You have zillion things to do, fires to put out, clients to call, prospects to meet, kids to cart around… Where do you start? When and in what order? How do you manage to keep your focus positive, on the big picture; your vision of the future AND maintain your day-to-day business activities, managing the daily scrambles, fires, employee, client and financial challenges AND have a life??

Let’s call it VASPA!!

Vision – Are you clear about where you’re going? Crystal Clear?
Applied Faith – Do you believe, without any doubt, that you are willing, able and deserving of this goal?
Systems – What is the system or process you’re using to keep moving forward? Are you setting goals, specifying what needs to be done / when AND taking into consideration the life that happens at the same time?
Perseverance – When everything in your being is screaming “What is all this for?? I’ve been working like a dog forever and for WHAT????!!” do you hold onto your vision, let your faith in the outcome snap you out of it and pick your self up and get going again? Or do you change course and do something different?
Accountability – Do you do what you know you should do? Are you honest with yourself, especially when the going gets tough? Do you work late into Thursday night when you’ve set a goal for yourself to be finished by Friday – or do you decide it won’t really matter if you wait until Monday?

I know, I know. It's easier said than done. How can you find the time to focus on future planning or work on a project that might be important to your future vision, with so many fires to put out, clients to satisfy, kids to cart, etc?

...but, that’s what you’re going to have to do.

ACTION STEPS
You can tackle this type of planning on your own. There are many do-it-yourself avenues to choose from: Software, books, articles, formulas, each with their own angle, characteristics, level of detail, and relevancy to your situation, quality and value.

You can also develop a system for determining the action steps, implementation and “keeping the faith” on your own as well. However, if you lack the discipline to carry this forward on your own or if you are just too overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin, get some help. You aren't alone.

Work with someone – hire a business coach or consultant who has the expertise you need, whom you can trust with your sensitive information and with a system that matches your work style.

You can also join forces with a partner, colleague or peer with whom you can develop a supportive bond, hold each other accountable for following through on your plans.

Or, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that you can also hire Bold Vision Consulting or apply to join an Ocular Forum group. Regardless of how you do it, consider the time and resources put toward this effort an investment, not expense. You must invest in what is best for your business, yourself and your future. If done correctly, it will be the highest return on investment - ROI - you will ever make.

Sponsored by Bold Vision Consulting, the Ocular Forum is a membership based confidential peer group for small business owners. An Ocular Forum membership supports long-term and annual planning helping you keep your eye on the “prize”, gives you with a system for implementation and follow through and support, encouragement, and confidential advice while holding you accountable for taking the actions important to your success. There are two Ocular Forum memberships being formed:

Portland Maine – Applications due September 14
Waltham, Massachusetts – Applications due September 14

Meetings are monthly and membership in each Ocular Forum group is limited to 6. Call 207-221-3492 or visit http://www.boldvisionconsulting.com/OcularForum.php for more information.

The prospect finally returns your call - AND you have a meeting!! What did you say to get the appointment? Probably something along the lines of,

"We have some interesting services / products that I think can help reduce your turnaround time / increase your sales results / improve your profitability… ".
Great; appointment set; so far, so good. Now from here on out is where most of us get off course. Here is how it plays out for many of us:

Ms. Prospect invites us into her office and we share a few minutes of small talk – bonding and relating. The next few minutes we spend gathering a bit of information about the business, the operation and Ms. Prospect’s challenges. Then Ms. Prospect asks us about our “exciting service/product”.
“Yippee!”, we think. Ms. Prospect is anxious to hear about it! We spring into action. Our printed presentation / brochure / pamphlet comes out and we’re off and running. We introduce, describe and explain; Ms. Prospect asks and we answer; ask – answer; ask – answer, answer, answer.

The next thing we know an hour has gone by and we’re in our car heading back to the office. The best thing to come out of the meeting is Ms. Prospect invites us to “stay in touch”.

We went into this meeting with the plan of focusing on Ms. Prospect’s needs, on how our services / products can help her, on the benefits we / our product brings. So then what’s wrong with this sales call? Were we Ms. Prospect-focused? We had a friendly meeting and answered all Ms. Prospect’s questions telling her just what she wanted to know. …But did we, really?

Think about it. Were we really showing concern for her operation or her challenges? Did we come into the meeting already understanding something about Ms. Prospect’s business? Let’s face it, our main concern was being perceived as a nice, knowledgeable person with answers.

