Business Coaching

Does your business have a reputation for poor quality or service?

What can you do to change that perception?

There aren’t many businesses that haven’t had to deal with concerns like these, but if you let people know you understand their concerns by speaking the truth, guarantee your customer’s satisfaction and take steps to make necessary changes, your business can actually grow and become stronger.

Just look at Domino’s Pizza.

Domino’s knew it had a major issue with perceptions of quality and service, and faced it head on. Interestingly, this strategy has paid huge dividends for the ubiquitous pizza maker, who has seen its stock price rise 233% since the company began its “brutally honest” campaign in 2009.

In addition to their marketing campaign, Domino’s improved the ease and convenience of their website, even adding a “Pizza Tracker” so people know each step of the process as their pizza is delivered.

Not only has this improved the perception of the company with its customers, but it has also grown their business. Today, more than 25% of Domino’s business is done online.

What is the primary issue facing your business?

For Domino’s the problem was the quality of their product. Years ago, Domino’s delivered one very famous guarantee; getting your pizza within 30 minutes. But speed wasn’t the problem, quality was.

To turn this around, Domino’s faced the reality that people thought it’s pizza wasn’t very good. It was fast, easy and convenient, but tasted bad to most people.

Of course, just a marketing campaign alone couldn’t have changed people’s perceptions, so Domino’s improved the quality of their ingredients before letting people know about the improvement through its latest marketing campaign.

So if your business has a bad reputation, don’t avoid it and hope it will go away. Be proactive like Domino’s and face those challenges head-on. Guarantee that whatever issues plaguing your business will be dealt with and your customers will be happy. But, most importantly, your bottom line will grow.

Are you the leader of your business or just a business owner who is really a glorified manager?

You may ask, what’s the difference?

Managers should concentrate on the technical side of any business, directing people, making sure tasks are completed on time and deadlines are met.

The role of a leader is very different.

A leader isn’t a technician.

Instead, a leader is a generalist who needs to be able to see the entire business for what it is.

It’s important that a leader isn’t focused on day to day tasks because a leader is responsible for the overall health of the company and it’s very difficult to concentrate on a company’s long term health when you are dealing with its day to day activities.

The leader’s role is to understand what can help the company grow and delegate those responsibilities to others, including managers who are tasked with getting things done.

If the leader’s role comes down too far on the side of a technician, the business will suffer because no one is focused on the company’s long-term viability.

In this situation, the business’ growth and long-term prosperity are neglected.

That’s why owners of small and medium sized businesses have to stop thinking like managers and start thinking like leaders.

This change in mindset doesn’t come easy.

The owner that manages the day to day activities of the business has to make some changes to what they do and how they think about their role in the business, including hiring someone to look over the everyday activities of the business.

In other words, these business owners have to learn to let go and trust someone else to run the technical side of the business, so they can concentrate on the bigger picture and build the business they’ve always dreamed of.

Every day in 39 countries around the world, ActionCOACH Business Coaches work with small and medium sized business owners. The impact these coaches make is massive and can often be the difference between a company surviving and thriving and a company closing its doors for good.

While independent studies and testimonials make it clear the impact that ActionCOACH has, winning an award that thousands of people voted on is another reminder of the good work ActionCOACH Business Coaches do every day, with both small and medium sized businesses and their communities.

The latest honor for ActionCOACH, the leader in the Business Coaching industry, is this year’s People’s Choice Stevie Award for Favorite Company in the Business Services category.

While every award is important, this award is particularly significant because it is earned by public voting.

More than 35,000 votes were cast from July 28 through September 9 and ActionCOACH was the clear winner in the Business Services category, with the award to be given on October 11 in Abu Dhabi.

“This is a huge win for our company. I want to give a big thanks to all our clients who voted for us. After winning the American Stevie for Company of the Year earlier in the year, it’s very exciting that we earned both the judge’s award and the People’s Choice,” ActionCOACH Founder and Chairman Brad Sugars said.

With more than 1000 Business Coaches working with more than 15,000 businesses around the world every week, it’s easy to see why the company was able to garner so many votes.

Without the outstanding results that ActionCOACH provides for its clients, the company couldn’t have earned this award, so congratulations to everyone in the ActionCOACH system and thanks to everyone who voted for ActionCOACH.

We have all heard read the reports. Our world is in an economic downturn. Many say it’s a severe recession while others use the word depression but regardless of the label, business owners are only concerned with how their numbers look.

For some, such as those in discretionary industries like apparel and travel, you are among the hardest hit.  We all know that eventually customers will purchase and profits will return but what can we do right now to preserve customers and profits?

There are two actions to take right now to ride out the tough economic times.

First, businesses must find the value in their current customer base.

In other words, business owners need to understand that the greatest asset of their business is their current customer base.

It costs upwards of six to eight times more to acquire a new customer than to sell an existing product to an existing customer, so in our current “economic winter,” it is vital to treat current customers well and find ways to add value to your current product and/or service line.

