businesses! Here are some great ways to increase cash flow in your business. Put one or two ideas into practice and watch your cash grow!
1. Remove the Roadblock
Perhaps your customer's account is unpaid because their largest customer isn't paying or they've just lost a big account. Offer your customer the opportunity to make installment payments. You can arrange automatic payments from their bank account. This ensures you receive the payment monthly as agreed on.
2. Help your customer and in turn, help yourself.
Suppose your customer's normal supplier has equipment problems and won't be able to meet the deadline for a very important job. Connect your customer with someone you know who could help them out and you'll be helping your customer, your business contact and yourself! As their cash flow grows, they have more money to pay you!
3. Be persistent.
When you contact your customer ask when you can expect payment. Be persistent in calling your customer for payment while remaining pleasant. It will pay off.
Most of the collection issues I've dealt with have related to:
- Incorrect invoices
- Client not receiving invoice (I know what you're thinking, but it does happen more often than you think)
- Client didn't have payment date on their schedule
- Manipulating payment schedule (60, 90, 120 day delay) This one is what everyone thinks is going on, but does in only a fraction of collection cases. A simple friendly non-demanding call can usually do wonders.
4. Strengthen your credit policy.
Add a condition that an account at 60 days past due, is authorized by the customer to be charged automatically to a credit card the customer provided when opening their account. This eliminates past due accounts and gets the money in your account.
5. Monitor your customer's credit health.
Compare the customer's Days Sales Outstanding (total amount owed divided by the average daily sales. Assuming the customer owes $15,000, with average daily sales of $420, the Days Sales Outstanding would be 35.7 days ($15,000 / $420 = 35.7 days). This means, with a credit policy of net 30 days, some portion of their account is past due. Having an indicator of an account's status allows you to be proactive in collecting accounts on time.
6. Simplify billing.
Mortgage companies, insurance companies, private schools and health clubs have two things in common - a monthly bill to their customers and the option for the customer to pay the bill by automatic payment from their bank account. You can offer this service to your customers, too. It typically costs $2 to $4 per account to separately bill and collect on a monthly basis. The typical per transaction cost for automatic payments is only $0.30 to $0.50. Benefits are:
a) a cost reduction by at least half
b) a cash flow you can count on
c) time freed up from billing and collection for acquiring more customers, revenue, and profit.
7. Avoid waiting for checks to come in the mail.
Take the customer bank account information or credit card number over the phone instead of waiting for the promised check to come by mail. You can offer automated payments from your customer's bank account to pay their account in full or to make installment payments. Once the payment is authorized, you control when you're paid, rather than waiting for the check in the mail.
8. Identify debit cards to eliminate the credit card fee.
Credit card transactions have a fee of 1.5% to 2% of the ticket amount plus a per transaction fee of around $0.25. A sale of $70.00 would incur $1.65 in charges ($70 x 2% = $1.40 + $0.25 transaction fee = $1.65). In contrast, debit cards incur at most $0.50 per transaction. On this sale, you'd save $1.15, more than two times the total fees charged on those transactions identified at the point-of-sale as debit, not credit cards.
9. Get connected.
If you conduct business on the road, wireless technology makes having a credit card terminal with you a real possibility. You can process those swipe transactions at the point-of-sale, where the lowest rate applies (saving as much as 0.5%), keeping more cash in your account.
10. Eliminate bounced check headaches.
Wouldn't it be a relief if you didn't have to make calls to collect bounced checks? Most bounced checks are a result of a math or timing error on the customer's part. You can avoid losing a good customer to embarrassment by collecting bounced checks electronically. With a check recovery service, it is collected electronically through the U.S. banking system. You get paid the face value of the check upon collection. The customer who wrote the bounced check is charged a reasonable fee, set by state laws. And, best of all, no collection phone calls to your customers. Spend your time re-investing your improved cash flow to increase your business.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
"Up the Creek Without a Paddle"
This is a story about my passion and purpose as a Business Coach. I might even say my rant. Yes, my pet peeve is about customer service, or really the lack thereof and the fact that it seemingly does not command the time and attention it deserves in so many Businesses today. While getting customers through the door or to your website is important and converting them to paying customers is vital to the growth of a Business, serving the customer so they become your raving fans for life is the most obvious and most overlooked component of building a successful Business. Over the years I have compiled some of the best and some of the worst customer service stories and how they have made me smile and tell the world and unfortunately more often, made me cry and tell the universe.
As a Business owner, can you think of a time when you were so impressed with the level of service you received in a Business you just had to run and tell someone right away? Maybe a few times! How about a time when the level of service fell way below your expectations and you have not returned to that establishment since? Was there even an opportunity for you to make your disappointment known?
Unfortunately the latter is more often the case. I am quite sure no one actually plans to fail; it’s more likely they simply fail to plan. In other words, what is in your heart and the vision you hold for your Business has somehow not been articulated to your staff on the front lines. How will they know? Only when you show them and tell them, leaving nothing to chance!
