tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2 2008-08-26T16:20:34Z Movable Type 3.33 tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.62 2008-08-26T16:13:10Z 2008-08-26T16:20:34Z

Hello everyone, Peg Titus-Hall here. I’m the new host for LIVE, on-line broadcasts of Tap...

Paul Lloyd Hello everyone, Peg Titus-Hall here. I’m the new host for LIVE, on-line broadcasts of Tap Your Potential, Tuesday, September 9, at 10 a.m. I’m really excited about this new and amazing venture. It will be a true pleasure interviewing interesting experts who know how to deal with the personal side of small business ownership. My first guest, Dr. Kimberly Jackson, is a phenomenon in the business arena. At 27, she was an executive vice president of a major corporation. After continuing her stellar work history, she ultimately has become a much-sought-after executive and small business coach. Coach Kimberly has some remarkable tips for you and your business on the topic on “How to Stay Focused on What Earns You Money!” She’ll also discuss her exciting new books and programs scheduled for release in the next few months. I hope you’ll watch. “See” y’all Tuesday, September 9, at 10 a.m.—where you can dig deep and tap your potential! Warm regards, Peg tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.61 2008-08-21T14:55:27Z 2008-08-21T15:03:41Z

Do your people frequently have three people waiting to see the, ten telephone messages, fifty...

Paul Lloyd Do your people frequently have three people waiting to see the, ten telephone messages, fifty e-mails, and twenty IM’s waiting for them in any given hour? Add the need for critical decisions on top priority projects and you get the recipe for a frazzled work day and the need to help your employees “make” time. Time For Results is a revolutionary new product that helps employees make time. It infuses time management principles into the technology tool of Microsoft Outlook, bringing increased productivity which means more dollars at your discretion for organizational needs. In a recent Time For Results program, an engineer was ecstatic that the techniques taught would save him at least 4 hours a week. Another attendee, a president of a large contracting firm and an avid Blackberry and Outlook user, stated that the Time For Results program would save him 3-5 hours a week as well. He wanted everyone in his company to have the training. With the Time For Results program, everyone can find more time. Compute the benefits: A person who is paid $55,000.00 a year plus benefits, makes about $37.00 an hour. If that person gains just 4 hours a week, as people who have gone through the program testify, that person has given the company a gift of $148.00 worth of more productivity per week. That is a gift of $592.00 per month and $7,104 per year. By training just 12 people from your organization in the Time For Results program, you have a potential productivity gain of $85,248.00. Would your bottom line like that kind of productivity gain from just 12 people? If so, check out our product at www.TimeForResults.com. The streaming video is hosted right here at The Profitability Channel. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.60 2008-08-19T16:03:05Z 2008-08-19T16:10:38Z

My guest this evening, Jeff Burrows, will be amazing. How do I know this? I...

Paul Lloyd My guest this evening, Jeff Burrows, will be amazing. How do I know this? I just sat, glued to my chair, scrambling to take notes, through a breakfast presentation that Jeff delivered. Not only did Jeff give me food for thought, he gave practical ideas and concepts that I can implement today. Tonight at 7 PM you have the opportunity to learn from Jeff’s 20+ years of experience working with thousands of small business owners and managers like you. He’ll show you how you can triple your closing rate (no kidding – he’s done it and helped others do it too). Here’s how to participate in this free program: At 7 PM Eastern time go to www.profitabilitychannel.com Click on the Channel Calendar On the August 19th date, click on Jeff Burrow’s program – 5 Ways to REALLY Increase Sales. If you miss it live, you can watch it from the library: Go to www.profitabilitychannel.com Click on the Library Click on Jeff Burrow’s Program – 5 Ways to REALLY Increase Sales See you tonight! Thanks and have a great day. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.59 2008-08-12T15:21:08Z 2008-08-12T15:28:42Z

I’ve previously talked about making and keeping commitments. Today we’ll talk about creating a vision...

Paul Lloyd I’ve previously talked about making and keeping commitments. Today we’ll talk about creating a vision for your life. A vision is more than a list of goals. But goals are where you start. National championship coach Lou Holtz is a good example. Early in his career, Lou made a list of more than 100 life goals. At last count, Lou was closing in on the last dozen. These include rafting the Snake River through Hell’s Canyon. Jumping out of an airplane — with a parachute, of course. Appearing on national TV. Winning a national championship. Mine include reading the Great Books of the Western World. Circling the globe. Speaking fluent Italian and Spanish. Resuming our study of the organ. Writing two dozen more books. Collecting local recipes we love from exotic places we visit. Selling 20 million books. Raising $200 million for literacy. Here’s my challenge to you: Start your list. Make it a long one. Make it so long you cannot afford to die before at least age 150. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how those goals lead to your vision. Special note: Ruth King will interview me Friday at 10 a.m. We’ll talk about my new "Terminate Your Profit Killers" book. To watch the show, go to www.ProfitabilityChannel.com For more about Jerry Bellune: jerry@jerrybellune.com tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.58 2008-07-29T20:28:38Z 2008-07-29T20:38:42Z

By Barbara Giamanco You've been there. At a networking function someone asks you what your...

