Eden Sunshine's BLOG

WOW! I'm sitting in a chair in the sky...

This is really funny and makes a great point. Perhaps our expectations have become so unreasonable or we lack a sense of awe at all we have available to us... aqnd yet we want more!!!

Check it out!

What Really Matters?

I am convinced that you get peoples attention by appealing to what they want. You keep them by giving them what they need.

This is the wow factor.

You walk into a store looking to buy a shirt. That's what you want. You get the shirt delivered by someone who provides over the top customer service and ATTENTION. That's what you need. You're now a customer, hopefully for life.

I call my financial planner looking to increase my life insurance. That's what I want. Instead he shows me a way to increase my wealth to protect my family. That's what I need.

I am at Disneyland this weekend celebrating my 11 year old sons birthday. Walt Disney recognized that people didn't just want rides. Heck there are dozens of amusement parks that have rides. He recognized that people NEED to be entertained. The NEED to escape. They NEED to get engulfed in an experience that is not distracted by poor service or a lack of attention to detail.

Great leaders have an uncanny way of knowing what people need and it gets delivered through fulfillment. Consider what your customers REALLY NEED and determine if your business delivers on that.

You're Freakin Out!

"I'm freakin out!" is a sentiment I am hearing more and more from business owners, entrepreneurs and employees. Ok, that might be a little extreme. The fact is that during uncertain times, people generally feel more stress.

 

Without even being aware of it we tend to take our frustrations out on other. Often without even being conscious of it.

 

A client shared with me this morning that he is even feeling a little more impatient these days. At the same time, however, he is aware of it.

 

He also suggested that, “Although things are changing in his business due to economic conditions. Since he has implemented the Level 7 System in his business, he is confident he is doing the right things.”

 

Forgive me for my shameless plug.

 

As leaders and entrepreneurs, we must be aware of situations around us that lead to a recognition of potential opportunities. Leaders and entrepreneurs must be sensitive. Not cry on my shoulder sensitive, more like empathic sensitive. We must able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and UNDERSTAND what they need.

 

Through that understanding evolves an opportunity to provide a product or service that solves that need.

 

Through that understanding evolves an opportunity to step into a role where you can provide more effective leadership.

 

Now is a time for leaders to demonstrate that they understand how the people around them might be feeling about current economic and business conditions.

 

It begins by simply acknowledging people fears.

 

You might say, “I understand you might have some concerns or be stressed out about the uncertainly of our current economic and business climate. I am also concerned”.

 

The next step in this leadership conversation might be to say, “What can we do together to create an environment where we don’t have to worry about it? What can we do to create our own destiny and not be affected so much by outside circumstances?”

 

Now that’s leadership in action.

Simple Business According to One of the Richest Men in the World

"The business schools reward difficult, complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective."

                Warren Buffett

 

There are seven simple behaviors that work and will transform the results you get in your business and your life if you apply them.

 

Be very clear on goals and expectations in every area of the business.

Be objective when you evaluate performance.

Be intentional when it comes to developing your company culture.

Develop great systems that produce optimal results.

Establish appropriate intervals to innovate your systems and business.

Make sure you have great communication throughout your business.

Create an environment where you and your people can trust, are accountable and can count on each other.

 

Take a moment and think about these for a moment. If you consider every piece of "business advice" you have every heard or seen, they all fall under one or more of these catagories.

 

Example. I see tons of folks out there promoting "how to get more business or touting cleaver or innovative marketing techniques".

 

What are they really saying? See the list above. They are really pointing to developing and innovating better systems.

 

Another Example. You are having a difficult time dealing with some of the people in your business. How do you solve a complex problem like this one?

 

It's actually rather simple. Take the list of Level 7 Core Principles above and ask yourself the question, "Which of these areas haven't we applied effectively?"

 

It's possible you haven't established clear expections. Or you haven't developed a good company culture. Perhaps you need to work on your accountability standards.

 

Business growth and problem resolution is quiet simple when you process them through The Level 7 Core Principles.

Know What Your Customer Really Needs?

