Action Coach Portsmouth

Action Coach Portsmouth

Steve Mullins

Change in Your Organisation

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Change_is_your_OrganizationNo organisation is ever where the leader wants it to be, there is always room for improvement, or something to be different. In fact, this is a very healthy perspective. First of all, an organisation needs to grow just to stay relevant. Secondly, all businesses have weaknesses, identifying and dealing with them is like Herding Cats!

Herding Cats: a pretty tough task! Like cats, most employees are independent individuals that like to do thing their own way. Dogs will follow you on a lead, whilst cats will walk with you, if they feel like it, for as far as they want to and then complain to be picked up and carried home.

In your company, the more weaknesses you see and fix, the more details you pay attention to, and the more improvement you’ll find. This is the path of continuous improvement. Improving a process or product involves a process of evaluation and change. The steps, functions, or capabilities are manipulated like a math equation to bring about different results, and it can happen very quickly. But what about changes that involves people, behaviors, and culture? This type of change is much more personal and intimate; it requires shaping to bring about effective results. Shaping can only originate from the leader of an organisation. It requires their personal touch and investment to make it happen.

Let’s look at the specifics you as a leader need to know to shape your organisation into a highly functioning one:

• Shaping implies constant gradual change. If the right pace of change is not acquired, your chance of success is limited. Too much at one time will damage your company due to fear and panic. Too little will not sustain change and make your organisation unhappy with it.

• Because the change is going to take some time, make sure you establish in detail a far-off vision for what you want your organisation to look and act like. Then detail small changes that will act as stepping stones to your vision.

• Each change needs a key person. Most of you can delegate to your trusted staff, but some you will need to keep for yourself due to the importance or potential resistance within your company.

• As you begin to shape your business do not be surprised when your organisation regresses. Some changes have a strong memory and slowly revert back to their old ways. When this happens put the required effort into getting things back in line and then keep your eye on them, apply effort to ensure the change sticks.

• As the leader, you are the only person who can keep you vision alive and keep your company moving towards it. You have to be extremely diligent and disciplined. If you don’t pay attention to it, your organisation won’t either. Your vision may weaken and die as a result. As I said earlier, when you decide to shape your business you are in it for the long haul.

• Lastly, break goals up into sections. It is easier to see that you are successfully chipping away at each one, moving closer and closer to the vision. Reward yourself once a section is finished as a prize which will help keep you motivated to move forward.

What will be fun for you is looking back at the end of each year and seeing that change does make a difference. Most people will not notice it like you do because it was a shaping process. That’s OK, it’s the different results you desired and will get credited for.

All Change Meets Resistance

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All_change_meets_resistance_business_libraryAt this point, you’ve lived long enough to know that change never comes without resistance. In business, the resistance can come from you or from your staff, your suppliers or even your family. Or, maybe your systems or processes make change difficult. Perhaps it’s a combination of all of these factors.

When is the last time you got a third party’s view to identify the true barriers to change in your company? What first steps have you provided yourself and your team? What is your personal vision and the vision of the business 1 year, 3 years, 10 years out into the future? Where have you become complacent and just except “ok” results as okay?

The first step in accomplishing change requires a mind-shift to understand that high levels of satisfaction can actually lead to complacency. A company without progressive goals will eventually falter, and when the status quo rules as a way to “keep the peace,” there is bound to be trouble eventually. As we all know, stagnant businesses fail and fold.

Tied to this concept is the importance of having a vision. If you don’t have goals, you lack vision for your company. Without goals, you will not progress or change.

Consider this formula for change: (D x V) + F > R

D represents dissatisfaction; V represents vision; F represents first steps and R represents resistance.

In order to change, dissatisfaction multiplied by vision plus first steps must be greater than resistance to change. In this formula, if your dissatisfaction level or vision equates zero, you’ll never overcome resistance to change because everyone will be far too satisfied keeping things “the way they have always been” instead of gravitating towards “what could be”.

