February 19, 2010
How to WIN in 2010!
February 11, 2010
This past Monday I had the privilege of attending the Get Motivated! Seminar in Houston. My good friend Tamara Lowe and her husband peter run the largest business seminars in the world currently featuring George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Colin Powell, Lou Holtz and many, many other celebrities, and of course Zig Ziglar.
Lou Holtz was amazing. He gave an acronym for winning that I thought was very cool and instructive for small business owners and professionals. His acronym for WIN is What’s Important Now. In coaching small business owners for over a decade, I have found that many times they don’t know where to focus their time. And if they have employees, what to have them focused on.
Many times people focus on the things that give them short-term satisfaction, things that they are passionate about (regardless of what is actually important now), and worse, what makes them feel powerful even if it means everything else is going down the tubes.
Even though your business is a vehicle to help you achieve your life goals, you must make sure it is strong so that it will take you where you want to go.
Every phenomenally successful business has to function well in 4 major areas, plus all the details that go with each area. I call these the 4 Pillars of a Phenomenally Successful Business(tm). The 4 Pillars are:
Pillar # 1 Marketing: Attracting the right kind of potential clients for your business.
Pillar # 2 Sales: Acquiring the right client for your business. This involves taking the lead, the phone call, the opt-in, whatever to the order.
Pillar # 3 Operations: Delivering on your promise. Delivering the service, delivering the product, serving the client and all that goes with that.
Pillar # 4: Administration: Tracking what actually happened. This includes accounting, tracking, etc.
So which of these areas do you focus on NOW? Everything is important, but if we try to focus on everything at once, we won’t get any traction.
Take this simple step:
If your service isn’t what it should be, then focus on Operations because it DOES NOT MATTER how many sales you make, you will get negative referrals.
The next step is “Do you have enough leads?” If no, EVERYTHING should be about marketing NOW.
Are you getting enough leads, but not CLOSING the sale? Many times business owners and professionals don’t realize how many opportunities they are missing. Letting calls go to voice mail, not following up quick enough or often enough can all hurt your business. Why do more marketing if you aren’t making the most of the calls you are getting?
Finally, there are lots of business owners that have enough business coming in and they are too busy to slow down and track what is actually happening. Administration is the least favorite of all for many business owners, but the fact is that you could be VERY busy and not make any money.
You want to get your tracking in order so that you can see what your ticket averages are, what your production averages are, what your closing rates are, and what your profit margin is.
A phenomenally successful business has 4 strong pillars. When one of the pillars is weak, just like any structure, it isn’t as valuable and as strong as it could be.
So, think about your business and determine what you need to focus on. Many times we need outside help to look in from the outside to get the clarity that we need. This is why I believe in coaching and consulting and why Phenomenal Products, Inc. was founded on Proverbs 15:22 “Without consultation plans are frustrated, but with many counselors plans succeed” (NASB).
I am so grateful for my DREAM TEAM. My God, my family, my members, and all of the coaches, consultants and mentors that have had a significant impact on my life.
So go find out how to WIN in 2010 today!
Mr. Systems John Browning Reveals…
February 6, 2010
John Browning was one of my early members and one of the founders of The Knights of the Round Table www.HPKnightsofTheRoundTable.com will be on deck to share how he just launched his new rug cleaning facility with “The Rug Lady”, Ruth Travis, and a powerful new promotional tool he is using to grow his phenomenally successful cleaning firm in Nashville. www.procareofnashville.com
We call him “Mr. Systems” because everything in his company has a procedure. It is one of the most focused and organized small businesses that I know of. John’s company uses the Howard Partridge business building systems to the max. It works!
Tom Ziglar, Proud Son of American Legend Zig Ziglar to Appear
February 4, 2010
Tom is a an awesome guy. He will be sharing the “Wisdom of Zig Ziglar” and what they are doing with Social Media. Tom is very fluid with blogging and many other aspects of internet marketing.
John Downey, former owner and editor of National Cleaning Magazine to appear
February 4, 2010
John Downey gave me the opportunity to write for his magazine almost a decade ago. I contributed several cover stories. He sold the magazine to BNP and is now living the simple life. Get this… cleaning carpet and enjoying being a part of the Granville, OH community!
John is an amazing person and you will love him and you will learn a lot from him.
4 Keys to Implementation
February 2, 2010
Keys to implementation
The # 1 reason most small business owners don’t grow is F.T.I. (Failure To Implement). You know what to do and you know how to do it, you just don’t do it. Sure, information is great because you can get “inspired to implement” by listening to a cd or going to a seminar. I know that my mental state is dramatically changed when I listen to Zig Ziglar’s stuff in the car. I can be a little discouraged, or just plain tired, and before you know it I’m laughing, encouraged and inspired again.
So, INSPIRATION is the first key. I call it “Inspiration to Implementation”. Have you ever noticed that people who are really growing and moving are inspired?
The second key is ORGANIZATION. Being enthusiastic is wonderful, but enthusiasm without direction is like spinning your wheels in the sand. You are exerting a lot of energy, but not getting much traction. Take some time each morning to work on your projects, get focused and run your business and career by a calendar.
Three is STRATEGY. You can be as inspired as you want, but if you are using the wrong strategy, it won’t work. For example, if you are trying to attract high end clients with a marketing strategy that is reaching low end prospects, it ain’t gonna work. Now this is an obvious example, but when was the last time you truly challenged your strategies to see if you are going about the things the right way?
And finally, the most important of all is SUPPORT. You must have people in your life that believe in you. You must have a community of people that can inspire you, challenge you and hold you accountable. No man is an island. We all need others looking into our lives and giving input. Of course your dream team needs to have people who have the right agenda and that have your best interest at heart, and they need to be competent.
Phenomenal Products was founded on Proverbs 15:22 that says “Without consultation plans are frustrated, but with many counselors plans succeed.”
Get involved with a group of people that you can share your goals and dreams with. People that are like-minded that will support you. You will be better for it. - HP
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