I would like to share a funny, not so funny story about trying to buy a paddle for an ocean kayak in a popular Oceanside resort town on Vancouver Island. Now to fully appreciate this story you must understand something, we are in the surf, kayaking, canoeing, boating Mecca of North America. A friend of mine recently purchased a couple of surf kayaks and unfortunately one of the paddles did not make the trip with us. We thought no problem, will just stop in to one of the many shops in the town and buy one.
The first was a surf shop with boards hanging from the ceiling and related accessories everywhere, except paddles. When we approached the clerk at the till after waiting to speak with a staff member for over 10 minutes, we were told they did not sell them and he had “no idea” who would. All of this was said without lifting his head and not making eye contact with us. We thanked him for taking so much of his time to help us out and that we would certainly tell all of our friends about the great service offered at his shop.
Do you think he was the owner of the shop? Do you think he was ever shown how to treat a customer who comes in to buy something? Do you think there was an employee training manual for him to follow for situations like this?
So off we go to find another shop where things certainly would get better, we hoped. Bingo, we find a place that rents kayaks. Certainly they would sell or maybe rent us a paddle. We walk in, say hello to the mature women behind the desk, explain our situation and ask would she be able to help. Without looking up from the book she was reading, she told us a tour was out at that time and they had no paddles in the shop. She said there might be some down on the dock in a locker but it was a long way to the water, could we check back in an hour. When I asked if I could run down to the dock and check for myself, I was given a look over her reader glasses like the one you would get if you had just committed a felony. I then asked if there was any other place we could find a paddle. We were told there wasn’t any other place in town that could help us out. We later found about six other shops that rented or sold kayaks, just not on the day we were looking.
The story continues to get better, well, that is if you have the sense of humor I do, not so much if you are normal. We press on going from shop to shop and it starts to feel like a skit right out of Laurel and Hardy. We now have over two hours of time invested and day light slipping away, but still no paddle. One shop showed four paddles in inventory, but alas the computer was lying. Another had 25 or 30 kayaks resting along with their paddles but apparently they could not be separated for fear of kayak paddle anxiety I suppose. They would only rent us the kayak and the paddle together. I’m starting to look around for a mirror to see if I have a sign on my head that says “don’t give this person whatever he is looking for”.
So as a Business owner, let me ask you this.
How would your staff represent you in this situation? What separates you from your competition and keeps customers feeling valued and appreciated? When challenges come up in your Business, has your staff been empowered to make the right decision that serves the customer and builds your brand and goodwill? Or, are you leaving your customers with the feeling they are “up the creek without a paddle”? Is there congruency between what your vision and mission are and what your staff are saying and conveying to the public? How easy is it for customers to do Business with you?
Start today to create your operations and training manual. Knowing that most Businesses don’t have one, don’t delay, start writing today!
As a Business owner, can you think of a time when you were so impressed with the level of service you received in a Business you just had to run and tell someone right away? Maybe a few times! How about a time when the level of service fell way below your expectations and you have not returned to that establishment since? Was there even an opportunity for you to make your disappointment known?
Unfortunately the latter is more often the case. I am quite sure no one actually plans to fail; it’s more likely they simply fail to plan. In other words, what is in your heart and the vision you hold for your Business has somehow not been articulated to your staff on the front lines. How will they know? Only when you show them and tell them, leaving nothing to chance!
I would like to share a funny, not so funny story about trying to buy a paddle for an ocean kayak in a popular Oceanside resort town on Vancouver Island. Now to fully appreciate this story you must understand something, we are in the surf, kayaking, canoeing, boating Mecca of North America. A friend of mine recently purchased a couple of surf kayaks and unfortunately one of the paddles did not make the trip with us. We thought no problem, will just stop in to one of the many shops in the town and buy one.
The first was a surf shop with boards hanging from the ceiling and related accessories everywhere, except paddles. When we approached the clerk at the till after waiting to speak with a staff member for over 10 minutes, we were told they did not sell them and he had “no idea” who would. All of this was said without lifting his head and not making eye contact with us. We thanked him for taking so much of his time to help us out and that we would certainly tell all of our friends about the great service offered at his shop.
Do you think he was the owner of the shop? Do you think he was ever shown how to treat a customer who comes in to buy something? Do you think there was an employee training manual for him to follow for situations like this?
So off we go to find another shop where things certainly would get better, we hoped. Bingo, we find a place that rents kayaks. Certainly they would sell or maybe rent us a paddle. We walk in, say hello to the mature women behind the desk, explain our situation and ask would she be able to help. Without looking up from the book she was reading, she told us a tour was out at that time and they had no paddles in the shop. She said there might be some down on the dock in a locker but it was a long way to the water, could we check back in an hour. When I asked if I could run down to the dock and check for myself, I was given a look over her reader glasses like the one you would get if you had just committed a felony. I then asked if there was any other place we could find a paddle. We were told there wasn’t any other place in town that could help us out. We later found about six other shops that rented or sold kayaks, just not on the day we were looking.
