Networking at Main Events – How to Get the Most from Your Time , Energy and Money

As a franchisor I’m sure you are familiar with networking and the importance of it among your peers (fellow franchisors), suppliers, associates and new contacts. You encourage your franchisees to participate in regular networking events, big or small, as part of their local area marketing. So how do you get the most from your time, energy and money when networking at events, especially big events?

Regardless of what size event you are going to, it’s important you know how to make the most of the event to get a good return of your time, energy and money. Here’s a Simple Networking

Formula that will give you the greatest chance of success:
1. Decide why & choose your event strategically. It is simply impossible to be at every event running on every single day of the year, so it’s important to choose the events you attend wisely, ensuring the event you choose
is in alignment with what you want to achieve. In other words, you have to know why you want to attend the event and what you want to get out of it. The clearer you are on why you are going, the more chance you have of
achieving it. Key outcomes may include: gain more knowledge; attract new prospects; more than likely outcomes will include attract new partners, colleagues and referral partners

2. Plan to connect with a certain number of people. Have quality conversations rather than quantity. If there are 50 people at the event, don’t expect to speak to all of them. Be content with a quality conversation with five to seven people who the next day will look at your card and remember you and what you spoke about, and more importantly remember you the next time they see you. If it’s a larger event and your objective is to connect with a lot more then be sure you have a plan on how you will connect with people, and know when it’s the right time to move onto the next person. When attending a big event such as a conference, be and stay organised and participate in as much as you can while at the event. Especially at a multi-day conference, people want to learn, grow and network so they’ll tend to be more open and approachable, ready to talk about their businesses but also ready to find out more about you.

3. Take plenty of business cards. Bring more than you think you will need, it’s better to have some extra than to run out. I like to write something on the card to help me remember something about the person I have just connected with. You will find it useful when you go to follow up with them.

4. Don’t sell your product or services at the event. Rather if a person expresses interest, suggest that you phone them to discuss further.

5. Prep your elevator pitch. You always want to be ready with a confident and compelling answer to the question “What do you do?” If you are a larger well known brand then most will have an assumption or knowing of what you do. As a smaller franchisor there may be some that are not familiar with what it is you do and offer to the marketplace so it’s always a good idea to have an elevator pitch ready. Rather than answering the question of what do you do with… “I’m a lawyer,” or “We sell burgers,” it’s always best to follow the elevator pitch formula which enables you to connect with the person you are talking to and flow with your response so that it allows the conversation to continue rather than stop dead in its tracks after you reply with I’m a… The easiest way to create an elevator pitch is when someone says: “What do you do?” you simply reply with… “Do you know how… (what follows is usually the problem in the marketplace your product or service solves) then you follow with… “What we do is… (and
then you complete this with your solution”) of course if you only have a brief 10 or 20 seconds to answer the “what do you do” question then simply summarise what you created in the
above into one short sentence.

Here’s our example for Vision Alliance…. when asked what do you do? We would reply with… “Do you know how most business owners, franchisors and franchisees are struggling to increase sales and profits, build more momentum and simply get more out of their business and their life, no matter what more means to them… well, what we do is… we work as an extension of yourteam putting programs in place to help you maximise your potential, enabling you to get more out of business, and more out of life.”

Our ten second snapshot version would be either… “We help business owners maximise their potential,” or “We are in the business of buildingpeople and building businesses.”

Your aim with any length of elevator pitch is to lead into the other person asking… how do you do that? Rather than having them say “oh ok i get it” and making their own assumptions about you.

6. Put a follow up system in place. I’m guessing some of you will have a great follow up strategy / system in place and some will not. It’s always a great idea to have a follow up strategy in place to ensure you know
exactly what your next steps will be when following up the individual. You may end up creating three different types of follow up systems. 1) for prospects, 2) for partners, 3) associates, peers and colleagues. Remember to incorporate a combination of email, phone follow up, social media using LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter or send out cards.

7. The best networkers are the best listeners. Anyone will speak to you for ten minutes if you are not speaking about yourself.

Success is always in the fo llow thro ugh

Being a great networker is just the beginning to successful networking. As the saying goes… “Success is always in the follow through.” Therefore it is equally, if not more, important to follow up with the people you have recently connected with. Here’s a quick five step plan to support you in becoming a successful networker.

1. Make Contact. 97 per cent of people who ask for my card never do anything with it. If your initial aim was to build new relationships and you want to drive the relationship forward,

YOU have to take the action. For me, a followup email, rather than a phone call, is one of my favorite ways to reconnect with the person and continue the conversation. Another effective way is to send a LinkedIn invitation. Either way, the person can reply back at a time that’s convenient for them. Following the next four steps, you’ll increase your chances of a response.

2. Jog their memory. It’s a good idea to reference your initial meeting so they remember who you are within the first sentence or two of the email. Even better is to show that you were a good listener by mentioning something they talked about. For example: “Jim, I enjoyed meeting you at the Chamber of Commerce networking event last Thursday, and hearing about the successes you’ve been having this month with your new product launch…”

3. Connect the dots. Next, say why you think it makes sense to continue the conversation. Do you have some ideas to offer, some resources or connections? Do you see some natural synergies and think there may be ways to work together for mutual benefit?
4. Propose a low-barrier next step.

Acknowledging most business people are time poor, rather than dive into a face to face meeting as the very next follow up, perhaps suggest a 15-30 minute phone call which is a lower barrier for both parties and to be honest can be just as effective if you have a clear agenda and process for the conversation.

