Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

How to Bundle our Mental Activities Ensuring Higher Productivity

If we dream of pursuing limitless opportunities and potential we must learn how to embrace the setting of boundaries. These guard against unwarranted interruptions to the tasks at hand and allow us to compartmentalize different aspects of our lives. This way you can attain the very best level of quality within each compartment.

What we are talking about is the importance of bundling our mental activities. There are a number of staple work interruptions that suck your time away, sap your energy and keep you day dreaming and away from the work at your desk.

These can be ‘drop-by’ visits from other employees, incoming phone calls (both internal and external), incessant internal emails between co-workers during work hours; and endless personal phone calls from the children and spouses of employees.

As an employer, you need to help them realize that when they are at work, they are there to work! It is not a case of just turning up and putting in the hours, half heartedly wasting away the day in order to collect the pay check at the end of the month. Hard work benefits everyone.

Work Hard and Play Hard!
I am of the view that you should work hard and then play hard. Away from work you should enjoy yourself to the fullest. Whether that is spending quiet time with your family and recharging your batteries, or going out and burning the candle at both ends. All I expect from my staff is that come work time they are fully prepared, both mentally and physically. Be presentable! Two pet peeves of mine are holes in jeans and the wet hair from a morning shower dripping onto an employee’s collar. Get yourself right mentally and the work value will follow.

At work turn up on time, work as hard as you can from minute one until the end of each day and ensure that you are adding value to the company!
That is one of the biggest truths you need to get through to your staff. Employees have to be educated that in order for them to make more money, they have to show the employer how they add more value to the company!
So, how can you do that? You can begin by compartmentalizing your work life and embracing the concept of ‘Living life by Appointment’.

An example of this is a company’s bills. Most businesses need to pay their bills every two weeks and allot an approximate time in order to complete this task accordingly.

The Key Points for an Allotted Session of Work:

• Set an appointment with the people who need to be involved with the said task.

• Show up on time and prepare your area (Keep the coffee away from important documents!).

• Be mentally prepared to handle your portion of the task.

• Notify all other team members (that are not involved with the appointment) that the meeting is going into session.

Once you have ‘Gone into Session’ there can be no interruptions unless of a critical nature and somebody is injured! In all seriousness, you have to set boundaries to all members of the session in order to focus their attentions and complete the task to a satisfactory level and on time.

In this example we are paying the bills. Here’s how it works:

• Have the courage to restrict all small talk that is irrelevant to the appointment (There’s plenty of time for that on your lunch break).

•  Do not accept walk in, or calls from other employees.

• Set to the task at hand. We are in the appointment for an hour, so focus your efforts and energies on the task alone, and complete the paying of company bills.

A final point:

If you decide to take a walk, then go for a walk. Maybe take an Ipod to listen to some music, or stay alone with your thoughts. Don’t talk on your cell phone about work the entire time.

Equally, if you have arranged some quiet time in order to think out and process a problem, embrace that time. If you need to relax and evaluate your own spiritual connectedness with forces beyond the human element, take that time out.

If you have arranged a meeting with a client in a restaurant, REALLY BE THERE with them. Do not pick up your cell phone and interrupt the meeting.
The fact is that human beings do not multi-task efficiently. If you can compartmentalize your life you can produce the highest quality one moment at a time, one thought at a time. This way you produce your best work, your best thoughts and there will be no need for multi-tasking to finish projects that have been interrupted.

OBSERVE YOUR BEHAVIOR OVER THE NEXT 3 DAYS AND TRY TO ‘BE WHERE YOU ARE’. EVALUATE AND ASK YOURSELF ‘HOW AM I DOING?’

Peace, Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

This post is from a guest blogger Darleen Lenyo. 

So many times, especially in sales, especially starting out in sales, we’re concerned with what we are going to say. We allow ourselves to get fearful, create “horror” stories in our head of things that could go wrong, and we want a plan of action, a script, to make the call. And sometimes, more times than not, because we don’t create those scripts or that plan of action, we don’t make the call.

Did you know -

38% of communication is your tonality

55% of communication is body language

And 7% of communication is the words you use.

Let me repeat that, 7% of communication is the words you use.

What does this mean to you? The words you use are important. But what’s most important is the energy coming from you. Be sincere. Be enthusiastic. Share your knowledge. Bring something of value. Come from a place of contribution. Ask questions. Find out what they need and strive to help them.

People love enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious.

People love passion. Passion is contagious.

People love to be included. Share your knowledge, your passion, your enthusiasm.

That’s your script. There’s your plan of action – Enthusiasm, Knowledge, Passion, Sincerity, Contribution, Asking Questions.

P.S. Looking for another tip to generate leads? The best time to make those calls is after you’ve received great news and have experienced some success! Try it – your self-confidence, positive energy, enthusiasm, & passion will shine through!

