Ten Tips for Leaders

Ten Tips for Leaders

Whether you are a seasoned direct sales leader in your company with a large downline or are just starting out as a consultant, it helps to adopt the qualities of an effective leader. For existing leaders, possessing these characteristics can help you maintain a profitable business. For direct sales novices, strengthening your leadership skills will improve your customer service as well as prepare you for any future aspirations you have for a leadership position within your company. Here are our top ten tips for being a good leader.

Put people first. It isn’t always about the money. Putting people first is not only the right thing to do, but in the long run, it will contribute to your developing a good reputation as a reliable, trustworthy business person. For example, a consultant doing a home party booked several future parties with the incentive for those potential hostesses to have their own parties within the next three months. In doing so, the present hostess was able to receive a bonus in her rewards. When one of the potential hostesses had to back out due to a conflict, the consultant had to choose between rescinding the bonus for the original hostess or work to re-book the lost party. She decided it would be better for her business in the long run if she thought about her customers first; she kept her word, rewarded the bonus, and gained a loyal customer.
Work cooperatively with others. In any sales career, you will likely interact with all different kinds of people. It is important to find common ground and cooperate to maximize your productivity. This goes for customers and colleagues alike, and it sets a good example for those in your downline.
Maintain high positive energy. It’s normal to feel stressed or burned out once in awhile, but maintaining a high level of energy and positivity will work wonders for your own morale. Remind yourself why you started your business, what you love about it, and why you want to continue. Be your own best cheerleader; it will go far in helping to motivate others looking to you for guidance.
Set clear goals. Any goals dealing with your business should be clear, specific, and challenging but realistic. Setting a goal “to make enough money to quit my full time job” is well-intended, but it could set you up to fail. It makes no mention of just how much money that would require or the timeframe involved to complete it. Decide exactly what you want and how you will go about achieving your goal to set yourself up for success.
If you can’t measure it, don’t do it. Trying to accomplish a goal with no concrete way of measuring its completion will only bring you a lot of frustration. Part of what keeps us motivated is the knowledge that we are heading in the direction of accomplishment, but if you don’t know exactly what that looks like, then how will you know when you get there?
Share your power with your people. Have you ever seen a movie you enjoyed so much that you can’t wait for your friends to see it too? That feeling of wanting others to share in your enthusiasm should play a big role in your business. You’ve mastered a certain set of skills that are bringing you great success; share how you do it with others. People under your leadership want to learn.
Lead with action more than words. If you tell people one thing, but do another, you will lose your credibility. Words mean nothing when accompanied by actions that don’t match. Do what you say to earn and keep others’ trust in you.
Use common sense. This is especially important when faced with a difficult decision. In the example of the consultant mentioned above, she was well within her rights to rescind her original hostess’s bonus. However, common sense told her that this would be unfair to the hostess who would likely express her frustration to her friends who were at the party. By following common sense, she avoided a tense situation and gained a loyal customer.
Keep it simple, and don’t sweat the small stuff. When things get complicated, break them down into simple terms. There will always be obstacles, but be sure to pick your battles and don’t get bogged down with trivial things.
It’s business, but make it fun! The wonderful thing about a career in direct sales is the flexibility it brings in allowing you to make the business your own. Add your own personal flair to your sales pitch, your professional development workshops, and your opportunity presentations. Find what makes you happy and integrate the fun stuff into your business. Your enjoyment will rub off on those around you.

Taking on a leadership role may or may not come naturally to you, but adopting certain qualities will definitely improve your effectiveness. What do you think of our list? Would you add anything else? Please share your ideas below!

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How to Determine Your Success

How to Determine Your Success

When you think about your goals in your professional life, does the word “success” come to mind? If so, what exactly does it mean to you? Success can be defined in countless ways, so it is important for you to determine just how you measure your own success. In doing so, you are creating a true motivational tool for yourself, a super-objective for your business, and the foundation of a plan to achieve that goal. Today’s post will focus on two ways for you to determine your own success; those are perseverance and passion.

Perseverance – Your commitment to staying the course no matter how difficult things become or what obstacles pop up along the way is a good indicator of perseverance. To really assess your level of perseverance, ask yourself this question and answer honestly: at what point will you give up? For many, the answer to that is “never,” others may have a definite breaking point, and still others fall somewhere in between. It is up to you to decide where you fall on that spectrum, what your goal is, and what you are willing to do to reach it. For example, a recently retired small business owner tells his story of how he decided to leave a very secure job as plant manager of a very large photo processing lab to open his own small lab and retail store. He sat down with his wife every night for weeks after the kids were in bed formulating a business plan and crunching the numbers. It became clear that if the business didn’t take off, they would lose their house and have to move to an apartment. Keeping this possibility in mind always helped him make smart decisions and persevere. Not only did he not lose his house, but he was able to buy a much bigger one in which to raise his family, send them all to college without loans, and kept a successful business for nearly thirty years. Without perseverance, none of that would have been possible.

