Manage Your Time to Reach Your Goals

 Goal Setting & Achievement  No Responses »
Nov 172012
 

Do you feel the need to be more organized and/or more productive? Do you spend your day in a frenzy of activity and then wonder why you haven’t accomplished what you set out to do?

Time management is about getting more value out of your time and using it to reach your goals. Managing your time well is important because you will need to be strategic about focusing your time and energy in order to accomplish your goals.

Here are a few time management tips that will help you increase your productivity and achieve your goals.

1. Block out time on your calendar each week to work on your goals.
Set aside time on your calendar, always on the same days, always at the same times.  Make a recurring appointment for the most important work you do … achieving your dreams! By consistently having the same times blocked to work on your goals you will change your behavior and create the habit of achievement. Even with a packed calendar, you will be able to accomplish your most important tasks.

2. Treat scheduled time to work on your goals like an appointment with your best client.
How many times have you taken care of the work for your clients, and left yours for last? And how many times did you stop working after you’d taken care of your clients, but never got to your own tasks? This happens all too often if you let it. To avoid this, treat the time you schedule to work on your goals the same as you would an appointment with your best client. You wouldn’t blow off your best client again and again, so why would you do it to your dreams? By giving this important work a higher priority, you are less likely to fall into the habit of procrastination.

3. Create a daily to-do list from your action plan.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed when thinking of our goal as a whole. A better strategy is to create a list of actions that you will need to take to accomplish your end goal. Breaking the goal down into smaller tasks allows you to wrap your head around one step at a time and avoid overwhelm. Once you have your list of actions, decide each day what action you will accomplish to achieve your goal. Make sure the actions are broken down into small chunks so that you can realistically accomplish at least one every day.

4. Delegate.
Get your team involved. Many of us feel if we want something done right, we have to do it ourselves. But this attitude may be holding you back. Let’s say your goal is to work on your marketing in order to increase sales next quarter. There are many steps involved in accomplishing this goal. You might need to redesign your website. You may need to start a social media campaign. You may need to design direct mail postcards. These tasks can be carried out by others at your direction. Delegate as much as you can in order to maximize your time and to focus on the tasks that only you can perform.

5. Do one extra thing each day toward your goals.
Before you quit working for the day, think of one extra thing you can do to move yourself closer to your goal. Is there one more phone call you can make? One more quick task you can do, then cross off your list? These steps may be small, but done consistently day after day after day add up to that extra mile that may make the difference in achieving your goals.

Bottom Line:
Goals take time, and time is a limited resource. In order to achieve your dreams, you will need to plan wisely and spend your time on the most beneficial tasks that will move you forward. Good time management skills will help you to achieve your goals and make it possible for you to have the business you always dreamed of, NOW!

Focus on Your Goals to Achieve Great Success

 Goal Setting & Achievement  No Responses »
Oct 142012
 

Success often starts with setting goals and working toward them. Look at all of your successes in the past. Each one probably had goal setting as a part of the process. Setting goals can be easy but achieving them isn’t. Reaching your goals will require strong focus.

Getting focused is not an easy task in our world. There is a constant barrage of interruptions throughout the day that can derail our focus and draw our attention away from our goals. Prolonged use of computers and mobile devices has shortened our attention span to a fraction of what it should be.

But there are some specific steps you can follow to reclaim your focus in order to achieve your goals.

1. Attach an emotional or moving reason to each goal.
This is your “why.” You need total clarity about what this reason is to stay disciplined and focused on building your business when times are good and when times are tough. Knowing and focusing on your “why” will keep you moving forward, even when you meet a challenge.

2. Review your goals every week.
Most people review their goals once a year. This is not nearly enough. You should be reviewing your goals every week to keep them top of mind as you plan your schedule. If you don’t review your goals, you won’t make them happen. When reviewing your goals, also review your progress from the previous week. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and will boost your motivation.

3. Visualize your goals.
Be clear about what you want and how it will feel. Visualizing your success will put you in a positive frame of mind as you move toward your goal. Elite athletes visualize their performance over and over as they train for the next big event. Close your eyes and visualize even the smallest details. How will it look? Where will you be? And, more importantly, how will it make you feel to reach this goal?

4. Each day do something that moves you towards your goals.
Many people think consistency is a matter of willpower. But reaching your goals may be more about forming new habits than simply willpower. Make a decision that you will do one thing every day to move toward your goals. This will begin to put you in the habit of working consistently toward your goals. Whether it’s a small activity or a large one, get in the habit of asking yourself “What will I do today to move me closer to my goal?” Once you’ve formed the habit, you will find it difficult to let a day go by without doing something to move yourself forward.

