| Start 2009 on the front foot!
Business Belts and Braces
What is an opportunity mindset and why is it important?
Practical planning - how to be successful - deliberately!
Promote your business - what are the alternatives to advertising?
What is Public Relations (PR) and how can it work for you?
Give yourself the edge in 2009 with this practical business workshop.
Date: Friday 16 January
Time: 9.30am - 3.00pm
Location: SSCCI, Blakenhall Park, Barton under Needwood, DE13 8AJ
Cost: Fantastic Value - £30.00 + VAT per person. You can afford to benefit from this workshop
For bookings and further information please contact either:
Dave Lees BSc MBA
IntegritUs Ltd
Tel:07855 832667
Email: daveglees@integritusltd.co.ukWebsite: www.integritusltd.co.uk
Combining their knowledge and passion for business with practical solutions and ideas, this experiential workshop is presented by SSCCI members, Hannah Sookias (The Write Solution) and Dave Lees (IntegritUs Ltd). Both have extensive business experience in a wide-range of industries that will inspire and encourage you for the year ahead.
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| Book Review
The Seven habits of highly effective people
Stephen Covey
I can't believe that I have not included this book here before! Most of you will have heard of it and some will have read it. It is one of the foremost books globally on personal development.
Being easy to read, you can dip in and out of it. The 'Habits' are key elements of living life successfully and productively suggested by Covey. My personal favourite is habit No. 2 - Begin with the end in mind. So many people in life start things with relatively unclear ideas of what they want to achieve and yet it is so essential to 'making things happen'. Covey takes you through each habit with many suggestions of how to make each habit part of you.
I really recommend this book to you. Anyone with any personal development goals in mind should have a copy on their bookshelves.
You can, as usual, get a copy for yourself at Amazon prices through my website by clicking on the picture of the book above or the link here. |
| Quotes
"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes."
Washington Irving, 1783-1859, American Author
"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents
opportunity."
John F. Kennedy
"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good." Author Unknown |
Useful Facts
For November 2008
Consumer price index change 4.1%
RPI all items change 3.0%
UK Population Mid 2007 60.975 million
National Minimum Wage
£5.73 per hour (22 yrs and older)
£4.77 per hour (18 to 21 yrs)
£3.53 per hour (16 to 17 yrs)
Statutory sick pay £75.40 per week.
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Silly Jokes - sorry!!
Q: What did the fish say when he hit a concrete wall?
A: "Dam".
Q. Why didn't the skeleton cross the road?
A. Because it had no guts.
Q. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A. A Stick
Q. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
A. Anyone can Roast Beef!
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| Greetings!
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New year to you all.
It is probably fair to say that currently, we are all being affected to some degree by the current financial situation. However, most people are still able to spend. The stock market may have been dropping because shares are being sold but, have you ever wondered about the fact that to sell, someone has to buy! There must be some rich people and organisations who are buying the shares and getting ready to make a complete killing on the profits they'll make when things recover as they surely will. 
So my feelings are that what is happening is a re-distribution of wealth, a change in the way banks do business which will affect us in the long term (probably positively because we will be less reliant on a culture of borrowing for tomorrow rather than saving for tomorrow).
Why talk about this? Well, it is current, it is portrayed as gloom and doom, we are being affected and we may be led into feeling bad about it. I hope that I can help by encouraging more positive approaches for you and helping you keep yourself in the best state to tackle the issues that face you currently.
Here's a question for you! The economic situation is described as a crisis. What opportunities does it present you that you did not have before? Believe me there will be some. Have a look at the quotes for this month.
2009 is a new year and an opportunity for new business. It is still out there to grab so go for it!
Have a great break, see you all in the New Year.
Best wishes,
Dave.
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Selling Tips for difficult economic times
When times are tough as they are now, there is a tendency that probably affects all of us. This is the tendency to stop spending on certain things to ensure that you can afford to live. This means that the housing market cools down, there is less spent on leisure and less spent on more luxury items. Unfortunately for those of us out there selling our goods and services, this caution is infectious. It spreads. My proposition is that whilst there is less money around than before (or at least credit!), there is still money to be spent but more of it is being kept in wallets, banks and under the bed than normal!
We have to work harder to release it.
In this edition I'll focus on the common objection:
'I can't afford it at the moment'.
Possible specific responses:
- 'Actually, with things as they are, can you really afford not to?' If they don't buy your product or service when times are tight, how much more money may it cost them. NOW is still the time to invest.
- 'Think of this as investment. What will be the return on this investment?' This simply gets them to think now about the benefit of buying rather than just the cost. You can always add an ecouragement in terms of the cost currently being at a very economic rate simply because times are tough. After all look at the deals you can get for things out there now!
- 'I know you need to make sure that you can pay your bills. This is a way for you to ensure you can continue to do so in the longer term.' By taking this approach you are encouraging them to think out to the future and move away from the short term thinking which characterises the economic climate today.
