“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.” --Napoleon Hill
Your authors are:
Linda Fayerweather of Changing Lanes LLC
Rebecca Booth of Imagine That
Pat Altvater of Transformations Institute
Paula Frazier of BNI of West Virginia
====================================
Rewarding and Thanking your Employees
====================================
Work above the agreed desired outcomes of individual performance is a choice each employee makes. When employees know what is expected of them (job descriptions help with desired performance outcomes that are time sensitive) combined with regular reviews, the choice they make beyond the expected achievement needs to be recognized. This recognition needs to match what the employee values. If the employee values family time, then a reward that would honor that time will be remembered longer.
A small business owner I work with asked at the team meeting if "any" employee would have time to do an especially dirty job that had been neglected by the recently fired cleaning crew. The self-selected employee did a tremendous job and was paid his regular wage, PLUS in the pay envelop, were 4 movie coupon tickets. Each time the employee goes to the movie, he tells the owner about it and thanks her! The employee feels recognized, respected and remembers the reward beyond the paycheck. The owner got a job well done and an employee that is ready for the next challenge.
Employees that feel appreciated and recognized will reward you with good work.
Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
====================================
‘Tis the Season
===================================
I wish I could tell you that Halloween is done for 2009; but I can’t. ‘Tis the season for Yellow Pages advertising contracts. Many of you may be nervous about the economy and you may be unsettled about your marketing initiatives for the remainder of the year. There is hope! My first suggestion is to look back at where you got your new clients. Chances are it’s not out of the Yellow Pages. For most businesses, I have seen Yellow Pages advertising drive price shoppers to the phone versus people with money to spend. So take a long hard look at how you spend your marketing budget and where those new clients are coming from. If the majority is coming from Yellow Pages, good for you. If not, then downsize, downsize, downsize that ad! Be careful, reps for Yellow Pages are notorious for not letting you walk away from a “deal”, so they’ll be quite aggressive in convincing you to stay. But check out these facts:
* Hotels have stopped stocking their rooms with Yellow Pages, because their guests are connected to the internet with their phones.
* There are more Yellow Pages books in the marketplace that people with telephones
* More people are using the internet to find phone numbers than ever before
* People are concerned about our landfills being junked up with Yellow Pages, so they’re not even picking them up any more.
Less is more. Especially when it comes to advertising in the Yellow Pages. You have my permission to not think twice about slashing that budget like Freddie Krueger would slash his next unwitting victim. BOO!
Aside from Coach Linda Fayerweather – many yellow pages contracts must be cancelled with a certified letter!
Copyright 2008 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419.855.3399
Celebrating 10 years of delivering results for our clients.
http://www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com/
http://www.marketinginabox.biz/
Links of Interest
Bob Nelson wrote "1001 Ways to Reward Employees" available at:
More on SWOT analysis at http://tinyurl.com/SWOTcl
Have a profitable week.
Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday Morning Motivators had a great post about having great customer retention by Paula Frazier at http://ping.fm/Mmras
Monday, November 16, 2009
SWOT & 100% Client Retention
“An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today.” --Laurence J. Peter
Your authors are:
Linda Fayerweather of Changing Lanes LLC
Rebecca Booth of Imagine That
Pat Altvater of Transformations Institute
Paula Frazier of BNI of West Virginia
SWOT
SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. Albert Humphrey of Stanford University is credited with developing this strategic planning tool in the 1960s essential to developing a planning process. SWOT Analysis is an effective method of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats you face.
To carry out a SWOT Analysis, spend some time with these questions to prepare yourself and your business for the next business cycle:
Strengths:
--What are your advantages?
--What do you do well?
Weaknesses:
--What could be improved?
--What is done badly?
--What should be avoided?
Opportunities
--Where are the good chances facing you?
--What are the interesting trends?
--Changes in government policy related to your field
--Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes
--Local Events
Threats
--What obstacles do you face?
--What is your competition doing?
--Is changing technology threatening your position?
Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminating - both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems into perspective.
