How to Price a Product

Your pricing formula (or pricing a product or service)

I recently received a request from one of my blog readers to do an article on pricing your product. He sent me some great articles he found on the net. After reading them I realized he may have been over thinking the pricing issues. To me it is fairly simple. There are only three outcomes to consider:

  1. Your product is priced too high and no action is taken (the competition is complacency.)
  2. Your product is priced too high and it invites the buyer to buy from someone else (I need to make sure I am getting the best VALUE.)
  3. You price your product to low and you introduce concern from the buyer because he wonders what is being missed (lack of trust.)

Pricing your product can be simple if you let it but you must price it from the buyer’s perspective. As a business owner you need to know both your fixed and variable cost and ensure you cover those cost while remembering the buyer is not concerned with your cost. They simply don’t care.

From my perspective, here is what you need to be concerned about. What does your competition charge? This is important if the consumer has a preconceived notion of the value of the product. For example, if I go to a paint store and see a gallon on paint is priced at $50, I might go to another store to see if I can get the same quality (different brand) for a better price. I may have a belief that I am not going to pay more than $30 for a gallon of paint (or $20K for a car, or $3 for loaf of bread, or $1 for a pen, etc.)

The bigger issue for me is the value proposition. I believe people will pay to solve a problem and in many respects they will pay a premium if they believe you are the right and safe choice. Making the buyer understand that you are the right and safe choice is both hard and critical. Understand this is not a universal construct. For example, if I have $1 to spend for pen it may not matter if it is a BIC or another brand as long as it fits my budget. If I have a Rolls Royce for sale and my buying audience cannot afford a Rolls (or do not want it) then price it does not matter.

The hard work is the unique value proposition, helping other to understand your value, where and how to market your product and knowing how the problem you solve will allow you to charge more.

Pricing the product is in fact telling a story about the product. For example, why would I pay $50 for a gallon of paint when I can a similar product for 40% less? If price is not an issue, you can focus on the parts of the products story that are important to a client. The higher price for the paint can be told in a story: it is safer (less smell), easier to clean (important to a busy mother because it save time), last longer (don’t have to do it as often), provide a better finish (looks better), or is easier to apply (saves time.)  If those concepts are not important to your audience, you have a different kind of problem.

Sometimes price is not a consideration. If you are selling to high net worth individuals, they are buying prestige and convenience. The price is secondary. If I am buying a gallon of paint, price is primary.

Finally, pricing is impacted by the demographics of the audience. It is harder to sell your product using “pain” as the value proposition when selling to an older audience because their life experience tells them that “been there done that. This too shall pass.” Pain works better on younger people who have a need for more immediate gratification.

Bottom line is that pricing is an effective marriage between cost to produce, what people will pay, and the story that motivates them to buy.

 

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
www.BusinessGrowthexperience.com

ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

330-990-0788

 

A Year in Review for a Great 2012 A Year in Review for a Great 2012

I am a co-host on Small Business Talk radio with Dale Stefancic. Dale wrote an article for a local newspaper that I wanted to share. It does a great job of helping you get ready to have a great year. If you would like to contact Dale, you can reach him at dale@dalestefancic.com. We invite you to listen to our radio program at welw.com, Be sure to press the listen now button. We are on air every Wednesday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST.

A Year in Review for a Great 2012

 

For many small business owners 2011 was more of a game of survival. Many challenges still face us and the economy as we try to press forward and identify opportunity and how we can take full advantage of it.

We discussed many items and topics this past year in my effort to try and make you better in your business and create some awareness of what needs to be accomplished to move forward and be more profitable.

So what I wanted to do being the end of 2011 and as we think and decide what 2012 may bring is a review that I hope renews some fresh ideas and thinking of how to win the challenges ahead of all of us.

LEADERSHIP:

People identify with leaders. They are well respected and have a strong voice with accomplishments in their field of expertise. As a business owner, you must constantly strive to be the leader in what you do. Some of the points of leadership to keep in mind are:  Leaders should know and understand that people are the core building blocks of their team and/or organization.  To be an effective leader, you need to understand the core building block of your people and their respective values.  Leadership begins from within.  Identify core roles, prioritize them and plan on development and then acting on them.  Any relationship begins with you.  Leadership begins with you.  To be effective, it is dependent on your ability to communicate effectively.

 

NETWORKING:

 

This is a great time of the year. The holidays are here and the thoughts of 2012 and what we might expect in the new year with business.

