Small business

Do You Have Plans?

I have always found the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas a great time to get your plans in place for the New Year! When I used to work in corporate and our fiscal year ended on December 31^st, we were always spending September and October doing strategic planning for the upcoming year. It always felt too early and sometimes difficult to come up with tactical plans for the following year, particularly when you were looking out over a year in advance at the fourth quarter of the New Year.

But I always appreciated, when I got to January 2^nd and was back to work-I could hit the ground running, because I already knew EXACTLY what I had to do! So, what are your plans for 2013? How much money do you want to make? How much is that broken down month by month, or week by week? What programs and products do you want to introduce?

Do yourself a favor. Today, take a couple of minutes to look at your calendar, schedule at least a half day with yourself, and a full day if you can. Block it off in your calendar. If you have a team you work with, you might want to consider taking your team with you for this time, if you’re by yourself, then plan to go to a quiet place where you can think, dream and be inspired.

Take the time to answer these questions as they pertain to your business in 2013:

How much money do you want to make in the New Year?
What are three risks you are going to take in the next 90 days?
Where is the low-hanging fruit in your business or organization and what is your plan to immediately go after it?
What new product or services will you be introducing in Quarter 1, 2, 3 and 4?
How can you serve even more people than you are currently serving?
What’s the one thing you need to STOP doing?
Where are the areas that need to be systematized in your business?
What are the specific programs, products or services you will be offering in Jan, Feb and Mar?
What one self-care practice will you commit to doing weekly?
Where will you play bigger in your business in 2013?

Please let me know how you did with this exercise! It’s so important to take the time to PLAN and strategize in your business. And make sure you’ve checked out my JUMPSTART YOUR BUSINESS IN 90 DAYS coaching program. It could be just the thing you and your business need to make the difference between doing well…and doing GREAT!

Mandy works with talented, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. .Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” right down below.

3 Tips to Easily Close the Sale

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“Sales is something you do for someone, not to someone”

Bob Proctor

Trying to close a sale can often times feel inauthentic, stressful and forced. And when that happens, you can guarantee that more than likely, you will not be signing on a new client. Because a forced closing of the sale is a surefire way to turn off the client and lose the sale.

And because many of us feel awkward in a closing of the sale process, we often try too hard, which can be a turn off to the client. It can make our client feel like we are “pushing” them to buy something they aren’t interested in buying. Remember, people like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold to.

Here are three tips to incorporate into your closing the sales process that will help make it more of a soft close, rather than a hard close:

1-Connect with your prospect. When I think about the times I’ve felt uncomfortable when someone tried to sell me something, it was always when they had no idea what I was looking for or what I needed. They never asked me any questions, but instead just launched into the features of a particular product or service. You must connect with your prospect, asking them what they are looking for, how you might help them, and what they might have in mind. Taking the time (and the opportunity) to really get to know your prospect, find out what makes them tick, what they might be struggling with and what might solve their problem, is the first key to a successful closing of the sale.

2-It’s all about them not you. Too often, salespeople tend to focus on themselves. Again, some of the more unsuccessful, uncomfortable sales experiences I’ve had have occurred when the salesperson did all the talking…about themselves. A more successful approach is to set up the sales process, so the customer has the opportunity to know as much about you and your services as possible, prior to the closing of the sale process. That way, during the closing of the sale call, you can focus strictly on them. This might be pointing your potential customer to a place on your website that has frequently asked questions, or to point them to the testimonial section of your site. That way, they have the opportunity to have at least 98% of their questions answered before they even meet with you. Then you can solely focus on their needs.

3-Celebrate. People who buy always like to be reassured they’ve done the right thing. So be sure to celebrate your client’s decision. Let them know they’ve made a great decision and be sure to offer your congratulations. Making them feel great about their decision is the last important step of the closing the sale process.

Using these three tips will make your closing of the sales process feel more natural and authentic and help you confidently increase your close ratio with lots of happy clients.

Mandy works with talented, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” right down below.

Where the Magic Happens

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“How we spend our days, is of course how we spend our lives”

Annie Dillard

I just love this graphic and think it’s so reflective of how we feel about staying or leaving our comfort zones. For the magic to happen, you have to get outside your comfort zone. It’s not too far outside the comfort zone, but there is clearly a space between the outside of the comfort zone circle and the beginning of the circle where “magic happens”. And for many of us, that small space can seem like a huge leap.

