How to Build Your Franchise

My latest column in Make It Business magazine lists the 3 things you need to have in place to grow a successful franchise.  Read about them here.

Job Hunter Mistakes

This article from the Wall Street Journal is a good read!  My favorites include the saltwater fish story and the sandwich eater – unbelievable!  Put a smile on your Monday face and check it out here.

Stake Your Independence!!

Thanks to my VA, Katrina at Getting Stuff Done for finding this gem of an article!  It’s a few years old, but what a classic.

Too many entrepreneurs end up locked in a version of slavery called their ‘own business’.  If that’s how you are feeling these days, then you need to read this article – An Entrepreneur’s Declaration of Independence.

Then close up shop and go home early!

Making Tough Decisions

The retail market is definitely different from what it was 2 years ago.  Consumers have really changed their spending habits and thrift is in – big time!  This has really had an impact on all retailers – big and small.

My column in the latest issue of Make It Business is the inspiring story of Eva de Viveiros, the owner of the Barefoot Contessa boutiques in Vancouver and the tough decisions she had to make to thrive during the recession.  She’s an inspiration to all business folks out there who know they need to change it up but haven’t done it yet.

Read the whole story here and learn her 5 top tips for making it as a retailer.

The Very Best Sales Tool You Can Use

What is it?  Create success stories about work you have done for past clients that you share with prospects.  Most people underestimate the power of storytelling as a sales tool.   People respond well to testimonials or stories of others who have faced the same problem or challenge.  It’s reassuring to them to know that you’re not the only facing this issue.  And it’s the perfect way for you to showcase the effectiveness of your product or service.

Here’s what you need to do to create a compelling client success story:

1. Describe what problem the client had that made them approach you – this is the situation part of your story.
2. Describe the solution you provided to them – how did your service or product solve the problem.  This is where you highlight your expertise (tastefully!).
3. Describe the outcome – what results did they get from your solution?  Try to make this as numbers-oriented as possible; use percentages or dollar amounts to show how the client was better off after working with you.
4. If you are using this story on a sales sheet, add a testimonial from the client.

And it goes without saying that these stories need to be true.  Don’t make something up out of thin air.  The power of success stories comes from the fact they highlight your expertise and build your credibility.

All-Day Think Tank Symposium

There’s a great event coming to Vancouver – The 2010 CRAVE Symposium: an all-day think tank extravaganza for business owners at any level.  Get down and dirty with mentors.  Talk shop with peers.  Your business will never be the same!

The CRAVE “All-Day Think Tank Extravaganza” is a workshop where business owners will be able to spend time brainstorming and will be given resources to enhance their vision and tackle challenges.  The day consists of four Think Tank sessions where participants rotate between mentors and chosen businesses based on what they’re interested in most.  The 5 areas of mentorship are: Marketing, Brand Strategy, Sales, Finance, and Team Building.  Besides all of the motivation and mentoring, this event also promises lots of networking as there will be up to 100 business owners present.

When: May 31st, 9:00AM – 5:00PM

Where: Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street

In addition to attending this great event, right now CRAVE is holding a contest to choose 8 lucky businesses to be “think-tanked” for the day.  This is an incredible opportunity for small business owners as an attendee will follow a specific business track for the day.  To see more about the contest, please click here.

To see more details about the event or to register, please click here.

This is Smart Marketing

I went in recently to speak to a group of 20 startup entrepreneurs on Sales Strategy.  One of them definitely knows how to market smart.  She has a company – Design Schooled Kids that  creates stationery for young children that promotes early literacy and the art of letter writing.  Her products are a great tool to inspire kids to practice printing in a creative way and learn good etiquette rules.

Right after the seminar, she emailed me to say thank you and sent me a sample of her product.

This is smart marketing.  Not because she gave me something for free, but because she reached out and started building a relationship with me and gave me a chance  to try her product first-hand.  The result?  She’s just created some great word of mouth – the best marketing tool out there.

Not only did I order some stationery for the daughter of a friend of mine, I also told all my friends with kids about it.  Then I blogged about it – you’re reading about her company right now.

Tracy Sullivan is one smart cookie!

How to Figure Out Your Niche Markets

Too many business owners resist picking niche markets to focus on because they worry that doing so will limit their sales potential or slow down their revenue growth.   In fact, not having clearly defined niche markets is guaranteed to slow down your growth and ensure you waste time and money on ineffective marketing and prospecting.   It’s rather like going onto a sailboat and just sitting there watching the view, rather than navigating it.  You don’t get very far.

No defined niche markets means you have no idea who you are marketing to.  Knowing who your potential customers are means that you’re spending your marketing budget in ways that will get you the best ROI.  It also means that you are prospecting in the right places rather than getting frustrated and depressed because you are not selling anything.

Having defined niche markets means you build a reputation – the market knows what you do and potential customers have an easier time finding you.

Adding new products or services becomes easier because you know what appeals to your niche markets.  You don’t waste time and money carrying stuff that doesn’t sell.

If you’re struggling to figure out who your niche market is, answer the following questions:

1.  What do your current favorite clients have in common?  What makes them good clients?  How did they find you?

2. What sets you apart from your competition?

3. Why do customers buy from you?  What is different about services or products that you offer?  Why do customers buy your product or service?

Once you have answered these questions you should have a good idea of what niche markets would be a good fit for you to target.

How To Close More Business

I just got a call from client excitedly telling me how her sales are growing very quickly since she started ‘asking for the business’ in every sales call.  Her exact words were:  “I can’t believe how well it works.  I don’t know why it took me so long to do this simple step!!”

Here’s exactly what she is doing.

1.   In every sales call, she reviews the key points and needs that the prospect has raised during the conversation, so she is sure she is understands clearly what they are looking for

2.  She made a list of all the common objections she was hearing and wrote out clear effective responses to each one, which she then memorized.  No more hesitation when it comes to answering an objection, which is a credibility killer    business with you.

3.  She prepared some closing questions that she’s comfortable using.  These are not meant to trick people into buying something that they don’t want or cannot afford.  They are simple questions that check if the prospect wants to move forward, such as:

- When would you like to get started?

- What date do you want the first order to arrive?

- Shall we start on the paperwork right now?

- Which option would you like to go with?

Make sure you give them time to deliberate and answer.  A few moments of silence won’t kill you!

4.  She’s committed to asking for the business EVERY SINGLE TIME.

5.  She doesn’t take the rejection personally.

That’s all there is to closing.  And the truth is that if you aren’t asking for the business, you’re wasting all the great work you did meeting with the prospect, answering their questions and educating them on your product.

Lighten Up!

It seems that most entrepreneurs and business owners just have, “Way too many things to do!”  But what ever happened to delegating?  Everyone has heard about the benefits of delegating, but making it a habit isn’t always easy.  Like most great things in life, delegation is something to practice; the more you practice, the more confident you will be in the process.

Delegating brings so many positives to your business – for one, you will learn more about your employees when you plan them into your work schedule and delegate.  Start by looking at everything you have to do over the coming weeks and decide what you can hand off.  What holds most people back here is fear that certain jobs won’t be done to your satisfaction and you’ll have to redo the task.  Start small and you and your employees will grow into the work that needs to be done.

Personally, I find delegation works best when I give clear directions with set time lines for completion.  This practice help employees understand your vision.  Train yourself and your employees to use a feedback system; this way setbacks are not surprises and successes can be recognized quickly.

When you delegate the tasks that don’t absolutely need to be done yourself, it will free up your time to land larger clients, network with more people, or work on business development. Remember, practice builds confidence!