The story continues to get better, well, that is if you have the sense of humor I do, not so much if you are normal. We press on going from shop to shop and it starts to feel like a skit right out of Laurel and Hardy. We now have over two hours of time invested and day light slipping away, but still no paddle. One shop showed four paddles in inventory, but alas the computer was lying. Another had 25 or 30 kayaks resting along with their paddles but apparently they could not be separated for fear of kayak paddle anxiety I suppose. They would only rent us the kayak and the paddle together. I’m starting to look around for a mirror to see if I have a sign on my head that says “don’t give this person whatever he is looking for”.
So as a Business owner, let me ask you this.
How would your staff represent you in this situation? What separates you from your competition and keeps customers feeling valued and appreciated? When challenges come up in your Business, has your staff been empowered to make the right decision that serves the customer and builds your brand and goodwill? Or, are you leaving your customers with the feeling they are “up the creek without a paddle”? Is there congruency between what your vision and mission are and what your staff are saying and conveying to the public? How easy is it for customers to do Business with you?
Start today to create your operations and training manual. Knowing that most Businesses don’t have one, don’t delay, start writing today!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
What Exactly is a Professional Business Coach?
Some time in 2009 I wrote a post about what is a professional business coach. Since a new year has begun and the old is fading quickly (we hope!)I thought it might be a good idea to start off this year with that same article. Business coaching is not as confusing a profession and the title might suggest, but I hope the following will clarify the difference from life coaching, executive coaching and career coaching. So here it is, once again.
A professional business coach is an expert in various areas and processes of business. In practice, a coach takes the time to understand the owner’s business completely and provides systematic development strategies that help the owner reach his or her goals. A business coach works to develop the whole business on a continuous basis, in contrast to a consulting engagement where expertise is typically focused on a specific stand-alone issue. A good business coach is a skilled mentor in the development of areas such as leadership skills, marketing, sales training systems, development of customer service systems and human resources, as well as financial analysis and intelligence.
Business coaches engage with, among others, new ventures and businesses having difficulties. A coach can prove highly effective in proprietary businesses, especially when the management is planning to expand, achieve yearly objectives, or sort out day-to-day problems. They also work extensively with business owners who are quite successful. These owners invest in coaches to help them achieve and maintain even greater successes. Many well established businesses find working with a business coach to be a highly profitable investment with an incredible Return on Investment. In fact, a study conducted by Michigan-based Triad Performance Technologies, Inc. cites an average 10:1 return on investment in less than one year!
As well, fast growing businesses need to constantly recruit new employees and acquire sufficient capital to support this expansion. Very often, expansion creates problems related to workforce management, resource allocation, and delegation of authority and responsibility. Over time, these problems can escalate and start to seriously affect productivity and profits along with the competitive advantage the business had in the first place. The owners of these fast growing enterprises often have little time to manage the recurring, daily problems. A business coach can address these issues as well as work with the owners to enable them to prioritize their objectives and allocate time and resources to each component of productivity in proportion to their relative contributions.
Businesses that have failed in the past and are starting out fresh can also greatly benefit from professional business coaches. These trusted advisors can assist in identifying and breaking free from inefficient management practices, and create positive new ones. A business coach can also offer a fresh point of view and an unbiased opinion about the business as well as provide competent strategies and tools. In fact, many failed ventures occur because the owner, such as an electrician or IT specialist, has great technical skills related to the product or service they sell, but limited business and financial skills. A business coach works with these owners to assure they have the requisite knowledge and savvy for sustained success.
Working with a coach is challenging, exciting and focused. A professional coach’s goal of fostering dynamic, continuous progress creates incredible business momentum. Combined exhilaration and remarkable success!
A professional business coach is an expert in various areas and processes of business. In practice, a coach takes the time to understand the owner’s business completely and provides systematic development strategies that help the owner reach his or her goals. A business coach works to develop the whole business on a continuous basis, in contrast to a consulting engagement where expertise is typically focused on a specific stand-alone issue. A good business coach is a skilled mentor in the development of areas such as leadership skills, marketing, sales training systems, development of customer service systems and human resources, as well as financial analysis and intelligence.
Business coaches engage with, among others, new ventures and businesses having difficulties. A coach can prove highly effective in proprietary businesses, especially when the management is planning to expand, achieve yearly objectives, or sort out day-to-day problems. They also work extensively with business owners who are quite successful. These owners invest in coaches to help them achieve and maintain even greater successes. Many well established businesses find working with a business coach to be a highly profitable investment with an incredible Return on Investment. In fact, a study conducted by Michigan-based Triad Performance Technologies, Inc. cites an average 10:1 return on investment in less than one year!
As well, fast growing businesses need to constantly recruit new employees and acquire sufficient capital to support this expansion. Very often, expansion creates problems related to workforce management, resource allocation, and delegation of authority and responsibility. Over time, these problems can escalate and start to seriously affect productivity and profits along with the competitive advantage the business had in the first place. The owners of these fast growing enterprises often have little time to manage the recurring, daily problems. A business coach can address these issues as well as work with the owners to enable them to prioritize their objectives and allocate time and resources to each component of productivity in proportion to their relative contributions.
