Quit Wrestling and Take Some Dance Lessons!

November 18, 2010 by

Today I want to suggest an alternate to wrestling with employees – dancing!

Let’s compare wrestling and dancing.  Both require energy.  Both typically involve two people.  Both involve close contact.

Wrestling wears you out.  It is filled with struggle, resistance, and dominance.  It is characterized by sometimes violent and aggressive movement designed to bring the competitor into submission.  It is definitely a win: lose sport – for one to win, he must defeat the other.

Dancing on the other hand is energizing and fun.  As one person leads another, together they produce a beautiful expression of grace and cooperation.  There is a mutual submission and cooperation with the goal of communicating affection and friendship.  The goal is to lead and follow and flow together.  In a great dance, both partners win!

The question I want to ask (great coaches ask great questions) is this:  Are you dancing or wrestling with your partners, managers, and employees?  Are you trying to dominate, control and win, or are you leading them to create a beautiful win: win scenario?  Are the emotions often violent, hurtful and aggressive, or filled with enjoyment, fun, and cooperation.

A lot of people in small business feel it is impossible to create such a harmonious scenario. A basic business coaching concept that we teach to our clients is to manage “agreements” not people. This means that first of all you have to have tight “rules of the game” for  your company as well as what we call “positional descriptions” for employees, which outline what is expected of them and the repercussions of not meeting those expectations. These “job-descriptions” can be discussed and modified, within limits, with each team member so that you can both come to an agreement. But once you have that agreement in place, stick to it. If you laid out that coming in late 2 times in a one month period means taking a one week unpaid “vacation,” then make sure you enforce that strictly when it occurs. This communicates that you can be flexible when making agreements, but that you stick to those agreements once they are made. Believe it or not, employees will often appreciate this just as much as the owner because they know where the lines are drawn.

It is your business, your career, and your job, your team, and your choice.  If you are tired of wrestling, I would love to teach you even more specifically how to dance with your team.  Give us a call and consider team building coaching. Let’s get started!

Improve your team and yourself…ask Ohio Business Coach, Ralph Berge 440.838.0991

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,

Why People Challenge Price…

September 27, 2010 by

Customers want several things from their suppliers.  What do you think are most important?

Consumer surveys have shown that most customers want timely service first, quality products and services second, and low price third.  However what’s interesting is what many sales professionals think is the right sequence. When asked in one of our sales seminars, “what they think is most important to consumers”? Sales people offered consistent feedback:  they believe the consumer wants low price first, quality second and good service last. Clearly, there is a difference between what customers really want and what salespeople think they want.

Most consumers tell salespeople they want a low price, when what they really want is low cost.  Think about it.  Do you want the cheapest, or that which effectively solves your problem or fulfills your need or want?  Customers want their problems solved.  They realize they get what they pay for, and that the memory of poor quality lasts far longer than the immediate high of a low price deal.

People object to price when they feel that you are asking them to pay more than what they perceive the value to be.  When most salespeople get price resistance, they simply lower the price.  Usually it’s not a price issue, but one of low perceived value.  So how can you raise perceived value?  Through asking great questions and listening to discover what is causing your customer to be dissatisfied.  Then you will be equipped to show them how your product or service will remove the pain and satisfy their need, and even exceed their expectation. This will ensure that price will be secondary and improve business sales.

An example of a good question you might ask is: What will it cost you if you wait and buy this later?  What will happen if you don’t buy this?  What if you try to save and get a poor cheap substitute?   Another example more specific to our business would be: “What would one lost sale cost you in comparison to the fee for a sales training program?”  “What would it mean to gain one great customer per salesperson this year based on better training?”  The point is, we need to get people focused on — the cost of not doing it or the cost of doing it wrong vs. the value from the investment they will make.  (This assumes your product/service actually does save them money, time, effort, and provides value over time)

Real sales professionals focus on value, what the product or service does for the customer, and not price.  They understand that, while price is an issue, it’s not the most important one.  Price will always seem high when perceived value is low.  Don’t lower prices, raise perceived value.  Lowering price only makes your original price suspect and undermines your credibility.

Remember!  Once you set a discount or concession precedent, you’ll live with it for years with that customer.