While some companies would have us believe that they are customer centered, in reality that may not be the case.  When the phones are ringing wildly with sales, customers are crowding showrooms and battling over the last item on the shelf, some owners forget that their customer’s money was earned by hours of hard work and because of that they are going to maximize the value they receive for the money they spend.

A great customer experience is the key to creating and maintaining a business relationship. As Dale Carnegie said, having a genuine interest in somebody is the first step to that person feeling valued.

Second, businesses must streamline. While it seems logical to think that having a larger range of products which appeal to the widest of range of people would be the best way to increase sales, some successful business owners to think differently.

Diversity doesn’t mean that you have a great business. It may be more profitable to sell lower volume items at higher price points and higher profit margins.

While product diversity may be important if you are a large scale retail establishment who is known for being the one place that customers can shop for just about everything, the specialty business owner may have a different focus.

In this case, selling the highest profit margin products may make more sense.  Product bundling and customer appreciation days may increase the perceived value while preserving a high profit margin.  Businesses rarely survive over the long term by focusing on low prices.

Finally, keep in mind, downturns force companies to pare marginal products and services, and focus on what they do best.

This is one of those times.

There is no denying that when the economic climate is challenging, streamlining operations is pivotal to the bottom line but remember that those customers who have believed in your business in the past are the best assets you have.

Don’t offer more, but, instead, optimize the value of our current offerings.

You can buy the cheaper office supplies but don’t discount the customer’s experience.

ActionCOACH took its place alongside such industry leaders as Apple, Constant Contact, Overstock.com, Whole Foods Market, Cisco and Groupon as winner of this year’s Stevie for Best Overall Company in the Business Services category

The Stevies, or American Business Awards, were created to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and business people worldwide.  Beginning with The American Business Awards in 2002, their mission is to raise the profile of exemplary organizations and individuals among the press, the business community and the general public.

This is the third straight year ActionCOACH was honored as a finalist for Best Overall Company and the second time the company has won the award, having taken home the trophy in 2007 as well.

One of the longest tenured ActionCOACH Master Licensees in the United States, Don Schin, attended the Awards Dinner and accepted the award for ActionCOACH.

“Receiving this award on behalf of ActionCOACH is a great honor for me,” Schin said, “This award has special meaning for me because I’ve been part of the ActionCOACH system for so long. I’ve seen incredible growth in more than a decade as an ActionCOACH and I know, with our great team, we will continue to grow and get better.”

The award highlights the strengths of ActionCOACH, the systems and the people. Everyone in the organization played a role in winning this award and that commitment to excellence is evident to virtually everyone that comes into contact with an ActionCOACH team member.

“Anytime you win an award it’s an honor,” ActionCOACH USA and Canada CEO Jodie Shaw said, “But winning Best Overall Company means our company is the best of the best, not just in our field or specialty, but as a business as a whole.”

ActionCOACH has been honored with numerous Business Awards this year, including three Hermes Creative Awards.

ActionCOACH will also be sponsoring the Business Excellence Awards, to honor the best of the best in the world of small business, at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, August 20. Entries will be accepted for the Business Excellence awards until June 30, so register your company today.

Entries are being accepted in 13 categories for the Business Excellence Awards, which will take place on the last night of the 2011 Business Excellence Forum, hosted at Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami from August 19-20.

The Business Excellence Awards will honor the “best of the best” in small and medium sized businesses from around the world and entering the awards is also an excellent way to showcase outstanding performances of business owners, entrepreneurs, their teams and companies.

Winners will receive a 2011 Business Excellence trophy for their category, designed by the same company that designs the Oscars. They will also receive local and national publicity for the award-winning accomplishments.

The 2011 Business Excellence Forum and the 2011 Business Excellence Awards are sponsored by ActionCOACH, the world’s number one business coaching firm.

Theses events are part of the company’s on-going commitment to innovation and business re-education for small-and-medium sized businesses.

In addition to the awards ceremony, the Business Excellence Forum will feature some of the finest speakers in the world of business, including Les Brown and ActionCOACH Founder, Chairman and President Brad Sugars.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a number of workshops, breakout sessions and networking events.
Deadline for entries is June 30, 2011, so sign up today and get recognized for your hard work in Miami in August.

No matter where you go, despite cultural differences, certain things just resonate with people. Take situation comedies like Everybody Loves Raymond for instance.

There are versions of many popular American shows being made around the world these days, and while there may be some differences, these shows speak to the similarities we all share, even if we live in very different cultures or environments.

Cross-culture television is not a new innovation. Shows have crossed cultures for years.

Some American classics, like “All In The Family” and “Three’s Company”, were re-purposed from British shows and even contemporary hits like The Office was originally a British series before coming to America.

The trend is growing on an almost daily basis and while the country’s manufacturing base is eroding, America is one of the biggest exporters of television ideas to the rest of the world.

Shows as varied as “Married… With Children”, “The Jeffersons”, “Who’s The Boss” and even “I Dream of Jeannie” have been farmed out to other nations, years after they are no longer on the air.

Keep in mind we aren’t talking about simply issuing rights to show repeats. Each of these shows is unique unto itself. The characters and jokes are uniquely that of the home country, with plotlines taken from the original, American version.