5. Make it balanced. Be sure to position this next step as a way to get to know each other’s businesses and goals, and uncover synergies between the two of you. That way, the other
person will feel there will be something in it for them and it’s not so one sided.

The Balancing Act

How to cr eate balanc e in the franchisor /franchis ee relationshi p It’s one of those areas that we know will never be perfect, and it’s one of those areas that if not right in the early development days of your  franchise network it can spin out of control quite
quickly with some, all or usually with just a select few.

So how do you achieve balance within your franchisor/franchisee relationship and how do you close the gaps in your current foundations to ensure the existing network of franchisees and your new incoming franchisees experience that same or similar relationship and culture?

Th e power is in your house!

Have you ever really taken the time to look at a light bulb that’s turned on at your front door or porch? What did you notice? I’m sure you would see what I see, an array of bugs and moths flying and crawling around the light? Have you ever wondered why they do that? It’s simple. They are attracted to the light. The brighter and more powerful the light, the more bugs and flying insects you will see around the light. In other words the bigger and more powerful the light in your business, in your team
and in your franchise network culture, the more positive people you will attract.
All too often I come into a franchise group and see and feel too much negative energy.

When negative energy takes too much power from your light, not only do you fail to attract good things, you are also pushing away or rejecting or even leaving no room at all for the good energy. When you apply negative energy in your network or when you fail to recharge your network with positive energy, you become disempowered and you also disempower people in your network.

When you intentionally apply positive energy in your franchise network, you become empowered and you also empower your franchisees who are attracted to and want to tap into your positive light.

So how do you keep your light bright? How do you maintain that positive bright energy within you and your franchise network as a whole?

The main thing to remember is that you must stay consistent in being empowering with everything you do. Simply by being empowering, you are generating more positive energy and adding more power to your light. Empowering is not something you be, it’s something you do every day – that’s blended into every interaction you have with your franchisees, colleagues and more.

It’s your ultimate responsibility as a franchisor to make sure that your batteries are always full of power so you can keep your light bright. Always remember: it takes energy to maintain energy, so if you are not adding to your positive energy, it’s automatically seeping away. WITH GREAT POWER COME S
GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

Understanding the three dominant relationship types

Before you can move into building and maintaining the ideal franchisee/franchisor relationship, it’s important to understand and identify with the three primary relationship types.

The dependent franchisee /franchisor relationship

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By looking at the illustration, the two lines represent two people in the relationship – usually the franchisor and franchisee. The dependent relationship is where one person is constantly holding up the other person and when one person places responsibility on the other person to fulfill his or her needs.

Generally, in a franchise relationship, this is usually the franchisor holding up the franchisee and the franchisee placing full responsibility on the franchisor for his or her success.

The franchisee becomes demanding and negative and nothing ever seems to please him or her. Over time the franchisor discovers there’s just not enough energy (time, money and resources) to hold the other person up because the dependent person is disempowering. No matter what the franchisor does, the dependent franchisee will still always place the responsibility on the franchisor for their overall success.

The franchisor generally feels the need to move away from this situation as a result of continual frustration and overwhelm, and support the franchisees that have a better attitude, a better commitment to the network and more positive
energy.

The challenge with this is, if the disempowered franchisee remains in the system, they will eventually steal and drain the energy from others within the network. This drain usually impacts other franchisees which results in total unbalance – not just in the initial franchisee/franchisor relationship but total unbalance in the network. So what’s the solution with this type of relationship? It’s important for the franchisor to start adopting more ways to empower the head office team in order to help empower the franchisees who are dependent to take responsibility for their overall success and happiness.

It’s also a good idea to review your recruitment process and truly identify who your ideal franchisee is so that these naturally disempowering franchisees just don’t make it
through the recruitment process.

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franchisor relationship
Now we know a dependent relationship is when one person places responsibility on the other person to fulfill his or her needs for success

What if both people in the relationship depend on the other person to make sure everything happens smoothly and everyone’s happy. This is a co-dependent relationship. The two figures in the illustration represent the franchisee and franchisor existing in a co-dependent relationship.

The challenge with being in a co-dependent relationship is that it doesn’t stay in balance. The illustration looks balanced, with each person holding the other up, but that’s not what actually happens.

One person is usually more demanding and needier than the other at different times. So
both sides are constantly drawing energy from the relationship, which is weakening it from both sides These are the franchisee/franchisor relationships that feel if they each give 50 per cent to the relationship, then their relationship will have 100
per cent. Here’s the problem with that: there’s still 100 per cent missing. What it really means is that there are two disempowering people in the same relationship.
To move past this stage of a relationship, you must again review your foundations of
expectations, the consistency of ongoing support and training and where the co-dependency started.

Perhaps it started with a lack of communication, perhaps a lack of follow through with regards to compliance or perhaps as a result of not setting the expectations and empowering each party to be responsible for the part they play in the relationship.

The empowering franchisee /

What makes a strong franchisee/franchisor relationship work is when you have two
empowering parties who take responsibility to make sure they are happy within themselves and are responsible for the part they play in the relationship.

The franchisor is responsible for ensuring they are empowering the network, fulfilling their responsibilities, following through on their word and their actions and ensuring they are coming  to the party when it comes to providing the right amount of support, ongoing training, tips, knowledge and insights.

The franchisee, on the other hand, is responsible for the part they play in the relationship. They have bought into a system, it is their responsibility to implement and follow that system, take the necessary actions consistently every day to ensure their success and to achieve their outcomes.