Many of us will be at social and business events meeting  many new people as well as many friends.

For these reasons the topic of networking is very timely.

Today  if you are networking correctly, it’s more than meet and greet with an exchange of business cards and contact information.

You have to network with the intent of turning contacts into connections and eventually business allies or customers.

As you attend your events you need to have a specific game plan in mind.

Make your connections, and then build relationships with these individuals.

The relationships can range from identifying some of the needs of your business or relationships that will bring more business to your company.

The key here is to develop your network with great people and cement those relationships to be a resource for you.

You cannot do it alone. All great businesses have very successful networks in place.

Also keep in mind the relationship is a two way street. Don’t just talk or think about what’s in it for you but lead with a value proposition that will make the person you are connecting with have a reason to develop the relationship further.

Over deliver and your investments of time, money and energy will be repaid ten fold.

TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY:

Time relates to productivity more than you might realize. Time can be as big a loss of profits for your company as almost anything else. When you better manage time you will be more productive. When you are more productive you will make more profit.

Here are some SMART things to think about. S.M.A.R.T. being an acronym for:

S- SPECIFIC- Being as specific as you can with bringing the reality in site of your goal.

M-MEASURABLE- You must be able to measure your results.  You can only measure your results if you are tracking all your activity that pertains to your business.

A-ATTAINABLE- Is your goal one that is reachable and in the time that you have allotted?

R-RELEVANT- Is the goal relevant to the purpose of your business or

your  personal life?  Is the goal you set bringing you closer to that purpose?

T-TIME SENSITIVE- Does your goal have a deadline?  With a deadline in front of you, your mind realizes it has to accomplish certain tasks within a certain time.

So to be productive, be S.M.A.R.T.

I think as business owners, we all realize what it takes as well as what we need to do.  But, how we measure, track and evaluate the activities we do, will help in becoming better, more profitable and leaves  us with more time to do the things we enjoy.

 

SELLING:

We may not like it but we have to constantly adjust and adapt to the process and fully understand the needs of the market and the consumer. Here are some points to keep in your selling mindset.  First, people in your target market will first buy you. Also making sure you know your market and the needs and what your market is looking for will be key in this step.

If your prospect has not bought into you, I doubt if you have any shot at a sale even if you are the cheapest price in town.

I’m sure you have heard the phrase that attitude is everything, well if you are in sales, it’s a really big key to your success in sales.

People will pay more for an agreeable, enjoyable experience with a great product than just one based on it’s the cheapest.

The individual that combines a great product with a great attitude can be unstoppable.

Today, many  companies are basing lost sales because of price. Granted some people do just shop price, but in most categories on products and services, price is only a factor in 14%-20% statistically.

Secondly, you need to think more in line with the buyer’s thinking. While your buyer may be objecting to price, here’s what is swimming around in his or her mind.

1.)Is there a better product? 2.) Is the proposal right? 3.) Will this really solve my problems? 4.) Will we use it? 5.) What will others think if I buy this? 6.) Will the company really service me and honor the guarantee?

With this partial list of objections, you need to be going through your prospects thought process and be prepared to present in a more thorough manner making the buying decision safe for you prospects instead of just driving the price factor home.

Too many businesses today are leading there marketing and advertising campaigns with price and not with value, experience, quality, strong guarantee’s and taking the risk out of the buying process.

Many times the sales person is just not totally prepared or has not taken the time to identify the needs of the prospect, as well as what the prospect is truly looking for.

Today as consumers become more savvy and aren’t as willing just to throw their money around without thinking about after the sale, don’t be afraid to lead with the value, expertise, quality and guarantee of what you are selling.

Communicate to your buyer that your service after the sale will be unmatched as you take the risk out of the purchase and make buying a pleasure for your prospect.

If you are leading with price and doing comparisons, good luck. Trying to be successful on the cheapest price is a tough place to live in.

 

Thirdly, sales for the most part always has the numbers factor.  You can make the numbers work in your favor.

With the correct and precise market analysis, knowing the needs and wants of your market, and taking massive action, you can make the numbers work more in your favor.

In sales, massive action is one surefire way to increase your response and success rate. Take enough action and you will achieve more.

Fourth, know where your prospects are in the sales funnel. Deliver your commitments on time and over deliver. Your prospects may be evaluating you every step of the way. Make sure you have addressed all their needs and have provided the best solution.

