Business Management Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business OwnersHow To Increase Your Sales By AskingToo many sales people don’t ask for the things they need or that could help them increase their sales and grow their business. Developing the confidence and ability to ask for the things you need is an essential sales skill. Here are twelve situations that sales (and business) people need to summon up the courage [...] Think BackwardsOver the years, I’ve worked with many small business owners who are often put off from doing a task because they feel they need to have everything in place before they can move forward. Take one client who wanted to run some workshops for her business. Sounded like a great plan, but she didn’t want [...] Hiring The Right People For The Tangible, Intangible JobsHiring the right marketing, sales people is always difficult because success elsewhere may not translate into success for your company, for you. The difference between the right and wrong choice is more than the money it will cost to hire yet another new person. The real cost can be a year’s worth of lost business [...] Increase Your Sales By Avoiding These Lame Sales QuestionsDuring a recent sales training workshop I conducted with a client, we were discussing the importance of asking the right questions; high-value, high-impact, penetrating questions. One person spoke up and said, “When I’m talking to a new prospect I like to ask, “What do you know about us?” An uncontrollable groan escaped when I heard [...] Time Management Is BogusTime Management is Bogus! We really don’t understand the problem. In fact, time is unmanageable – it just keeps tickin’ along. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Time should be manageable, but it’s not! Thousands and thousands of pages have been written about “time management.” The trick, of course, is not reading but [...] What Is CEO Time?For many of us, it could be triple the value of what it is now. Meaning: Your company could be earning 3 x as much money. (We’ll assume your compensation stays the same!) Ask a CEO or Small Business owner how he divides his time between CEO work, Managing work and “Chief Employee” work (where [...] Accountability – Is More Better?Accountability is much in the news these days, mostly as complaint. Would you agree that accountability is also much avoided? And “when you point your finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you!” Let’s face it: The solopreneur has no one else to point at! As the business grows larger, accountability is [...] How To Dig Yourself Out Of The HoleWhen I first started my business, I had a business mentor who told me the following quote. I’ve never forgotten it because it’s so true for many, many business owners. He said: “Show me an entrepreneur and I’ll show you a manic-depressant.” How true is that? One moment as a business owner, you can be [...] Managing Skills For Business ContinuityIn a meeting recently, a client made a comment to the effect that they were very concerned that “Talent Management” has become just another fad word. Sadly in many circumstances this is already the case. One of the main contributors to this demise is the fact that many limit “Talent” to “professional” occupations or positions [...] Broadening Your PR And Media Bull’s-EyeThe best way to launch a successful media campaign is to give the press options. You have a story that you want to tell through the media. Chances are you have one or two main angles or story ideas that you want covered. Those are where your focus lies, they are your primary objectives. But [...] 11 Things That Irk Decision MakersSelling in today is highly competitive business world requires more effort and energy than ever. However, there are certain things that can work against you, especially when you sell in a B2B environment. Sales people do a variety of things that irk decision makers and prospects and prevent them from moving the sales process forward. [...] Act Like Your Business Is Worth ItHow many times have you heard the phrase “Act like your business is worth £1m” and left thinking that although that would be nice, there is no way you could do that because you just don’t have the money. Me too! And then, the other day I reached an epiphany. By this phrase, people don’t [...] The Newer Rules of MentoringIn 2002 I wrote an article entitled The New Rules of Mentoring for The Wall Street Journal. Nine years later the Millennials have changed the playing field and now we have “the newer rules of mentoring”. The Millennial Generation, born between 1977 and 1998, are the latest generation to enter the workplace. They are 75 [...] The Risk of Ignoring MillennialsOne of the biggest challenges for businesses today is integrating the Millennials or Gen Y twenty-somethings into a Baby Boomer culture. They are the newest generation to enter the labor market, arriving with their distinct ideas about what they expect from their jobs. They are our future leaders and our next generation of revenue-generators. So [...] Leaders Should Ignore the Generalizations of Gen-YLeaders need to ignore the articles that make generalizations about Generation-Y and the other generations within the current workforce. The articles I refer to use research and surveys in making generalizations about Gen-Y, and seem to focus the perceived shortcomings in the younger generations. The majority of the articles suggest that Gen-Y is prone to [...] Choosing the Next Great Tech Product Boom … or BustTrying to figure out what tech trend (necessity) to buy is one of the biggest challenges people face today. Finding fads is easy…just look in the rearview mirror! Or, for people who know us, when we believe something is sound, logical, that it’s gotta’ win…they bet on the other horse! Picking the winners from the [...] Training and Development in Economic RecessionsThe Case for Investing in Employee Training During an Economic Recession When companies struggle through economic downturns, much like the one we are experiencing now, the first instinct is to start slashing the operating budget. Managers and employees are asked to do more with fewer resources.The economic outlook for the foreseeable future in our country [...] Team Building to Support Change ManagementPurpose of Team Building Team building is necessary to support change in organizations. It is a collaborative effort between the employees who will carry out change initiatives and the managers and executives who provide leadership, guidance and vision for the proposed change.Team building is conducted for a number of reasons in organizations. It serves many [...] On The Road, Staying in Touch for Business, Pleasure“Oh, yeah, they’re gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ‘em.” – George Hanson (Jack Nicholson) – Easy Rider (1969), Columbia Pictures Think about it…Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda, you hittin’ the road on rad bikes. How freakin cool! [...] If You’ve Got to Meet, Do It RightTypical managers spend nearly 40% of their work hours in meetings, not to mention the time spent preparing (and recuperating). A survey of business leaders showed: • 33% of time spent in meetings is unproductive • 75% of the respondents said it is “almost essential” to have an agenda, yet they use them only 50% [...] |
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