Just because the franchisor has provided the system doesn’t mean that the franchisee will be instantly successful. The franchisor fulfills his responsibilities in that role and then the franchisee must fulfill his responsibilities in his/ her role. You will see in an inter-dependent relationship there is a connection, there is a balance and each individual is responsible for the energy, the attitude and the actions they bring to the relationship.

Each individual is 100 per cent responsible for their role, duties and obligations in that
relationship. By empowering yourself and then empowering others to be 100 per cent
responsible for the energy they bring to the relationship and for the actions they take which are necessary to create successful outcomes, the relationship becomes more balanced and sets a solid foundation for a long and happy journey.

So as a franchisor, how do you move towards creating more balanced inter-dependent
relationships? Well the only thing in the entire universe we have control over, is changing ourselves. So it starts with you.

Ti me to Ta ke Action

In order to move towards building and then maintaining empowering franchisee/franchisor relationships, it’s important you get started straight away, taking the right actions and steps in the right order.

If you are an established franchisor it’s important to look at this from two viewpoints. Firstly, in the franchisee recruitment phase when you first start to engage with your prospective franchisees and secondly, with your current network of franchisees. As a new franchisor this will be something you must embrace right from the get go.
1. Review what is! Looking honestly at your franchise network, it’s important you identify exactly what types of franchisor/franchisee relationships exist within your network. Once you have identified what is – it’s important to then;
2. Decide what it is you want! How do you see your future relationships with your franchisees? How do you see the dynamic between each franchise unit? How can you empower your franchisees more to assume responsibility for the part they play in the relationship? How can you do the same with regards to the part you play in the relationship? Be sure to write this down or pop it up on a whiteboard with your team.
3. The difference between what is now and what you want to exist in the future is what we call the GAP. Knowing your GAP is vital in determining what steps you must take and in what order, and at what time you take them.
4. Re-educating your existing franchisees and introducing a new relationship culture won’t happen overnight, it’s therefore important you prepare a 90 – 180 day action plan that incorporates the delivery of some new innovations, communication and support models that encourages responsibility, empowers and inspires action and reduces reaction among the network. Your action plan should also allow for a complete change in your recruitment process, to ensure the new incoming franchisees are developed in an empowering way and understand the dynamic and type of culture you have right from the time they first make their enquiry with your franchise group.
5. If you feel the GAP between where your current relationships are and where you want them to be is large, then give priority to revamping your franchisee recruitment process with a vision of getting it right at the beginning of the relationship for new incoming franchisees.

6. Once you have a plan in action for your new incoming franchisees and your existing
franchisees, then may I suggest you put in place a 12 month change management, training and support program to ensure you create a long lasting result. It’s not always going to be perfect but I guarantee that you will create more balance within your network as a whole. A balanced and more empowered network will
ultimately influence the net worth of your group, so it’s something that’s well worth spending some considerable time on this area.

Change Your Mind: Getting the most from your franchisees starts with a change in mindset

As a franchisor, getting the most out of what we do can be challenging for even the best of us. So how do we empower the franchisees in our network to bring out the best in themselves? How do we create more synergy within our business network, decrease
feelings of being overwhelmed and ultimately produce higher levels of success?

We hear it and we see it all the time. Some franchisees just have what it takes to build momentum seamlessly, without needing or wanting much support from the franchisor, whilst others can’t seem to get it right and steer their ship to higher ground. So how do you, as a franchisor, assist your franchisees in new ways to help them build more momentum in their business and themselves?

Be sure your franchisees know their outcomes and take consistent action to achieve them

When we jump in a car, on a boat or on a plane, we always know where we want to go. In
fact, we humans spend more time planning our vacations than we do our business or our life. It’s no wonder so many businesses struggle to build the momentum they need and want. Regardless of what business or industry you are in, it’s important your franchisees (from the moment they make their enquiry about your franchise) are empowered to know and truly identify their desired outcomes. In other words, your franchisees need to know what they truly want.

It’s one thing for them to set goals and say they want a successful business. It is another thing to really define what success means to them and then know the exact steps to take to achieve this success.

A great place to start is by educating your franchisees in how to lay some foundations
around goal setting and goal achievement. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the SMART criteria for setting goals. What I have found though, is there is a major flaw in this criteria.

Most people know how to set goals; very few know how to consistently achieve their goals. Your franchisees will have a better chance at achieving higher levels of success if they:
1. Define what success truly means to them
2. Build a mindset for success
3. Use the SMART model – but add an A to the end

By adding the A – you include the missing element to setting goals and that is ACTION.
This gives you Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Bound and Actionable goals. By knowing what steps to take and in what order to take them and by taking consistent ACTION, your franchisees will soon be on their way to achieve their outcomes.

Encourage a mindset shift for more consistent results

With an understanding that human beings are conditioned by our past experiences, it’s vital to empower your franchisees to think differently and do things differently in order to have different results. If our thoughts and beliefs determine our behaviours and the actions we take and if the actions we take determine the results we get in our business and in our life, then isn’t it obvious what we have to change first?

For some it’s obvious. For most it’s not. Most people believe we just have to change our habits and actions and this will change our results. The problem is we find our old habits creeping back because we haven’t made a mental shift toward permanent change. Permanent change comes from strengthening the foundations and changing the core or root beliefs. This, in turn, will influence behaviours, habits and actions on a
whole new level. This new level will bring about faster results and more momentum then you ever thought possible.