Fifth, don’t be afraid and come out and ask for the sale. Lead your prospect with a series of yes answers to what you have delivered in the sales presentation that makes good sense for the prospect to buy.

Enhancing Your Life so You Can Enhance the Live of Others

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
www.akris.net
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

 

Can you be Successful at Sales?

Anyone can be successful at sales provided you have the right behaviors and mind-set.

In 2003, Tim Connor published a book called Soft Selling.   In it, he compared how poor salespeople and successful salespeople managed their selling time differently.   He allocated the salesperson’s time into six major categories:

·   Prospecting

·   Sales Presentation

·   Service

·   Administration

·   Travel

·   Self-Improvement

 

He found that when it came to time management, poor salespeople allocated their time as follows:

·   10% on prospecting,

·   23% on sales presentation,

·   15% on service to others,

·   30% on administration,

·   20% on travel,

·   and a meager 2% on self-improvement.

 

These numbers are stunning at first glance if you believe and take Connor’s numbers seriously.

Note that only 10% of a salesperson’s time was being spent on prospecting and a whopping 30% of their time was being spent on administrative duties.    In other words, the salespeople who failed were spending more time managing their paperwork and administrative duties than managing or growing their sales pipeline.

 

10% of a poor salesperson’s time was being spent on prospecting.  It’s no wonder their sales were falling short of their expectations and their sales pipeline remained empty. They were spending more time on paperwork and presentations when they should have been out looking for new suspects to qualify. Contrast these numbers with how well successful people managed their time when it came to selling.  Connor found that good salespeople spent their time as follows:

·   45% on prospecting for new business,

·   10% on their sales presentation,

·   20% on service to others,

·   5% on administration,

·   10% on travel,

·   And 10% on self-improvement.

If you want to learn how to get better at sales and be seen as a partner to your customers check out Collaborative Selling. To learn more go to www.akris.net 

 

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Facilitator
www.businessgrowthexperience.com  

 

 

“Observe everything as you walk your path (in life).”

Akita Mani Yo.

Robert Schepens, is part Native American and he often reminds me of the Native American saying “Akita Mani Yo.” This saying means “Observe everything as you walk your path (in life).”

Observing everything as we walk our path is hard to do. It requires both internal and external awareness.

Internal is defined a our reactions, feeling and emotions and external our environment, others and our ecology (relationships.) It requires seeing things we often pay no attention to.

It requires us to understand our life and the meaning of our life as defined by the contrast between ourselves and others. This contrast is what is observed. In this contrast lie the secrets we miss, the lost loves, the beautiful flowers that we ignore, the pain we inadvertently inflicted and the joy others experience. This observing shows us the pains of others that we missed, the opportunities lost, that opportunities missed, the opportunities we gained. It shows the joys that passed us by.

In NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) this is referred to as “Our perception is our reflection.” Stated another way, what we see and perceive is what we notice and what we reflected back to others.

If things are not what you want, shift your attention to notice the things you do want. What more customers? Shift your attention to being grateful for your existing customers. Want more love in your life, be a more loving person. Want more friends, be a better friend. Remember to Akita Mani Yo.

Ron Finklestein
Someone who is learning to be a better student.

ron@akris.net

330-990-0788

 

 

 

 

Why Relationship Skills Matter

Why Relationship Skills Matter.

We all belong to the human race. It is a simple sentence and a statement of fact. There are many assumptions made in that statement. One of the primary assumptions is we belong to the human race. Because of our membership in this august society, we know how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships that allow all parties involved to grow, prosper and get results.

I am not sure this is a valid assumption.

Why? Though we have much in common, many of us have not been taught know how to build rapport, connect with others, understand the best way to support others and know how to ask them to support us. This is evident by the divorce rate; as many as 50% of marriages end in a divorce (Source divorcerate.org.) What is interesting to me is that the divorce rate drops the older we get. For example the divorce rate is 38.8% for American males age 20-24 versus 6.5% for American males age 35-39. It would seem the old men get the more they understand relationship strategies.

The question is how can we shorten that learning curve?

In business, according to Grant Thornton, 97% of all business owners want to strengthen the customer relationship.

SCORE suggests that 64% of all small businesses fail because they do not know how nor do they understand the value of marketing. Marketing is nothing more than a process through which companies build strong customer relationships. Can you imagine how simple life can become when you understand this and implement relationship strategies in your business?

