Business Coaching

Tide created a memorable billboard ad that sent a visible message about its product.

Any Business Coach who joins ActionCOACH goes through an intensive training session. Besides learning about how to coach a business and how to help someone overcome even daunting challenges and goals, new Business Coaches also learn how to leverage themselves and their new business and career as a Business Coach.

Advertising a business can be done in several different ways: networking, direct mail, e-mail, cold calling, magazine/newspaper ads and billboard ads. But you can’t just put up your business’ name (or, for Business Coaches, their name), a picture and list what they do. They need to put something up there that does all that AND will stick in potential customers’ heads.

This requires outside-the-box thinking, because the best ads are the ones that have never been done before. And when someone looks at an ad, not only do you want them to think your ad is cool, clever and different, you’ll want them to think that your company is better than the rest – because it came up with that ad.

Take these ads that are beyond outside the box:
-When it comes to billboards, some agencies think they should do something big, loud and eye-catching to make a statement. But Tide took a different approach and proved its point much better. On the side of a busy road, Tide put what appeared to be all white boards up, but there were cut-outs of clothing made of cotton with self-cleaner on there, too; after a few weeks, the boards got dirtier, but the clothing cut-outs stayed white, demonstrating the long-lasting whiteness of Tide detergent. This sent a powerful message to everyone driving by that Tide keeps whites white.

-Clear Wireless recently launched a campaign that saw them climb inside the box to think outside the box. As a mobile internet service provider, Clear wanted to demonstrate their wireless network will work absolutely anywhere. So they got a truck with clear sides and set up an office complete with desk, computer and lounging area with a television. Then they hired someone to sit at that desk and “work” while the driver travels the streets of major metropolitan areas. It’s a novel approach that definitely attracts attention as people wonder just what the heck that is that just pulled up next to them at the stoplight.

-Visual metaphors also project powerful messages. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter knew this, and created a print ad that demonstrated what they did as a company through a metaphorical ad: a photo of a guy bungee jumping over a vast cliff over a stream. It also had two arrows; one that read “you,” pointing to the guy, and one that read “us,” pointing to the bungee cord. The message was, loud and clear, that the company will save you during times of risk – just like the bungee cord tied to the guy’s ankles…the only thing keeping him from plunging into the water below.

These ads go to show that in marketing, if you step outside the box and think about how these techniques may be used to deliver your message, you’ll ultimately improve your bottom line.

Warren Buffet wrote a column about how the U.S. could lessen its debt.

“The United States economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery.”

That’s what billionaire Warren Buffet wrote in a column in the New York Times August 19. He added, “But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects.”

Buffet is not so subtly referring to debt.

It’s tough to not incur debt, when it seems like the only answer is to borrow money. After all, when you need money, it seems like the solution – and the side effect, debt, is just something that comes later.

Money and debt are two things business owners must deal with every day. Credit is necessary and a necessary part of business. But borrowing beyond the capacity to pay is dangerous, as many large companies found out last year.

Overly leveraged, they couldn’t afford to meet their interest obligations, and many defaulted.

For those companies and individuals who have overleveraged themselves, now is the time to do something about it.

Brad Sugars, founder and CEO of ActionCOACH, says the best way to get out of debt is to not borrow excessively in the first place. However, if you do need to borrow, you need to stay on top of your numbers and make certain you can pay down your outstanding balances as quickly as possible.

These days, creditors and suppliers may be looking to extend or revise terms, because the credit markets are still tight, and everyone wants to “stay in the game” of business.

Try going to your creditors and see if you can change or revise your terms. Then get on a budget and stick with it.

“Knowing your numbers,” as Brad would say, is one key to succeeding in business and in life.

Knowing when to borrow (and when to pay down what you have borrowed) is key to long-term financial success.

Melanie Oudin made it to the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Seventeen year old Melanie Oudin, that is, who upset some major players like Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova, in the US Open, which finished Monday. She was finally ousted from the tournament by No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals. But to focus on the negative would be silly – after all, at just 17, Oudin made it to where few 17-year-old players make it in one of the biggest tennis tournaments.

First, Oudin had nothing to lose. If she made it to the finals or even won the US Open, she’d be a phenomenal news story. But if not – well, she’s just a kid, and she can just go back to practicing and playing. But the fact that she ousted tough players like Sharapova and Petrova at least say something of her abilities. It wasn’t just luck – it was skill. Skills discovered thanks to coaches showing Oudin how to play her best.