Businesses that have failed in the past and are starting out fresh can also greatly benefit from professional business coaches. These trusted advisors can assist in identifying and breaking free from inefficient management practices, and create positive new ones. A business coach can also offer a fresh point of view and an unbiased opinion about the business as well as provide competent strategies and tools. In fact, many failed ventures occur because the owner, such as an electrician or IT specialist, has great technical skills related to the product or service they sell, but limited business and financial skills. A business coach works with these owners to assure they have the requisite knowledge and savvy for sustained success.
Working with a coach is challenging, exciting and focused. A professional coach’s goal of fostering dynamic, continuous progress creates incredible business momentum. Combined exhilaration and remarkable success!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
7 New Year's Resolutions for Business Owners
If “The Most Wonderful Time of Year” is behind us, what does January bring? For some, there are those nasty post-holiday blues. But for many, we design our New Year’s Resolution chart to plaster around the house.
For small business, you can do the same thing, too. Let’s take 7 of the most common resolutions and apply them to your business. Even as we face a long road ahead, we find renewed vision to start off right!
1. EXERCISE
The most successful weight-loss strategies typically involve muscle building. Businesses engage in strength training by first assessing their talent base. Look for ways to rotate some employees to various positions in your company. Give them exposure to new areas of responsibility. It’s easier to let everyone stick to what they do best, but by strengthening across the board, you eliminate the vacuum that remains if one employee leaves her post or if one guy just happens to be sick for a week. Learning other jobs also broadens the employee’s perspective and usually improves morale as employees learn to walk in one another’s shoes. A team with greater diversity of understanding and experience makes for a strong force when times are lean.
2. EAT BETTER
Small business must consume healthier options. The most demoralizing product your employees consume is the feast of silence from the top. Our human nature gravitates to boss-bashing, quarreling with other co-workers, and griping about wages. This is a buffet of disaster and makes businesses sluggish. Feed your employees praise and positive reinforcement. Acknowledge the good efforts and don’t just criticize the mistakes. Provide opportunities to learn new skills. There are many low-cost webinars that can empower and encourage. Don’t forget the power of surprise rewards, the unexpected financial recognition that every employee loves. Even year-end bonuses over time become expected and lose their intended purpose (just ask Clark Griswold of “Christmas Vacation”).
3. STOP HARMFUL HABITS
Many commit personally to quit smoking or stop excessive drinking. But what about those harmful habits destructive to our business? One of the grossest areas of abuse is in the area of self-promotion. Yes, that’s right, quit promoting your services and products! The most common marketing error is saying, “if they only knew more about X, they’d buy it!” People don’t care about your products, but they do care about how those products will benefit them. Consumers are self-focused - that’s why they dispense their hard-earned dollar to whichever company offers the better price. Spend your marketing words on talking about the consumer - speak in their language and in ways that benefit them. Harley-Davidson has long been recognized for not selling motorcycles, but for the way it makes their loyal customers feel.
4. SMARTER FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Small business must make better financial choices. In your marketing, look for ways to stop putting down alot of money for little ROI. Make sure you have strong measurables for that ad you’ve kept placing in your local yellow directory. Reduce your advertising space in the local paper and direct them to your website where you have unlimited space to tell about all the benefits. Quit sending out those same direct mail pieces if you can’t account for its success (TIP: set up unique phone numbers and web landing pages for each venue in which you advertise - this helps quantify the leads).
5. ORGANIZATION
I started my year already by cleaning the garage, our bedroom closet and my office (well, it’s a work-in-progress!) But we also decided as a family to make some family goals, plans and intentional efforts toward what results we really didn’t see last year. Don’t even begin to think of squeaking quietly through 1Q09 without a comprehensive yet simple marketing plan.
6. CONNECTING
Plenty of people start the new year committing to joining a networking group, signing up for their local Lion’s or Rotary Club, or even attending and volunteering more in your local church. We satisfy our desire to connect with those whom we can help and from whom we receive benefit as well. Your business has got to break down the impersonal barrier and connect with your customers and prospects. The web is ridding the world of formalities, walls, and sales pitches. People need to know your values, the things that are important to you. They must hear your story, your journey of challenge and reward. Again, social media tools like Facebook and Twitter may be a way to allow your target market to become aware of you, have more likeability toward your business, and ultimately trust you enough to become your advocates and champions in the community.
7. GIVING MORE
I believe that most of you in small business are not in it just for the money. If so, in a recession, you’d walk out in a heartbeat. No, most of us went down the entrepreneurial path because we wanted a better quality of life: more time with the family, control over vacation schedules, ability to influence the community and world through charitable giving, and putting us in the driver’s seat of our own destiny. I call them “greater things” - the often intangible, but clearly identifiable when you ask a small business owner why they continue to endure daily challenges and hardships. Charitable giving needs to be an essential element of how you present yourself to the community. This passion for influence and involvement is something often robbed of people sitting in a corporate cubicle. Rediscover your passion and recommit to making 2010 all about the greater things!