Paul Lloyd You've been there. At a networking function someone asks you what your company does, and you freeze like a deer in the headlights. You haven't thought it through so what might roll off your tongue is a lengthy speech that says absolutely nothing. Worse yet, you might default to spitting out a feature/benefit dump that also does nothing, except perhaps turn off your potential client! Later, you cringe at the memory and beat yourself up for not doing better. Learn to tell your story. The art of great storytelling has existed for thousands of years and recently it's been gaining in popularity in the business world. In "Made to Stick" , authors Chip and Dan Heath talk about creating stories and messages that are "sticky". There is a lot of competition for the average person's attention these days, so what you do must stand out. Mike Wittenstein of "Storyminers" takes the concept of a unique selling proposition and recommends presenting what you offer as a story. The best experiences we have are when we are hooked by the story, he says. It's that way for your customers and prospects also. It starts with understanding your uniqueness, the value of what YOU offer to others. Here are 3 tips for building a strong unique selling proposition: Know why people buy the type of product or service you offer Surprisingly a lot of people just don't think this through. You may be one of them. Remember, a great USP showcases your uniqueness and tells people what's in it for them if they buy from you. It focuses on results, not on product features or business processes. You've got to do your homework! Do some digging to really uncover what's different about you and what you have to offer. Do you know how people describe you to others? What do you want to be known for? What do your current clients like about working with you? Why do people buy what you have to offer? Why will they choose you over some other company? Dig for the answers and you might be surprised by what you discover! Mine the gaps between your business and your competition Unless you make a widget that no one else makes, you HAVE competition. To know your competition, you've got to study them. Check out their website. Study their ads. Find out how they promote themselves. Look for things you offer that they do not. Find out why people buy from them. Ask a prospect who may be using a service similar to what you offer, what they wish their current provider would offer. Use every opportunity to gather information by asking questions. When you understand the gap, creating your USP becomes much easier. Fill the void In every industry there is a business need going unresolved. You have to discover what that is and meet the need or "fix the pain", as professional coaches and trainers say. The void for your prospects may be caused by lack of time, competing priorities, lack of balance in their lives or a myriad of other issues. Whatever it is, find that void and then talk about how your product or service fills the gap. Read blogs, ask your clients what challenges they face or what they believe are the obstacles down the road, watch for trends in business publications, look at what isn't being offered, but whatever you do, be sure to conduct thoroughresearch before assuming that what you plan to offer is something people want. Regardless of who you are - CEO, Coach, Consultant, Sales Professional - you have products and services that you need to tell people about in ways that engage them and entice them to buy from you. Remember that being able to tell your story -- to articulate your unique sales proposition quickly, effortlessly and with conviction will help you sell more, more often! Talent Builders CEO, Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached sales executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. She has more than 25 years of experience in selling to enterprise, mid-market and retail accounts and knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of the sales person. During her career, her accounts have included American Express, Motorola, Best Buy, Circuit City, Anheuser-Busch, Target, Honeywell and the State of Arizona. Visit www.talentbuildersinc.com ]]> tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.57 2008-06-23T20:23:50Z 2008-06-23T20:34:27Z

In today’s economy everyone is looking for better, less expensive ways to do everything. This...

In today’s economy everyone is looking for better, less expensive ways to do everything. This fact holds true for both consumers as well as business owners. Increased fuel prices are raising manufacturing costs, delivery costs, and if a business owner relies heavily on their customer coming to them… well you guessed it, the cost for the commute has increased as well and there seems to be no end in sight. So the question is how will businesses survive? On the Internet and that means an online presence. But wait, what if you are a small- to mid-size business… how do you compete with you’re larger competitor who possibly has been in business longer and has a larger budget to develop their infrastructure? It’s not just a website… today, businesses cannot survive with a simple website only; they need a full online business solution system. And with the rapid changing in technology, competition in web development is keen; so how can web developers compete with each other in convenience, pricing, and other benefits so it becomes a win, win, win situation for the small- to mid-size business owner, their customers, and the developers?... by leveraging technology with the help of B&C Enterprise and GrowOnlineNow.com. Tune in to understand the importance of leveraging… not just by the business owner, but developers as well. It is said that if a business is not on the internet today, they will be out of business tomorrow so there is even a greater need for an online presence. Small- and mid-size businesses need help, small web developers need help, and B&C Enterprise and GrowOnlineNow.com is there to provide a solution for both with a way in leveraging technology like so few other companies have been able to achieve. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.56 2008-04-18T22:29:53Z 2008-04-18T23:03:38Z

Anybody who knows me is sometimes annoyed by my "gifts". I can spot spelling errors...

is a time and place to use "lay and lie" and I work hard to end sentences with anything but prepositions. I take pride in editing, editing, editing until a sentence or paragraph sounds exactly right. Pride does indeed goeth before a fall as I learned to my chagrin today. Rob Hill is our Advisor Talk host. He's smart as a whip and as you can tell from his blog a pretty darned good communicator. He submitted this blog with the title Mistakes Were Made. What he didn't bargain for was being tagged as the mistake maker. Fortunately Rob also has a great sense of humor and we had a good laugh. Moral of the Story: If I had spoken the title it would have sounded like "Mistakes Were Made. By Rob Hill". That's what I heard in my head. But you can't hear me and have to rely only on the words. Be so so careful when you're writing a letter, an email, an employee review especially when you're in a hurry. One careless sentence can cause a lot of unintended misunderstanding.]]> tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.55 2008-04-15T18:53:15Z 2008-04-15T19:09:19Z

The last decision that anyone wants to make is deciding the best way top say...

The last decision that anyone wants to make is deciding the best way top say "I blew it." Politicians have found solace in the non-apologetic phrase: "mistakes were made". (An idiom that political commentator William Schneider suggested was in the "past exonerative" tense.) But when facing a board of directors, partners, stakeholders or employees - not to mention the nice folks at the IRS, SEC or other such agencies - rhetorical sleight of hand is a flaccid strategy. My guests for a two part series done exclusively for Profitability Channel know a thing or two about classic business blunders: How to prevent them from happening, identifying them before they become fatal and even overcoming the damage they leave behind. Lloyd Whitaker and David Crumpton through their firm "Newleaf Corporation" are seasoned experts who for the past 20 years have been recognized as being among the top turnaround and workout experts in the business. With clients like Bank of America, CitiCorp Credit Services, Inc., Interstate/Johnson Lane, Inc., the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and many more they are the triage specialists of the business world. In this series they share their ten critical lessons for business survival. These shows are anything but academic; these veterans have a wealth of real-world examples and offer equally practical, street-wise advice that will make you a sharper competitor in a world where identifying the threats can be the most critical lesson for business survival. Don't miss "Mistakes Were Made...Ten Critical Lessons for Business Survival". Only on Profitability Channel. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.54 2008-04-09T12:47:43Z 2008-04-09T13:26:15Z

There is nothing more painful than looking back and saying "All the signs were there....

There is nothing more painful than looking back and saying "All the signs were there. Why didn't I see them?" And nothing more wasteful. My daughter received a diagnosis over the weekend that was devastating. I spent many hours saying to myself and others "Oh, remember that time" or "No wonder she did that" or blah blah blah. The next day a client representative informed me that the results we received were for another girl named Ashley and that my daughter had not actually been tested at all for this particular malady. So much for seeing the signs. I started thinking about that from a business owner's perspective. Looking forward we need to use the Black Swan perspective. Think about and write down every single event that might occur in your business even ones you cannot imagine happening. This would indicate you plan to succeed even in the face of extreme difficulty. By the way this is particularly applicable in family businesses where emotions can override common sense. Looking back is an application of False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear that you may have received (or caused) irreparable harm because you weren't paying attention. Fear that others on your staff are not reliable. Fear that what you have worked so hard for will be duplicated and used for another company's benefit. Living in fear makes for bad decision making. Understand that you can't know everything, trust everyone or prevent every cataclysmic event. You sure aren't going to be able to work through and learn from these events as they occur when you are only looking backwards. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.53 2008-04-07T02:26:29Z 2008-04-07T03:24:38Z

The New York Times reported today the deaths of two notable bloggers and the illness...

You have got to be kidding me. Every business owner knows you can never get all the information. Waiting for information causes paralysis which can be worse than death. (It can be a substitute for action. I actually had an employee who said he could not make a decision unless he had 100% information. It made him very busy and yet completely unproductive.) The internet has made information available 24/7 and there is certainly lots of it. That's the good news. The bad news is it changes very frequently so you can do a lot of second guessing. That'll drive you crazy too. Decisions have to be made with the best information available at the time. Tweaking and correcting and modifying are all a part of being flexible enough to work with new information as it comes along. Entrepreneurship sometimes involves hard decisions. There isn't enough information in the world to get around that. ]]> tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.51 2008-04-04T02:03:48Z 2008-04-04T02:47:31Z

I don't bother to stop my 17 year old daughter's complaints by telling her she...

