Being Point

Month: June 2009

  • Networking and Business Development

    No discussion of growing your business or income would be remotely complete without addressing the benefits of networking. Getting to know new people is an obvious way of expanding your spheres of influence. Networking can be gracious, professional and authentic.

    How committed are you to expanding your circle of friends and contacts? Do you enjoy meeting new people or have you shied away from interactions at networking events? You can be more comfortable if you are prepared with a 30-second description of what you do and why you are passionate about it.

    Where can you network – either offline or online? One of the best ways to network is using social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Twitter. Making yourself available authentically to new people promotes your growth and expansion in the world.

  • Create A List of Centers of Influence and Become Part of a Mutually Supportive Community of Referrers

    Centers of influence are people whom you have identified as having the ability to recommend you to prospective customers. It’s useful to create at least ten classes of COI’s and then populate each class with at least three people. Choose classes that are most useful to you from among: accountants, insurance professionals, attorneys, technologists, etc.

    “Top of mind” marketing is based on the reality that at any given point in time, many people are not going to need the products or services you’re offering. However, over a span of time, they either will need you or know of someone who does. If you’ve kept visible in a useful way, you are logically going to be thought of first.

    Take your lead lists out of mothballs and create something shiny and new that you can be proud of. Be highly mindful of how you can refer prospects to your COI’s and become part of a mutually supportive community of referrers.

  • Kaizen Is Moving Forward Some Distance Every Day

    Expanding your income and / or your business is a matter of expanding your relationships. You may have noticed that after a certain point, you have not maintained the same enthusiasm for developing new contacts that you once had. Perhaps the need has changed, and you’re more comfortable. Perhaps you have felt that you don’t want to bother people – or some other excuse has taken hold like you lack the time or patience with the process.

    Try on the notion that you’re either expanding or contracting – and that there’s no standing still. Expansion and forward movement does not have to be accompanied by pressure. Small steps, when added together, can equal significant progress. The Japanese word “kaizen” means “some progress, however small.” If you practice kaizen on a daily basis, even if it’s the equivalent of only one step, you’ll find that over time, you’ve expanded your relationships – and, thus, your income and / or your business.

    Where can you see a place for the daily practice of kaizen in your professional life? Can you feel the freedom in moving forward each day with zero pressure on how much distance you have to cover?

  • Develop 12 Monthly Marketing Touches Per Year

    Among the best ideas for business development and expanding sales is the practice of monthly “marketing touches” over at least a 12-month period. You benefit from regular, consistent visibility to clients and prospects. For example, you can establish a three-month rhythm of . . .

    (1) a call

    (2) article or general information

    (3) an email

    . . . for each of the three months of each quarter. Be creative and use any other combinations that you believe will be effective. You may choose to meet in person with some of the people with whom you are communicating.

    Much of what has not worked about business development is that it has often been non-uniform. Making a commitment to being visible on a regular monthly basis demonstrates that you hold a person top of mind.

    Have you ever tried an approach like this which is designed to build and enhance relationships? What objections, if any, come up for you about your ability to maintain this practice over a year’s time? How many people could you commit to reaching in this manner?

  • Make One New Business Call Per Day

    Increasingly, we live in an environment where everyone is a de facto entrepreneur – even if one has a salary. Our economy is trending toward ever more individual responsibility for career choices; and people are changing jobs and careers more than ever – and, obviously, often not because they want to do so.

    One of the most basic ways to increase your income as either an employee or a principal is to identify a proven activity that, with consistent application, builds momentum over time and causes an increase in business. The classic example is to make one new business call per day. That’s 20 calls per month talking to someone new – 20 unique conversations. Depending on your business, results could range from good to off-the-charts spectacular.

    What are some of your favorite ways to grow income in this economy? How has your business or employer addressed the issue of business development in the last 6 -12 months?

  • The Influence of Others On Decision Making

    Among the most intriguing areas of decision making is how to ethically influence others to make the decisions that you want them to make. Sales is a classic example of intentionally influencing decision making. Most of us have experienced situations where we’ve felt pressured to buy something and, depending on the degree of pressure, we’ve felt some level of discomfort.

    How do you handle heavy-handed influence over your freedom to decide for yourself? Have you ever found yourself trying to sell someone on your desires?

    Where do you draw the line when influencing decision making? Can you be trusted to act with respect and integrity for the other person’s right to decide?

  • Extremes In Decision Making

    Business environments – and especially entrepreneurial environments – are among the most notorious for extremes in decision making. Sometimes, decisions are made quickly and even rashly. Other times, “analysis paralysis” sets in, and it takes forever to get decisions made.

    There can be a “Whoa, what just happened” effect where there’s disbelief that a sudden, reflexive decision was made. Or there can be frustration when people have literally delayed so long in making decisions that the issue has often been decided by forces outside the decision maker’s control.

    How do you feel about someone who has acted in either extreme? Do you prefer one end of the continuum over the other? Does either approach earn your respect and trust? Have you ever seen either extreme turn out to deliver the best outcome? What has been your personal experience with these behaviors in yourself?

  • Magic, power and genius of bold decisions

    How bold are your decisions?  Are you shooting for the stars or keeping your eyes to the ground or going for something in between?  Do you seek bold results?

    Goethe said:  “Each indecision brings its own delays, and days are lost lamenting over lost days.  What you can do or think you can do, begin it – for boldness has magic, power and genius in it.”

    Imagine bold decisions that you could make that could bring magic, power and genius.  What conditions have you required in the past to make those decisions? What is your experience with making bold decisions?  How well has it worked for you?

  • “Decide” Implies A Cutting Away

    The word “decide” has much in common with words like “homicide” or “fratricide.” A literal interpretation of the word “decide” connotes a cutting – a powerful image in the context of making a decision. The power of decision making can be so strong as to cut away all other alternatives – never to be able to be undone in the future.

    Some people pride themselves on never looking back after they have “decided,” and they are the people most in congruence with the original meaning of the word “decide.”

    Who are your primary role models in decision making? Do you admire people in history, literature, politics or popular culture who are known for having strong opinions and being decisive?

    Do your decisions often have the quality of cutting away all other possibilities, or do you hold some options open even after making a decision?

  • What Is Your Decision Making Style?

    How do you make tough decisions? Do you put them off, talk about them, ignore them or embrace them and get them over with? Decision making is a skill that can be improved with both practice and mindfulness over time.

    Napoleon said, “Nothing is more difficult and, therefore, more precious, than to be able to decide.”

    Everyone has a different decision making style. What is yours? Do you consider yourself decisive? Are you the kind of person who makes a pro and con list? After you decide, is it final; or do you continue to ponder the question? Does your approach vary depending on the situation?