For a tool to help with your SWOT, go to http://www.changinglanes.biz/files/SWOTanalysisWorksheet.pdf
Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
ACHIEVING 100% CLIENT RETENTION
In a perfect world we’d all have 100% customer retention! Every person we agree to do business with is a perfect fit for us and we are a perfect fit for them. We will stand and deliver our products and services with integrity and they will experience the optimal return on their investment. Over time we establish trust and credibility and might occasionally become friends. They’re not going anywhere – or are they?
I’m not a math scholar but I’m pretty good at basic equations. Here’s one that most business owners and sales people are counting on: Qualified Prospects + Need/Interest = IDEAL CLIENTS. Now let’s agree to a few assumptions:
1. You believe in your products and services.
2. You can easily and passionately explain their benefits.
3. Your prospect needs and wants your products and services.
4. You follow through and deliver on everything you agree to do.
5. You connect with them as appropriate (weekly, monthly, quarterly).
Based on living up to the “givens” listed above why aren’t all of our clients staying with us FOREVER?!? I recently lost two clients so I began to consider some of the variables that may have affected my not so positive outcome.
I could honestly answer YES to all five of the givens. If it wasn’t me…who could it be? THEM? So I made a list of the Top 10 Characteristics (with brief descriptions) of my target market:
5+ Years in Their Industry -->Survived Start Up
2+ Years at Same Company --> Achieved Measurable Success
Business Owner/Top Producer --> Invested in Building the Business
Entrepreneurial Mindset --> Visionary & Calculated Risk Taker
Life Long Learner --> Invest In Their Own Development
Coachable --> Knows They Don’t Know Everything
Established in Their Industry --> Teaches and Trains Others in Their Field
Passionate --> Completely Believes in Their Prod/Svc
Wants/Needs Referrals --> Understands Referral Marketing is a Science
Positive Cash Flow --> Able to Budget/Invest Based on Their Goals
What are the Top 10 Characteristics of your target market?
My most successful clients have nine or ten of these traits. The two I lost only had two or three. My lesson learned – If a qualified prospect does not match most of my descriptors they’re not a good match for me. The proven equation looks something like this:
Qualified Prospects + Top 10 Traits + Need/Interest = IDEAL CLIENTS
Just because they need (or want) my product or service doesn’t mean they’re in a position to experience the maximum benefits. Most importantly, just because we’re not a good fit in business does not mean we’re not a good fit as friends and colleagues.
One of the most selfless things we can do when we’re talking to an unqualified prospect is refer them to someone that can help them with their most immediate needs. Ideally, they’ll develop into a qualified prospect over time by acquiring the skillset of your target market.
Quick personal note: My 9th grade geometry teacher would be so proud. My ability to prove, disprove and verbalize equations wasn’t quite as impressive back then. Admittedly it’s not all that impressive now. If she’d only spoken in terms of business; I’m a fourth generation entrepreneur! I still don’t know what time Train A is going to meet Train B. What I do know is that I don’t care to be on either train because they’re gonna CRASH!
One last variable to consider – Could some of our most successful clients become less than ideal clients by allowing their abilities to diminish? Absolutely.
Perhaps the goal shouldn’t be to attain 100% client retention. The goal is to serve people that meet 100% of your target market requirements in an effort to serve them to the best of your abilities.
Paula Frazier is a referral marketing trainer, consultant and keynote speaker. She is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Paula’s business networking articles have been published internationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist! Paula can be contacted at paula@referralinstitute-va.com .
Links of Interest
More on SWOT analysis at http://tinyurl.com/SWOTcl
The Top 10 Tools for Maximum Productivity. Coach Phil Humbert’s Monthly tool: Request it at: http://PhilipHumbert.com/Free Take action! It’s a place to start.
Free ebooks from some of the great authors – Napoleon Hill, Benjamin Franklin, Plato and more. http://www.milliondollarbookshelf.com/
Tune-up your brain – lots of online games to either sharpen your skills, embarrass yourself in front of your kids or just chill. http://playwithyourmind.com/about/
Have a profitable week.
Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC
Teleclass
Available
Don't leave 2010 without a Plan!
Business Planning! Simple and Complete.
Join other savvy open entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed and time starved by the success of thier business and desire to leverage thier time, resourcs and money.
October 20, 22, 28 7-9:30PM EDT/EST Cost $149
This will be a live webinar, handouts will be delivered via email and follow-up coaching will be available for 5 Monday Morning Motivator readers.
Go to: Changing Lanes - Classes for registration and details
This class is limited to 10 participants. Web site also has live classes in Northwest Ohio.
Your authors are:
Linda Fayerweather of Changing Lanes LLC
Rebecca Booth of Imagine That
Pat Altvater of Transformations Institute
Paula Frazier of BNI of West Virginia
SWOT
SWOT is the acronym for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. Albert Humphrey of Stanford University is credited with developing this strategic planning tool in the 1960s essential to developing a planning process. SWOT Analysis is an effective method of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats you face.
To carry out a SWOT Analysis, spend some time with these questions to prepare yourself and your business for the next business cycle:
Strengths:
--What are your advantages?
--What do you do well?
Weaknesses:
--What could be improved?
--What is done badly?
--What should be avoided?
Opportunities
--Where are the good chances facing you?
--What are the interesting trends?
--Changes in government policy related to your field
--Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes
--Local Events
Threats
--What obstacles do you face?
--What is your competition doing?
--Is changing technology threatening your position?
Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminating - both in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems into perspective.
For a tool to help with your SWOT, go to http://www.changinglanes.biz/files/SWOTanalysisWorksheet.pdf
Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
http://www.changinglanes.biz/
ACHIEVING 100% CLIENT RETENTION
In a perfect world we’d all have 100% customer retention! Every person we agree to do business with is a perfect fit for us and we are a perfect fit for them. We will stand and deliver our products and services with integrity and they will experience the optimal return on their investment. Over time we establish trust and credibility and might occasionally become friends. They’re not going anywhere – or are they?
I’m not a math scholar but I’m pretty good at basic equations. Here’s one that most business owners and sales people are counting on: Qualified Prospects + Need/Interest = IDEAL CLIENTS. Now let’s agree to a few assumptions:
1. You believe in your products and services.
2. You can easily and passionately explain their benefits.
3. Your prospect needs and wants your products and services.
4. You follow through and deliver on everything you agree to do.
5. You connect with them as appropriate (weekly, monthly, quarterly).
Based on living up to the “givens” listed above why aren’t all of our clients staying with us FOREVER?!? I recently lost two clients so I began to consider some of the variables that may have affected my not so positive outcome.
I could honestly answer YES to all five of the givens. If it wasn’t me…who could it be? THEM? So I made a list of the Top 10 Characteristics (with brief descriptions) of my target market:
5+ Years in Their Industry -->Survived Start Up
2+ Years at Same Company --> Achieved Measurable Success
Business Owner/Top Producer --> Invested in Building the Business
Entrepreneurial Mindset --> Visionary & Calculated Risk Taker
Life Long Learner --> Invest In Their Own Development
Coachable --> Knows They Don’t Know Everything
Established in Their Industry --> Teaches and Trains Others in Their Field
Passionate --> Completely Believes in Their Prod/Svc
Wants/Needs Referrals --> Understands Referral Marketing is a Science
Positive Cash Flow --> Able to Budget/Invest Based on Their Goals
What are the Top 10 Characteristics of your target market?
My most successful clients have nine or ten of these traits. The two I lost only had two or three. My lesson learned – If a qualified prospect does not match most of my descriptors they’re not a good match for me. The proven equation looks something like this:
Qualified Prospects + Top 10 Traits + Need/Interest = IDEAL CLIENTS
Just because they need (or want) my product or service doesn’t mean they’re in a position to experience the maximum benefits. Most importantly, just because we’re not a good fit in business does not mean we’re not a good fit as friends and colleagues.