Think about something you’ve wanted to change in your life or business, or something you’d like to do, or try. Something that would take you outside your comfort zone. Does this possible move from your comfort zone excite you, scare you, and petrify you? What keeps you stuck from moving forward?

For many, it can be the fear of failure that holds them back. And most likely, it’s a lack of faith that the outcome will be worth the risk. A lack of faith in the magic.

What is holding you back from your big dreams? It’s important to identify and name what those things may be for you.

Here are three things that might help you leave your comfort zone and move into the area where the magic happens:

1-Stop telling yourself the same story. These stories might sound something like this: “I don’t have the money”, “I’m too old”, “I’m too young”, “I can’t change, I’ve always been like this”, “I’m not smart enough”, “and I’m not good enough”. Stop running these tapes in your head and create a new story for yourself that is not only more accurate, but true.

2-Ask for what you want. It’s important to learn to ask for what you want. Notice I say “learn”-yes, it is possible to learn to ask for what you want. People who don’t ask for what they want stay stuck, angry and resentful, as if things should just magically appear for them without ever having to articulate it. The ability to ask for things can be the single biggest success factor in your relationships, earnings and in playing a bigger game in the world.

3-Take massive action. Thinking, dreaming and wishing about moving out of your comfort zone will not make it happen. Or trying to manifest the next big thing will also not work on its own. You must be willing to take action-every day, in many large and small ways, if you want your big dream to come true.

Assignment: I encourage you to look at something you’ve been considering for some time that will take you outside your comfort zone. Ask yourself, what’s the story you’ve been telling yourself about this? What’s true and untrue about your story? Now, how can you create a more accurate story for yourself? Ask for what you want and need get the support and resources you need to make this happen. Then take an action step every day that will take you the place where “magic happens”. Be sure and let me know how it goes, and if I can support you in anyway, please feel free to contact me at mandy@mandyschumaker.com or 207-653-6977.

Do You Have Good Boundaries?

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As entrepreneurs, it can often feel like we are working 24/7 in our businesses. Because there are always things that need to get done, customers to call, paperwork to complete, strategies to implement, and business to develop.

So, if you aren’t creating good boundaries for yourself around yourself and your business, things can quickly become stressful and overwhelming.

What do I mean about establishing good boundaries?

Well, for example, I spoke with a client this week who is working with me because he’d like to get more clients and grow his business. In prior meetings, we had talked about some strategies that he was going to implement that would help him reach his goals. When I asked him this week how it was going he said, “Well, pretty good, but I’m having a hard time finding the time to start the ideas we spoke about.” “Really”, I said, “What seems to be in the way of starting the projects”? “There are just a lot of interruptions in my schedule”, he answered.

We then looked at his schedule and what was happening and it was clear that he wasn’t exercising strong boundaries with himself or other people. For example, because he is an entrepreneur and has a more flexible schedule than when he was working a corporate job, he was finding himself doing things during the day, like taking the dog to the vet, or taking and picking up his laundry, or setting routine doctor and dentist appointments in the middle of the day. He also has several friends who consistently call him during work hours to talk about sports and other topics-that while fun and interesting, were not helping him get more clients and make more money.

Here are some thoughts about where you might begin setting some boundaries:

1-Develop a weekly work schedule that works for you-and stick to it. In other words, don’t work 24/7, or 50 or 60 hours a week. It’s not good for you, your health or your family and probably your business! Set a schedule for yourself, share it with your family and friends, let them know this is when you will be working and you’d prefer not to be interrupted with things that can wait until after your working hours. Stay firm to this. At the end of work period, pack up and go home. End it. Period.

2-Plan routine doctor and dentist appointments at the beginning or end of the day. That way, you won’t have to interrupt the middle of your day. See if your doctor or dentist has extended evening hours-many do.

3-Plan to run your errands on the way into work or on the way home, not in the middle of the day.

4-Make sure your family and friends understand your working hours. Any friend or family member that you have, who calls you at work and chats on and on, needs to be told gently but firmly, that you have work to do and you would hope they can honor that and call you at other times outside your working hours.

5-Be diligent about saying “no”. No to committees, boards, volunteer work, groups etc. that will become “time sucks” and not bring you more clients or make you more money.

