7 Marketing Books That Will Boost Results in Uncertain Times

MARKETING BOOKS

We are living in uncertain times. For many business owners it will be hard to focus on the future beyond next week, let alone any grand plans for the future. For many the future is just survival, and that is okay, but survival doesn’t mean sitting still and letting all the forces around us dictate … Read more

7 Things to Look for in a Business Coach [UPDATED]

Jamie Cunningham Business Coaching With Client

The right business coach can help you jump off the hamster wheel and make sure all that energy you’re expending is actually leading you somewhere. The wrong one is simply a waste of time and resources. Here’s how to find the business coach that’s right for you. If you’re thinking of engaging a business coach … Read more

Emotion Can be a Business Asset

Time to Watch: 4:34

It’s important to know what your goal is and how you’re going to execute it, but sometimes one of the missing ingredients is having the emotional leverage or clarity around why you’re going for something and the drive to see it through. This clarity of emotion is a business strength you don’t want to ignore.

In the pursuit of any goal, there’s ups and downs, but it’s when things are challenging and going against you, that you need those emotional reserves. In this video I’m not going to walk you through the actual planning process—there’s a cracker of a guide HERE that teaches you how to do that—but rather, we’re going to go through some east steps to tap into those emotional reserves when you need them.
What you’ll need to complete this exercise is a blank piece of paper, divided into three columns and enter your information as follows:

  1. Write your goal in the middle column. The only guideline here is to make sure you are picking S.M.A.R.T. goals. That is, goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented with a Timeframe. SMART goals are critical in the planning process, particularly so you can gain a better picture of what success for that goal looks like in reality.
  2. In the left-hand column, write all the “WHY” reasons which relate to the goal. Behind every goal is a feeling, an emotion – and the emotional result that you want to achieve through that goal. Don’t skip this step or shake this task as a feel-good, fluff piece that doesn’t have any basis—nothing could be further from the truth. What you want to distill here are all the emotional reasons you want to achieve the goal. For example – if the goal is financial and you want to pay down your mortgage faster, list the emotional benefits you will gain by doing so (more disposable income to travel, more time with family, helping your children financially—whatever it is that fuels your fire). It is the feelings you will get from achieving that goal that will sustain you in the low times.
  3. Finally, in the right-hand column is the “HOW.” Don’t worry about getting this column ‘right.’ The ‘how’ column is all about brainstorming. This is the place to list every possible way you can think of to achieve that goal (and you may need an extra page to do this—that’s ok!). Once you have an exhaustive list, you can go back, prioritize and figure out and ask yourself, “Which ones make sense?”, “Which ones do I have the resources/time/ability to do.” Etc…
  4. From there, we advocate that you develop a structure to execute the plan and to help solidify your tasks and timelines. To do this, feel free to access our free 90-Day Planning guide which has all the tools and resources to help you develop and track your plan.

That’s it! The absolute importance of planning with purpose and emotion can’t be understated. The clearer you get on your goals, the more emotional leverage you have behind you to help you achieve those goals you’ve been dreaming of.
Dream big!

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How to Create a Profit Model

Time to Watch: 5:56 well-spent minutesDo you have a current profit model? Have you ever wondered about which changes in your business will make the biggest impact on your bottom line? Is so, you’re not alone – and this is the right place to be to find out the answer. This video tells you, with real-world examples, how to determine the level of profit you’ll be able to realize through different changes to sales and growth patterns.
If you’re interested in some related training, see our video “How to Create a Profit First Budget”  for a step-by-step guide that goes into a bit more detail.
Look, I get numbers are not the most exciting part about business ownership, but they are one of the most important.


If money is where you’re really struggling as a business owner, we have the tools to help.
Now go out there and get amongst it!
Cheers,
 

P.S. Don’t forget to stay in the loop with our latest rapid training videos on SalesUp!TV

How to Avoid Being That Boss

How to Avoid Being a Bad Boss
Time to Watch: 3:16

Whether you call yourself a Boss, Leader, or Owner, there’s a very fine line between setting the pace and driving the pace. Knowing the difference is critical to the health of your team. It’s easy to fall into the trap of “Boss think” on this one, and it can be detrimental to the health and productivity of your team. Here’s how to effectively set the pace as a leader, no matter what stage your business is at.
What we’re talking about here is your effect on the team in terms of your behaviour around implementation and execution. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you aren’t held to account in the same way that your people are, but to echo a sometimes-overused phrase, you really do need to lead by example to get the results you want.
You can’t create separate standards for yourself and your team, because the difference will be stark, and the result will be the creation of an “us vs. them” culture which does nothing to promote, ingenuity, motivation or retention—all cornerstones of a successful business.
If you’re looking to be a team and work as a team, then you need to actively participate as one of the team, regardless of how you view yourself in the culture of the business.

What are your biggest challenge jumping into the trenches? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you watch this and think: “If there’s no ‘I’ in team, why am I doing all the work?” This read is for you.

Get out there and have fun with it, and if you’ve hit a stumbling block, we can help with a variety of coaching programs. Reach out and let us know what you need.
Cheers,
 

Keep in the loop with our latest rapid training videos on SalesUp!TV

8 Critical Questions to Ask Your Business-Self Before 2018

For all you ‘A type’ business owners out there, how many of you (like me, many times) find yourselves always charging from goal to goal in the pursuit of evermore? You know where this is leading right? The power of taking some time out to ask critical questions and reflect on what ‘has been’ is … Read more

Why Negativity Makes You a Better Decision Maker

When making important decisions, we are often told, it’s critical to have a positive mindset. And it’s common for optimists everywhere to shut out the negativity of those around us in favour of the rose-coloured outlook. However, there is incredible power in harnessing that negative vibe from others and using it an alternative outlook that … Read more

5 Ways to Make Better Business Decisions

When we started working with Adam he told us he didn’t have the time to measure stuff, let alone the time to compile and analyse the results. Adam’s situation is typical of many small business owners. While not all our clients say it to our face, we can see the anguish on their face when … Read more

Building a Profit-First Budget

Budgeting is not something most business owners would list as one of their most exciting tasks – and that’s ok, but it is necessary, and there is a way to build a budget that makes profit non-negotiable. Here’s how you can create a budget which helps you think differently about how you manage the expense side of your business, and will radically change your profit results.

The Hidden Profit Centre in Your Business

Think HR has no bearing on profitability? Think again… Having long been denounced as nothing more than a cost centre and a necessary part of doing business, the people management aspects of an organization (specifically HR) have been overlooked as an integral component of the profit structure of an organization. The link, however, is a … Read more