I could go on but you get my drift.

To address this problem, I teamed up with Dr. Tony Alessandra, one of the world’s foremost relationships strategies experts, to create a web site that teaches you how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships. The web site is called People Smarts. In this site we address relationship strategy issues, presentations skills, collaborative selling skills, marketing, personal growth and development, how to treat people the way they want to be treated and a host of other important and powerful topics that, when applied, will help you create more effective relationships to get the results you want and need. The site contains a full array of videos, eBooks, PDFs and MP3 to support you in your personal, sales, business and leadership development needs.

We invite you to explore and try out this site. In lesson one (which you have access) you will learn the different between the Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule and experience the overview of all functions of relationship strategies. In addition, you will receive an introduction of the two dimensions of behavior. In this lesson, you will be presented with a very simple model that has been validated with hundreds of thousands of people.  It is a powerful guide you can use to improve communication and morale, build better work groups, and develop better relationships with co-workers, supervisors, customers, vendors and others.

I invite you to give People Smarts a try. To learn more go to www.akris.net. If you have questions please feel free to call Ron Finklestein at 330-990-0788 or email him at ron@akris.net. This powerful tool can also be used in you place of business for all your employees. If you would like more details about this opportunity ask Ron and he will provide the details.

Ron Finklestein

www.peoplesmarts.ws
admin@peoplesmarts.ws

330-990-0788

How do we communicate our message?

How do we communicate our message?
Most people think it is through the spoken word. That is partly true. There are three components to effective communication. The words we use only account for 7 % of any message. For an effective communication to take place, of course, we need all three parts of the message and they must be congruent and consistent with each other. If there isn’t any congruency, the receiver will be confused and will have a tendency to accept the predominant form of communication rather than the literal meaning or words.
The second part of the message where meaning is implied is the emphasis and tone of our voice. This is 36% of the meaning of our communications. The emphasis and tone have the power to completely change the message that is being communicated. Often, you will say something to a person and they may become offended. When you express that the words you used were intended to be inoffensive, the other person will tell you that it was your tone of voice that was the issue.
The last component of our message is our body language. A whopping 57% of the meaning is convey through body language. You can dramatically increase the effect of your communication by leaning toward the speaker or shifting your weight forward onto the balls of your feet. If you can face the person directly and give them direct eye contact, combined with fully focused attention, you double the impact of what you’re saying.
If you want to learn more about effective communication please check out http://www.akris.net. Here we teach effective communication strategies to help you build better relationships, increase sales, become better leaders and help you grow personally and professionally.
To Creating Better Relationships
Ron Finklestein,
330-990-0788
ron@businessgrowthexperience

Do you take Ownership for Your Situation?

Do you take Ownership for Your Situation?

In a Business Growth Experience meeting we discussed how to identify high potential individuals. One trait that surface over and over was ownership – specifically taking ownership of a given situation.

It was suggested people who lack ownership used words like: I should, I must, I had no choice, I had to, and other made me do it. The stories they tell are other focused: they did this, you should hear what happened to me, etc. Excuses are a big part of their lives. It is always someone else’s fault.

People who embraced ownership used words like: I choose, it was my responsibility, I decided, and the stories they tell are focused on “I.” They ask questions like “why am I…?”, “in what ways can I…? ,“ why did I fail to communicate effectively with…?”, “how can I do things better?”, and “how can I change this situation?

Which side of the equation do you live on? Do you take ownership for your life, business, results, and relationships?

If you do not own your situation how can you change it? What kind of person do you want to become? What kind of person do you want to hang out with? Remember, there is no partial ownership. It is not like owning a time share. You either own  it or you don’t.

Ron Finklestein

ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788

www.ronfinklestein.com

To receive these posts directly please go to www.businessgrowthexperience.com and sign up for the free eBook, “Six Questions Your Prospects want Answered before the Buy.” You will then be added to the email list.

To receive great business training at an even better price please check out www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

 

What is the Difference between Personal Development vs. Internal Development?

Personal Development vs. Internal Development.

What is the difference between personal development and internal development?

Personal development is intended for use by one person. Personal development is usually skills based, the learning of new skills for example.

Internal Development exists in the interior of something. Internal Development is creating change from the inside out and focuses on changing beliefs and behaviors.

In my mastermind group, the people who have been in this group for 10 years have one thing in common: the desire for internal growth. The people who do not stay with the group leave quickly if they do not share this value.