Passion – Without passion and a love for what you are doing, there is no way you will be able to persevere and find long term success. Your passion will be what constantly drives you to make your business the best it can be. Ask yourself how strong your belief is in what you desire. Dig deep to find the answer to this very important question. The retiree from the example above recounts how passion played a large role in his successful small business career. He knew that he was the best in his field and had areas of expertise that could edge out competition. Seeing flaws in how others did things and knowing he could do them better always motivated him to seek improvement and resist shortcuts. His passion for his field of work and his desire to be the best were major contributors to his success.

Taking an honest assessment of your level of perseverance and passion is a critical step in determining your personal definition of success. These two elements go hand in hand, so don’t underestimate their importance.

What roles do perseverance and passion play in your professional life? Do you consider them crucial to success? Please share your ideas in the comments below!

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Find Your Purpose

Find Your Purpose

What is the main purpose of your business? Your answer should not be “to make money.” Of course, turning a profit and supporting yourself should rank pretty high up there, but it shouldn’t be the most important one. Small business expert Susan Solovic writes in her blog for Constant Contact that we should consider the purpose of companies like Apple and Zappos. They have an almost cult-like following because of what they are trying to accomplish with their products other than selling as many as possible. If you are having trouble finding your deeper purpose, take a look at our list of suggestions on where to begin.

Listen to your inner voice and hold off on asking others what they think. Before you start seeking opinions on what your purpose should be, tune into your inner voice for inspiration. You will no doubt be influenced at least partially by what others think, so define your purpose for yourself before asking around. Brainstorm some ideas, read up on the origins of other successful companies, and listen carefully to that inner voice we all have that helps us make decisions and think clearly. Once you have a definitive idea, then it’s time to gather opinions from others.

Follow what is exciting, not what is easy. In business, just as in life, the easy choice may not always be the best one. If you’ve ever read about the history of Apple Inc., you would see that Steve Jobs, on more than one occasion, did just that. He and his team continually spent a great deal of time and resources creating products that excited him. Many times, his investors didn’t believe in the idea or didn’t think it was worthy of pursuing. Keep in mind that because of Jobs’ tenacity and commitment to follow his passion for the exciting, Apple created more instant millionaires when it went public than any other company in history, and helped make Apple the brand it is today.

Tap into your instincts and emotions rather than logic. You obviously don’t want to ignore logic completely, but when finding the purpose for your business, your instincts should take over. Instincts and emotions are powerful enough to guide us to do great things. When faced with a difficult question or decision, listen carefully to your initial gut reaction. This does not mean to act impulsively, but rather to let that gut feeling lead the way on your journey. Keep listening to it as you conduct research, bounce ideas off others, and take any other logical steps toward making the final call. For many hard-working and ambitious people, this is not always the easiest thing to do, but it certainly is important if you want to find your true purpose that drives you toward success.

When finding your purpose, you don’t have to set out to change the world. You only have to do what makes you passionate, what motivates you, and what excites you. This is one time in business where your emotions should dominate.

What have you done to find your purpose? Would you add to our list? Please share your ideas in the comments section below!

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Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

Practical Rules to Build a Successful Business

There are countless resources out there with information to help you build, operate, maintain, and grow a successful business. The wealth of material available on such topics can be daunting to sift through, so we’ve compiled a basic list of practical rules that every entrepreneur should follow. These rules apply to small businesses in any industry, so consider each one carefully as you begin your journey as an entrepreneur.