In meeting with a group of small business owners, they weren’t personally small, they were actually quite knowledgeable and motivated, we agreed that times have changed. Ok, so that doesn’t sound so intelligent and knowledgeable. You’d have to be a hermit to not be aware that there is a different climate in our economy today compared to a year ago.

 

Frankly, I don’t like talking about the economy. Not that I am ignoring the impact it is having on business. I just don’t want to be party to adding to the general sense of negativity and fear behind it all.

 

By the way, on a side note, a friend of mine who works for a local talk radio station shared with me that the station got a letter from the ‘big boss’ regarding the tone of the news being reported. Apparently the owner owns multiple stations across the country and sent the same letter to all his stations. It basically stated, we need take the lead and start reporting some good news. Listenership is down because people have gotten sick of the bad news. Good for him.

 

Personally, I was getting ready to call for a boycott on all media and news. That’s my inexpensive solution in place of a trillion dollar stimulus package. If we can get people to stop focusing on the negative so much I believe that in itself will help to stimulate the economy. Alright, off my soap box.

 

Back to the meeting with the business owners, we quickly came to a very important conclusion regarding factors that were directly effecting business revenue. Now we know that there are many systems that impact revenue. Specifically your advertising or lead generation systems, your sales or conversion systems, you fulfillment systems (delivery of your product and service, let’s face it, if we can’t deliver, we can’t get paid). We resolved however, that the most important system to focus on is the System of Evaluating Customer Perceptions and Needs.

 

You see they have changed over the last six months or so. People are thinking differently about making purchases, doing business, buying and transacting. Those that have jobs that are not threatened have stopped spending too. People are in a holding pattern and yet, most businesses have not changed their messages, sales approach and even their product offering, because they haven’t truly considered how the mind of their prospects have changed.

 

Begin today by evaluating and demonstrating, what I would call, Empathy Marketing, by putting yourself in the shoes of your prospects and ask yourself the question, “How do they feel and what would motivated me to buy today if I were them?”

 

See how that begins to change your lead generation, conversion and fulfillment systems.

Loosen Those Spending Purse Strings

Want to generate more revenue? Duh, who doesn’t. In order to do so we need to be more strategic about our marketing (knowing your customer) and advertising (getting the message out) during down turns in the economy.

 

Here are some interesting statistics for those you who like evidence.

 

A McGraw-Hill Research study of over 600 Businesses found that during the recession of 1981-1982, businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during this time averaged higher sales growth during the recession and in the following 3 years! By 1985, those same companies experienced sales increases of 256% over those that had cut back on advertising.

 

Likewise in 2001, another study found that aggressive recession advertisers increased market share 2 ½ times the average for all businesses in the post-recession. In 2002, the Strategic Planning Institute illustrated that during economic expansion although 80% of businesses increased their advertising spend there was NO improvement in market share.  Why? Because everyone has increase ad spending!

 

BUT, spending money for the sake of spending money is foolish not only now, but anytime in business. Applying The Level 7 Principle, carefully define the result or outcome you want from every advertising effort and track the results like a mad man (or woman). Make sure your dollars spent are paying off in either increasing your leads and building your brand in a positive and measurable way.

The Power of Life and Death...

It has been said that, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue…” Suggesting that our words have great power. What we say and how we say it will influence our circumstances around us.

 

What are you saying about your business these days, are you speaking life? What are you saying about your people, are you encouraging them and building them up?

 

Begin today by being aware of the words you speak. “Better to say nothing,” my mother would remind me, “than speak ill will of others or a situation.”

 

Try reframing your statements which requires reframing your thinking.

 

Rather than saying “business is bad”. Say,  “We have some tremendous opportunities available to us now.”

Rather than saying “Joe is doing a lousy job”.  Say “Joe has some great talents, how can we help improve his performance?”

 

Finally, as I suggested, what comes out of our mouths is dictated by our thinking. So we must be very aware of what we allow that goes into our heads that might impact our thoughts. A good rule of thumb as you hear negativity is to ask yourself the question, “Is what I am hearing truth or is it someone’s opinion.” There is more opinion out there then we all realize. And that is MY OPINION.