How do you help your franchisees make that shift?

Based on this understanding, if we want franchisees to produce better results, we have
to go to the foundations and make a change within the mindset of each and every one of our franchisees. We have to change what they are thinking. This will then influence a change in their root beliefs, which will bring about a new sense of confidence and clarity and ultimately better results.

Now I know what you are thinking, “I can’t possibly help every franchisee change their
mindset.” That’s almost impossible. Here’s a mindset shift right now. Everything is possible if you put your mind to it. Using some simple belief altering techniques, you have the opportunity to help shift your franchisees mindsets quite quickly and effectively. Of course, they are responsible for their success, so ultimately it’s up to them.

Steps to changing your ‘mind’

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1. Have your franchisees define what success means to them.

2. Encourage your franchisees to set goals regularly. Be sure they are written down
and, more importantly, be sure there is an action plan in place so that they can take the
necessary actions to achieve these goals. Ninety day cycle action plans are best for
building momentum fast.

3. Have your franchisees commit to their success. Most people think they are committed and then contradict themselves by not being willing to do what it takes to reach their goals.

4. Hold them accountable to being 100 per cent responsible for their success.

5. Encourage them to say positive affirmations on a daily basis such as, “I am a confident and successful business person,” or “Each day in every way I am better and better,” or

“Increasing my business comes easily to me,” or “I live each day with passion and purpose.”
6. Empower your franchisees to adopt an attitude for gratitude. You simply cannot get more of what you want, until you are grateful for what you have.

Eliminating the F word

Ok, I know what you are thinking…what is she on about? The F word is something we see, feel and hear every day. It is something that makes us cringe. It can propel us forward, or more often, it can hold us back. It can be quite debilitating, creating a state of paralysis. It is the F word that prevents us from achieving all we want and more. FEAR is a silent killer within every aspiring entrepreneur and business person. Knowing how to help your franchisees control it and manage it will pay out dividends over and over.

The most common definition of FEAR is False Emotions Appearing Real. Fear is an emotion we feel. Fear is sometimes a good thing, as it can keep us safe from many a dangerous situation. The challenge is to know how to take control of your FEAR and move through situations that present opportunity and better outcomes.

Here’s eight quick ways you can help your franchisees overcome the FEAR factor and move forward in building more momentum in their business every day. Instill in your franchisees the following:

1. There is no failure – only feedback. This one statement alone can be extremely powerful. This enables one to completely eliminate the other F word from franchisees world. Imagine the world without the double emphasis on the F word. Failure and FEAR.
2. Take responsibility for all choices and decisions and then roll with it. Empowering your franchisees to be confident in their decisions will build more proactive franchisees for the long term.
3. B elieve in yourself. This is essential. I have met so many franchisees who just break down crying when they are with me. They just don’t believe they can do it. Changing core beliefs and achieving small milestones will help franchisees to believe in themselves.

4. Feel the fear and do it anyway – As Richard Branson has often said, “Screw it, Let’s Do it.”
5. B e aware of your inner chatter and have an alternative statement to end the negative
chatter. Being aware of the ANTs (automatic negative thoughts) is a great place to start.
Once you are aware of this process, you can make small changes to shift those thoughts in a new direction.
6. Make no-lose decisions. These are decisions that sit in the middle of both sides of what could be perceived as a right or wrong decision. Make no-lose decisions to move
forward faster.
7. Acknowledge that a high percentage of what we worry about never happens. So choose not to worry. Success is a choice.
8. Stop blaming and complaining. Take responsibility. Nothing is your fault, however everything is your responsibility.
9. Just nod your head and say, ‘Yes’.

Time to Take Action
• Have your franchisees refine their foundations by having them define what success means to them.
• B e sure your franchisees set out to take consistent action in order to achieve their goals – not just set them.
• Empower your franchisees and provide the necessary tools to help them change their
mindset first.
• Help your franchisees believe. There is no failure, only feedback, therefore they can bury the F word forever.
• Encourage your franchisees to maintain focus every day to ensure they are channeling their energy on high income and high impact producing activities.

Personal Attributes For Success

If you were given a magic wand and had the opportunity to wave it over your  business and your life what would you change? What things would stay the same?

Most successful people when asked what the secret to their success has been have responded with: it’s in the uncanny ability to channel focus in a singular direction. To focus is a two-part process: it’s a clear vision, and it’s waking up as the person who can make the vision occur.

Lets explore some of the key personal attributes for success.

Know what you want

It appears to be an obvious one however you would be surprised to learn that a very small percentage of business people know exactly what it is they want and stay focused to it’s achievement.  Most have a few options available to them and therefore fail to take the necessary actions that help them realize their goals faster. Not being 100% clear about what you want can open yourself up to falling short.

The first place to start is take a pen and paper and write down exactly what it is you want. Be sure you write down what you want in all key areas of business and in life. It’s important to be balanced in this. Writing down what it is you want will help clarify and solidify in you heart and mind whether it’s really what you want.

The best way to predict your future is to create it!

How you write down what you want is very important, so as you begin the first step of writing down your goals, make sure your outcomes meet the CREATE Critera.