Improve business sales…ask Ohio Business Coach, Ralph Berge 440.838.0991

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,

Five Ways to Build Your Business

August 10, 2010 by

Business Coach, Ralph Berge, an Akron business coach teaches clients and prospects that 5 Ways to Profits is the fastest way to improve business sales and increase profits because of one concept:  Leverage, or as we define it; “ever more with ever less.”

 

If you are like most business owners, you want more: more customers, more revenues, or more profits. The problem is all three of these factors are end results, not what really drive your business. Action’s 5 Ways refers to the 5 areas that drive your profits:

  • Leads … improving and measuring lead generation … and how to leverage any you use now …
  • Conversion Rate … developing sales skills from training your team right through developing strategies will give your sales process a massive boost …
  • Number of Transactions … often the most overlooked and yet most productive ways to increase revenues …
  • Average Dollar Sale … once again probably the easiest to impact and yet so easily overlooked, here we will work with you to increase the value of every transaction …
  • And Profit Margins … strategies to boost your bottom line … impacting both you and your Cash flow …

Call Ralph Berge  (440.838.0991) for more on building your business the smart way.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,

5 Ways to Increase Your Profit …

August 6, 2010 by

If you have been around me and Business Coach for very long, you have heard of the “5-Ways”.  It’s great to know about simple profound principles that can really improve business sales and boost your business success.  However, the only way that the “5-Ways” is going to do that for your business is by taking ACTION.  So here is a challenge for every reader of this blog.  Today, create at least one strategy from each of the five ways to implement in your business over the next 30 days, and do it.
CLARITY + ACTION = RESULTS.  Here’s how to do it!

1. Review and understand the formula:
—————-Formula——————–
#Leads x %Conversion = #CUSTOMERS

#CUSTOMERS x Number of Transactions x Average $ Sale = REVENUE

REVENUE x % Margin = PROFIT
—————-Formula———————

#Leads – the number of prospects expressing interest in buying from you

%Conversion – the percentage of those prospects who make a purchase

Number of Transactions – the average number of times customers buy from you in a given period of time

Average $ Sale – this is the average amount that customers spend on each transaction

% Margin = the percentage of the revenue you keep (profit) after expenses are paid

2. create a strategy for each one of the 5 Ways by answering these questions:

1.  What is one way that you will increase the number of people interested in buying from you?

2.  What is one way that you will help a shopper say “yes” and buy from you?

3.  What is one way that you will encourage a customer to buy again from you?

4.  What is one way that you will help a customer buy a little more from you?

5.  What is one way that you will increase your profit margin?

It is also critical that you measure the result from each strategy.

Improve business…ask Ohio Business Coach, Ralph Berge 440.838.0991

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,

Your Goals Make a Difference

August 3, 2010 by

Goal setting for a business is as important as setting goals in personal life. The common denominator in all the self-help literature and books is the importance of goal setting. We’re told to set long-term goals, short-term goals, lifetime goals and personal goals. Often it isn’t easy.

 

There are many reasons why we don’t achieve our goals. Sometimes the goals we set are unrealistic. New Year’s resolutions are typical examples. Suddenly, we expect to change the way we eat, or the way we exercise just because the calendar changes. It’s like expecting a child that’s never ridden a bike to suddenly jump on and go, or to run a marathon without months of training. These goals are based on illusion with little regard to natural growth. You must be able to crawl before you walk.

 

So, how do we set and achieve goals for a business? Stephen R. Covey says it best in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

 

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is vital to being successful in the goal setting process. The benefits of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results orientated, Time-framed (S.M.A.R.T) goals have been written about in self-help books for years. So, it follows that goal setting is obviously a powerful process.

 

Ralph Berge, an Ohio business coach says It is about ‘eating the elephant, one bite at a time’ and of turning vision into achievable, actionable things. It’s the common denominator of successful individuals and businesses.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,

Executive Team Building Builds Successful Companies

July 27, 2010 by

Ralph Berge is an Ohio Business Coach who helps build effective corporate teams. Corporate team building training is used to create rapidly changing conditions that require strategic thinking and imaginative problem solving.  Corporate team building training can be used to effectively enhance both teams and management in many ways including:

  • Building team trust
  • Improving communication
  • Developing strategic business planning to manage change
  • Teaching team member to think smarter and improve worker productivity
  • Managing change and help the team to accept change in the workplace

The “right” team is a businesses most valuable asset. An investment in corporate team building training has a high ROI. Regular training team training is essential.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: , , ,

Why Are You in Business?