Darleen Lenyo, Mortgage Broker Extraordinaire

I hope you are enjoying the new blog!  If so please subscribe to receive updates in your inbox.  Peace, Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc

Hello Marvelous People!

That’s right. You heard correctly. There is a way that you can generate referrals without constantly throwing money into advertising campaigns that never seem to be able to even track your return on investment.

This idea is so simple, that many of you will over-analyze it and do nothing.

Imagine the hundreds of emails that you constantly send out. Emails that the recipient refers back to from time to time. Emails that the recipient archives in their CRM software for future referral.  This is an example of drip marketing at its best.

IDEA: From now on, on the bottom of all those emails that you are forever sending out to friends, neighbors, co-workers & relatives, you will add the following tag message.

So go now and “drip yourself some referrals”. There’s nothing for you to think through. The work has already been done for you. JUST DO IT!

TAG:

Will you help us?

While most professionals feel they need to spend 50% of their time looking for new business, my team & I do not agree. In fact, we prefer to spend as much time as we can taking care of our existing customers. We don’t have to spend all of our time looking for new business like others, because we prefer to work with people that are personally introduced to us.

We prefer to work with people much like you. With that in mind, would you be willing to help us by sharing the names of 2 families or 2 Small Business Owners that we can discuss their _______ concerns? We would be grateful if we had your permission to use you as a reference.

1. Name:
Contact Info:

2. Name:
Contact Info:

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Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, and individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at marvinleblanc@aol.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session.

 

The quarter of 2011 is now in the books and pretty much GONE!

So I have a question. What were the results of  the recent “2011 CUSTOMER ADDED VALUE” meeting you had at your company in the last month?

Be honest. You never had that meeting now did you? That is a PROBLEM. And that spells future PAIN for you in 2011.

Why do I say this? Because if you don’t provide the ADDED VALUE, your clients and prospects will find it from your competitor. And this will happen easily.  If you do nothing.

Perhaps a great goal for you is to “GET DONE” some vital thinking.

Define what ADDED VALUE for your clients and prospects really IS. Define what ADDED VALUE for your clients and prospects LOOKS LIKE.

(Do you have some clients that will tell you the truth about how you are doing in this area? It’s probably time to take them out for coffee anyways right?)

So do that, and be sure to let me know how it works out for you.  Save the RSS Feed for this blog and come back and share your important feedback.

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Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him at MarvinLeBlanc@aol.com and request a Free Personal Coaching Session

Hello Marvelous People!

If you’re a small business owner new to Social Media, then this article is just the thing you need to read now. If you’re experienced in Social Media, more than likely there are 3 items out of the 10 that you are not doing well.

So read this helpful article by Dave Nelsen and take some notes on what you need to do differently today with your Social Media approach.

Ten Do’s of Social Media (By Vistage Speaker Dave Nelsen)

Social media and social networking are quickly becoming “de rigueur” for business. A recent study by a Chicago-based firm, Slack Barshinger, showed that small and medium-size businesses are getting “heavily involved with social media, with about half using blogs, wikis, Twitter or other social media channels for business purposes.” If your company is not yet engaged, it’s time to jump in before your competitors beat you to the punch. If you’re not familiar with social media, check out YouTube, Twitter, TalkShoe, or any blog–these publishing and broadcasting democracies involve hundreds of millions of people. While most of these services were originally conceived for consumers, social media allows businesses to engage in many-to-many conversations with customers, accelerating their learning and building trust.


Critial rules for Social Media Marketing:

1. Do the same up-front planning you would for any important business initiative.

2. Define your target audience. Detail how you intend to create value for them. Map out how you expect them to create value for you. Document your approach and objectives per medium (blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Listen and learn from others for a few weeks before responding. In general,
spend twice as much time listening as responding.

3. Display your Personality, and keep the content Interesting and Entertaining (the old radio adage “PIE”). Remember, people buy from people; show your professional self.

4. Be authentic. Never before has a medium and its participants been more skilled at smelling a rat and turning against the perpetrator.

5. Remember that social media is about two-way conversation (see “Don’t try to control” above). Conversation builds trust; trust leads to more sales. Favor timeless content over time-sensitive content (note: this varies based on the medium and there are exceptions). We live in a time-shifted “Tivo” world and there’s wonderful leverage in creating a blog post (for example) that will have value to new readers weeks, months, or even years from now.

6. Remember that “push” is out and “pull” is in. Direct mail, traditional advertising, and unsolicited email are forms of “push” — the content producer chooses who to target. “Following” on Twitter, “subscribing” to a blog or podcast, or viewing a video your friends “liked” on Facebook are forms of “pull” — the content consumer decides what to listen to. In today’s information-rich world, people want to opt-in, choosing where to spend their valuable time. Give them a reason to choose your content.