C- Clear and Concise

R-Realistic

E-Ecological

A- As if Now

T- Timed and Toward What You Want

E- End Step/ Evidence

In short it is important what you want is expressed in a clear-cut way. It must be clear, specific and concise. Remember we don’t get what we want, we get what we expect, so it’s important when writing your goals be sure you set ones that are realistic and you know you can achieve them. It is a good idea to run an ecology check on your goals, which simply means looking at the consequences of achieving that goal. You can do this simply by asking yourself: is this outcome good for me, good for others and good for the planet?  Be sure to always write goals in the present tense as once the mind has fully imagined something, it makes it far easier to accomplish it. Although you will write your goals in the present tense you still must put a future date or time to your goals to indicate when you wish to achieve this outcome, even if it’s tomorrow or something small. The T in CREATE also stands for toward what it is you want. Your goals should always be stated in a positive way. State what you want rather than what you don’t want. Finally it’s important to know what the end step is for your goal. The end step or evidence is the last thing that has to happen so that you know for sure you have achieved your desired outcome. E.g. by 31 march 2014 you want to attract a new client therefore you may see yourself signing the agreement and banking the deposit.

Now that you  have clarity around how to write goals it’s time to implement it. Take action and come up with a good two week, one month, three month, six month and 12 month goal that will move you closer towards your vision and achieving what it is you want.

What You Focus On Really Determines Your Reality

Warren Buffet, believes what contributes to overwhelming success is…. “what we focus on and equally important what we choose not to focus on contributes to whether one achieves success or not.”

A successful person is one who has developed the ability to focus and maintain that focus on clearly identified and specific goals. Successful people also understand that for them to reach their targets they need to take consistent action to bring them closer and closer to where they want to be. Without action, nothing will be achieved.

Success is always in the follow through. How well you plan wont determine your success. Your success will always be in how well you execute and implement your plan.

You’re results are clearly determined by what you focus on.  This means you have every opportunity to change any and every aspect of your life, starting right now!

You Must Assume 100% Responsibility For Your Success

If you want to be successful, no matter what success means to you, you have to assume 100% responsibility for everything. There are no excuses. There may be set backs or economic down turns, or problems that affect your business. There may be situations you don’t like, peers within the network may irritate you, and the direction of the business may turn a corner in the opposite direction you were hoping for. While those things definitely have an impact on you, the way you do business and the sales you make, it is important to realise that regardless of everything, it is up to you, and you alone, to accept responsibility for the success of your business and do what it takes to make it a success.

Who are you blaming right now for your short falls? We never want to look at where the real problem might be, but it’s important to start to realise that your attitude towards your success starts with you.

Take some time right now to think about yourself just for a minute. It’s time to stop looking outside of yourself for the answers. What you sow, so shall you reap. If you are reaping well from the seeds you have sown then that’s fantastic. Think of some new ways to challenge yourself and reach new heights of success. If you are just not happy with what’s happening in your world right now, you MUST assume 100% responsibility for everything; your attitude, your beliefs, your actions, your wins and your shortfalls.

 

Model The Change You Want To Be

Modeling is something you have been doing your whole life without being aware of it. The only problem is that most of us model haphazardly without conscious awareness.

There are two types of modeling: inside and outside modeling. In the simplest form modeling allows you to access the tools, strategies, and mindsets of successful people so that you can expand your references and play a different game of life on a larger and more exciting playing field. Fake it til you make it is a long held paradigm for success. Far from being dishonest, this principle simply harnesses the power of the mind for accelerated change. Your mind does not know the difference between something that has happened and something you vividly imagined. By identifying new beliefs, values, attitudes and decisions that have already worked for someone else you get the inside knowledge of the rules by which to play your new game. Then you can set out to master the same skills and employ the same strategies. Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from the best? These individuals have become masters because they have crafted their rulebook and congruently communicated their vision to the world. They have been clear about who they are, whey they stand for, and what they want to achieve, and they have confidently expected to achieve it. You can do the same.

Discipline

Once you have decided what it is you want to achieve, you have your vision in place and you know how you are going to achieve it, a disciplined approach must be part of your every day.

Have you ever wanted to shift a few kilos, get fit or accomplish some other goal, only to find you have lacked the discipline to see it through? We expect everyone else to be disciplined in their workday so that they can achieve as much as they can, so it’s important to expect it from yourself.

Daily planning will help you maintain discipline. Knowing what steps and actions you need to take and knowing they are moving you closer to achieving the bigger picture (your desired outcomes) will make it easier to stick to your plan.

Adopt An Attitude For Gratitude

One of the best ways to start changing your attitude is to start adopting an Attitude for Gratitude. It’s very hard to bring good into your life if you are not grateful for what you already have. There is always going to be someone else in this world worse off than you are. They may be a competitor, a friend or a complete stranger. Start each day by saying thank you! Giving thanks for what you already have will open the doors for you, and faster than you think.

Being critical of others, blaming, complaining, feeling tension, rushing, choosing to be in a bad mood are all signs you are not being grateful. Gratitude can transform your life. Stop allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve.

Adopt Unwavering Self Confidence in Yourself

Most successful people have a certainty and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve success, however it often comes across as brash. Success has nothing to do with luck, to be extraordinary takes vision and a willingness to work harder than most people would ever dream of doing. This is the attitude of every highly successful person. What people might perceive as arrogance isn’t always boasting. It can come from a strong commitment to yourself and to your dreams. That’s the foundation of your certainty, your belief, and your patience. The key of course is to balance it all with humility.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

Now I am not just throwing this phrase out there because alot of gurus use it. Fear is a real contributing factor to many business owners not realising their true potential, including me. What is important to realise is FEAR is simply False Emotions Appearing Real. Once you acknowledge that, and take control of those emotions and manage your way forward through that fear to a place of power, energy, enthusiasm and success, you will never look back.