The Bottom Line: Achieving your goals isn’t easy, because it often requires a change in your habits, behaviors, and your mindset. But using these simple techniques to help you stay focused and create those new habits and behaviors will help you to keep moving forward until you achieve success.

 Tagged with: , ,

7 Common Hiring Mistakes You Want to Avoid

 Leadership  No Responses »
Sep 232012
 

Hiring the wrong person is one of the biggest, most costly mistakes a business owner can make. Here are some tips of what not to do:

  1. Your job posting looks like a laundry list of tasks … and doesn’t inspire anyone. Instead create a classified ad that speaks more to the heart of the type of person you are looking for. The posting should focus on the entire person and describe their attributes. The thought is that people will compare themselves to a particular ad and respond accordingly. Remember, you are selling the position so focus on the positive aspects.
  2. Not applying enough resources … may produce too few quality candidates. Do a broad search and don’t cut corners. Think outside the box when it comes to posting your classified ad. You want to cast a wide net and get as many candidates interested as possible.
  3. Prescreening candidates purely based on what’s on their resume … then finding out they’re much better on paper than in person. When bringing a new person into your organization what’s more important, what’s in their head or what’s in their heart? Most people I ask this question respond “heart”. Well, how are you going to tell that from their resume?
  4. Failing to court candidates … may mean no marriage! The “getting to know you” process should not be just a one-side two hour interview. Realize you are marketing yourself and your business to candidates as much as they should be to you. You have only one chance to make a good first impression.
  5. Not checking references … is probably the most common mistake. Prepare a list of questions to ask references and then do it! Also contact former employers and ask them the same questions.
  6. Not testing to determine if they truly have the skills … and just believing what you’re told. You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it, so why are you hiring someone without test driving them? Determine the 4 or 5 key skills necessary for them to perform the job and make sure they can really do them.
  7. Hiring too quickly … even when recommended by a friend, may be a mistake. Do proper due diligence and don’t let pressure to fill a vacancy force you into a premature decision.

If you are unhappy with the results you have achieved in your past hiring attempts, then you have to change up what you have done in the past.

 

13 Critical Characteristics Every Top Performer Must Have

 Leadership  No Responses »
Sep 082012
 

Do you want to be a leader or an expert in your field or industry? Do you want to advance your career and income?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you need to become a “Top Performer” in your profession. If you are now a manager, executive, consultant or sales specialist, performance skills will be one of the keys to your success. Experience and knowledge in your area of specialty may make you an above average performer, but to be a “Top Performer” start with the these skills and action items today.

1. Goal-Oriented Thinking: Define both long term and short term measurable goals. Concentrate your efforts on the short term goals. These can be goals that are measured either weekly or monthly. The long term goals will come.

2. Measurement and Assessment: Measure and assess everything that will increase your effectiveness. Develop a scorecard system that tracks your target goal versus what you actually achieved.

3. Support: Top performers don’t try to have every answer themselves, but will often look outside to gather guidance and support. Aligning yourself with others who have complementary skills or strengths will allow you to access a larger body of knowledge as you move toward your goals.

4. Resistance to Adversity: The key is to not panic when everything isn’t going according to plan. It is important to remain solutions based especially when the pressure is on.

5. Balance: In the journey toward success there are bound to be peaks and valleys of success and failure. Celebrate the successes and learn from the failures.

6. Patience and Resilience: Every top performer understands that the journey to excellence does not happen overnight. Your patience will set you apart from the crowd.

7. Risk-Taking: The willingness to take smart and calculated risks is essential for optimal results. Cultivate a willingness to be exposed in front of one’s peers without a fear of consequences.

8. Tenacity: Top performers are never excuse makers. If there is an obstacle getting in the way of their success, they go over it, under it or around it. But they never see it as an obstacle and they don’t let it stop them from reaching their goals.

9. Life-long student: Top performers are always students. They not only know their products and services inside and out, they also know about the industry or industries they are working in. They read. They stay on top of market changes. They share news. They get to know other top performers. And they learn the ins and outs of the industry as it changes.

10. Stamina: Top performers are in it for the long haul. They are committed to their career or business. The long-term focus means they will invest more time into their work every day than others are willing to invest.

