Business Coaching

From the car wash to the grocery store, you barely have to talk to a person to buy a product or service these days.

But one supermarket chain has decided it’s time to buck the trend of automated, self-serve checkout lines and get back to good, old-fashioned customer service.

Big Y, which is celebrating its 75th year in business in 2011, has decided to remove self- serve checkout from all of its 61 stores in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“Our self checkout technology could not deliver on the service needs of our customers,” Big Y Vice President for Information Resources and Technology, Michael A. Tami said. “We were not able to provide the exceptional customer service through them that has made Big Y what it is today. While other chains are opting to replace cashiers with more self checkouts, we are adding cashiers to service more standard lanes.”

Self-serve checkout originated in the supermarket industry as a response to long lines at major supermarkets. But research has shown that self- serve checkout lanes often take customers more time than the standard, employee-staffed lanes and lack the customer service that many customers have come to expect.

And Big Y isn’t alone. Albertson’s, a major supermarket on the West Coast of the United States is also removing self checkouts.

This story highlights something that the Business Coaches at ActionCOACH have been preaching for years: don’t be afraid to change.

Big Y must have felt they were on the cutting edge and stepping into the modern age when they installed self checkout in 2003, but when they realized they weren’t getting the return on their investment, they decided it was time to cut their losses and get back to what they knew best: customer service.

So can your business make a change, discover it was the wrong move and have the flexibility to go back the old way or find a better way? Are you a flexible enough leader to make those changes when necessary?

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.

According to recent studies, businesses coached by an ActionCOACH Business Coach have a return of $7.50 for every dollar spent. At the same time, 74 percent of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased sales over the last year compared to only 43% of non-coached businesses.

The powerful return on investment evidenced in these studies is a major reason that, every week, 15,000 businesses around the world are coached by an ActionCOACH Business Coach.

Clearly, business owners that hire an ActionCOACH get results.

Those results, along with the satisfaction of our clients are major factors in our being nominated for our latest honor, the People’s Choice Stevie.

There isn’t a business in the world that can survive, let alone thrive, without building a database of “Raving Fans” and we want to thank our “Raving Fans” from all over the world for this nomination.

Of course, the nomination was just the first step.

The next step is actually winning the award and to do this we need everyone who reads this blog voting for ActionCOACH in the “Business Services” category. Only with your vote and support can we win this coveted award.

You can vote for ActionCOACH by visiting the “People’s Choice Awards” page by clicking on the button at the top of this blog. Once you’re directed to the voting page, click on “Business Services” and then vote for ActionCOACH.

Winners of the “People’s Choice” Stevie Award will be announced the week of September 12 and presented their awards at the International Business Awards event in Abu Dhabi on October 11.

We hope we will get the chance to be there and accept the award in person, but we can’t do it without you, so click on the link provided and vote for the entire ActionCOACH team today!

As much as the world changes, it stays the same. The recent purchase of Skype by Microsoft for more than $8 billion is an extreme example of this because, for all the talk about the brand of Skype itself, what Microsoft was really buying was Skype’s massive customer list.

In 2010, Skype had 170 million connected users who logged over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations.

There is massive opportunity for growth with Skype, but the company has been around since 2003 and hasn’t exactly been a big earner.

The company reported a $6.9 million net loss last year, on nearly $860 million in revenue. It reported $686 million in long-term debt, and slightly more than $1 billion in liabilities.

In the purchase, Microsoft assumed Skype’s debts and liabilities in what was, to this date, the largest acquisition Microsoft has ever made.

This isn’t the first time Skype has been bought. In 2005, Skype was bought by Ebay for $2.6 billion but the partnership did not work out and eBay sold its 65% share in Skype for $1.9 billion in 2009.

Microsoft plans to integrate the service into X-Box Live and the Windows Phone but there’s little doubt they already possess the technology to do this without buying Skype.

So why buy Skype?

For all those customers who are already proficient with the service and are naturally ready to buy other Microsoft products.

As Microsoft continues to lose market share (their stock price has dropped nine percent over the last year) the company needs to find new ways to compete.

Adding Skype’s customer list gives Microsoft access to customers that are relatively early adopters of technology, who’ll want to buy the latest, hottest thing, but might not have thought of Microsoft products in the past.

This deal is just another sign that as much as technology changes, the basics of business, like buying a customer list, stay the same.

The Free Franchise for the Forces program, from ActionCOACH, will award $7.6 million in franchises to 100 eligible Veterans from the U.S. Armed Forces in select U.S. states.

It is high time to honor the Veterans who selflessly put their lives on the line for this nation and this program will do that in a way that only the world’s number one business coaching firm, ActionCOACH, can.