Internal development (growth) is more difficult and longer lasting, if you can be open to new things, new ways of thinking and implement what you learned.

In personal development, after a new skill is learned the purpose of participating ceases to exist.

Which is more important to you?

Ron Finklestein

ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788

www.ronfinklestein.com

To receive these posts directly please go to www.businessgrowthexperience.com and sign up for the free eBook, “Six Questions Your Prospects want Answered before the Buy.” You will then be added to the email list.

To receive great business training at an even better price please check out www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

Making the Most of Your Networking Time

Making the Most of Your Networking Time.

I was facilitating a Business Growth Experience group today and we were discussing the value (or lack of) different networking events.

Assuming the networking event is the right networking event for you, here is how you can make the most of any networking event you attend:

  1. Treat it as a job. Be serious. You are not there to eat or drink, you are there to meet people.
  2. Set a goal for the event. How many A contacts do you want to meet?
  3. When you receive someone’s business card determine if and when a follow-up is required. I do this by writing a A, B, or C on the back of the card. A means immediate follow-up for immediate opportunity, B means follow in the next few days, possible opportunity, and C means I send them a “nice to meet you” email and file the card.
  4. After you meet your goal, eat, drink and be merry.
  5. Next day do your follow-up.

Ron Finklestein
Business Growth Facilitator
Need high quality, low-cost business training? If so check out http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com.

 

The New Marketing Strategy Guaranteed to Work

The New Marketing Strategy Guaranteed to Work

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.

Marketing is designed to persuade you to take a specific action (call now, space is limited), or not do something (don’t throw that away, recycle it).

People have become cynical. Marketing has become so sophisticated that people feel tricked into doing something only to find the product or service did not perform as stated or expected. We are inundated with thousands of marketing message daily from people trying to part us from our time, energy and money.

What’s a marketer (business owner) to do? I have new and powerful marketing technique that is guaranteed to work. What is it you ask?

It is quite powerful. You simply market your products and services with Integrity. Integrity is defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”

Wouldn’t it be great when we encountered someone selling a product or service that interested us that we felt we could trust the person or company? That we could have an open dialog; that the message was to be consistent and had integrity. The honesty was there.

There are six questions your prospects wants answered before they buy. You can download the report at http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com. This report will help you communicate your message with honesty and integrity.

This message was prompted by a bad experience I had will my bank. I should say my old bank – I just left them. Here is what happened. I received my home equity line statement from my bank and the bank demanded the loan be paid in full. We are not talking about a small about of money. I called customer service to see what was going on. I was told my house was in the collections and foreclosure process, I could do nothing to stop it, and no one I could call. The process must run its course. They told me I was late 30 times (BTW, I was never late.) When I suggested they made an error, I was told I was lying.

I spent hundreds of hours trying to solve this (as a small business owner this time away from my business was quite painful) finding the right people to talk too, feeling really stressed out and helpless because of the stress it put on my family, only to find out they made a mistake. My house was not in foreclosure, it was not in collections, and all was fine.  I did not get so much as a letter of apology. I think they were afraid I would sue. Don’t worry, I am not that kind of person. The letter I did get, saying my credit was not damaged,  did not have a signature. The collection letters I received that had a phone number would not return my calls. I was even told they called me and I know they did not because I have just one phone I use for all call and the call log does not lie.

While I am going through all this I see the banks’ commercials on TV about how easy this bank is to work with, how much they care about their customers and how responsive they are to their customers’ needs. I was quite angry that there was a total and complete disconnect between their message and their actions. At this time, I should point out that I had been with this bank over 30 years. I am in process of changing banks. I paid off the loan in questions, and I am creating an arm’s length relationship with my new bank.

Contrast that with the city where I now live. They put in a new sanitation line on my property that caused all kinds of water  problems in my yard. It has been a slow process but they are taking ownership and fixing the problem at their expense and the investment they are making is not insignificant.

Problems will happen. It is how you handle the problem that is important. Which organization was more in integrity with their customers? Is your message congruent with your organization’s action?  Do you deliver what you say you will deliver? Is your marketing message consistent with your company’s actions? All people want is to be treated fairly and honestly. Do you allow people in your organization to do that?

Do you handle your customer problem with integrity? Do you handle your sales with integrity? Do you live your life with integrity? Do you market with Integrity? Are you seeing a theme here? Being in Integrity is all that you do and be? The true disconnect is when your actions are not consistent with your words.

