Category Archives: Business Management

Create a Business that has a Lasting Foundation

| May 31, 2016

foundationIn last month’s newsletter I shared a program, BUILD A BUSINESS YOU LOVE: Build Your Business, Protect Your Assets & Leave a Legacy presented by one of our Mind Masters members who is a Business Broker. The premise of the program is to get you, the business owner thinking about making sure you are building a business with a smart foundation. In order to do that, you must create a systematized business. It’s absolutely critical to the future growth and success of your business.

Why? Well according to the Michael Gerber organization (The E Myth),” systems are essential to:

  • Build
… Read More

5 Ways to Stay On Top Of Your “Game”

| April 26, 2016

5 Ways to Stay On Top Of Your “Game”With first quarter finished, I wanted to make sure all of my members were ready and willing to push on with the same enthusiasm they came out of the January Summit with. Sometimes more of the same just doesn’t motivate us to keep going. Maybe the plan was too aggressive, maybe there were a few curves in the road. Sometimes there was just more to do than one could possibly do.

I offer you the same ideas I challenged them with.

  1. Ask yourself thought provoking questions. What questions are you asking?  What master questions are you using to guide
… Read More

Manage Better with the Numbers

| March 29, 2016

socialHow do you stand out online, offline, in advertising, networking? I know I have written about branding for visibility before, but as the internet has expanded our reach for branding seems more difficult.  There are the social media sites, more targeted advertising like Google and Facebook, a big push on content, both original and curated. But with all of this the big question is are you making money???Are you reaching the goals you set?

Investment of time and money in marketing for any of the above is only as good as the ROI, the actual business you derive from it. … Read More

Ready, Set, Go! 2016 Has Started, Are You Ready?

| January 26, 2016

I came across an article by a business broker that seemed to echo my theme when I do the first of the year Summit. Here’s how he starts out;

“Every January we all think about making resolutions such as: Losing weight, taking a vacation, moving our residence or even better relationships.

  • How about thinking about a Business Resolution for 2016?
  • If money were no object, what could you do to improve your business?
  • If you had a “not so good year”, what was the reason?
  • If you had a “great year”, what did you do to get there?

Can you … Read More

What’s it Going to Take?

| December 29, 2015

dream bigAs we prepare for the New Year, I challenged my Mind Master members to either add to their Dream List or begin one. Each step in our growth, whether business or life requires choices. If you don’t have a Dream List how can you begin to set goals and stay focused? I remember a client years ago, he owned a Real Estate business and chose to work with me because the previous year he had reached his goal by mid-year and did not achieve anything else the rest of the year. He neither had a dream list or even a … Read More

Trust Changes Everything

| October 29, 2015

speed-of-trustHaving just finished the book, The Speed of Trust – The One thing that Changes Everything, by Steven M. R. Covey, I presented some of the ideas to our Mind Masters Groups as we build our “brand” by building trust.

People do business with people they like.  So business is based on relationships.  The relationship matters as much as the service – maybe even more.  When people like you, they trust you and want to work with you.

What we are talking about here is that customers buy from people not corporations.  So to succeed you need to promote yourself … Read More

Reinvent Your Strategy

| August 25, 2015

KarlIs your business doing well?

Do you have your finger on the “pulse” of your market? What does it take to dominate a market? Let’s look at Southwest Airlines. Although it took years of fighting the competition in court, it also fought it in the domain of ideas. It flies from small local airports, has lower fares, they offer peak and off peak pricing, and opened the market back in the 70’s to a whole new market of passengers (people who could not previously afford to fly).
I might suggest that in this fast paced world of the 21st Century … Read More

Innovation: The Magic Behind Disney’s Sales Success

| July 28, 2015

Although most of us are not aiming at a global market, the ideas in this article are great reminders of what it takes to add and keep customers.

By Michelle Caspole MCaspole@assessmentspecialists.com

Mickey Mouse and Disney’s successful ventures are known worldwide. Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, said “I went to Bali, and I was in a small village, and somebody who was with me showed a woman a little figurine of Bart and asked: ‘Do you know who this is?’ And she said: ‘Mickey Mouse.’” That’s just how strong the Disney brand is.

Maurice Sendak, author of Where the … Read More

How Does Branding Differ from Sales and Marketing?

| June 30, 2015

Sales is convincing, overcoming objections, and getting a check. You’re doing the talking.

Marketing is the process of generating leads that get you in front of those prospects.

Branding is influencing, pre-selling. Branding appeals to desires and touches emotions. Its first goal: to emotionally predispose consumers into entering a business relationship with you.
Today, we live in a skeptical culture – a culture that doesn’t want to be sold anything. When your branding is done correctly, the sale is made virtually without effort. Prospects arrive “pre-sold.”

Branding doesn’t happen right out of the box. As your own marketer you have … Read More

Get Customers to Talk for You

| April 28, 2015

eyeIf you had to guess, what percentage of people are visually oriented: that is, they need to see something before buying it – you know they need to drive a car, feel the material of a suit/dress or preview a house before purchasing it? More than 95% of people are visual consumers. So how do you a service provider create this opportunity?

Why not start with a testimonial from a client who has had a very positive experience working with you? How many times have you heard, “I don’t know how to thank you”? That is the perfect time to … Read More