Oudin, despite her loss, is still another example of a young, promising athlete being coached to success…comparable to promising businesses being coached to success.

It’s a tough job market out there for those who have been laid off or, even worse, just graduated college.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 19.7% of 2009 graduates landed a job.

Who knows how many tries that took, too…and the unemployment rate in some states is either climbing or stagnant.

However, if you’ve still got your job and business afloat, now is a great time to really prove what you can do.

Whether you’re a manager or work for a manager, secure your job and position yourself for success – even in the recession.

If you’re an employee:

• Do your research and find out which managers are moving up the chain or overwhelmed. Then volunteer to help out as necessary.
• Along with the first point, be prepared to take on work you might not normally do, work long hours, or difficult tasks.
• Maintain contacts – work with other departments and form good working relationships…you never know when you may need them again.
• It’s a recession, so any worthwhile suggestions in how to cut costs are appreciated – just make sure you play a part in the effort.

Some extra pointers for managers or business owners:

• Save now to make a smart investment for the future
• Motivate employees to do great work
• Find out if you’re meeting all customers’ needs
• Find ways to differentiate your business from competitors

It’s probably a good idea to take a cue from ActionCOACH’s 14 points of culture, too: be positive, grateful, a team player and commit to excellent and successful results.

College football season has started, and some teams might use the spread offense.

College football season is here, and that means the return of the spread offense.

If you follow college football, you should recognize the term “spread offense.” It’s an offensive system that is very difficult to beat according to many college football coaches.

Note the term “system.”

Because of this system, many college football teams have run the offense to tremendous success, including the Houston Cougars in 1989, Georgia Southern in 2000, West Virginia in 2005, Hawaii in 2006 and Florida Gators in 2008.

Last year, Florida won its second national title in three years – and is looking at another chance this season, with the same offense and many of the same players returning to run it.

The spread offense works by spreading out the offense across the field, taking advantages of mis-matches on the defense. For example, the ball could be passed to a wide receiver, who is defended by a heavier linebacker.

The system puts pressure on the defense to make every tackle count – a very difficult thing to do.

Since the offensive players are spread out everywhere, there isn’t a sure-fire way to defend against system, which might explain the correlation between teams who use it and teams who win a championship.

Because the system is adaptable, a variety of coaches have used it, with different teams, in different parts of the country. But they have achieved the same results.

The same is true in business and in business coaching.

The goal of using systems in a business is to save time and energy and to achieve consistent results.

For example, The 5 Ways – a system with five factors that are guaranteed to multiply profit – is the system Brad Sugars and his team of Business Coaches have developed and apply to all of their coaching clients.

Even though each client runs a vastly different business, in the end, the system works.

It doesn’t matter who the “players” are, or what the business is, the 5 Ways always delivers results.

So maybe it’s time to “kick-off” better results in your own business. Take a look at how Brad describes the 5 Ways here.

Macy's, national chain, is focusing on individual stores for locally-demanded merchandise.

It’s smart to think local, especially during a recession. So smart that even national chains are thinking locally in order to succeed in their market sectors.

Macy’s is one of the biggest retail chains in America, but due to the recession, changes needed to happen. It might have seemed daunting to try to think local as a national chain, but CEO Terry Lundgren took baby steps into that change, and it looks like it’s paying off.

For starters, he replaced merchandise managers who oversaw product assortments at two dozen stores each with more local managers responsible for half that many outlets. With fewer stores to cover, each manager spent more time figuring out what was selling.

Then they made the necessary changes in certain stores’ inventory. In Chicago, Macy’s started carrying more size 11 shoes. In stores near water parks, they’re stocking more swimsuits.

Thinking locally didn’t start paying off until the fourth quarter in 2008, but it is – slowly but surely – paying off.

Macy’s isn’t the only national chain trying to think locally – Wal-Mart, Tesco and Best Buy are thinking locally in terms of its product offerings, too.

If your business, like Macy’s, is losing money due to economic conditions and resisting change rather than changing, you might want to rethink your strategy. If there’s any way your business can shift focus from national to local, it could mean better business. After all, local businesses have more support from locals for a reason – they cater to them, personally, therefore their products are locally driven and they sell what people need, thus spurring their success.

Even though Macy’s may never be a small, quaint storefront, its business model is smart, and worth a notice from other businesses.