FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

I was recently having coffee with my good friend, Robert Werner of BC Digital Divide and we were discussing some of the struggles we have both seen entrepreneurs face around starting and building a business. He made an interesting observation: “Whether it be TV or the Internet or the cell phone or Blackberry or whatever, I think the #1 thing holding people back from achieving their dreams is getting distracted by the little things.” I have to agree. As a Ghost CEO coach, I talk to a lot of people who are frustrated with the current state of their business and when I dig a bit deeper the most common thing I see is that so many of them have no clear plan or goals written down. They have an endless to-do list with no prioritization or timelines set to it. When you look at where they are spending most of their time, it is on distractions.

To become more productive and get the business results you want:

• Set specific times every day to respond to email and phone calls. Turn it off the rest of the time so you do not become a slave to it.
• Increase your business knowledge and confidence. Turn off the TV and read a business book one hour every evening instead.
• Track how much time you spend surfing the internet during work hours and then be honest about how much is truly related to work. If you find yourself using it as a diversion from your to-do list, then set a timer and limit the time you spend.

Multi-millionaire, Jimmy Pattison is owner of the Jim Pattison Group, Canada’s third largest privately held company. Recently hosting a Q&A session at the Vancouver Entrepreneur Toastmaster anniversary celebration, he stated that he and his staff have started 56 companies from scratch and two-thirds of them have failed.

This is a good fact to keep in mind as a business owner. You have to be prepared to take some risks and court some failures. So many business owners I work with get paralyzed with fear that things won’t work. Stop analyzing and worrying – take the plunge! Failure is part of the package and as long as you learning from your mistakes, you’ll be all the stronger for it.

In follow up to our Google AdWords posting last week, the folks over at Out-Smarts have posted a second installment in their series of posts. This one is called Google AdWords - Which Edition. The article discusses getting started with the service and in particular choosing the right Google AdWords edition to meet your needs: Standard or Starter Edition.

GoogleAdWords is a great way to easily target your niche audience and promote your product to that audience. With hundreds of millions of Google searches performed every day it makes sense to tap into that huge potential market and thats just what GoogleAdwords lets you do.

When you next google something look at the right hand side and the top few searches of the page: these are ads (usually highlighted) placed and paid for by companies using the GoogleAdWords service.

The major benefits companies find in using this service (increased traffic notwithstanding) include:

• ability to get started on a minimum budget: as little as $5 per month;
• manage your budget effectively with monthly spend limits;
• test the waters, try different keywords and ad wording and make adjustments easily;
• you only pay for actual clicks (people who click through to visit your site);
• advertising with Google, unlike advertising in traditional media, is highly targeted by location and language;
• its relatively simple to get started
• and the service offers advanced reporting options if you are so inclined.

All in all, GoogleAdWords brings great bang for your advertising buck. Watch out for more in a series of Google AdWords blog posts at Out-Smarts.

I had the pleasure of meeting Candace Newton last week, the host and creator of Unlocking Secrets for Women. What a dynamic woman! We discussed building business, using the responsibility of power to empower others and many other topics. The lessons I learned from Candace include:

• Always be thinking bigger.
• Save time by going right to the top person -go straight to the CEO and tell them what the benefit is for them by working with your company.
• Don’t be afraid to go after what you want or ask for what you want.
• Never underestimate the power of networking – connections are gold in doing business.

Read more about Candace and the remarkable things she is up to at www.unlockingsecrets.com. She is an inspiring woman with a remarkable story.

As a Ghost CEO business coach, I often hear clients telling me that they are really bad at sales, that the prospects they speak to just do not get it. What most of these people are doing wrong is that they focus on talking about features only. They tell their prospects all about the attributes and qualities of their product. Yes it is good information, but people only buy when they understand the benefits of what you are selling to them.

There is a great quote by Zig Ziglar that I always keep in mind when approaching a sales situation: “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” To succeed in any sales situation, I have to be able to step into my customer’s shoes and look at my product through their eyes. Once I understand the benefits to them, I know the reasons they want to buy. Successful selling is not about convincing people to part with money, it is about presenting solutions that make prospects feel confident that buying from you feels good.

Newsweek magazine just hit the newsstand with a cover story on Women and Power and what a powerhouse story it is! Full of stories of women and the obstacles and attitudes they faced on their path to power – it is an inspiring read. Run to the newsstand or go online but be sure to read these powerful stories.

Read about how business planning made handbag designer, Gail Conzatti of KAIROS Designs, turn her passion into a profitable company in this edition of Make It Business. If you have been procrastinating on writing a plan, read this article to find out the 3 most common mistakes people make when it comes to planning.

Many women settle for less simply because they undersell themselves. I am speaking at the Canadian Women in Communications luncheon on October 4th on “10 Deadly Mistakes of Selling Yourself and Your Business”. This presentation identifies those things we do that hinder, alter and affect our success. Whether you own a business or work for a company, knowing how to sell yourself and your work effectively, is the best tool for achieving your goals. If you are interested in learning how to make more money and have more success, register at www.cwc-afc.com