- 'Think about your competitors. If they are thinking the same way, then by investing now you can out-perform them. This will improve your current sales and build you an even better platform for when the markets recover.' Helping your clients or customers to gain a competitive edge will help your reputation and is more likely to secure the sale for you.
A more general response
- Talk about an investment you have just made for your own business. Success breeds success and confidence engenders confidence and demonstrating the way forward will help your clients or customers to follow your lead.
- Think about the objection - is it true or are they just being cautious - if cautious, talk about investments friends have made and the good deals they've encountered. Use testimonials you have obtained for your products and services to re-assure them.
- Think about how you charge - can you make it easier for them to spend money? Can you spread payments for them so they find it easier to maintain their cashflow? Can you offer a better discount to tip their decision-making in your favour?
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Tips and Wrinkles
- Did you know that in todays busy environment it can take 8 or 9 or more contacts/exposures to a potential buying customer to convert interest into sales? One way to achieve some of these contact points is to run a 'newsletter' campaign like this or conduct a customer survey. The latter can have the added advantage of gaining vital information about your customers opinions of your business. You can try this free via CONSTANT CONTACT. Click on the link or on the Constant Contact Logo at the bottom of the Tipsletter.
- Improve your WEB presence by networking online via sites such as e-cademy, linkedIn, BTtradespace, it is amazing how many people connect this way. Include links to your website on all of them. They are all free. Try them out, you'll find IntegritUs on all of them and many more of your friends!
- At the end of each day write down all the achievements of your day, no matter how big or small they seem. By doing so, each day you remind yourself of all the positive thngs you do and how good you are!
- Remember to reward yourself when you achieve a goal - all too often this is something we forget to do!
- Write down your long term goals and pin them up so you can see them every day. Put a picture by the side of them which represents what it means to you to succeed.
- Take an hour a week at least to work ON your business rather than IN your business.This way you will be able to plan your success more easily, check on your progress, identify what you need to change and generally keep your eye on your own business direction.
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Do you behave as they expect?
May be a slightly odd title but one which will become clear. When you communicate with people around you, you face many different personalities throughout each day.
The article on selling tips above is about providing some simple tips to improve selling success. This article is about providing some simple tips to help improve communication and understanding between you and another person who may be very different in personality to you. This is particularly important when you are trying to sell something, trying to convince someone to do something etc. etc.
Let me start with one particular aspect to personality - that is a persons motivation to 'get things done'.
Imagine you are about to go away for a weekend break.....(I wish!)....
Do you...? - Like to plan carefully in advance, have every thing packed the night before and want to know when and where you want to stop on the way? Let's call this type Z.
Or do you...? - Like to get up and set off when you feel like after chucking a few essential items into a bag and not worry about where you stop or when for that matter?
Let's call this type X.  These are two natural personality type differences between people. They have implications for our relationships with each other. So, two Z's together or two X's together may well face life in a similar fashion. The Z's will be very structured about their lives, wanting to be well planned and ordered. The X's will tend to be random in approach, preferring to keep their options open until the very last minute and then going 'all-out' for an action or a result.
So if you chose Z as a preference then you are likely to gain rapport with another Z more quickly and naturally than perhaps you would with an X.
What happens if you are X in preference and have a Y client or customer?
You may be totally confident in ensuring that you will get work done to necessary deadlines but will your client be confident in you doing so? If they ask 'How is the work going?' and you have not even started it yet - what will be the result? Loss of business? loss of confidence? Will you be able to re-assure the client.
So few suggestions:-
- Set yourself some interim deadlines for completion of certain tasks and stick to them - put them in your diary.
- Ring or e-mail your Z client at regular intervals to give a progress report.
- Keep your client informed avoiding surprises. Z's do not like surprises.
- Recognise their needs and negotiate deadlines with them at commencement so they know what to expect of you.
- When preparing proposals or schedules, put greater effort than normal into giving detail and schedules.
- Include pence in prices, Z's prefer detail.
What happens if you are Y in preference and you have an X preference client. If you require information from your client in order to complete your work, it could be that you have to wait for it or chase it up at the very last minute which could cause you stress. You may work to keep your client informed throughout and find you feel as if you are harassing your client. If setting out a proposal, your client may be put-off by too much detail or may not even read it thoroughly which could result in you losing the business.
So a few suggestions:
- Ask your client how much detail they need.
- Agree what points of contact thy need from you.
- Agree deadlines for receipt of information from them (build in a couple of days leeway for yourself, they don't need to know, and it will give you time to chase up information). Collect as much of the details that you need when you are with your client face to face.
- Keep proposals to key information and outcomes. Include key deadlines, not the minutiae.
- If they say 'Just go and do it for me, never mind the detail.' Then do so - they will be happier. Keep a note of the process for yourself and eventualities.
- Round prices up or down - don't add the pence, X's tend to think big picture rather than detail.
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