For small business, you can do the same thing, too. Let’s take 7 of the most common resolutions and apply them to your business. Even as we face a long road ahead, we find renewed vision to start off right!
1. EXERCISE
The most successful weight-loss strategies typically involve muscle building. Businesses engage in strength training by first assessing their talent base. Look for ways to rotate some employees to various positions in your company. Give them exposure to new areas of responsibility. It’s easier to let everyone stick to what they do best, but by strengthening across the board, you eliminate the vacuum that remains if one employee leaves her post or if one guy just happens to be sick for a week. Learning other jobs also broadens the employee’s perspective and usually improves morale as employees learn to walk in one another’s shoes. A team with greater diversity of understanding and experience makes for a strong force when times are lean.
2. EAT BETTER
Small business must consume healthier options. The most demoralizing product your employees consume is the feast of silence from the top. Our human nature gravitates to boss-bashing, quarreling with other co-workers, and griping about wages. This is a buffet of disaster and makes businesses sluggish. Feed your employees praise and positive reinforcement. Acknowledge the good efforts and don’t just criticize the mistakes. Provide opportunities to learn new skills. There are many low-cost webinars that can empower and encourage. Don’t forget the power of surprise rewards, the unexpected financial recognition that every employee loves. Even year-end bonuses over time become expected and lose their intended purpose (just ask Clark Griswold of “Christmas Vacation”).
3. STOP HARMFUL HABITS
Many commit personally to quit smoking or stop excessive drinking. But what about those harmful habits destructive to our business? One of the grossest areas of abuse is in the area of self-promotion. Yes, that’s right, quit promoting your services and products! The most common marketing error is saying, “if they only knew more about X, they’d buy it!” People don’t care about your products, but they do care about how those products will benefit them. Consumers are self-focused - that’s why they dispense their hard-earned dollar to whichever company offers the better price. Spend your marketing words on talking about the consumer - speak in their language and in ways that benefit them. Harley-Davidson has long been recognized for not selling motorcycles, but for the way it makes their loyal customers feel.
4. SMARTER FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Small business must make better financial choices. In your marketing, look for ways to stop putting down alot of money for little ROI. Make sure you have strong measurables for that ad you’ve kept placing in your local yellow directory. Reduce your advertising space in the local paper and direct them to your website where you have unlimited space to tell about all the benefits. Quit sending out those same direct mail pieces if you can’t account for its success (TIP: set up unique phone numbers and web landing pages for each venue in which you advertise - this helps quantify the leads).
5. ORGANIZATION
I started my year already by cleaning the garage, our bedroom closet and my office (well, it’s a work-in-progress!) But we also decided as a family to make some family goals, plans and intentional efforts toward what results we really didn’t see last year. Don’t even begin to think of squeaking quietly through 1Q09 without a comprehensive yet simple marketing plan.
6. CONNECTING
Plenty of people start the new year committing to joining a networking group, signing up for their local Lion’s or Rotary Club, or even attending and volunteering more in your local church. We satisfy our desire to connect with those whom we can help and from whom we receive benefit as well. Your business has got to break down the impersonal barrier and connect with your customers and prospects. The web is ridding the world of formalities, walls, and sales pitches. People need to know your values, the things that are important to you. They must hear your story, your journey of challenge and reward. Again, social media tools like Facebook and Twitter may be a way to allow your target market to become aware of you, have more likeability toward your business, and ultimately trust you enough to become your advocates and champions in the community.
7. GIVING MORE
I believe that most of you in small business are not in it just for the money. If so, in a recession, you’d walk out in a heartbeat. No, most of us went down the entrepreneurial path because we wanted a better quality of life: more time with the family, control over vacation schedules, ability to influence the community and world through charitable giving, and putting us in the driver’s seat of our own destiny. I call them “greater things” - the often intangible, but clearly identifiable when you ask a small business owner why they continue to endure daily challenges and hardships. Charitable giving needs to be an essential element of how you present yourself to the community. This passion for influence and involvement is something often robbed of people sitting in a corporate cubicle. Rediscover your passion and recommit to making 2010 all about the greater things!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Listening Part 2
I told you things to consider about good listening in "Listening Part 1" so here are four more items to consider about being a good listener and how it can play into providing better service for your client/customer.
Illustration: Did you ever have an experience where someone was trying to persuade you rather than just listen to you? What did that do for you?
Persuading comes from a place of judgment, and individuals need to train and shift themselves from persuading to learning. The listener has to shift to a learning stance. Or better yet a stance of curiosity.
How curious are you about your client? What do you think of when you hear the word curious? Curious meaning: You are partnering in that quest of understanding and learning with and about your client/customer.
Now, the most obvious benefit of listening is learning about the other person.
And listening involves asking questions and acknowledgement of the other.
In communications training, you will hear about active listening and you will learn about what you should do to be a good listener. And what you hear is relatively quite common and similar – ask questions, paraphrase back, acknowledge, be present, be attentive, if you re face to face you look at them eye to eye – all good advice.