Developing good boundaries takes practice and consistent attention. Where or with whom are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed and often times angry with? These areas (or people) can be good indications of a boundary violation for you and it’s up to you to first recognize it and work to change it or modify it in a way that works for you.

Do You Start With The End In Mind?

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Have you ever started a new project, product, idea or even a business, then have gotten into the middle of it and realize you aren’t really on the right track? That you aren’t even close to your original vision of the idea? Or perhaps you feel stuck because things have gotten complicated, convoluted and you feel totally overwhelmed.

As entrepreneurs, we love the next “big idea”. It’s what keeps up going, keeps us excited and can keep us broke if we’re not careful. Too often, we get a great idea, and start right off trying to implement it without a clear picture of the end in mind.

When I was a little girl, I loved watching my grandmother sew, and I really wanted to learn, so she taught me. I used to love to go to the fabric stores and look through the pattern books at all the pictures of the beautiful clothes that you could make.

This is a great example of having the end in mind, before you begin. You must visualize or have a picture, or a concrete idea of what that something is, you are trying to create, looks like in the end result.

For example, I recently worked with a client who was struggling with creating a speech he has to deliver to a large organization in a few months. He wasn’t sure where to start, but had a lot of information, (too much information) he was trying to put into the speech-which would inevitably have become a “long, rambling” speech. As a homework assignment, I asked him to think about the three things he wanted his audience to walk away with and remember from his speech and build it from there-with only three points-not the ten he was cramming into a 30 minute speech!

Another client of mine, along with one of her colleagues, is creating a new networking of health professionals that serve cultural creatives. She wants to create some structure and guidelines of operation for the group, that includes plenty of flexibility, but wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it without ending up with a rigid set of rules.

I suggested that she and her colleague start with the end in mind, by visualizing what this group would look like when it was fully operational. What kind of people were in the group, how often did they meet, what made up the content of the meetings, were members there for every meeting, etc. Then work backwards creating the boundaries and structure that would most likely support that vision.

This notion of starting with the end in mind is why vision boards work so well in helping us reach goals, manifest, or just get clearer on what we want.

So the next time you find yourself creating a new idea, project, speech-whatever-start with the end in mind and get really clear on the end result. You’ll find the path for creating what you want will be easier, clearer and you’ll end up with a successful result!

Mandy works with talented, bright, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own.

Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

3 Ways to Add More Structure to Your Day

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One of the things I find that many of my clients struggle with (me included) is being able to structure your day so that you can continually get things done and move forward with your business. There are so many things for us to get done in any given day, that we are often in a state of overwhelm, often coupled with feelings of procrastination and low energy.

In working with clients over the past nine years, I have found time and time again, having some structure to your week and day, can make a huge difference in how you feel and how much you accomplish.

So often we take on more than we can handle, or try and cram everything we need to get done into one long “to do list”. And sometimes we just are plain “out of energy” because we’ve worked so hard for so long. Adding some structure and boundaries to your day can help.

If you can relate to any of these feelings, here are some ways you might consider adding structure to your day to help you get back on track and moving forward:

1-Structure your ideal work week and day. When specifically during the day are you going to work on your marketing? When are you specifically going to see clients? When are you specifically going to work on the administrative tasks in your business? The more you can schedule these activities into your weekly and daily schedules, the easier it will be for you to know exactly what you should be doing at any time during business hours.

2-Plan your next day the night before. Before you leave your office or shut down your computer for the night, be sure you’ve created a list of things you’d like to get done the next day. That way, when you come into work the next morning, you know exactly what your priorities are for the day, where to begin and what you need to get done.

3-Don’t have an overwhelming “to-do” list. When clients first start working with me, they often have really long to-do lists. Sometimes they even have two and three lists, one for business, and one for personal and one for major things. First, I recommend having one to-do list with everything on it. Then prioritize the list, with A’s, B’s and C’s. Be sure and break down some of your larger projects into bite-size pieces. For example, if you have an item that’s listed as “Create new business development idea”, you might want to break that big idea down into smaller more doable parts. Those smaller steps can then be put on your daily to do list. As the old saying goes, “it’s much easier to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”

Where can you be putting more structure into your day and week to help you stay on track so you can be even more successful in your business?

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