It’s important to also let go of all fear-based attachments. I have been working on this with one of my own coaches and it’s one that successful people before me have done. To be successful it’s important to release the fear-based attachment to certain outcomes and of being, doing or having anything that you don’t perceive to be currently in your world. It’s about releasing the fear and having patience, living in the moment and pouring your passion into every minute of the day.

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

Define what success means to you.

Decide what it is you want.

Be sure to write it down clearly and concisely.

Start catching your ANTS- automatic negative thoughts.

What new attitudes can you adopt? Write them down.

Adopt an Attitude for Gratitude. Start keeping gratitude journal and write in it daily.

Be clear about your vision.

Be sure to write it down clearly and concisely.

What can you do to ensure you stay disciplined and focused on achieving your desired outcomes?

What actions will you take over the next 30 days to help you move closer to your dreams and goals?

Business Growth Fundamentals

Acknowledging there is no one size fits all approach to growing your business, it’s important to constantly review the strategies and tactics you are implementing in your business on a month to month basis.  There are lots of other key areas that contribute to the overall success of your business but for the purpose of this article as I am limited in what I can include I review for you a simple formula that will help you consistently grow your revenues.  Revenues are what most business owners focus on so I trust focusing on this area is ok with you. Of course I can also only skim over this so should you want more comprehensive info and support please feel free to contact me.

As a business owner after you have laid your foundations and you are ready to grow your business. There are nine fundamentals that must be focused on and worked through in order to grow your revenues.

The nine are listed below so may I encourage you to consider each point and how each one relates to your own business.

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Part One requires you to have a look at who your ideal client is. Your business will be more profitable if you deal with the customers you want to deal with and who are the best for your business. Now there is a process one must go through to really determine the ideal client profile for your business but for the sake of this article in short when putting together your ideal client profile be sure to work through and understand the elements such as:

  • How They Think
  • Why They Buy  (Want’s vs Needs)
  • What They Want -Hot Buttons  (remember people don’t buy what they need they buy what they want)
  • Who to Target – (Decision Makers & Influencers)

Part Two is all about Lead Generation and Your Sales Process. How do you drive hordes of customers to your business for the least amount of money? Lead generation is not just about the advertising and marketing you do it’s about ensuring you have a solid sales process  in place that covers lead generation, how and where do you find the best prospect s for your product or service, then leads into qualification of that lead and ensuring not only are you adding value in educating your prospect of the benefits of dealing with you, your sales process should also highlight the steps to follow when converting your lead and of course nurturing the lead that didn’t convert.

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Only 4% of leads are ready to buy now. That means 96% are not ready. If you don’t have a process in place to nurture your leads you could be wasting your time and your money.

Part Three is all about Lead Conversion. This area of focus should include how you communicate to your target market, what marketing strategies you will use to communicate your message and then how you will make your sale. If you are in retail your distribution channel is of course retail but if you are in a serviced based business you may choose a couple of distribution channels which could include direct sales, online sales and phone sales.

 

Now’s the time to review your plan or create a new one for the coming year. Take some time to create your roadmap. Make sure it includes:

What level of revenues do you want? What products and services will they come from? What does your ideal client look like? How will you communicate with your ideal client and what message will you communicate? Remember your communication is very important. Your focus should be on the benefits and not all about how good you are. Your communication should speak directly to the decision makers wants and not needs.  Be sure your plan also includes what steps you will  follow in what order to make sure you either convert the lead or nurture the lead until they buy from you.

 

Maximising Your Potential… Continuing the journey

Last issue we started the journey in maximising your potential in business. By now you should have a clear vision of where you are headed, you’ve assumed 100 per cent responsibility for your success and have worked to adopt and maintain a positive mental attitude helping you hold the right beliefs, take the right actions and produce the rights results for you.

This article kicks off focusing on an important area of business: Your Ideal Client. Then we will move into the Seven Key Areas that will have a direct impact on your profits .

Target Your Ideal Client to produce results

No matter what stage of development your business is presently in, all small business owners want more revenue. That is ALWAYS priority number one – and to be honest, it should always be. Without Sales and Marketing there would be no business. So it would be fair to say that Sales and Marketing are the lifeblood of every business. As Peter Druker once said ‘Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation’.

The key to dramatically increasing your sales and marketing results is totally dependent on your ability to attract – not just more of any client to your business – but more of your ideal clients.

Your ideal client is the one who not only buys your product or service, your ideal client is one who buys your product or service and raves about it again and again. They literally share your passion for what you do. These are clients who really want what you have to offer – instead of just needing what you offer. They don’t just use your product or service, they love your product or service.

Ideal clients mean fewer headaches, returns and complaints. They’re a pleasure to deal with and they’ll not only buy from you once, they’ll keep buying from you forever, or if you offer a one off product or service, your ideal client will be willing to tell their friends and family to buy from you. These are the type of clients who will spend more money with you than the average client ever would.

They’ll send you boatloads of referrals and will offer you unsolicited testimonials. They’ll brag about you on all the social networking sites – which garners you tons of free publicity.

When you properly and specifically identify your ideal client, you’ll soon find you’re working less and earning more – a lot more.

So how does this impact your business in the long term? Well, it has a huge impact on any future products or services you develop, and any future sales and marketing activities you implement.