You emerge from these training sessions, eager to try out your skills, only to become discouraged or confused when someone says you sound phony or mechanical.
“Don’t use that active listening on me” they might say…often hear this after couples go to couples seminar – and they teach on active listening.
The problem is this: you are taught what to say, how to sit, posture, what to do – but the heart of good listening is authenticity. People are “reading” not only your words and posture etc… But they are asking themselves what is going on inside of you. If your “stance” is not genuine, the words will not matter. What will be communicated is whether you are genuinely curious, whether you genuinely care about the other person.
If your intentions are false, no amount of careful wording or good posture will help.
If your intentions are good, even clumsy language will not hinder the communications process.
Listening is only powerful and effective when it is authentic. Authenticity means that you are listening because you are curious and because you care, not just because you are supposed to. The issue then is this: are you curious?
There is only one sure fire way to understand your client/customer and that is by being curious.
Being curious begins with “I wonder…” Instead of asking yourself… “How can they think that”? ask yourself “I wonder what information they have that I don’t”?
It might be asking “I wonder how might I see the world as such that their view makes sense”? Certainty locks us out of understanding, curiosity lets us in.
5. LISTENING AND QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES
Difference between Conventional questioning and Curious questioning.
• Conventional Questioning – provides a source for information
How much exercise do you need each week?
What is an advanced coach
• Curious Questioning – provides a source of self exploration.
What would “being fit” mean to you? What you need to be able to call yourself an effective listener?
6. LISTENING AND SAFTEY
Quote - “Truth comes as safe as the environment is to accept it” agree/disagree?
What can we do to create an environment that is safe enough for others to be truthful? Make it safe not to answer.
Sometimes even the mist skillful question can provoke defensiveness.
You can ask a question out of genuine caring toward the other person and a genuine desire to learn, and they may react by shutting down.
You can respond by saying, you are there to help and continue to press for an answer, but that may lead them to feel you are trying to control them – and you will get further resistance.
It is best to make your curious questioning an invitation rather than a demand.
The difference is that an invitation can be declined without penalty.
This offers a greater sense of safety and, especially if the client declines to respond….and your reaction makes that okay, it build trust between you.
Giving the client a choice to respond increases the chances that he or she will respond honestly.
Even if they do not know they answer now, they may later, after they think about it.
Knowing it is their choice underscores your caring intent and frees them to think about the question.
7. LISTENING AND EMPATHY
The deepest form of understanding and learning about your client is empathy.
Empathy involves a shift from my observing how a client seems on the outside, to imagining what it feels like for them on the inside.
As an empathetic listener, you are on a journey with a direction without necessarily a destination.
You will not “arrive”. You may not be able to fully say “I truly understand you”.
We are all to complex for that.
What psychologist have taught us is clients are more interested in just the act of knowing someone is seeking to empathize with them – that we as a coach are willing to struggle to understand how they feel and see how they see…means more than actually accomplishing it itself.
My challenge is to encourage you to enter into that fascinating struggle and complexity and/of communication of learning with your client.
8. LISTENING AUTHENTICALLY
There are specific strategies that are regularly employed in authentic listening. Do not underestimate the simplicity, the significance and the excellence of these techniques.
1. Close your mouth. Authentic listening and talking are mutually exclusive.
2. Don't predict or judge the outcome, or argue with the speaker mentally. Get out of your head and get into his or hers.
3. Watch your body language: does your posture indicate you're interested? Are you maintaining eye contact? Are you nodding when appropriate, smiling or otherwise physically communicating your attention to what he or she is saying?
4. Ask questions when you do not understand something or need clarification.
5. Put on his or her shoes. Put yourself in the other person's place mentally so that you can better relate to their point(s) of view.
6. Control your emotions. Better yet, leave them behind. Your worries, fears, problems and emotions prevent you from listening authentically.
7. Listen to what is not being said.
8. Listen to how something is said. Inflection, intonation and tone of the voice may tell you more about the person’s personality and values than mere words.
9. React to the ideas, not to him or her, specifically. Remember, you don't have to like someone to learn from them. But you cannot learn from them without listening to them authentically.
10. Be consistent. Practice these techniques in every communication. Ask the client if he or she felt that you "heard" what he or she was trying to communicate.
Illustration: Did you ever have an experience where someone was trying to persuade you rather than just listen to you? What did that do for you?
Persuading comes from a place of judgment, and individuals need to train and shift themselves from persuading to learning. The listener has to shift to a learning stance. Or better yet a stance of curiosity.
How curious are you about your client? What do you think of when you hear the word curious? Curious meaning: You are partnering in that quest of understanding and learning with and about your client/customer.
Now, the most obvious benefit of listening is learning about the other person.
And listening involves asking questions and acknowledgement of the other.
In communications training, you will hear about active listening and you will learn about what you should do to be a good listener. And what you hear is relatively quite common and similar – ask questions, paraphrase back, acknowledge, be present, be attentive, if you re face to face you look at them eye to eye – all good advice.
You emerge from these training sessions, eager to try out your skills, only to become discouraged or confused when someone says you sound phony or mechanical.