“Astounded represents our emotions when we learned that of the 18 different strategies we had in place to promote our business, only three were actually effective. Once our lead tracking system showed us how poorly we were spending most of our marketing budget, we began to delete non performing spending of money and this method will continue to save us money year after year,”-CEO dry cleaners

If you want to change your company, you must amplify areas of dissatisfaction. This does not mean focusing on little gripes and complaints; rather, it means, exploit the areas where you can do better. Set goals, share your vision, and measure your outcomes. Once you’re focused on a better state, you can start working towards a new goal, and all you need is a “first step”.

Your Business Coach can help you determine what that first step, and those after, to insure you are on a path to least resistance, and highest payoff. We might debate, ask critical questions or raise concerns, but that is our job as coaches- to make sure you consider all angles and then move forward with an informed perspective.

Manage Your Sales Funnel

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Manage_Your_Sales_FunnelMost of us know Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 rule- 80% of your revenues will come from 20% of your customers. But often times, sales management does not follow this maxim. But what does working the 20% mean?

Managing your sales funnel is a practice whereby you can identify where each prospect is in their buy/sell process with you. Think of a funnel, wide on top, narrow at the bottom. Not all of your prospects that start out in the top of the funnel will make it to the bottom. The percent of those who make it the whole way through is your conversion rate.

And there are specific steps within your funnel that should move a prospect closer and closer to you, one step at a time.

To make sure you are managing your sales funnel, take these following action steps:

  1. Identify the steps of your sales funnel. List out all the steps you and your sales team take from the time your marketing stops or the deal is closed. It’s better to err on the side of too many sales steps than not enough.
  2. Make sure that your sales steps match your target market’s buying steps. For example if your target market uses the internet heavily, make sure you have a strong, education based website. Remember the rule “make it easy for them to buy.” You could be losing sales if you are requiring prospects to jump through hoops that they could find tedious.
  3. Decide your “moment of truth” in your sales funnel. Too many business owners who are also their own sales people think all the way to the end of the sale. Instead, I recommend that you back up and look for the critical step that will get them to the sale. For car salesmen, it’s getting the prospect into the car, for a hospitality business, it is getting the decision maker to see the facility. Clearly identify your own moment of truth sales step.
  4. Create a simple system that can chart the prospects and precisely where they are in the sale process. This way at any given moment, you can identify where your prospects are in your sales cycle.
  5. Implement Key Performance Indicators to measure your conversion rate. The simplest of KPI measurement is the conversion rate from lead to sale. You may want to consider additional indicators that measure a second conversion rate from the critical sales step to the sale.
  6. Create a fool proof system for your sales process.Give some thought to this by answering questions such as, “What happens when a lead calls in?”, “What marketing material do we send out to interested prospects?”, “Are all sales inquiries followed up the same way?”

End the Sales Process with Action

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End_The_Sales_Process_With_ActionIt is crucial to end the sales process and ask for the sale.

Follow-up & Follow Up Again:

Don’t let anyone slip through your fingers. Follow up until the point when the customer is becoming audibly annoyed with you. At this point, you’re probably damaging your chances more than helping them.

Keep calling until they buy, or they buy somewhere else. Until then, they’re still a ‘hot’ prospect.

Here are some useful hints and tips for following-up:

    1. Don’t get disheartened, a NO now could mean YES in a week.
    2. Don’t be afraid to call back, again and again- after all, you have a great product.
    3. Even if they don’t buy with you try and find out why and continue to maintain the relationship so they buy of you the next time.
    4. Ask for referrals.

Ask For The Sale:

Don’t be shy. If you’ve asked enough questions, you should have established that the person wants to buy what you sell. If that’s the case, assume the sale. Ask them assumptive questions like, “Would you like to pay for that on credit card, or by cash?”