Because you want to deal with more of your ideal clients, you will find yourself developing more products and services that your ideal clients want. You will develop sales and marketing pieces and processes that will attract more of those ideal clients rather than just any client. In fact this is an important point to make: Is your current marketing targeting just anyone with a pulse that may just buy your product and service? Or; Are you truly targeting your marketing to reach not only your target market but the ideal client within that target group?

If you can get this part right, you will be setting your sails in the right direction. In that I have discovered is the major reason for the tremendously high failure rate of small businesses today. Businesses are simply targeting the wrong type of clients. They are working harder not smarter.

Here’s the challenge

Every small business owner I work with on a daily basis wants to immediately develop their marketing program so that they can ultimately increase sales and profits. When

I speak with them, they’re already putting together various pieces of marketing collateral such as postcards, brochures, flyers and of course, their website.

Unfortunately, when I assess their business and compare their product or service with their ‘ideal client profile’, in the majority of cases the marketing they’re planning to use or are currently using will never reach the clients they are truly trying to reach.

The benefits of knowing who your ideal client is:

• Helps define your niche market

• Makes your ideal client easier to find

• Makes it easier to sell your products and services to

• You get a greater return on your marketing dollar

• The lifetime value increases.

Time to take action

• Take some time to write down and identify who your ideal client is.

• Define your niche market

• Know what your ideal client wants. People don’t buy what they need they buy what they want.

7 Ways to Increase Profits

Now this is an area I could write a book on, in fact I have! If you would like to learn more about this or, in fact, any of the key points outlined in this article or the past issue, then visit www.vision-alliance.com and purchase a copy of my book Franchise Profits. In the meantime let’s have a quick look at how you can start focusing on these areas in your business.

1. Increasing Leads. Leads are prospects or potential customers. Before you can increase the number of leads, it’s important to know what your numbers are. How many leads are you getting every day, week and month?

What marketing activities are attracting the best leads and what are producing none at all? By knowing the numbers, you can start to measure the results and will soon be able to direct your business to where the best leads are.

2. Boosting Conversion Rates. I am sure you understand what a conversion rate is. For those that don’t, put simply, your conversion rate is the difference between those who could have bought and those who did buy your product or service, or the percentage of people who did buy against those who could have but didn’t. Most business owners believe they have a high conversion rate, however, when measured, they are horrified to find out their conversion rates are not as high as they had originally thought. It’s hard to boost anything if you don’t have a starting point. So start measuring your conversion rates before you start thinking you don’t need to increase them.

3. Boosting the Average Sale Value.

McDonalds are great at this. Their ‘would you like fries with that?’ message has made them additional millions each year. Think of some ways that you can upsell, cross sell, offer larger units, or package products together to boost the average sale value every time a customer buys from you. You will be amazed at the difference it makes to your dollar results.

4. Increasing the Purchase Frequency.

How can you get your customer coming back to your business for more and more often? Those who can think of more ways to get their customers coming back again and again will dramatically impact their bottom line for the better. Most retail stores have their frequent buyer cards now, perhaps you can offer product upgrades, develop a back-end or even develop an ongoing membership club to get your customers coming back more frequently.

5. Margins. Your margins are the percentage from each sale that is profit. Your profit is what’s left after ALL costs have been taken out. There are many ways that you can increase your margins. They include: reducing expenses, increasing prices, outsourcing, using low cost or no cost distribution channels and increasing overall productivity.

Focusing on all or just one can impact your bottom line.

6. Lifetime Value. Most business owners underestimate the Lifetime Value of a customer. Lifetime Value refers to the amount of revenue and profits the business owner expects to receive from their clients over the term of their relationship with them. By knowing the Lifetime Value of your client, you will begin to know how much you can spend to attract a client and will possibly determine where you will spend your marketing dollars in order to attract your new client.

Here’s how you can quickly calculate the Lifetime Value of a customer:

Lifetime Revenues

100 (sale amount) x 4 (#of time they purchase) x 5 (the number of years they stay with you) = $2000

Lifetime Cost of Goods

20 (cost of product or service) x 4 (#of time they purchase) x 5 (the number of years they stay with you) = $400

Lifetime Profit

Lifetime Revenue $2000 – Lifetime COGS $400 = Lifetime Profit $1600

By understanding the Lifetime Profit alone you will begin to understand exactly what you can spend to attract the right clients to your business.

Your Lifetime Value is the difference between the Lifetime Profit and the Lifetime Marketing Costs. (you will need to work this figure out also)

Lifetime Profit $1600 – Lifetime Marketing

$600 = Lifetime Value $1000

7. Increasing Referrals. To really maximise the potential in business, it is vital you have a number of raving fans, (ideal clients) associates, friends and family referring business to you. To drive your business with referrals it’s important you actually have in place a solid referral program which allows you to proactively build your business through referrals, rather than just waiting for them to just turn up. Some ways to drive more referrals to your business could include: reward programs, two for one offers, new customer thank you letters, paying referral fees, and customer recommendations just to name a few. Start thinking today about how you can implement a proactive referral program into your business.

Maximising Your Potential in 2014

For some, 2013 was a year to forget and for others it was a year where businesses flourished and business owners achieved more then what they had anticipated. Now is the time to start planning what your year will look like in 2014

So why did some slow down? Why did some fall over completely, and how are they different to those who managed to maintain momentum in the turbulent waters and even thrive in such an uncertain time?