7. Keep your eyes open. Use Google Alerts, search.twitter.com, relevant Linkedin Groups, Ning networks, and other sites to monitor or “listen in” on conversations about your company, your competitors, and the best practices in your industry.

8. Show patience. As the party with more power (a business relative to a customer/prospect), attacking or being critical will frequently backfire and word will propagate quickly.

9. Learn from your audience (as they will learn from you). Be prepared to rapidly evolve your products and services to meet their needs. They’ll suggest valuable ideas you never thought of.

10. In the next few years, social media will become a primary vehicle for interacting with your customers, partners, suppliers, and even employees. By getting started today, your company can adapt to a changing world more quickly than your competitors. What are you waiting for?

Vistage member and speaker, Dave Nelsen helps companies develop social media strategies to improve their marketing, sales, customer support, and even internal communication. He’s the Founder of podcasting pioneer TalkShoe and a long-time entrepreneur. You can contact Dave at dave@get121.biz.

Hello Marvelos People!

Part two of the Do's and Don'ts of Social Media for small business owners.  You can read the things you should be doing with your social media accounts here.

Vistage speaker Dave Nelsen says: This is not your father’s marketing.

Here are ten basic rules for what you should avoid in social media.

1. Don’t get started if you have significant product weaknesses or customer support issues. Engaging in social media makes good products more successful, and bad products… dead. But don’t delay for long; address the issues and then jump in.

2. Don’t use social media to overtly market or sell. Instead educate, enlighten, inform, and entertain your audience. In this way, you’ll position yourself and your company as an expert in your field and benefit from the “media halo.”

3. Don’t “set it and forget it.” This makes you look worse than not showing up at all. Once you get started, sustain your participation and interaction.

4. Don’t go negative. Emphasize your strengths and advantages rather than making claims about a competitor’s weakness.

5. Don’t mix personal and business accounts/personas, etc.

6. Don’t expect to fully control the conversation. Social media is not an advertisement, product brochure, newsletter, email blast, or one-way monologue; it’s a conversation. Conversations are bi-directional and can have rough edges. Even if you don’t want to participate, your customers and prospects are already
talking. Join them.

7. Don’t worry about some negativity for online users. Studies show that a little negativity increases credibility and empathy. Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln: “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” Be responsive to the negative.

8. Don’t feel the need to disclose everything. Not everyone who likes sausage wants to see exactly how it’s made. Be open and honest and use discretion.

9. Don’t be a generalist. With literally hundreds of millions of blogs, videos and podcasts to choose from, every individual can precisely tailor their consumption to their interests. Focus on one topic and do it well (the narrower the better).

10. Don’t overwhelm your followers with too much information, or too frequently. Everybody’s got a busy life and nobody enjoys getting “Twitter-ria”. Focus on the highest value information and content.

Vistage member and speaker, Dave Nelsen helps companies develop social media strategies to improve their marketing, sales, customer support, and even internal communication. He’s the Founder of podcasting pioneer TalkShoe and a long-time entrepreneur. You can contact Dave at dave@get121.biz.

Hello Marvelous People! Stick with me here for a second.

Take out a clean sheet of paper and draw one big circle.

Now draw 3 lines across the circle, making 6 different sections.

Now you have what looks like a beach ball, right?

You’ll now insert the following words in each of their own sections.

1.
Most Significant Event – Personal
Most Significant Event – Professional

2.
Personal Issues & Frustrations
Professional Issues & Frustrations

3.
Personal Goals
Professional Goals

4.
Personal Dreams
Professional Dreams

5.
Ideas that can make us better?

6.
How can I help?

With the tool of “The Beach Ball” you will have a 1 hour monthly focus supper with your team members.  Afterall, you’d probably agree with me that it’s not unreasonable to spend ONE QUALITY HOUR with your team members monthly.  The Beach Ball, used consistently month after month, serves as a conversation guide.  I strongly suggest an early supper right after work and definitely away from work. Somewhere casual. Somewhere that feels comfortable. Somewhere that’s not so loud that you can’t hear each other communicate. Afterall, that is the whole point of the “Beach Ball” tool.  Try it. Enjoy the process and you will be amazed what you might discover about your team members. Remember, “LISTENING IS NOT WAITING TO TALK”

Hello Marvelous People!

Ah yes! Out loud. Alone. Slowly say these words with me.

SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE. COMPELLING. ADDICTIVE.

Have you ever wondered why certain Web sites, restaurants & organizations are VALUED so much more than others? How did they become simply irresistible, compelling, (even addicting) and invaluable to their clients & prospects? They must have just been lucky, right? Maybe they were just in the right place at the right time? Yep, that happens. In about 1 out of every 100 businesses!!!

