Monthly Archives: December 2009

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Be An Inspiration

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Let’s end  this ugly year, this annus horribilis, on a high note!  I’d been looking for the right way to close 2009 and put us in the frame of mind to create a much better year in 2010.  I think I’ve found what I was looking for– maybe you will agree?

I recently read an excellent article by Alaina Love, writing for Business Week Magazine on December 22, 2009.  Ms. Love is a nationally known leadership expert and president of Purpose Linked  Consulting.  She is also co-author of “The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Great Results” (2009).

Ms. Love presented what she calls the Inspiration Continuum: 10 behaviors and characteristics that she feels identify a true leader.  Whether you are a Freelancer,  CEO of a company large or small,  or a senior manager I think you will find this information applicable to your circumstances.  I pass this string of pearls along to you and hope that you will be inspired to integrate this wisdom into your business practices:

1.   Authentic rather than phony

The words,  actions and beliefs of inspirational leaders are consistent.  These leaders are not phony or pretending to be someone they are not.

2.   Reliable rather than erratic

Employees know they can count on inspirational leaders to guide the organization to clearly defined goals on a well thought-out course.  They do not confuse an already struggling workforce with erratic behavior and constantly shifting priorities.

3.   Anchored rather than disconnected

These leaders are well positioned in the flow of the business and the organization’s culture.  They are clued in to contemporary trends and issues,  rather than disconnected from current realities.

4.   Optimistic rather than pessimistic

Inspirational leaders demonstrate a world view of possibility and abundance.  They are not unaware of the challenges and difficulties the organization may be facing, but they choose instead to focus on both how and why the organization will be successful.

5.   Self-aware rather than unconscious

They understand their strengths and passions as well as their vulnerabilities and blind spots and they work diligently to leverage the former and minimize the latter.

6.   Driven by purpose and passion rather than power and fear

Inspirational leaders understand the tremendous power of a well-articulated purpose and a passionate workforce that embraces it.  They get results not through wielding power and inculcating fear,  but rather by creating a vision in which others can become engaged.

7.   Inclusive rather than divisive

These leaders value the input of others and seek out opinions from a widely diverse base.  They recognize that divisiveness and exclusion do not lead to quality results or strengthen teamwork.

8.   Focused on others rather than self-focused

Inspirational leaders focus first on creating a positive environment for others and leaving a valued business legacy and only secondarily on their own needs.  They will make tough choices that benefit the business over the long term,  rather than trade the future for a short term gain.

9.   Respectful rather than manipulative

As the economic dust begins to settle and organizations reinvent themselves, inspirational leaders recognize that the business environment is dynamic and may require even more changes that affect jobs.  They appreciate the importance of treating employees at all levels with respect and insist that any implemented programs or processes are consistent with this core value.

10.  Able to foster other leaders rather than demanding followers

Inspirational leaders spend a significant chunk of time identifying and grooming leaders throughout the organization.  They are fully aware that the future of the business is directly related to developing individuals who are even better leaders than themselves and recognize that a business dependent on any one leader for its success puts itself in a vulnerable and tenuous position.

Thank you for taking the time to find and read my under-the-radar postings.  Please know that your interest, support and comments are much appreciated.  My objective for this blog is to present information that you can use to build a better business.

I am new to the blogging scene and still on the learning curve.  How am I doing?  Have I achieved my objective—or at least appear to be on track to do so?  What are the hits, what are the misses?  What topics have I covered that you especially enjoyed or found most useful?  What topics would you like to see addressed?

Thanks for reading and best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

Kim

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A 5 Step Value Proposition Plan, Steps 3, 4 & 5

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We continue to build the value proposition that will convince clients and prospects that doing business with you helps to make them more successful in their own jobs or businesses.  Let the important customers know that they are important by soliciting their thoughts and opinions about your products and services;  let them tell you what you do that makes their work easier or more productive;  and let them tell you what else you might do that would make their work still more productive or less problematic.

Step Three is to motivate customers to sell for you.  When you demonstrate to customers that they’re on the VIP list,  they will love that feeling of importance.  They will feel even better about doing business with you and will be inclined to talk you up and make good referrals for you.  Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising,  make no mistake about it.  It will give your business tremendous credibility.

Bring your top clients behind the velvet rope and into the VIP section.  Oh, and make sure you devise a “rewards program”  for this advisory board.  Pass along a few perks to those who help you upgrade your game.  Perhaps you also can make a referral or two?

So Steps One and Two set the stage for Step Three,  when top customers deliver to you prospects who are ready to spend money.  Personally referred prospects are likely to be pleased with your services, because they will have heard about you from one whom they trust.  An expectation of success will be established.

In Step four,  incorporate what you’ve learned in the interviews done in Step Two. Implement those suggestions that make good business sense.  Make the necessary adjustments if  you get the heads up on competitive activity or changing conditions of some sort.  Don’t let your good  work go to waste.

In conversations with your customers,  what common themes emerge? Be sure to respect and value in your business practices what your customers respect and value.  For example,  let’s say you’re about ready to trim certain costs in order to stay within a particular price range—yet the VIP crowd indicates otherwise.

If leading customers crave a certain level of service,  quality of merchandise,  or style of packaging and they are willing to keep paying for it,  don’t take it away and disappoint them! Stay the course and give them what they want.  They will love you for it and show that love by handing over more money to you.

Lastly,  in Step Five acknowledge your strengths and apply them to running your business. View your strengths through the prism of a restaurant.   Are you front of the house—excelling at customer contact and relationship building,   making sales calls, networking and schmoozing,  forming strategic partnerships?  Or are you back of the house—most comfortable and effective while overseeing operations,  crunching numbers, devising long term strategies,  negotiating a lease?

Recognize where you excel.  If you work solo,  perhaps outsource what can be comfortably handed over to another party (like PR or bookkeeping).  If you are going into business with partners,  make sure that skill sets are complementary and not competing. This will make roles and  responsibilities  easier to delineate and ensure that the important bases are covered, thus improving the venture’s chances for success.

So there you have it,  5 easy pieces that will help you re-examine and re-focus your business practices,  optimize client loyalty and goodwill,  encourage referrals and the right kind of buzz and build up your bottom line.  If you can convince yourself to try the first two steps,  I guarantee that you will be impressed with the results and sold on working through the entire program.

Good luck to you,
Kim

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A 5 Step Value Proposition Plan, Steps 1 & 2

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No matter what,  human beings must do business.  In feudal societies and capitalist dictatorships;  in flush times and depressions;  in war and in peace;  there will always be traders,  sellers and buyers.  Where there is a need (real or perceived),  there will be a product or service available to provide some level of fulfillment.  Someone always makes money.

The most successful sellers present the most compelling case,  i.e. the strongest value proposition,  for their product or service and  they become  market leaders.  Maybe you’d like  to position your business for that kind of success?  There will be work involved,  but nothing that is insurmountable. The process can be broken down into 5 manageable steps and implemented according to a timetable convenient for you.

Getting started is easy— ask your customers! They may know more about your business than you do.  They certainly know the market place in which your business operates,  because they navigate those waters as purchasers and consumers of the products and services offered therein.  Your customers have done their homework and they have chosen you.

Above all,  we must  value our customers and communicate that to them.  Big spenders, the VIP customers,  deserve to receive the most value.  Important customers can benefit a business in more ways than one.  They are able to become our opinion leaders,  our advisory board. These customers can play a key role in helping to grow the business. Understanding this is Step One.  Next, demonstrate your trust and respect by implementing  Step Two:  interview the VIP customers.

Identify your three biggest billable hour clients and invite those with whom you interact the most out to eat at whatever meal you can afford to buy.  Client priorities can change as their organization and business environment changes.  Organizations will change in response to economic,  leadership,  competitive and consumer preference changes.

Stay on top of things by asking your VIPs what you can do to better serve them,  help them to do business better or make their jobs easier.  You can also ask what the competition is doing,  what changes may be on the drawing board within their company, etc.  You get the idea.  You may even find out about new markets for your services.

If you can access your competitors’ customers,  take them out to coffee,  too and see what you can find out about that scene as well.  What next big thing (or old school remix) is winning the hearts and wallets of customers?

Strengthen relationships,  make important customers feel even more so,  find new business opportunities,  tweak your business model or your advertising choices and maybe even get your foot in the door with a competitor’s client. Talk less,  listen more, take notes and be humble.

Next week,  we’ll examine the remaining three steps that will help you to create a winning  value proposition for your business.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The ROI on 2.0 Part II

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This week  we take a look at the corporate-style social networking tools.

Plaxo began as an online address book for those who use Microsoft Outlook.  Plaxo Pulse is the social networking iteration—think Facebook added to LinkedIn.   On Plaxo you can create an extensive business related profile,  plus share videos and photos with professional colleagues,  personal friends and family. You can also add links to favorite websites  such as your blog,  YouTube,  Netflix,  Amazon and other social networking sites,  for easy access.