Working with many business operators both in and out of the franchise sector, we have noticed that those who consistently do the right things, in the right order, seem to stay on track to building the business of their dreams. So I thought I would take the opportunity in this article to briefly share some of the key areas that seem to help business owners maintain momentum and help close the gaps between where you are and where you want to be, FASTER.

Remember though, knowledge is all but useless unless it’s applied. So may I encourage you to implement what you read, or, if you have in place most of the points outlined in this article, may I encourage you to review these elements of your business and work towards strengthening them as much as you can to help you maximise the potential in your business. Not just today, but over the next year, two or three.

I have come to realise there are two types of business people in the world today – one is committed to their success the other interested in success. Those who are interested simply do what is convenient to them. Those who are committed to their success do whatever it takes to succeed – no matter what.

Which one are you?

Vision

“A vision without a plan is just a dream. A plan without a vision is just drudgery. A vision with a plan can change the world.”

-Old proverb

No matter where you are and what stage you are at in your business, it’s important to have a strong vision. A vision paves the way, provides clarity of where you are taking your business. Without a vision, there is no focus and without focus it is easy to get off track and start heading in a direction that can set you back months and sometimes even years.

Building the business of your dreams starts with creating a big enough and bold enough vision. If you have never sat down and taken the time to create a clear vision for your business and your life, then may I encourage you to take some time to create a clear direction for where you want to go in your business. This is the first step in creating a solid foundation for your future success. It is the core centre that provides the direction and purpose for the entire business. For those who do have a vision in place, be sure to review it to see if you are on track or if it or the actions you are taking need revising.

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

• Review or create your vision. Be sure it’s big enough and bold enough and something that’s worthwhile.

• Be sure to write your vision down.

• Be sure to set a clear plan of action to take so that you do, in fact, achieve your vision.

Taking 100 per cent responsibility for your success

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. “ -Jim Rohn

If you want to be successful, you have to take 100 per cent responsibility for everything you experience in business and in life. This seems simple – but for most of us we have been so conditioned to blame something or someone outside of ourselves for all the shortcomings in life and when things just don’t go right. With such a long term conditioned habit, it’s sometimes hard to look at perhaps the real problem – ourselves.

As a franchisee you have bought into a system and a brand. In order to be successful and truly build the business of your dreams, it’s important to partner with that system and brand and take consistent daily action to produce the results you want. Spending so much time and energy on focusing on what’s not working will only result in poor results. Maximising the time you spent on taking daily action, focusing on income producing activities, focusing on going the extra mile with your customers and assuming 100 per cent responsibility for your success will produce the long term results you want and is the very reason you bought into a franchise in the first place.

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

• It’s time to stop looking outside of yourself for the answers.

• Give up blaming and complaining.

• Start assuming 100 per cent responsibility for your life and all your results – both successes and failures.

• Learn to replace complaining with making requests and taking action that will achieve your desired outcomes.

Adopting a mindset for success

Your mind is a lot like a parachute. It works much better when it’s open. If you were to take an honest look at your life and your business, is it everything you had planned, imagined or hoped it would be? In order to start building the business of your dreams, it’s important to create a mindset for success.

Once you have started to assume 100 per cent responsibility for your results, you can move into looking at your thoughts and beliefs. Our mind is the most powerful tool you have. It can either work for you or against you.

Successful business people all over the world have mastered how to develop and maintain a positive mindset so that it works for them.

New thoughts lead to new actions. If you are not happy with your current results, then it’s important to understand that how you think, what you believe to be true and your existing habits have all got you to where you are today. If you want to change your results, you’ve got to adopt a positive mental attitude, some new thinking habits so that you will take some new actions in order to produce different results.

Small business owners have been mentally conditioned to behave a certain way. They have specific beliefs such as: ‘in order to make more money, you have to work harder’;

‘Money is the root of all evil’; ‘No pain, no gain’; ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees’; or, ‘If I don’t do it myself, it will never get done.’

Their belief leads to a specific action which is to work more hours and put forth more effort in a vain attempt to increase revenue and profits. That leads to specific results, which are feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety and frustration, so more and more effort is required, even though results don’t seem to appear.

If this sounds like you, then may I suggest you start to change your thinking. Once you understand how to change your thinking you will be amazed at how quickly your results will change.

The easiest way is to start to focus on what you want rather than on what you don’t want.

Now it’s not enough to think new thoughts – you have to be sure to take consistent daily actions. Be sure you focus on income producing activities and not just any activity.

Try delegating the activities that don’t earn you money, or you are not good at, and it will free up your time so that you can focus on the activities that do produce income and that you enjoy. A key point to make here is that there are people who play and activities that you have to work hard at.

Delegating these tasks will free up your time and your mind which will ultimately allow you to build momentum in your business faster.

TIME TO TAKE ACTION

• Start becoming aware of your ANT’s.

Automatic Negative Thoughts.

• Learn to create Automatic

Positive Thoughts.

• What do you WANT? Once you know, write it down review it daily.

• Start focusing on What You WANT! Do not focus on what you do not want.

• Start saying ‘positive statements’ daily like I am a successful business person.

• Start taking ‘Consistent Daily Action’ so you can achieve your goals.

• C all Vision Alliance for additional support.

These are just the first key areas that you can start focusing on over the next couple of months. By the time the next issue of Business

Franchise arrives you will be ready to move onto the other key areas. Key areas that will continue to help you maximise your potential including: Your Ideal Customer, 7 Ways to Increase Profits & Networking for success