One of the most selfless things we can do when we’re talking to an unqualified prospect is refer them to someone that can help them with their most immediate needs. Ideally, they’ll develop into a qualified prospect over time by acquiring the skillset of your target market.
Quick personal note: My 9th grade geometry teacher would be so proud. My ability to prove, disprove and verbalize equations wasn’t quite as impressive back then. Admittedly it’s not all that impressive now. If she’d only spoken in terms of business; I’m a fourth generation entrepreneur! I still don’t know what time Train A is going to meet Train B. What I do know is that I don’t care to be on either train because they’re gonna CRASH!
One last variable to consider – Could some of our most successful clients become less than ideal clients by allowing their abilities to diminish? Absolutely.
Perhaps the goal shouldn’t be to attain 100% client retention. The goal is to serve people that meet 100% of your target market requirements in an effort to serve them to the best of your abilities.
Paula Frazier is a referral marketing trainer, consultant and keynote speaker. She is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Paula’s business networking articles have been published internationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist! Paula can be contacted at paula@referralinstitute-va.com .
Links of Interest
More on SWOT analysis at http://tinyurl.com/SWOTcl
The Top 10 Tools for Maximum Productivity. Coach Phil Humbert’s Monthly tool: Request it at: http://PhilipHumbert.com/Free Take action! It’s a place to start.
Free ebooks from some of the great authors – Napoleon Hill, Benjamin Franklin, Plato and more. http://www.milliondollarbookshelf.com/
Tune-up your brain – lots of online games to either sharpen your skills, embarrass yourself in front of your kids or just chill. http://playwithyourmind.com/about/
Have a profitable week.
Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC
Teleclass
Available
Don't leave 2010 without a Plan!
Business Planning! Simple and Complete.
Join other savvy open entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed and time starved by the success of thier business and desire to leverage thier time, resourcs and money.
October 20, 22, 28 7-9:30PM EDT/EST Cost $149
This will be a live webinar, handouts will be delivered via email and follow-up coaching will be available for 5 Monday Morning Motivator readers.
Go to: Changing Lanes - Classes for registration and details
This class is limited to 10 participants. Web site also has live classes in Northwest Ohio.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Count Down & Giving to Give
Don't wait. The time will never be just right. --Napoleon Hill
Your authors are:
Linda Fayerweather of Changing Lanes LLC
Rebecca Booth of Imagine That
Pat Altvater of Transformations Institute
Paula Frazier of BNI of West Virginia
Guest Author: Todd Pillars of Send Out Cards
Count Down
Take a look at your calendar and you will notice that it is just 8 full weeks to 2010 which brings a natural rebirth and positive belief in a new beginning. Well, new beginnings take planning and preparation. Very few businesses have ever started or changed without a plan. One of the first steps in putting a plan together is to take a good look at where you have been.
Since the US celebrates Thanksgiving in the month of November, I like to take this month to reflect on my business. Being in gratitude for the past 10 months of success will often make planning smoother.
Take some time this week to reflect on these questions about your business.
1. Where are you compared to your 2009 plan?
2. What worked well in 2009?
3. Who were your best Customers in 2009?
4. How do your best customers know that you value them now and in the 2010?
5. Why will your business soar in 2010?
6. What do customers value about your service/product?
These questions will start the positive process of planning with identification of what made the past work or maybe not work so well.
Next week SWOT. Stay tuned.
Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
Sending Thanks
My how time flies! Another year is coming to a conclusion and the Holiday Season is almost upon us. November has one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. This month is a great time to take a moment to tell the people that are important to you just how grateful you are that they are parts of your life, whether it’s personal or business.
Gratitude is defined as the quality or feeling of being thankful. When was the last time you felt the emotion of thanks? Sure we say thank-you but it’s mostly expected good manners. So when, and how deeply, did you thank someone for being your friend? Your partner? Your customer? Your husband or wife? Your brother, sister? Your mother or father? Was it a cursory thank-you or did you feel that they truly felt appreciated by your words?
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. What then, is an unexpected gift worth? It needn’t be a large gift but it does have to be heartfelt. That’s the key to appreciation; sending thanks from the heart. It’s what we call “Giving to Give”. In a world where it seems that everyone is “Out for themselves”, or “Giving to Get” something from somebody else, it is paramount to be sincere.
In an ideal world you could send it all! Well it’s possible and here’s how. Send your personal message in your own handwriting, include your uploaded pictures, a even send a small gift all from the convenience of your computer. It only takes a few minutes and it’s a lot less than going to the store and doing it yourself.
I challenge everyone to show one person each day how much you appreciate them. Do it for one solid year and just wait and see what you’ll have to be thankful for next November. Thanksgiving will be one of your favorite holidays, too!
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
Copyright 2009 Todd Pillars is an Appreciation Marketer with Send Out Cards.
419-855-2273,
tpillars@gmail.com
www.sendoutcards.com/tpillars
Links of Interest
Discover the missing link to having a heart centered business. The url is http://www.beeingattraction.com/missing-link/?af=3047
Have a profitable week.
Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC
Your authors are:
Linda Fayerweather of Changing Lanes LLC
Rebecca Booth of Imagine That
Pat Altvater of Transformations Institute
Paula Frazier of BNI of West Virginia
Guest Author: Todd Pillars of Send Out Cards
Count Down
Take a look at your calendar and you will notice that it is just 8 full weeks to 2010 which brings a natural rebirth and positive belief in a new beginning. Well, new beginnings take planning and preparation. Very few businesses have ever started or changed without a plan. One of the first steps in putting a plan together is to take a good look at where you have been.
Since the US celebrates Thanksgiving in the month of November, I like to take this month to reflect on my business. Being in gratitude for the past 10 months of success will often make planning smoother.
Take some time this week to reflect on these questions about your business.
1. Where are you compared to your 2009 plan?
2. What worked well in 2009?
3. Who were your best Customers in 2009?
4. How do your best customers know that you value them now and in the 2010?
5. Why will your business soar in 2010?
6. What do customers value about your service/product?
These questions will start the positive process of planning with identification of what made the past work or maybe not work so well.
Next week SWOT. Stay tuned.
Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
www.ChangingLanes.biz
Sending Thanks
My how time flies! Another year is coming to a conclusion and the Holiday Season is almost upon us. November has one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. This month is a great time to take a moment to tell the people that are important to you just how grateful you are that they are parts of your life, whether it’s personal or business.
Gratitude is defined as the quality or feeling of being thankful. When was the last time you felt the emotion of thanks? Sure we say thank-you but it’s mostly expected good manners. So when, and how deeply, did you thank someone for being your friend? Your partner? Your customer? Your husband or wife? Your brother, sister? Your mother or father? Was it a cursory thank-you or did you feel that they truly felt appreciated by your words?
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. What then, is an unexpected gift worth? It needn’t be a large gift but it does have to be heartfelt. That’s the key to appreciation; sending thanks from the heart. It’s what we call “Giving to Give”. In a world where it seems that everyone is “Out for themselves”, or “Giving to Get” something from somebody else, it is paramount to be sincere.
In an ideal world you could send it all! Well it’s possible and here’s how. Send your personal message in your own handwriting, include your uploaded pictures, a even send a small gift all from the convenience of your computer. It only takes a few minutes and it’s a lot less than going to the store and doing it yourself.
I challenge everyone to show one person each day how much you appreciate them. Do it for one solid year and just wait and see what you’ll have to be thankful for next November. Thanksgiving will be one of your favorite holidays, too!
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
Copyright 2009 Todd Pillars is an Appreciation Marketer with Send Out Cards.
419-855-2273,
tpillars@gmail.com
www.sendoutcards.com/tpillars
Links of Interest
Discover the missing link to having a heart centered business. The url is http://www.beeingattraction.com/missing-link/?af=3047
Have a profitable week.
Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC
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