Zoominfo is an online listing service that provides comprehensive info on businesses and individuals.  It is likely that you are already in the Zoominfo database, with a nascent profile waiting to be “claimed”.

Information is compiled by scanning online listings,  press releases and websites,  which are searched and updated 24/7,  to provide the most current data on people and businesses.  You can scroll through the database,  find your name, create a profile and upload a photo.

Zoominfo power search can give a real boost to your ability to do business.  The very impressive PowerSell feature will help you prospect within just about any organization at any level, while the JobCast feature helps hiring managers ferret out qualified candidates. These services are not free,  but they just might pay for themselves when you are able to identify and contact the decision maker who can seal the deal for you.

LinkedIn is of course the big Kahuna for business networking, the gold standard against which all others are measured.  Professionals of every stripe are here, along with Freelancers and business owners.  I think of LinkedIn as an adjunct website.

You can create a profile and  make and receive recommendations that testify to your professional competency and that of your contacts. You can join networking peer groups within LinkedIn to trade info,  talk shop,  get to know people in a similar industry or with similar interests,  or re-connect with alumni from your alma mater.

You can link your blog to LinkedIn (as I have done), alert contacts to your speaking engagements and events you will attend,  research companies for prospecting and even demonstrate your expertise on a range of business topics in the Answers forum.

I’ve heard a lot about how referrals and introductions are made via LinkedIn, but I’ve yet to either meet or know of someone who has done this, nor have I experienced it myself. Still,  I find it sort of useful to participate,  although my ROI expectations are modest.

If you decide to delve into multiple 2.0 sites,  I recommend that you use Google Alert or a similar service, to let you know when someone has posted a comment to one of your profiles,  so that you can respond ASAP.   Quick response is key.  I also recommend that you use a service that will automatically post updates to all of your profiles.  You might like ping.fm.

So ROI can be derived from social networking, perhaps for some more than others.   We are in it now and there will be no turning back the clock,  so why not make the best of it?

Do what makes sense for your business,  but be mindful of the time you spend on the upkeep of this stuff.   At the end of the day,  I still say that there is no substitute for face to face networking.  It can be augmented, but not replaced, by 2.0.

Thanks for reading,
Kim

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The ROI on 2.0 Part I

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By this time,  nearly every Freelancer has hopped onto the social networking 2.0 bus.   As a matter of fact, a large cohort of Americans has established an online presence in some fashion, possibly even your grandparents.  Your loyal Diarist can be found on LinkedIn.

Still,  among Freelancers and other business owners, nagging little doubts about the meaning of all this will sometimes surface in our conversations.  What does social networking really do for business?   Have you ever gotten so much as a referral,  let alone an actual piece of business, through social networking? Do you know anyone who has? What is the ROI on 2.0?

It appears that much depends upon the business you are in.   Are 12-25 year olds your target market? Are you an athlete or a rock musician looking to build and connect with a fan base? Are you an author of books aimed at the teen and young adult market,  trying to grow your book sales? Do you operate a retail business that sells clothing,  anime or video games to the teen and ‘tween crowd? Then MySpace is where you want to be,  because this is where your target market hangs out.

Visual and performing artists of all types,  plus restaurants and nightclubs,  most often gravitate to Facebook. This site is also popular for personal networking,  providing a nice way to stay connected to family and friends.   Facebook is about the visual.  Here you can post photos of your latest group of paintings or sculptures;  display the bar scene on Tuesday nights at your establishment;  or show off pix of your new haircut,  the baby,  or your new puppy.  Maybe you sent out Thanksgiving greetings to those you have “friended” and will do the same at Christmas and the New Year.

To create in the moment on the ground buzz,  go to Twitter. You can put the word out about performances at your nightclub,   special events at your store,  book signings,  the waves in Perth, Australia or skateboarding at the Xtreme Games.   Wine shops can announce tastings and let customers know that Beaujolais Nouveau c’est arrive.

I even read about a woman in Belfast, Ireland who tweets these great recipes.  In 140 characters,  she will hook you up with good ideas for dinner! Twitter is best used to augment the connections you’ve made on MySpace and Facebook with microblogging. Here’s how to keep your young, short attention span crowd in the loop about interesting happenings at your business that will keep your business at top of mind.

More 2.0 next week,
Kim