3 Profit Pillars For 2010
Monday, December 28th, 20093 Profit Pillars For 2010
The kind of business that will see positive growth in 2010 will have three critical elements which I will call the Three Profit Pillars:
1. Be person-based
People are going to increasingly buy from those they know, like, and trust. That’s not new. But you have to make sure you’re standing out by connecting with the problems they’re facing and delivering the solutions to those problems in an easy-to-digest way.
Quit thinking of your potential prospects as dollar bills and quit thinking of the bottom line. You need to be working with real people whose lives and businesses will be positively affected by what you can do for them. Think about how your product or service will help them in 2010.
2. Be solution-focused
Nobody will look for a different company with which to do business or a new product or service to try if what they have is working. They only look for other options if they have a problem. Learn what problems your service or product can solve.
Then market your service or product based on how it is a solution. In selling this is referred to using benefits and values to sell its features. Ask yourself why anyone would want it and how they would use it. The answers to these questions should be the focus of your marketing.
3. Help your present customers become better customers
Instead of focusing only on finding new customers for the same product or service you offer, your focus in 2010 needs to be on helping your existing customers in additional ways. How else can they use your product? What other services can you offer them? How can they become more satisfied? What would excite them so much they would highly recommend your company to everyone they meet?
Regardless of how you do it, you’ll find the Pareto Principle in effect: 80% or more of your revenue will come from 20% or less of your customers. And they’ll be excited about being in that elite group!
Put these 3 elements into your business in 2010, and you will love the way your balance sheet looks at the end of next December!
The Gratitude Attitude
Friday, November 20th, 2009We’re in a recession. Business isn’t doing well. Many people are out of jobs. Many of those who do have jobs aren’t working as much or making as much money as they did a year or two ago.
Yet, next week is Thanksgiving. The time when we should all be thankful — grateful, for the blessings we do have. And most of us do have a lot for which to be thankful — even if we spend a lot of time complaining!
When things are not going as we think they should, we need to start writing down all the things we have to be grateful for. There’s always something, no matter how small. Sometimes, we just need to take a step back to see it – we can’t see the picture when we’re in the frame.
Gratitude helps you see what is working in your life. It gives you a positive outlook which, in turn, gives you a good attitude. That puts you in a good mood which may help you get or retain customers which will put you in a better mood. In this positive state, you can step back and see new ways to improve your business.
To really reap the benefits of the practice of gratitude, you need to do three things:
1. Acknowledge your feelings. When you think about all the things for which you are grateful, let your whole body feel the gratitude. Stop and say to yourself: “I am so thankful for . . . ” and just relax and let that radiate throughout your body. It will release positive endorphins which will help you fight illness and chronic diseases and make you feel wonderfully alive.
2. Write it down. Each day write down at least 3 things for which you are grateful. Keep a journal. When you write, you are physically involved with your gratitude. That anchors the gratitude in your body. It also helps you remember it throughout the day.
3. Put out a reminder. I once knew someone who had a stuffed bear. The bear had a button to push to listen to a story. Every time that person saw her bear sitting in the chair in her office, she felt love even when she didn’t push the button. Set out a dish or a stuffed toy or a figurine that will remind you of your thankfulness. Then each time you see it during the day, stop and acknowledge your feelings of gratitude.
The gratitude attitude will become part of your daily routine in just three weeks. You will feel better. Your health will actually improve. Your life will get better! Try it!