If you want to help your clients more, and therefore sell more, don’t focus on your service / product and don’t try to be so "proper". Yes, you should be courteous and polite, but your main job to figure out how to help Ms. Prospect find a solution to her challenges and improve her business, not to be her best friend. To do this you need to understand Ms. Prospect’s business almost as well as she does (perhaps better).

Don’t be shy, be BOLD. Do your homework so you understand Ms. Prospect’s goals, her critical business objectives, and key success targets; know her industry.

Armed with this knowledge it will be relatively simple to determine how your service / product fits into their operation. Learn about the problems that currently exist and then examine the value your service / product will bring. Equally important, examine and make known the consequences and costs of leaving things as they are.

Yeah, yeah, yeah; you don’t have the time to do this kind of prep work. I suggest you can’t afford to NOT do this type of prep work. Unless, and until you do, you may be able to present your service or product but you won’t understand your client's business. And until you understand your client’s business you can't speak to the value you bring to them. Having an intelligent discussion about the difference (value) your service or product can make (bring) to her business is what Ms. Prospect needs from you. Otherwise, you’re wasting her time.

I'm putting the finishing touches on a Sales Call Planning Guide which will be available for free on the Bold Vision Consulting Website. If you're interested in having one make sure you are on the BOLD Bulletin email list.

If you're located in the Waltham - Boston area, an Ocular Forum membership is being formed. The first meeting is scheduled for October 2. Applications for membership are due September 14. If interested send an email or call 207-221-3492 for more information. The application will be available for download on July 31.

"I don't know who you are.

I don't know your company.

I don't know your company's products.

I don't know your company's customers.

I don't know your company's record.

I don't know your company's reputation.

I don't know what your company stands for.

Now…What was it that you wanted to sell me?"

In 1958, McGraw-Hill first published a classic ad depicting a grumpy customer sitting in a banker's chair. In the ad (known in advertising circles as “the man in the chair” ad) he scowls out from a page that is adorned with the classic lines above.

You may not have seen the original 1958 ad, but you may have seen one of the 4 revisions over the last, almost, 50 years. (1968, 1972 and 1997).  The revisions were updates to more contemporary looking man – and woman in the chair, as well as an updated chair.  The copy stayed the same.

Why has this advertisement stood the test of time? The ad is as relevant today as it was almost 50 years ago because, the ad clearly and (as some sales people can attest to) realistically shows how essential it is for a business to have a personality, a brand about something “other than just what they produce”. “The ad asks”, says John Peebles, creative director at New York City-based Adler Boschetto Peebles & Partners, McGraw-Hill's agency, “what is the perception of you before you walk through the door?"

McGraw-Hill ran the "man in a chair" ad to promote its marketing / advertising business. However, using a traditional marketing firm to develop a branding strategy, while sound, can be costly. In addition, developing your brand through traditional advertising efforts is not only costly but slow.

So what’s a small business owner or entrepreneur to do?  You want to look for other ways to get known. You take action to promote yourself.

Write. Write articles for trade publications, the newspaper, and for online article distribution sites. Write tip sheets you can hand out. Blog .Writing establishes you as an expert and builds name recognition.

Speak – Seek invitations to speak to groups that include your target market, future and current customers. Use your speech to demonstrate your expertise and experience in your area of work.

Network – Use every opportunity when meeting people to learn about them and their business. Be sure you have a succinct "elevator speech" ready, a 30 to 60 second monologue that is a clear, benefit focused response to the question, “What do you do?”. 

Press Releases – Send news releases to local media and trade media. Complete a training course? Teach a workshop? Hire a new employee? Then write a press release!  Tie your “news” into a local or national news topic or holiday, you’ll have a better chance of your release being picked up and run as a news story.  If it is picked up, be sure to make copies to use in your marketing.

Before you can get the Man in the Chair to listen to what you have to say, you've got to do things that make you and your company familiar and respected as the “go-to” . They're not hard. But if you do them every day and every week they build your recognition. And recognition helps build sales.

Action Step

Every day for the next three months, do one thing to promote your business. Put it on your list of daily action steps.   You can start simply by writing a short article describing a “how to” for a common client issue. Pretend a client has called and asked you a “how to” question and this article is your response.