Here are some useful hints and tips on asking for the sale:

    1. Don’t be afraid- you deserve the sale.
    2. By not being a little aggressive you risk letting a hot prospect go who might just be hopeless at making decisions.
    3. ‘Read’ the situation carefully and ask the big question when you know you’ve sold all the benefits.
    4. Word the question carefully- you don’t want to sound too cocky!

Destination Masters – Where are you headed?

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Definiteness_of_Purpose Destination_Mastery___Where_are_you_HeadedHere is a simple question that will help us take a look at the subject of Destination Mastery.

What is the first decision you need to make when planning a holiday?  It seems to me it has to be the destination.  All of the other decisions grow out of that one!  Where will you stay? How you will travel there? What will be the budget?  How long will it take to get there?  What will you do when you get there?  What needs to be packed?  None of these questions can be adequately addressed unless you first know where you are going.

Now let’s talk business.  Many business owners struggle with the day-to-day decisions because they have not addressed the fundamental question of where they are going.  As an Action Coach, I teach my clients four areas of Business Mastery as the foundation for their business.  Every business owner needs to learn how to master his or her TIME, MONEY, DELIVERY, and DESTINATION.

Destination mastery is all about creating your plan by knowing your destination.  I realise that there are many future issues that are unknown and out of our control.  The value of having a clear vision for the future is what that vision does for you, not what it is.  Knowing where you headed helps you plan the journey.  Also, every success is first created in the mind.

The first key in business destination mastery is determining your personal dreams and goals.  You need to idealise and journal your ideal life – let’s say in 10 years from now.  Describe it in detail.  Where do you want to be living?  What will be a typical day look like?  What activities, businesses, personal hobbies, family endeavours, community and church activities, charitable commitments, etc. would you like to be doing?  How about travel, investments, giving, and savings?  You must create clarity about what you want to HAVE in the future in terms of money, lifestyle, and activities to determine your business destination.  Once you have a personal dream, then you can create a business that will enable that personal dream to come true.  What will your business need to be, in terms of revenue, profit, number of employees, locations, customers, marketing, and systems to provide you with the freedom and finances to realise your personal vision.

This is what DESTINATION mastery is all about.  It is about have clarity about where you are going, and how you are going to get there.  As a coach, that’s what I help people do; define their dreams and goals, and then execute a plan to bring it to pass.  Dream big, and then go for it!

Definiteness of Purpose

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Definiteness_of_PurposeAre you struggling with finding the necessary motivation to battle through the challenges of the economy so you can move your business forward? Don’t feel bad there are many business owners in your position.

Yes, I know I am not telling you something you don’t know. However, there is a solution. There are still many businesses that are achieving great success right now.

Do you know what they have in common?

They have definiteness of purpose! What does this mean?

When you have definiteness of purpose it means that you know precisely where you want to take your business, why you are taking your business to this point, how you are going to achieve it and committing yourself 100% to the process.

The famous oil tycoon Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, Jr., known as H. L. Hunt, stated that there are only two requirements for success.

He said you must decide exactly what you want in life. What do you want to BE, DO and HAVE.

Secondly, you must determine the price you are going to have to pay to get what you want and resolve to pay the price every day.

Why should you listen to him? At the age of 32 he was a bankrupt cotton farmer! However he was able to step back and evaluate his life with regards to what he wanted to accomplish. Once he figured this out he determined what he must do in order to achieve his greatest desires. Next he resolved to pay the price every day until his dreams were realized.

What was his result? In 1957 he was estimated to be one of the eight richest people in the United States.

Have you taken the opportunity to figure out what you want to BE, DO and HAVE? If so, have you taken the opportunity to determine the price you are going to have to pay to get what you want and resolve to pay the price every day?

Make today the day you commit to figuring out what you want to BE, DO and HAVE and what price you are going to have to pay to achieve it.

Then contact me or your nearest ActionCOACH directly so we can assist you in developing the process you will have to commit to each day, week and month to achieve what you desire most.