Ron Finklestein

Http://www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@akris.net
330-990-0788

The Power of Focus. The New Way to Get Results

One of the biggest problems I see with small business owners is that they chase the money. When you chase the money, you lose focus, and people do not know what you stand for.

Focus is principle number 6 of my Nine Principles for Inspired Action.

After working with a client in the Business Growth Experience and suggesting she gets focused, I received the following email less tha a week later.

“I also want to give you some feedback on a suggestion you made for me in the last Business Growth Experience meeting. We discussed just focusing on 3 types of businesses. Well I’m getting more referrals for those types of businesses. I’m truly amazed. I’ve received about 10 referrals between cleaning, insurance, and real estate in the last week. Thank you.”

Stop chasing the money. Get focused on your customer. The money will come.

Ron Finklestein
www.businessgrowthexperience.com
ron@businessgrowthexperience.com

 

 

Ten Time Wasting, Productivity Stealing, Resulting Robbing Excuses that Make Life Hard.

Ten Time Wasting, Productivity Stealing, Resulting Robbing Excuses that Make Life Hard.

As a business coach I work with people who could improve their results and productivity by making simple yet powerful changes in their approach to decision making. If you are not achieving your desired results, here are ten possible reasons why.   As you read, think about what you are doing and why you are doing it. The biggest reason productivity suffers is because of poor decision making. This wastes time and valuable resources. Time is wasted when we confuse activity with accomplishment. Activity is purposeless action. Accomplishment is purposeful action that leads to the results you want.

Getting clear on what is important and focusing on those activities will increase your productivity, save you time, and simplify your life. Take a look at these 10 time wasting, productivity robbing, and frustrating actions people take. How many of these apply to you?

  1. Not staying focused. Stay focused on what is important and ignoring any other opportunity that comes along will increase productivity. Jumping from activity to activity will ruin your productivity!
  2. Stop Multi-Tasking. You cannot focus and do multiple things well. Your productivity suffers. You think you got a lot done but none are done well and you would have completed more had you stayed focused. Studies show that focused activities allows you accomplish more.
  3. If you are a business owner do not discount your product. You are not the Banker. On more than one occasion I wanted to help someone so I gave them some help by discounting my product. The ones that I offered this help to were the ones who valued it the least, who took the most time and accomplished the least.
  4. You do not need to be an expert. People will be confused if you explain every detail. They really want to know why it works not how it works. It helps with your confidence level to know this info but you do not have to tell everyone unless they ask. Do not spend time trying to figure out every nuance of your product. Just go do what you have to do. If someone asks you a question you cannot answer, tell them you will find out and set a date and time when you will get back with them.
  5. Stop waiting for your family’s approval. They want you safe and many time what you want, they see as risky. It is your life. Live it by your rules not theirs! Decide. Take action.
  6. Stop going to networking events. Spend your time where your prospects are, not where it is safe. Most people you meet at networking events want to sell you their product. That is why they are there. I cut way back on my networking because the same people show up. They were becoming more like reunions.
  7. Avoid the tire kicker. They want to tell the world they tried everything when in reality they will suck you dry and never take action. Do not waste your energy on tire kickers. On the flip side, work with people who are where you want to be. Be open and coachable. This will shorten your time to success.
  8. Why do you do what you do? To be truly successful, spend as much time working on you as you do on your business. Results happen when you change what you do. The best way to change what you do is to change how you think. This could be learning new things, taking different actions, and being exposed to people who think differently than you do.
  9. Stop believing the wrong thing. It is not skills that hold us back but our beliefs. Anyone can learn anything, assuming they have the desire and interest. I cannot tell you how many audio programs I listened to and did not implement what I learned. I would then listen to the same program 10 years later and wonder why I did not trust (believe, implement, execute, etc) what I first learned. I think of all the time I wasted.
  10. Do not believe your limitations. Those limitations are things you learned as a child and you do not have to have the same beliefs now. It is not your fault if you are not happy with your life as it exists today but you are responsible and you can change it. As Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” Aim High  and take purposeful action

 

Call today for a free consultation. I can be reached at 330-990-0788

Ron Finklestein

Business Coach

ron@businessgrowthexperience.com
http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

The Speed of Trust

I received this from a friend of mine, Brian Doud. I thought it interesting. Pay close attention to Stephen Covey as he discusses the Speed of Trust and how quickly things get done when trust exists.