I don't bother to stop my 17 year old daughter's complaints by telling her she sounds like a broken record. She's never heard one. Zap is something you do to food in a microwave not read in a comic book. The X and Y generations do not "early adopt" technology. That would assume they believe others won't. I started to think about this while trying to come up with 52 every day business terms. Shoestring was one of those words and I realized that kid's shoes often don't use them any more. In fact I walked through all the shoe areas at a local department store and confirmed what I feared. We don't use shoestrings that much anymore. Even shoes that look like they have them don't. They're fake. Another great term that will go the way of cassette, ledger and mainframe. So in five to ten years talking about marketing on a shoestring will be met with blank stares and require a lot more explanation. Really, that's a good thing. We should be forced to change our vocabulary and make sure we understand the terms we use so casually. It keeps us fresh and sharp. Besides, marketing on a shoestring almost never works. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.48 2008-04-03T01:28:04Z 2008-04-03T01:51:02Z

I am very excited to have the opportunity to talk on Profitability Channel about one...

I am very excited to have the opportunity to talk on Profitability Channel about one of my favorite topics. I love working with business owners that really want to take their businesses forward and accomplish much greater results. Every business goes through an evolutionary process that begins with the startup and ends with a synergistic business that produces income for the owners even though they may be drinking martinis on a beach somewhere. A critical stage in that process is positioning the business for significant growth. This brings me to my topic. "Four Powerful Principals to Grow Your Business". I'll be discussing the areas you need to address to be ready to grow. We all know the double edged sword that rapid growth can be for a company. If the infrastructure isn't ready to handle the traffic the business can hit a brick wall. So make sure you tune in if your plan calls for significantly increased results and we'll talk about the things to address to enable your company to make that leap forward. Join me on Monday, April 7, 2008 at 10 AM Eastern time on BizBuzz to find out how to safely grow your business. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.52 2008-04-02T16:51:12Z 2008-04-02T17:24:57Z

This is what popped up into my head when I read a story in the...

This is what popped up into my head when I read a story in the paper today that home defibrillators don't save lives like ones in airplanes and malls. Of course the first thing I thought was they were not as good as commercial ones because of the price needed to make them reasonable to home owners. No. Then I thought maybe it was due to lack of training. No. Too difficult for an (presumably) older person to lift or position correctly. No. The person stayed at home too long before asking for help. No. They don't work as well because more than 50% of the people at home are alone when a cardiac event strikes. As good as they are it takes two people to make a defibrillator save a life. Ever been in a situation where saving your company is your life? In business it's growth or death so if you're not moving up you're moving down. Sometimes what you need is another person to change the outcome. Twice in the last twenty-four hours I have spoken to people who decided they needed to get help expanding their businesses. Both had put it off and both were a little frightened about the responsibility of paying someone. I don't blame them. Skipping a paycheck might be the only answer for an entrepreneur but it's not part of the deal for employees. It will be comforting to know that you've chosen to give your company life with more than just you holding up one end. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.50 2008-04-01T02:01:03Z 2008-04-01T02:02:54Z

No not that! Haggling. Everyone is doing it and retailers are quietly telling their employees...

No not that! Haggling. Everyone is doing it and retailers are quietly telling their employees it's okay. I cannot stand the word haggling as it begins with a slur. Still, a rose is a rose is a rose and so bargaining or negotiating over a hammer or a rug or a blouse is no different. Still it all seems so, well, unseemly. I think it's the retail that bothers me. People negotiate prices all the time in the business to business world. How do we decide if it's right for us? Do you stick to your price no matter what? Or are you so flexible that every customer or client gets something different? Have you ever had to think "cash flow" rather than "profit"? I struggle with it. When I had a manufacturing company I had direct costs and overhead. That's really simple. My customers understood the wildly swinging metals market and so changes in pricing were accepted as a matter of fact. Now that I deal in information delivery it's a waaaay different ballgame. I have felt uncomfortable and alone and out of sorts. Still, it's exciting to do what I do and has put me in the middle of lots of unbelievably smart and talented people I would not have met otherwise. Would I be in the midst of that if I could just lowball price and bring on members who didn't fit the profile of those who could best benefit from our service? No. So I am feeling lucky. As for those Prada shoes I am lusting after? I'll let you know when I can say I am feeling brave. tag:www.profitabilitychannel.com,2008:/WEBLOG-NAME//2.49 2008-04-01T01:40:32Z 2008-04-01T01:58:14Z

2007 Internet statistics have been released and it was a real surprise - at least...

2007 Internet statistics have been released and it was a real surprise - at least to me. There were roughly 1.32 billion internet users in 2007 worldwide. Three continents had 83% of those users: North America, Europe and Asia. Actually not in that order. That's what surprised me. Hands down winner? Asia with 39% or 510 million users. Europe came in second with 26% or 348 million. The United States and Canada combined had 18% or 238 million users. Sheesh, I can't believe that. Wow what a great opportunity! What do you have available online that could be interesting to 1.096 billion people? A slender 1% would be roughly 10,000,000. How do you get to those users? I don't know but I am going to find out.