11. Investors: Top performers invest in themselves. They are okay with spending more time and money for things, if necessary. They purchase whatever is necessary to make their job easier and better. They purchase training audios, go to seminars and read industry magazines. They are always on top of what’s happening.

12. Networkers: Top performers align themselves with other successful people in business. They understand networking and how to reach a level of networking that gives them a pipeline of referrals and referral sources. You need to be connecting clients and associates to other successful clients and associates. This type of network will allow you access to resources when you need them.

13. Positive Action Takers: Top performers are can-do people. They are confident, but not arrogant. Some people make excuses for not taking action. Can-do people make decisions that they’re going to be successful, no matter what. Nothing and no one will get in their way.

The Bottom Line
If your desire is to be a top performer, study this list carefully. Are there items on the list that describe you? Are there items that do not describe you?

By making a concerted effort to embody all of these characteristics, you will begin to strengthen your performance and become that exceptional performer you wish to be.

 Tagged with: , ,

The 5 Buying Decisions Every Prospect Makes

 Sales  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

In the course of any sale the prospective customer makes five critical buying decisions. These decisions are always made in the same predetermined order, and a prospect will not seriously consider a later decision until the earlier ones are made. However, most salespeople don’t know what these five decisions are, and they don’t have a plan to address them in their sales process.

The Five Buying Decisions are:

  1. The prospective customer decides whether to “buy” the salesperson (You).
  2. The prospect decides whether to “buy” your company.
  3. Then the prospective customer considers “buying” your product or service.
  4. Then they decide about “buying” your price.
  5. Finally, they consider whether this is the “time to buy.”

It’s common for prospects to start out sounding like price is the primary factor in their decision, but no one is going to commit to any price until they have bought you, your company, or your product’s ability to meet their needs.

So ask yourself, how do we specifically influence each of these buying decisions in the sales process?

  1. Buying the Salesperson – is not just the first decision a prospect makes, it’s the most important one! Remember, people buy from people … people they know, like, and trust.
  1. Buying Your Company – you should describe the company’s reputation and its capabilities, but throw out the canned presentation. Use customer testimonials to help re-enforce the Company’s past performance and successes.
  1. Buying Your Product or Service – you need to demonstrate how it will address their key needs.
  1. Buying Your Price – you need to add value in the prospect’s mind, and you also need to differentiate your product/service.
  1. Time to Buy – you need to help them determine when they need your product, and when does the buying decision actually need to be made. By helping them to “work backwards” on the timing for delivery you will create urgency

If you create a plan to assist your prospects with each of the five buying decisions, and include it in your sales process, you will sell more!

Final Tip:

Here is a quick, three-step process you should follow after a sale to insure against buyer’s remorse. It can be summed up by the terms assure, appreciate, and future event.

1)      First, assure the customer they have made the right decision.

2)      Then thank them and tell them you appreciate their commitment.

3)      And schedule a future event they can look forward to instead of worrying about the decision they just made.

 Tagged with: , ,

The Power of Thinking Big!

 Leadership  2 Responses »
Jul 052012
 

With the tough economy we have all experienced over the past couple of years, I have started to notice that many of the business owners I meet have begun to think very small in terms of growth and expansion. In fact, some businesses still have the survivalist mentality.

The problem with this type of thinking is that it causes entrepreneurs to think too small. It causes them to think about growth in very conservative terms that could be their downfall. After all, when we are thinking about growth in the 5%, 10%, or even 20% range we are probably just trying to leverage what we are already doing, “pushing” our business into the future. This slow incremental growth simply isn’t going to keep you ahead of the curve, or your competition for that matter!

Whereas Thinking Big forces you to re-think everything! It causes you to re-evaluate

  • what you are doing and how you do it,
  • what you invest your time in,
  • your skills and what you need to get better at,
  • your team and the skills they must master,
  • your products, pricing, and client mix, and even
  • your business model

It has been my experience that without this periodic re-evaluation, business people will just keep doing what they have always done … and they will keep getting the same results they have always gotten!

Another advantage of Thinking Big is that once you have begun to really think at this level, your “radar” is now set to see outstanding people, innovations, technologies, and other factors that could help you significantly multiply your results. These opportunities are all around you but unless you’re looking, you’ll never recognize most of them.

And the last advantage of Thinking Big is how it will transform your team! As you roll-out this Big vision for growth you’ll see team members step-up, you’ll have a more enthusiastic group, people will become more creative and suggestive, leaders within the team will emerge, and people will either buy-in to your bigger picture of the future … or they’ll realize that they no longer “fit in.”