Veterans who are successfully awarded an ActionCOACH Franchise will be in a unique position to help America’s small business sector continue to grow. Studies have shown that working with an ActionCOACH Business Coach provides a return of $7.50 for every dollar spent for businesses.

Furthermore, ActionCOACH franchisees have enjoyed a 20% increase in average quarter over quarter revenue in 2010.

Finally, an ActionCOACH Business Coach earns significantly higher income than other brands or independent Business Coaches in other systems do.

It is clear the military is a great training ground for success in the business world, as the majority of Veterans return home with skills in leadership, teamwork and integrity, which are integral to success.

A number of the top Business Coaches in the ActionCOACH system have a military background and one reason is that ActionCOACH follows a proven path to success with a disciplined approach which is an especially good fit for veterans.

As part of the giveaway, ActionCOACH will waive the $50,000 franchise fee as well as the training and tech fee of $26,250 for qualified and chosen applicants.

Candidates will still be responsible for ongoing royalties and marketing fees as well as their travel arrangements to and from Las Vegas, Nevada where training will take place in the months of September and October.

Free Franchise for the Forces is another initiative in which ActionCOACH focuses on abundance through business re-education.  In addition to this program, ActionCOACH also sponsors Coaching for a Cause and The Business Excellence Awards.

Tools like Twitter are designed to grow any business, brand or image, but, like with any new platform, there are many avenues of wealth still left to be exploited in its use.

Celebrities have been at the front of using Twitter to connect with their fans and deliver their message directly. That was what brought Charlie Sheen to begin using Twitter, and why over a million people follow him setting a Guiness World record by accumulating 1 million followers of his Tweets in less than 24 hours.

It’s been a few weeks since Charlie Sheen was seemingly on every television show and radio station offering pearls of wisdom before moving to Twitter.

Sheen’s very public meltdown (or publicity stunt) gave us such classic memes as “Adonis DNA and Tiger’s Blood” or “Riding on a Mercury Surfboard”, to name just a few, but it also gave him a public pulpit he’d never had before.

While much of what he said was, to say the least, loopy, it certainly helped grow his already well known brand and take it to a new level.

Sheen started his public tirade the old-fashioned way, on television and radio, but he realized he was missing the social media boat. He contacted Ad.ly, a PR company that specializes in using social media and celebrities for commercial endorsements.

Say what you will about Sheen, but he saw that there was an opportunity and found away to cash in.

Sheen is now a member of Ad.ly celebrity roster, which is more than 1000 strong and while the crazy Tweets have slowed down, there’s little doubt his followers will be seeing plenty of Twitter endorsements from him.

Sheen’s story is a great example of how a business or a person can grow a brand with Twitter.

Sure, he was already well known and had the big advantage of being able to say any crazy thing he wanted without serious repercussions but it begs the question, what are you doing with your Twitter account to grow your brand, and your business?

We like to say in order to earn more, you need to learn more, and reading a steady stream of great business books is one way to do exactly that.

Here are two books we’ve been sharing with our TEAM over the past quarter, both of which offer great insight and perspectives into the world of business.

The first is about the value of customer service …
The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary by Mark Sanborn

… and the second is a somewhat “Politically Incorrect” take on why it’s called “work” …

It’s Called Work for a Reason! Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault by Larry Winget

You can grab both for your own “business re-education” program by clicking on the above links …

Enjoy!

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.

Everybody’s online these days, right?

It sure seems that way, but there are still a shocking number of businesses that aren’t taking advantage of the online world to grow.

In fact, almost 40 percent of small businesses in the United States have no online presence at all.

It’s easy to blame uncontrollable factors on failures, but a business that has no online presence and fails has no excuse. There is help for any business if they know where to look.

The economy may be bad, taxes may be high and the economy may be uncertain, but none of those factors mean anything if you aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunities around you and the internet is as powerful a marketing tool as we have ever seen.

People don’t look for the products and services they need in the Yellow Pages anymore.

In fact, many communities have done away with distributing phone books because most people search for what they want online these days and having a massive tome with everyone’s contact information was simply too expensive to produce every year.

For business owners that haven’t gone online with their message yet and then wonder why they aren’t finding enough customers, it’s time to move to the 21st century.  If a business isn’t marketing, it’s dying.

Developing your presence isn’t hard and it shouldn’t take up too much time, but it’s vital to your success.

If a small business doesn’t have an online presence, whether it’s a Facebook fan page or a dedicated, multi-page website, they are missing out on hundreds if not thousands of potential customers.

Online you can build a following of your best customers, interact with them and find easy, cost-effective ways to market your business.

An on-line presence is, arguably, the most important marketing tool available these days, so get online today and don’t lose any more business to your competition.

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.