Chris: You talk a lot about the speed of trust. Can you explain, a little bit more in detail, what you mean by that?

Stephen (Covey) Well, here’s an illustration. Warren Buffett, who’s the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, always writes a management letter every year with his annual report and his management letters are studied widely in business schools and elsewhere in the country and
around the world. A year ago, in his management letter, he talked about the big acquisition that his company, Berkshire Hathaway, did of a $23 billion company that they bought from Wal-Mart. This company was McLane Distribution Company, $23 billion in revenue.

Now, Berkshire Hathaway is public. Wal-Mart is public. So these are two public companies. They have all the requirements of the public marketplace; all the scrutiny, et cetera. But to make this deal happen, it took place in a total of a two-hour meeting, and then 29 days later, Wal-Mart had their money from Berkshire Hathaway for a $23 billion transaction. Berkshire Hathaway did no due diligence, and Warren Buffett said, “I trusted Wal-Mart, I trusted the people I worked with. I knew everything would be in exactly the order that they said it would be, and it was.” He said, “We did no due diligence,” and in 29 days they did this deal.

In most mergers of this size, we’re talking several months, if not six, eight, ten, twelve months to close a deal like this, with armies and teams of accountants, CPAs, attorneys, et cetera, that come in and do all kinds of due diligence to verify, to validate, and it takes a lot of cost and it takes a lot of time. But the idea of the speed of trust is literally, both speed in terms of actual time that you can do things in, and also speed as a metaphor, to mean benefits, results, dividends that are abundant; and the fruits of high trust and the speed at which you can move are close to miraculous.”

What are you doing to create trust with the people you work with?

 

Ron Finklestein
Business Training at a great price: Http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com  

Blue Print for Achievement

I received this in an email from Jason Orman. It was the boost I needed today and I wanted to share with others who may need some moral support and encouragement.

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Blueprint for Achievement
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===> BELIEVE while others are doubting
===> PLAN while others are playing
===> STUDY while others are sleeping
===> DECIDE while others are delaying
===> PREPARE while others are daydreaming
===> BEGIN while others are procrastinating
===> WORK while others are wishing
===> LISTEN while others are talking
===> SMILE while others are frowning
===> PRESIST while others are quitting

– William Arthur Ward

Thanks Jason
Ron Finklestein
Consultative Business Coach

Using Your Advisory Board to Prevent Failure

I run several Business Mastery Advisory Boards (learn more at www.rpfgroupinc.com) that are designed to drive the nine behaviors all successful people implement. These behaviors are documented in the book Nine Principles for Inspired Action: A New & Targeted Perspective (available on amazon.com).

Many business owner do not know what needs done but not how to do it. When asked why they did not address the problem, the reason I hear most is: “I do not know how.”

I find this to be a lazy reason from not doing something. When I ask them to commit they say I will try. LISTEN UP LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! There is no trying. There is only doing. In this economy we need action that leads to purposeful results, not action that leads to trying.

That is why an advisory board is so important. You have your peers to help you. You share best practices that save you time, energy and money. You receive objective feedback from people who care for you and your success. There are no hidden objectives.

I have one member in my advisory board (learn more at www.rpfgroupinc.com) that talks about quality of her product and the value her company provides. This is strange because she cannot define either in a way that allows the customer to understand or in a way that reflects the value of her product or services. If you cannot define it you cannot do it or achieve it – it is that simple.

She does not have to know how to do it, all she as to do is start doing something. Building the kinds of processes I am talking about requires documenting what you do now. If you do not know what you are doing, make something up and start doing it.

There is hundreds of training programs out there whose purpose is to help you acquire the skills you need. I use iLearningGlobal to help me when I am stuck and I use this tool to help my clients when they are stuck. To learn more go to http://www.ilearningglobalnow.net

Watch a few videos. Take some notes. Each video is only 6-9 minutes in length. That is one half of one percent of your day so do not tell me you do not have time. Listen to billionaire Bill Bartmann discuss how he used goal setting to go from bankruptcy to $500M in assets in five years. 

Begin learning from your mistakes and learn from the mistakes of others. Learning is essential to success; especially if what you are doing you have never done before. Success is nothing more the learning to fail forward. Let’s others help you to fail forward.

Ron Finklestein
www.akris.net
ron@akris.net 
330-990-0788