The Bottom Line:

If you want your business and people to thrive, and not just survive, then start Thinking Big. You’ll be surprised at the opportunities available and the transformation that both your team and YOU will experience.

 Tagged with: , ,

Questions … the Answer to More Sales

 Sales  No Responses »
Jun 082012
 

The internet has changed the sales game forever. The days of the salesperson as a fountain of specialized knowledge are over. Rather, it’s now how to apply your expertise to their specific situation, and that requires asking them!

Years of research shows that:

  • 95% of prospects say that salespeople talk too much, and
  • The success rate of sales calls rises significantly when more then 2 specific prospect needs are uncovered.

“You’ve got to stop thinking that selling is telling. It’s NOT!”  

Duane Sparks

 

The Questions Funnel

  1. Situational Questions – are fact finding and informational. For instance: Who is your current supplier? What is the budget for this project? What is your timeline for completion of the decision making process?
  2. Broad Needs Question – focus on pain or dissatisfaction to determine problems. If possible, preface a broad needs question with something from your own experience.
  3. Specific Needs Questions – you want to know exactly what the problem looks like to them, in their situation, and in their company. You want them to think through their own need and its implication.
  4. Leverage Questions – raise the prospects awareness of how important the need really is. Get the prospect to realize on a personal & emotional level the danger/opportunity hiding in their need. Great place to ask the “what’s that costing you” question. You want them thinking, “Holy cow, I’ve got to do something about this!”

The best questions probe for a prospect needs that relate to your products strongest benefits!

Five Basic Leadership Skills

 Leadership  No Responses »
Jun 062012
 

When you get down to it, your business is all about meeting the needs of people. Customers, employees, vendors, lenders, investors and members of the community are all people with very human needs. And to make all of that happen, a business needs leadership. The qualities of leadership drive the ability of the business to meet its own needs and the needs of the people who depend on it.

So the real work of the business owner is rising to the constant challenge of developing the leader within themself. If you don’t develop the skills and attributes of a leader, your business will stagnate. Then it’s only a matter of time before you sell it or close the doors for good. And it will slowly drain the life out of the people who come into contact with it, including you!

Are leaders born or made?

Some people believe that leadership is something that’s innate … you’re either born with it, or you aren’t. While it is true that some individuals are born with leadership traits, there is more to being a true leader than genetics! The truth is that leadership is a combination of skills that can be learned, practiced, and perfected by anyone willing to put in the time and effort.

Leadership, what is it really?

At first glance, business leadership looks like it’s simply a matter of style. But when you get to the core of it, leadership isn’t about style at all. It’s about substance. Vision, action, and spirit … these comprise the essence of leadership. They have nothing to do with style and everything to do with substance. The substance of leadership consists of knowing what to do, knowing how to do it, and influencing others.

The style of leadership is largely a matter of personality. There are quiet, low-key leaders as well as aggressive, charismatic leaders, and an infinite variety in between. Style is superficial. Style doesn’t create vision, doesn’t get anything done… it just looks good or bad.

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

      Stephen Covey

Five basic leadership skills

It’s not enough to just acknowledge your need to be a leader, you need to know exactly what is involved. Let’s look first at what makes up the five basic skills of effective leadership:

  1. Vision – This is the ability to formulate ideas about the business or parts of the business; to understand opportunities; to create a mental picture of what the business will be in the future; and to articulate all of that clearly in words and images. At the highest level, it’s the creation of the entrepreneur’s dream.
  2. Discrimination - Being able to see what’s important, to understand the available choices, and to make sound, practical decisions. It’s knowing what questions to ask, and being able to answer them in the absence of rules or previous experience.
  3. Strategic Thinking - The ability to see the big picture and devise an effective path, the right actions that will lead to realizing the vision.
  4. Commitment – This is the determination and energy to follow through and make the vision a reality even in the face of obstacles, opposition, uncertainty, and risk. Without an underlying passion for your vision, commitment is difficult to maintain.
  5. Inspirational Communication – This is the skill of communicating vision and strategy, and being able to infuse the organization with enthusiasm, dedication, and some of your own passion.

The Bottom Line: The good news is that through consistent and intentional application, these skills can be developed and strengthened by any business owner. The critical point to keep in mind is that developing leadership skills is a process … it won’t occur in a day, or even a month … but will gradually happen as you apply these skills in the day-to-day operation of your business.

 Tagged with: , , , ,
© 2012 scottkgoss.com Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha