Steven Covey and His Rocks

Steven Covey died last week at the age of 79 from a fall on his mountain bike.

We lost a great motivator and someone who understood the power and need to control the way we think and act. No victim thinking in his world, only ownership of your thoughts and actions.

His groundbreaking book "The 7 Habits of Successful People" laid out the way all the successful people he studied approached their life and business:

Habit 1: Be proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: See First to Understand, then to convince

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

The tool I use the most in my practice is this short video about Rocks and Pebbles - a classic on time management and how to increase your focus and productivity and really incorporate all of the above into habits that will last a lifetime. It's about 8 minutes that are more than worth the time.

Thanks Steven!

All the best,

Rick Wallace

Finishing Well

"The List of Choices - Remarkable Work is always not on the list, because if it was, it would be commonplace, not remarkable. "

 - Seth Godin

From Seth Godin:

"It's not enough to finish the checklist, to hurriedly do the last three steps and declare victory.

In fact, the last coat of polish and the unhurried delivery of worthwhile work is valued all out of proportion to the total amount of effort you put into the project.

It doesn't matter how many designers, supply chains, workers, materials and factories were involved--if the box is improperly sealed, that's how you will be judged."

'Nuff Said!

All the best,

Rick Wallace 

Referrals and Fresh, Sweet Blueberries

"84% of all purchases in the US are generated via word of mouth." 

 - Brian Tracy quoting Recent AMA Study

I normally don't do this but I have a good friend (Satnam Basra)  who has worked his butt off for the last 3 years to follow his WHY, his passion. He planted and grows 11 acres of blueberries in front of his beautiful house on Shimerville Rd. in Clarence between Roll and Clarence Center roads. He has 4 varieties which will ripen in stages all through the summer. He has drive-through service (already picked) or U Pick'em. I just stopped by and talked a little business with him. The bushes are loaded and of course we walked and sampled as we went. They are "great" and of course good for you.

Take a drive over and pick some up, or take the kids and have some fun picking. Blueberries are easy to pick in nicely mowed, grass lined rows and nothing creates memories like picking fruit with your kids.

After your visit - Satnam will ask for your email address. He will notify all his customers when the next variety is ready, provide TIPS and recipes every other week, and "offers'" that can be given to your friends. (Smart businessman, huh?).

As I was standing there I asked a lady who just picked and bought some berries if she would like to supply her email address. I  told her we would notify her when the next variety is ready and things like that. She said, "sure and it would be great to get recipes and how to freeze tips, etc. from you."  What a confirmation of the power of nurturing and serving customers via email.

All the best,

Rick Wallace 

The Most Expensive Thing A Person Can Own is A Closed Mind

"The wisest mind has something yet to learn." 

 - George Santayana, Philosopher

Two quotes for one this week.

I asked a client the other day what he had to overcome to make the call and retain a coach. It is not an easy call to make, I know that. I was curious about why he and others have made that call and why most business owners I know have not.

He said:

"Rick I used to have an ego that prevented me from asking for help in anything I did or tried to do. Exposing my "weaknesses" scared me. As a business owner you need to have an ego, but it should not prevent you from getting smarter and better. I have gotten to the point now that if it will make my business better and my life better I seek out help. I cannot know everything.

I hired a consultant several years back and paid him $20,000 to give me ideas and best practices that would improve my business. He left me with the plans and I did not get much out of it. I still have the books.

Coaching is different. You not only bring the ideas and best practices, but you bring the ongoing accountability and focus that every business owner needs. I have had to develop new habits and a renewed focus to really improve the business. I learned to set goals, prioritize actions, focus, follow through and execute. I did all the work - you showed me a better way to do it.

That takes a coach, not a business consultant. Sales are up, profits are up, the team is more accountable and I'm enjoying it all more.

Setting aside the ego was easy. Once you realize you are still in charge and that your issues and weaknesses are not unique, the fear of exposing them disappears."

"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem.

That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily."

-- Dr. Thomas Szasz

I couldn't help it 3 quotes in one.

All the best,
Rick Wallace 

The Single Most Important Question to Getting What You Want

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought." 

 - Buddha

People have been studying and writing about success for many thousands of years. The more I study and read their advice, the more I see that they have all arrived at the same conclusions.

I just received this 4 minute video from Brian Tracy in which it summarizes what separates the top 10% of performers in any walk of life from the other 90%.

It starts with spending most of their time thinking about the future.

Study after study show this is a key ingredient in success.

Now watch this 4 minute video from Brian Tracy to see what the key question is.

The Point

"There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have to change dramatically to rise to the next level of performance. Miss that moment and you start to decline."

- Andy Grove, Intel CEO

The old SBA study says that only 20% of businesses reach their 5 year anniversary. If you have gotten there congratulations! It is nice to be one of the 2 out 10 that make that milestone.

You have to have done a lot of things right.  You have probably worked hard and long, gone through your share of employees and probably still feel the business depends too much on you, and you just don't have the time to do all that needs to be done, not to mention implementing the ideas you have to make the business better.

What they don't talk about a lot is the other part of that SBA study. That, of the 20%, 80% end up locking the doors and selling the assets at a discount when they are through. They were not able to build real equity value, a business that sells for a multiple of its profits or sales revenue. Something they can retire on or pass on as a viable, profitable business to the next generation.

Why? They reached that point above that Andy Grove talks about and didn't change the way they were leading and managing the company.

You see no one wants to buy a business that relies on the owner to be there and run it day to day.

No one wants to buy a job!

Think about it, when you became the owner or started the business what were your dreams, what was your vision. I don't think it was working 45-60 hours a week on top of the stress and issues of paying the bills and dealing with your employee's and customer's issues all day.

To end up in that elite 4% of small businesses that build equity and have a real market value, you might want to think about the quote above and start thinking about how to make that change that will make you a better leader. Build a company that has the Right People, Doing the Right Things, Right.

One that works for you vs. one that relies on you to work!

It takes commitment and action - know what you want and take the right actions to get there.

Goals without Actions are dreams, Actions without goals are chaos!

Nurturing Leads

"Marketing is the effective and efficient use of frequent, relevant, focused communications to get people with similar wants, needs, pains and fears to know, like and trust you."

- Rick Wallace 

You should now be aware of the study done several years ago that showed 80% of prospects buy between the 5^th and 12th contact with the company. That same study shows that only 10% of salespeople follow up with a lead more than 3 times!

I would call that a huge disconnect and one that very few companies address. We spend most of our time and money on the generation of leads, the "getting our name out there" kind of efforts. Few companies focus on the nurturing of the leads they do generate and thus the vast majority of the leads they pay so dearly to collect are followed up a few times (called tire kickers) and put in a pile somewhere and forgotten about until we do another emailing or email blast of some "selling effort" (like a discount or special promotion). Sound familiar?

Well there is an automated way of ensuring all your leads are followed up with care and trust. The use of an email marketing program and an autoresponse program can do it all for you for less than $60 a month. You need a Marketing Machine to accomplish this. 

See a diagram of the Nurturing Machine here.

 

First it is effective and efficient.

Second it is focused, frequent and relevant.

Third it creates the know, like, and finally the trust you need to get people to buy from you.

The Steps to Success 

The first step is building your Ideal Customer Profile on paper so you can focus on a group of similar people that have the same wants, needs, pain and fears.

The second step is creating your Value Proposition (message) that addresses their wants, needs, pains and fears and how you provide the best solution for them solve them.

The third step is to sign up for Constant Contact and Aweber and load your present database of customers and leads into Constant Contact. 

The fourth step is to create a Free Offer or Service that your Ideal Customers/Prospects would like to have and set up the sign up page in Aweber.

Fifth step - Now begin promoting the Free Offer or Service and driving people to this sign up page from your website, emails, direct mail in all your promotional materials. 

Sixth step - Begin creating TIPS, short (2 minute max) informational emails or no frill videos that are relevant to your Ideal Customers/Prospects. No SELLING, no promotion, no coupons, no selling whatsoever. The only place your company is mentioned is in the From and the signature line. These should be helpful, educational tips that build trust over time that you are serving them not selling them. 

Seventh step - send to all customers and old leads via Constant Contact.

Eighth step- Add each tip (after it is sent in Step 7 above) to your sequence in Aweber (See Diagram). As each new lead signs up they will automatically get, in sequence, the tips without you doing anything. It's automated!

When the time comes that the prospect is ready to buy (they get mad at present vendor, their product breaks down, they get some money to make the purchase, etc. ) they think of you because you are following up and staying in front of them with relevant, "no sales pitch" communications and follow up.

Success = Doing the Right things, in small amounts over a long period of time.

Watch this 40 minute presentation on the strategies used above. 

All the best,

Rick Wallace