July 20, 2010 by

The strategic business plan explores key questions about the purpose for being in business. On a regular basis business owners and their teams must answer these questions and agree on the answers. The answers help to determine the essential elements of the strategic plan, such as the sales planning process. From a business strategy consulting standpoint, the key, broad subjects to be incorporated in a strategic business plan are:

   Vision

   Mission Statement

   Key Objectives

   Milestones

   Implementation/ action plan and time table

This plan, which includes strategies, actions and responsibilities, becomes the foundation of the firm’s strategic business plan. This is not a document to be completed and left in the desk drawer. It is to be shared with the team and developed into 90 day plans for the management and team to implement.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: , ,

Building Your Team is Both an Art & a Science

July 13, 2010 by

To build highly-effective teams you have to create an atmosphere for it to happen. Ralph Berge an Ohio Business Coach who provides executive team building suggests, “We must create an environment where each team member feels free to express their concerns with no retribution.” Business owners and management must understand that no idea is wrong. Team building coaching dictates that every team members’ suggestion needs to be considered and, if possible, built upon.

Remember we learn from mistakes and teams must be given an opportunity to try new ideas without admonishment for mistakes. Instead, a failure should be an opportunity to gain knowledge and to praise any safe-guards which were included in the plan. Give Ralph Berge a call (440.838.0991) for more on executive team building and team building coaching.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: , ,

When is the Right Time to Exit Your Business?

July 6, 2010 by

What can exiting from your business mean to you?  It can be as emotionally difficult as a bankruptcy or forced liquidation or it can be a planned sale with all debts paid, money for retirement and peace of mind. Planning for succession means you should plan to sell when the sale will provide the funds necessary to retire or move on to a new opportunity. It can also be passed on to your heirs, employees or partners with proper pre-planning to fund the sale.

Ralph Berge is an Ohio Business Coach who helps business owners plan their succession management.  “Succession management is an exit strategy that simply means you have planned your transition and you are ready to take advantage of the options available to you’ says Berge. Call Ralph Berge, Business Coach 440-838-0991 to get moving on your business exit strategy.

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: , ,

Want to Know How to Sell… All you have to do is Ask?

June 4, 2010 by

Want to improve business sales? Have you ever answered a question with a question?  Would that be making a difference to your conversion rate? The answer to the latter is most definitely yes! Asking questions not only increases your conversion rate, but builds rapport with your customer and ensures that the sale becomes their idea and not yours. 

Asking questions also means active listening. You can ask questions about your customers work, business, kids or hobbies but make sure that you are listening with sincere interest. It may even be helpful to write down some of the answers – such as the names of their kids, interests etc. for future communication. By asking questions and listening, you are building rapport and attaching importance to their conversation. 

Also, by asking questions you are remaining in control of the conversation. Once you find yourself doing all the talking you are no longer in control. Just remember that the person asking questions sets the direction for the conversation. If the customer is dominating the conversation by asking you questions make sure you answer the question with a question. However, try to vary the questions that you ask. You may remember from looking after your own children or babysitting that being asked “but why?” over and over again tends to get a little monotonous. 

Questions can guide consumer interest, discover a need and give accurate information. There are two commonly known types of questioning – open ended and closed questions. 

Building Rapport and Qualifying…

Open-ended questions are an excellent way to ensure customer involvement in the conversation and are a key to identifying not only what they need but a lot about themselves. You can use open-ended questions to build rapport, to find a need, to discover a customer problem and find the right solution. In journalism there are six key questions used in the interviewing process which is as equally useful in sales – who, what, where, when, why and how. 

Here are a few examples of open-ended questions which are very useful:

Who are you buying the product/service for?

How often would you use the product/service?

What features were you looking for in this product/service? 

This type of questioning yields a lot of great information from your customer and helps you determine which product/service is uniquely suited to them. 

Closed questions tend to get one word answers “yes” or “no.” They can be used to gather information quickly – not unlike a check-list. Using closed questions can also confirm a buying detail and help confirm the sale. 

By using questions you are encouraging the customer to communicate, building rapport, establishing their needs, directing the conversation, diffusing tension and inviting discussion. 

Improve business sales…Learning the art of questioning and listening is the key to increasing your conversion rate and well on the way to creating a continuing customer relationship. 

Improve business…ask Ohio Business Coach, Ralph Berge 440.838.0991

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »