Archive for the ‘Business performance’ Category

Improve Your Business

by mmaclay Posted: Monday, 7/12/2010

compassWant a great business? Then do great things. As a leader, business owner, decision maker, you set the tone for the rest of your team, no matter what the size or location. Often, there are so many things to do in a day, we bypass some of the most important concepts that can make our businesses GREAT. The following Business Improvement Concepts, as basic as they may seem, are often overlooked. Apply or revisit these GREAT concepts for your business and see what happens!
1. Have a GREAT Vision:
Great leaders have great visions. Bill Gates envisioned  “a computer on every desk”.  How do you ultimately see your business? What are you doing? Who is around you? What are your sales?
2. Develop a GREAT Business Plan:multi-arrow-target1-300x240
You can’t hit a target you can’t see. Know where your are going and how you are going to get there. What are your goals for the year, the quarter, the month, the week, the day…even the next hour? Review it often and adjust strategies and goals as opportunities and hurdles present themselves. 1 minute of planning can save 10 minutes in execution!!
3. Implement a GREAT Marketing Approach:
To have a great business, you need great sales; to insure great sales, you need a great marketing plan. Who are you marketing to? How are you marketing to them? Remember to focus on what you product does-the benefits-instead of what it is-the features.
4. Attract and Keep GREAT Customers:
Once you get the word out and attract great customers, be sure to ask what they want to keep them coming back. HappyCustomersResisit the temptation to assume you know what they want or even who they are. Know who your best customers are and keep them happy-HAPPY CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR BEST REFERRAL!!
5. Deliver GREAT Products or Services:
If you had to start over, which product or service would you focus on? Which would you eliminate? Know what is successful and what isn’t by getting feedback and tracking your sales. Continuously ask “What can be done to improve?”

6. Track GREAT Numbers:numbers
Identify key numbers and track them. A key number or numbers will tell you instantly how your business is performing. What matters most…Number of customers? Number of sales? Profit per sale? Customer aquisition cost? Renewal period? There are always one or two numbers that predict the success of a business more than any others. Know what they are and focus on improving them.
7. Get GREAT Results:
Planning is important but if it doesn’t yield results it is not a great plan. FOCUS on results; and if they aren’t great, revisit your vision, adjust your plan, review your marketing approach, evaluate  and talk with your customers, assess your products or services, check your numbers AND get back to getting GREAT results!

img_vision&mission

Posted in Basics, Business Improvement, Business performance, Sales | No Comments »

5 Business Success Basics from Olympic Athletes

by mmaclay Posted: Monday, 3/8/2010

Success_FailureCould not have said it better…enjoy!
Five Management Lessons from Olympic Athletes
Monday, March 1, 2010 12:00 AM, Harvey Schachter (Globe and Mail)
The athletes have finished their competition in Vancouver but the memories – and lessons – remain. ‘Whether you’re a sports fan or not, there are valuable lessons to be learned when you view the efforts and results of these amazing athletes from the perspective of leadership and peak performance,’ consultant Kevin Eikenberry says in his e-zine. He offers five – fittingly, one for each Olympic ring – to take to work this week:
They Keep Score
Olympic athletes know how they are doing all the time. They know their results, but they also know their progress and improvement. If you want to improve your performance, Mr. Eikenberry says, you’ve got to keep score of your own efforts and results.

They Have Clear Goals
Every athlete had a goal for the Olympics. To some, just qualifying to be there was the target, while, for others, a medal – or a specific medal, gold – was the obsession. Mr. Eikenberry stresses that the athletes were all clear about their goals, and says you must duplicate that precision in your own work life.

They Practice
Actually, they practice, practice, practice – and practice some more. “They don’t expect world-class performance after only putting in occasional efforts in training. They know to be their best, they must practice in focused and strategic ways to reach their goals,” he notes. “Do you practice like a champion? Are you as diligent and consistent in learning the skills that will help you succeed as they are?”

They Play To The End
They know where the finish line is, and they don’t stop until they hit it. They pick themselves up after falling and continue, or even ignore injuries in their zeal to make it to the finish line. Their chance to achieve their goal may be lost but they don’t stop. And you will rarely hear them blaming others for results, unlike many folks in the workplace who constantly berate scapegoats. “Olympic athletes play to the end, remaining singularly focused on their endeavour. Do you?” Mr. Eikenberry asks.

Margaret MaclayThey Have Coaches
It’s unheard of for these world-class athletes not to have a coach. Even though they are among the best in the world, they recognize that they need help to keep improving their performance. It’s the same for achieving success in the office. The best thing you can do to improve your own or your staff’s performance is to find a coach.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. Need some help applying these to your business and life? Join me, local business owners and professionals on March 15th in Edgewater, NJ for “Flight Plan 2010″ Workshop and make a commitment RIGHT NOW to take the action necessary and implement these 5 lessons and more. Register on the Flight Plan link.