So every culture loves television comedy, but not each television comedy is funny to each country.

Often American humor doesn’t translate into laughter in other countries, so production companies are taking the ideas and storylines of a given show and re-issuing them in the style of the nation they are in.

Hence, Everybody Loves Kostya.

So how does this relate to the challenges business people face every day?

Thanks to all the options around us, the world is a smaller place than it’s ever been and businesses that want to be truly successful have to have a global vision.

A key to achieving global success is understanding as much as some things are universal, there are small, seemingly minor variances between cultures that can make the difference between a business’ success and failure.

This is clearly on display for those that travel around the world and might be stuck in a hotel room watching the Chilean version of “Mad About You” or “The Nanny”.

The jokes might not be the same as the ones you remember, but the concepts translate, making the shows very familiar, while at the same time, unique to its homeland.

It’s that familiarity, combined with local flavor that has led to success for this concept. And that idea should stick with you as you try to build your business from a local institution, to a global power.

To create a new idea of your life, a life where you can have ALL that you dream of, not just some little bits of happiness or balance, you’ve got to get the right mindset.

I’ve found there are steps that can help you get your mind right in creating the life you’ve always dreamed of.

You’ve got to consider your life in a positive frame of mind so begin by creating a list of affirmations starting with “I AM”. Affirm things like, I am a leader, I am rich, I am talented, etc. State these affirmations in the positive and present tense out loud every single day.

Secondly, create a dream chart. Find about two dozen magazines full of words and pictures for your new reality. Take several hours and cut out everything in those magazines that match what you want out of life, then glue them to a big sheet of cardboard and put it somewhere where you can see it every morning.

Finally, invest 20 minutes by yourself every single morning visualizing your new reality. Simply close your eyes and focus on everything you’ve pictured in your new reality.

Remember, you are creating a new you and if you’re becoming someone different, you will do things differently.

Since you can only be who you are, you have to change who you are to do things differently.

Your subconscious mind cannot determine the difference between dreams and reality, so feed it dreams often and make that your reality.

Follow these steps, create a bigger picture and then use these techniques to impress this picture on your subconscious.

The rest will take care of itself.

As you change who you are, you’ll change what you do and thus you’ll change what you have. Your new reality will unfold right before your eyes.

A basic part of the ActionCOACH system is our belief in the power of testing and measuring. No business should ever undertake a project or campaign without setting up a process which will test and measure its success.

But, in our personal lives, we fail to test and measure all the time.

For instance, we go to sleep and assume we’ve gotten enough rest when we get up, even though we may still feel groggy. We got to the gym and assume we’ve gotten enough exercise to burn the necessary calories to stay in shape, but have no real data to prove it aside from how we feel.

In these situations, we are hoping our actions will lead to the desired outcome, but we are taking a leap of faith to get there, much like business owners that spend money on advertising but don’t test and measure that campaign’s effectiveness.

But, thanks in part to some incredible advances in technology and some enterprising entrepreneurs, the time has come for us to be able to test and measure virtually anything we do and use that data to design better program or situations for us to take advantage of.

Today there are alarm clocks that will measure your sleep patterns to give you a better idea how long you should sleep and when you should wake up. There are smartphone applications that will measure your spending habits and do your budgeting for you. There are even systems that allow you to measure your happiness at various times of the day or with various people in your life.

There are so many tools available that it may seem like overload, but these tools can help anybody make better usage of their resources and create a happier and more abundant life.

That is the goal when we test and measure with our clients and, no doubt, testing and measuring, with the help of the tools available these days, can positively influence you personally as well.

Did you read a newspaper this morning?

Now quickly, how many ads do you recall right now?

Consider this story.

An advertising agency has scheduled a team meeting. As the team filed into the seminar room they were all given a copy of that morning’s paper.

While they were waiting, most of them read it.

Of 100 ad agency people, only three remembered an advertisement. And that was within half-an-hour of reading the paper!

Of those three, only one was thinking about taking any action. She was studying a furniture sale ad — because she was planning to buy some furniture. The ad had not persuaded her to buy furniture, since she was already in the market, so what good did it really do?

It makes you wonder if any of the agency’s work was in that paper. It is also a clear example of why certain ads don’t work.

Ask yourself, do your ads stand out?

Are they noticed and remembered?

Do they stir people to action?

Do they drive people to buy from you?

Or when potential customers come to your ad do they simply turn the page?

In many respects, advertisers are the world’s greatest contributors to “charity”.

Lord Lever of Lever & Kitchen, which is now Unilever, once said he knew only half of his advertising worked, but he didn’t know which half.

This statement has also been attributed to John Wanamaker and Henry Ford, but whoever said it originally, the point is clear, advertising can be a drain on resources if you don’t have a focus on who you want to reach and how you are going to reach them.

Most advertisers aren’t even doing as well as half, because they are more concerned with winning awards than generating customers.

Nobody can be perfect with their marketing all the time, but by testing and measuring the response to your advertising you’ll soon know which ads are working, and which are merely a donation to the medium which you’re using.