“Don’t use that active listening on me” they might say…often hear this after couples go to couples seminar – and they teach on active listening.
The problem is this: you are taught what to say, how to sit, posture, what to do – but the heart of good listening is authenticity. People are “reading” not only your words and posture etc… But they are asking themselves what is going on inside of you. If your “stance” is not genuine, the words will not matter. What will be communicated is whether you are genuinely curious, whether you genuinely care about the other person.
If your intentions are false, no amount of careful wording or good posture will help.
If your intentions are good, even clumsy language will not hinder the communications process.
Listening is only powerful and effective when it is authentic. Authenticity means that you are listening because you are curious and because you care, not just because you are supposed to. The issue then is this: are you curious?
There is only one sure fire way to understand your client/customer and that is by being curious.
Being curious begins with “I wonder…” Instead of asking yourself… “How can they think that”? ask yourself “I wonder what information they have that I don’t”?
It might be asking “I wonder how might I see the world as such that their view makes sense”? Certainty locks us out of understanding, curiosity lets us in.
5. LISTENING AND QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES
Difference between Conventional questioning and Curious questioning.
• Conventional Questioning – provides a source for information
How much exercise do you need each week?
What is an advanced coach
• Curious Questioning – provides a source of self exploration.
What would “being fit” mean to you? What you need to be able to call yourself an effective listener?
6. LISTENING AND SAFTEY
Quote - “Truth comes as safe as the environment is to accept it” agree/disagree?
What can we do to create an environment that is safe enough for others to be truthful? Make it safe not to answer.
Sometimes even the mist skillful question can provoke defensiveness.
You can ask a question out of genuine caring toward the other person and a genuine desire to learn, and they may react by shutting down.
You can respond by saying, you are there to help and continue to press for an answer, but that may lead them to feel you are trying to control them – and you will get further resistance.
It is best to make your curious questioning an invitation rather than a demand.
The difference is that an invitation can be declined without penalty.
This offers a greater sense of safety and, especially if the client declines to respond….and your reaction makes that okay, it build trust between you.
Giving the client a choice to respond increases the chances that he or she will respond honestly.
Even if they do not know they answer now, they may later, after they think about it.
Knowing it is their choice underscores your caring intent and frees them to think about the question.
7. LISTENING AND EMPATHY
The deepest form of understanding and learning about your client is empathy.
Empathy involves a shift from my observing how a client seems on the outside, to imagining what it feels like for them on the inside.
As an empathetic listener, you are on a journey with a direction without necessarily a destination.
You will not “arrive”. You may not be able to fully say “I truly understand you”.
We are all to complex for that.
What psychologist have taught us is clients are more interested in just the act of knowing someone is seeking to empathize with them – that we as a coach are willing to struggle to understand how they feel and see how they see…means more than actually accomplishing it itself.
My challenge is to encourage you to enter into that fascinating struggle and complexity and/of communication of learning with your client.
8. LISTENING AUTHENTICALLY
There are specific strategies that are regularly employed in authentic listening. Do not underestimate the simplicity, the significance and the excellence of these techniques.
1. Close your mouth. Authentic listening and talking are mutually exclusive.
2. Don't predict or judge the outcome, or argue with the speaker mentally. Get out of your head and get into his or hers.
3. Watch your body language: does your posture indicate you're interested? Are you maintaining eye contact? Are you nodding when appropriate, smiling or otherwise physically communicating your attention to what he or she is saying?
4. Ask questions when you do not understand something or need clarification.
5. Put on his or her shoes. Put yourself in the other person's place mentally so that you can better relate to their point(s) of view.
6. Control your emotions. Better yet, leave them behind. Your worries, fears, problems and emotions prevent you from listening authentically.
7. Listen to what is not being said.
8. Listen to how something is said. Inflection, intonation and tone of the voice may tell you more about the person’s personality and values than mere words.
9. React to the ideas, not to him or her, specifically. Remember, you don't have to like someone to learn from them. But you cannot learn from them without listening to them authentically.
10. Be consistent. Practice these techniques in every communication. Ask the client if he or she felt that you "heard" what he or she was trying to communicate.
So Where’s the Competition Right Now?
So Where’s the Competition Right Now? There is much said these days about paying very close attention to your competition and about not paying such close attention. It seems like every other day some marketing guru gets up and makes some bold proclamation either way and the average business person who just wants to stay competitive in the first place is left in a quandary as to “what to do.” I myself ascribe to the common sense theory.
Here’s the first point of view:
The more time you spend on your competition, the less time you are spending on your company. While it is important to know who your competitors are and what they are doing, it is more important for you to constantly improve on what your customers want and need and that data can be gathered only from your customers, not from your competition. The idea is simple:
1) Create/Define the Market 2) Be First
3) Be the Best 4) Never Look Back
The second point of view is you have to evaluate your competitors for several important reasons. I genuinely take issue with those who say you don't; anymore than you can drive by ignoring other drivers. You reach your destination with your own route and your own map. But you're aware or hopefully you should be aware of ways in which your competitors' plans can interfere with your...that is to say, get in your way...and cut you off. You don't win races by being the fastest car or fastest runner. You drive a smart race. You take advantage of your tactical opportunities. You win baseball games not by being the best hitter or the fastest pitcher, but by finding ways to neutralize your opponent's advantages, and get the most from your own skills and opportunities. You ask yourself DEEPER competitive questions.