Posted in Business performance, Coaching, Goal Setting, Success, Teleseminar | No Comments »

Perform at your best…no matter what!

by mmaclay Posted: Monday, 3/1/2010

Margaret MaclayBack in August I was all excited about writing a blog. I jumped right in and entered my first post!!!

Then I got distracted, things got “busy”, procrastination set in and suddenly hesitant about whether anyone would actually read or care about what I had to say, the posts ceased as rapidly as they had begun.

When posting my March workshops I realized that more than 195 days had passed since my first/last/only blog entry. My, how time flies! But isn’t this indicative of what happens to us in business and life every day? They say “time flies when you’re having fun”…but it flies whether or not you’re having fun. Months just seem to glide by.

I was reading something a more diligent author posted-don’t recall the source, so sorry to whomever I quoted in the title of this post-and was struck by the words “Perform at your best…no matter what”.  No matter what? Despite intentions to do our best, we all have overly full schedules, reasons for why things didn’t get done… much better than blaming the dog for eating it and distractions, good, bad or otherwise.

Most recently, The Olympics were the distraction. The snow was a distraction. The Yahoo blog post about winners and losers at the Olympics was a distraction. After all, despite 17 days of viewing, on 3 channels, with recaps at least twice an hour, something important could have been missed!! It was…the lesson we can be reminded of by some of these amazing athlete’s who truly do perform at their best no matter what. Time to take action!

Part of performing at your best no matter what as a business owner, is to take action every day. Take action that might not always be fun, but is important to moving your business forward. This is what distinguishes the winners.

Indeed time is flying. Today is March 1st. The first quarter of 2010 is almost over. Yikes! What a great time to make a commitment to “perform at your best no matter what”  and achieve everything you planned for 2010.  Even if it’s not always that fun. The results are bound to be fun and satisfying.

 So, my initial blogpost stated that I was going to share the 18 Disciplines of Selling put forth by our top FocalPoint Coach, Dan Creed, 2 time recipient of the Brian Tracy Award for Sales Excellence. The first 5 can be found in my post “Success Is Not An Accident!”. Here are the next 5,  which are sure to impact your business success if you give them your best shot no matter what:

6. Set written, clear, concise, smart GOALS. Commit 2 minutes a day to think about and write them down.

7. Have a daily, prioritized PLAN. Must have this little discipline. If you prepare it at night, your superconscious mind will go to work on it. Be focused and insure that what you are doing “right now” is the one thing that will move your business forward.

8. Have a clear idea of who your TARGET CUSTOMER is. Work hard to narrow it down so your prospecting time is effective. Be aware of opportunities right in front of you.

9. Selling is about RELATIONSHIPS and effective communication. Identify who you are speaking with and what their needs are. People buy from those who understand them, not those they understand. Leverage tools out there, like D.I.S.C., to sharpen your listening and communication skills.

10. Clearly understand your USP (unique selling proposition). What sets you and your business apart from others? Know and be able to articulate it. The time spent figuring this out is worth every minute (or hour!!)

The next 5 will be coming soon. No waiting another 195+ days.

What’s getting in the way of you performing at your best, no matter what?

Posted in Business performance, Goal Achievement, Procrastination, Productivity, Sales | 1 Comment »

Are You on Course to Achieve Your 2010 Goals?

by mmaclay Posted: Friday, 2/19/2010

Make a decision RIGHT NOW to review your goals, make course corrections and take REAL action to insure you achieve all that is possible for you and your business.

Flight Plan 2010 Workshop:
Stay On Course
… Achieve YOUR Goals!

airplane

Certified International Business Performance Coaches, Margaret Maclay and Jerry Cohen will lead you to create an ACTION PLAN to assure you are on course…

During this interactive workshop you will:

-Choose your Destination

-Review your Flight Options

-Write Your Flight Plan

-Prepare for your Journey

-Take off at Full Throttle

-Plan for Turbulence

-Make Continual Course Corrections

-Persist until you SUCCEED!!

Learn the real keys to accomplishing any long term, meaningful success!

$39.95 in advance

$50.00 at the door

Click below to REGISTER and complete payment

NEW YORK WORKSHOP 5:45pm – 7:30pm

Tuesday March 9th, 2010

New York Life Bldg

420 Lexington Ave Graybar Building 15th Floor

NY, NY 10170

Click HERE for Directions

NEW JERSEY WORKSHOP 5:45pm – 7:30pm

Monday March 15th, 2010

Homewood Suites Hilton

10 The Promenade

Edgewater, NJ 07020

Get Directions HERE

You must bring a photo ID with you to the event.

All Materials included; beverages and light snacks will be served

Space is limited

Can’t wait to see you at the workshop!

To your success!

Margaret and Jerry

Jerry and Margaret have over 50 years of experience building, managing, transforming, leading and growing businesses and teams. They utilize the FocalPoint approach, designed by Brian Tracy, which are straight forward, common sense strategies and tactics which have been proven to dramatically increase profitability, effectiveness and overall organizational performance for all types of businesses and professional practices.

www.focalpointcoaching.com

Posted in Business performance, Sales, Success | No Comments »