The rest of good business happens with good business PLANNING. Humor me for a second while I walk you through this quick exercise.

Step 1: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite Web sites.

Step 2: Turn away from your monitor and quickly write down your 3 most favorite restaurants.

Step 3: Turn away from your monitor and write down the top 3 organizations that generated the highest revenue for you in 2010.

Step 4: Now go study your 3 most favorite Web sites and find out why they are valuable to you. Write your results down.

Step 5: Think about your 3 most favorite restaurants. What is it that REALLY makes them your favorite. Your most VALUED restaurants. And don’t put down, “because the food taste good”. BORING!!! So what. That’s not the REAL VALUE. Go deeper.

Step 6: Think about the top 3 REVENUE GENERATING groups you were involved in. (Chamber of Commerce, Service Club, Referral Group, Business Group, School Groups) Write down “WHY” you feel they generated so much revenue.

Step 7: The Final Step. Look at the answers you’ve created for yourself and sit down with an Accountability Partner (who’s not your partner or family member) and ask yourself the most important question in 2011: How can I apply these answers to offer Knock Your Socks Off, World Class Added Value to my clients and prospects? I’m talking to you Mr/Mrs Small Business Person.

Think about how serious this is. If there was a way you could get relief from the ridiculous “feast or famine” sucky sales cycles, wouldn’t that be worth it all? It will be. Recognize that the answer is in front of you with my 7 Steps to Becoming IRRESISTIBLE. Now invest yourself into some think time & get your plan in ACTION.

Hello Marvelous People!

Okay, by now you should be sick of articles and blog posts that talk about your 2011 goals.

But have any of those articles “INSPIRED YOU TO ACT”? Because if you have a perfect plan and you don’t BEGIN TO EXECUTE THAT PLAN WITH MASSIVE ACTION, then you will spend 2011 just like you spent 2010. It’s time to DO MORE, BE MORE, EXPLORE MORE! Don’t just be a candle in the wind, Marvelous People. As my mentor, friend and Certified Speaking Professional Mikki Williams says: “BE OUTRAGEOUS, it’s the only place that’s not crowded!”

May I offer this one warning? Go back and look at your 2011 “WRITTEN GOALS”. (Yes, written. If it’s not written, it’s not a goal, it’s a dream. More specifically, it’s a fantasy pipe dream that’s not going to come true for you.)

Assuming you are NOW looking at your written goals, can you honestly point to an item that has anything to do with the subject of Personal Development Training? Personal development training is not company training. Point: you may know company knowledge, policies and procedures but without developing your soft skills, your effectiveness will be severely limited. Complete knowledge, policies and procedures do not make you more productive – personal development and human relation skills do.

The soft skills are the hardest skills to master. Human Relations Skill development is critical. Human Relations Skill development does not have a destination. It is an endless journey. Work harder on yourself than any other item.

So here’s your CALL TO ACTION.
1. Stop planning. Start MASSIVE ACTING on your plan.
2. Let yourself go for – MORE!
3. Put your WRITTEN Goals in your Purse, Wallet, Refrigerator and Bathroom Mirror NOW!
4. The Soft Stuff is the Hard Stuff!

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

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Marvin LeBlanc is a left-handed, right-brained, fun-loving Cajun that is obsessed with Life Performance and Overcoming Adversity. He is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Marvelous Performance Systems. Marvin is available for business retreats, keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, & individual coaching programs. His book “COME HELL OR HIGH WATER” will be available in the Fall of 2011 through New York Publisher www.BloomingTwig.com. To rent Marvin’s brain, contact him marvinleblanc@aol.com

Here we are at the beginning of the year and we’re trying to develop new relationships with customers.

Well, why not have a little fun and get with a local vendor and grab yourself some high quality popcorn and some boxes and get into a routine whereby you call on your target market. Whether it be 10 people or 15 people or 20 people, and you bring them a big tin of popcorn. As they eat their popcorn and you say hello to them jovially, you get an opportunity to talk with them about what is going on in their business and how might you be able to assist them in 2011 on their business.

And as fate would have it, it’s time to leave and then you say to them, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks to fill up your popcorn.

This was a very successful marketing campaign that was put on by my roommate many years ago. His Crown Victoria was completely packed with bags and bags of popcorn, and that’s what he would do. He’d go in, have fun, and fill up popcorn bags. They would welcome him in and that provided many opportunities for him to learn about what projects were coming up and how he could benefit.

So think through and have a “Pop On By” popcorn marketing campaign. Keep it light, keep it fun, but at the same time remember when you’re there to ask those very important four essential questions. [If you haven't heard my "Four Essential Questions" talk, you can find it on my brand new CD Come Hell or High Sales.]

We’re available to help you and your team members get inspired to have a great 2011.