Promotion Action is a series of 6 workshops to help the service professional and/or entrepreneur take action and establish their brand as “expert” and themselves as the “go-to” person in their field. The next onsite Promotion Action workshop series begins September 13, from 3:30 pm. To 5:00 pm. in South Portland

On Tuesday, September 18, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. eastern time, the first Promotion Action teleclass begins. If you don't live in the Greater Portland area you can still participate and put your promotion plan into action! For more information please visit www.promotionaction.com or call Bold Vision Consulting at 207-221-3492.

BTW - This ad was created by Fuller, Smith a Ross, McGraw-Hill's advertising firm. Little known fact: The first man in the chair was Gil Morris, an account supervisor for the agency. A bow-tied Morris sat in the chair for a Polaroid test shot in advance of the "real" shoot. But his grouchy look was so impressive and "in character" for the ad that he wound up being cast as the "man in the chair" for the final shoot instead of the professional model waiting in the wings.

Everyone wants to be rich. By that I mean we all want to live the lifestyle we want without worrying about finances, whether that means working at something we love or not having to “work” at all.

Because the lifestyle you want might be different from the lifestyle I want or the next person’s, what rich means to you, me and the next person differs. Therefore your strategy will be different from mine, theirs, etc. That being said, there are really only two basic tactics for growing wealth. Most of us entrepreneurs, especially those of us “knowledge” entrepreneurs, use a combination of both of them.

The Savings and Investment Strategy
This strategy is pretty simple. You make money and you save and invest as much as you can.

One way to think about it is to mentally divide the money you make – before paying any expenses - into three piles.

The first pile is is the largest and is for living expenses. This pile is about 75 to 80% of your income. You then need to live within your means. Yes, you can.

The second pile is for savings. This is 20 to 25% of your income until you build up long term savings equal to six months of living expenses. Yes, you can. Yes, this will take a while, but as entrepreneurs it’s critical to have that cushion for unexpected market or personal “bumps”. Then allow yourself a short-term savings stash. This money is for vacations, gifts and other things you can plan for.

After you have the 2nd pile full, the 20 to 25% (or more - as much as you can put away) of income goes into the third pile which is for investments. Income from investments stays in the investment fund; out-of-sight / out-of-mind.

The hardest part of the Savings and Investment Strategy for most people isn’t lack of cash flow – it’s lack of discipline. Yes, it's hard to save a huge chunk of your income. Few wealthy people will tell you it was fast and painless. The next time you hear yourself saying "just this once" or “it’s only $xxx” stop yourself and think, “Will this make me wealthy?”

The Product-ize Strategy
Most of us knowledge professionals sell services and we have to show up to make money. We can make good money, but we have to show up to do it. There is a limit to the number of hours we can put in and the number of clients we can physically see in a day. The product-ize strategy finds ways to create income streams that don't require us to show up.

Here's how one entrepreneur used this strategy. She made most of her income doing leadership training and coaching, primarily for small banks. She started developing information products for the people and organizations she trained. Therefore, her training was also her market research.

She now sells all kinds of products; a partial list includes books, e-books, forms, slide sets, training outlines, workbooks and reminder products. These were sold through various outlets but primarily online. Most of the income from sales of these information products and from licenses to reproduce these comes in whether she works or not.

The most difficult things about the Product-ize Strategy are: 1) setting aside time to develop the products and 2) Doing the separate work of marketing them. We're already so busy with our service business that it's difficult to set aside time and learning the additional expertise to pursue this strategy. But guess what this requires as well? Discipline. Funny how that word keeps popping up.

Action Steps
• If you're not saving regularly, take some time this week to analyze your current expenses and set aside something to save. Start with any amount. Getting started is the important thing. Discipline to continue and increase that amount is key.

• If you're already saving, find one way to increase the amount you put in investments.

• Based on your expertise, think about how you can “product-ize” your expertise. Decide on one information product that you can develop for your market.

• Produce an Action Plan - including specific tasks and dates for completion - for producing that product.

The Bold Business Roundtable is schedule for the first week of October. We will have three concurrent sessions the topics of which all focus on helping the small business professional and solo-preneur do better business and increase wealth. The Product-ize Strategy is one of the topics. To be sure you receive more information and to be included on the invitation list please sign up for our mailing list. More details will be available online at www.boldvisionconsulting.com by August 15.