- How can my competitor change the game on me?
- How can I change the game on them?
- How can I have better market insight than my competitor?
- What does he see that I'm missing? What is he missing that I can use?
- What difference will it make if he does THIS?
- Are there market developments I need to be prepared for?
It's exactly like defensive driving. You make sure THEIR actions don't cause YOU to miss your exit or have an accident. The best way to describe it is to say its like driving with your eyes wide open and your mind fully active. So let’s be careful out there and have a safe drive, to a successful business.
Here’s the first point of view:
The more time you spend on your competition, the less time you are spending on your company. While it is important to know who your competitors are and what they are doing, it is more important for you to constantly improve on what your customers want and need and that data can be gathered only from your customers, not from your competition. The idea is simple:
1) Create/Define the Market 2) Be First
3) Be the Best 4) Never Look Back
The second point of view is you have to evaluate your competitors for several important reasons. I genuinely take issue with those who say you don't; anymore than you can drive by ignoring other drivers. You reach your destination with your own route and your own map. But you're aware or hopefully you should be aware of ways in which your competitors' plans can interfere with your...that is to say, get in your way...and cut you off. You don't win races by being the fastest car or fastest runner. You drive a smart race. You take advantage of your tactical opportunities. You win baseball games not by being the best hitter or the fastest pitcher, but by finding ways to neutralize your opponent's advantages, and get the most from your own skills and opportunities. You ask yourself DEEPER competitive questions.
- How can my competitor change the game on me?
- How can I change the game on them?
- How can I have better market insight than my competitor?
- What does he see that I'm missing? What is he missing that I can use?
- What difference will it make if he does THIS?
- Are there market developments I need to be prepared for?
It's exactly like defensive driving. You make sure THEIR actions don't cause YOU to miss your exit or have an accident. The best way to describe it is to say its like driving with your eyes wide open and your mind fully active. So let’s be careful out there and have a safe drive, to a successful business.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Hard Times Survival Guide
Here are some straight forward, hard core suggestions for surviving the hard times in your business. These along with savvy marketing and selling will mean the difference between being around in the good times or not.
● If you can’t survive hard times, sell out early. Once you are in financial distress, you will have no bargaining power at all.
● In hard times, save the core at the expense of the periphery. When times improve, recapture the periphery if it is still worthwhile.
● Any stable source of good profits—any competitive advantage—attracts overhead, clutter, and cross-subsidies in good times. You can survive this kind of waste in such times. In hard times you can’t and must cut it.
● If hard times have a good side, it’s the pressure to cut expenses and find new efficiencies. Cuts and changes that raised interpersonal hackles in good times can be made in hard ones.
● Use hard times to concentrate on and strengthen your competitive advantage. If you are confused about this concept, hard times will clarify it. Competitive advantage has two branches, both growing from the same root. You have a competitive advantage when you can take business away from another company at a profit and when your cash costs of doing business are low enough that you can survive in hard times.
● Take advantage of hard times to buy the assets of distressed competitors at bargain-basement prices. The best assets are competitive advantages unwisely encumbered with debt and clutter.
● In hard times, many suppliers are willing to renegotiate terms. Don’t be shy.
● In hard times, your buyers will want better terms. They might settle for rapid, reliable payments.
● Focus on the employees and communities you will keep through the hard times. Good relations with people you have retained and helped will be repaid many times over when the good times return.
● If you can’t survive hard times, sell out early. Once you are in financial distress, you will have no bargaining power at all.
● In hard times, save the core at the expense of the periphery. When times improve, recapture the periphery if it is still worthwhile.
● Any stable source of good profits—any competitive advantage—attracts overhead, clutter, and cross-subsidies in good times. You can survive this kind of waste in such times. In hard times you can’t and must cut it.
● If hard times have a good side, it’s the pressure to cut expenses and find new efficiencies. Cuts and changes that raised interpersonal hackles in good times can be made in hard ones.
● Use hard times to concentrate on and strengthen your competitive advantage. If you are confused about this concept, hard times will clarify it. Competitive advantage has two branches, both growing from the same root. You have a competitive advantage when you can take business away from another company at a profit and when your cash costs of doing business are low enough that you can survive in hard times.
● Take advantage of hard times to buy the assets of distressed competitors at bargain-basement prices. The best assets are competitive advantages unwisely encumbered with debt and clutter.
● In hard times, many suppliers are willing to renegotiate terms. Don’t be shy.
● In hard times, your buyers will want better terms. They might settle for rapid, reliable payments.
● Focus on the employees and communities you will keep through the hard times. Good relations with people you have retained and helped will be repaid many times over when the good times return.
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