Expect positive results, but prepare to overcome failure. Expecting positive outcomes has everything to do with putting yourself in an optimistic frame of mind. If you are too consumed with fear of failure then you are inadvertently setting yourself up to do just that. Make sure the tone of your self-talk is positive, find effective motivators, and remind yourself frequently that you are more than capable of achieving your dreams. At the same time, recognize that a positive mindset alone is not enough to succeed. Prepare yourself for setbacks both financially and emotionally. Obstacles are bound to appear, but with adequate preparation and a confident outlook, you can overcome them and move on, all the better for it.
Strengthen your skills. Never stop learning. Invest the time, and money if possible, to sharpen even your strongest skills, and improve your weakest ones. There will always be someone or something you can learn from. Don’t get too caught up in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities and neglect to improve your own skill set. Professional development and continuing your education can increase the longevity of your success.
Plan for the long run. This means everything from putting money aside for a rainy day to staying on top of your responsibilities so as not to fall behind in case of something unexpected like an illness or family obligation. Also take into account the big picture. For example, while hunting for retail space, an aspiring business owner finds an affordable location with lots of foot traffic anchored by a large department store. The problem is that this anchor store will be closing its doors within the next year. Although this may not seem significant, it’s a very real possibility that the closing of the department store will cause the majority of shoppers to go elsewhere, having a negative effect on the foot traffic in the area. So even though it may be an ideal space right now, planning for the long run means taking into account that it might be a poor choice in the future.
Identify your competition and learn about them. There’s an old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Although your competition shouldn’t be your enemy, you should know as much as you can about what they offer their customers and how they conduct their business. Staying in the loop allows you to keep pace with industry trends and to stay on par with what your customers want and need from you. The same goes for identifying what it is about the competition that you don’t want to do. Perhaps your main competitor has a good reputation for offering frequent incentives and promotions, but also has a bad reputation for its poor customer service. Take the weakness of your competitor and make it your strength. Your customers will notice and spread the word.
Don’t waste money. The best way to avoid this common mistake is to create a conservative budget and stick to it. A good idea is to track each and every expense, and evaluate them all at the end of a given time period (pay cycle, month, quarter, etc.). By putting your budget and expenses in writing, you will easily be able to analyze the financial health of your business and adjust accordingly.
Seek opportunities. There will no doubt be opportunities available to you that will allow you to grow your business. However, they won’t exactly come with an engraved invitation; you must be proactive and seek them out. If you want to increase your following within the community, find local events in which to participate and promote your business like school fundraisers, sidewalk sales, and holiday festivities. Define your goals and priorities, and develop an action plan to find your opportunities.
Minimize risks. There is a certain amount of risk-taking necessary in running a successful small business, but you can minimize these risks by doing your research and making the necessary preparations. The owner of a clothing boutique has been operating successfully for over ten years, so she decides to expand her business by opening up another retail location. Of course this is a big risk, but she knows how to minimize it by taking all the same precautions she did when she opened up her first location a decade ago: research locations, look at a variety of spaces, analyze potential customer base, have a financial fallback plan, etc. Whatever the risk you decide to take, be smart about your preparation in order to minimize the possibility of a negative outcome.

Talk to any successful small business owner, and he or she will tell you how these rules have applied to his or her situation. Have you followed these rules? How have they helped you? Is there anything else you would add to our list? Please share your comments below!

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How to Stay Clear-Minded In the Midst of Chaos

How to Stay Clear-Minded In the Midst of Chaos

Have you ever felt like you were trying to accomplish so much that your constant multitasking turned into chaos? This is a common problem for people with a lot to do. The best way to combat this overwhelming feeling is to clear your mind so that you are able to focus on achieving your objectives. The following list will help you break through the chaos and bring order to your professional life.

Stop whatever you’re doing, and take a deep breath until you regain composure. This very important action is the first step to relieving that feeling of chaos and is vital to your productivity. Deep breathing affects the nervous system, which in turn relieves feelings of stress and anxiety. (Source) Just five to ten seconds of deep breathing, especially while visualizing the source of the stress leaving your body, will allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. In addition to deep breathing, you could even incorporate a soothing phrase or mantra that will signal your mind to calm down and regroup. Your physical body must first be relaxed in order to be productive.
Focus on the goal and don’t become overly detailed. Once you have taken some deep breaths, it’s time to remind yourself what the goal is. What is your overall objective? By keeping the goal in mind, you will be better able to sort through all the details without getting buried in or sidetracked by minute tasks. For example, say your goal is to touch base with a list of clients by making follow-up phone calls. While pulling up your contact list, you notice that you haven’t synced your list on your computer with the one on your smartphone in a while, so you take a detour to complete that task. While that is happening, you also notice that you have some contacts on that list you no longer need, so you begin to update and organize your digital rolodex. All of these other tasks, though they may need completing at some point, are not helping accomplish your overall goal, which is to follow up with your clients via telephone. Keep the goal at the forefront of your mind, and only complete tasks that directly contribute to the completion of that goal.
Take a break and be social. Socializing is a great relaxer and puts you in a positive mindset. It is okay to take a break when you’ve been focused for a long period of time and feel you need to step away for a bit to refresh your body and mind. Text a friend about a lunch date, check in with your spouse about how his or her day is going, or even browse your social networks for five minutes. By taking your mind off the task for a short period of time, you actually can increase your productivity by preventing burnout and excessive stress. Be responsible with your downtime, but don’t be afraid to use it.

Clearing your mind is of utmost importance in the long-term journey of accomplishing your business goals. Remember to take deep breaths, don’t sweat the details, and allow yourself some social interaction. This mix of caring for both your physical and mental needs is crucial to your ability to deal with any level of chaos.

What do you think of our list? Have you tried any of these things? Please share your comments below!

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5 Ways to Be More Successful in Sales

5 Ways to Be More Successful in Sales

How do you achieve success in your business? Most likely, you strive to set goals for yourself, stay organized, delegate appropriately, participate in professional development, and prepare adequately for a day’s work. Doing all these things is an excellent start on your road to success, but we’ve come up with a list of actions you can take that will help your business thrive. How many of them have you mastered?

Be assertive without making prospects uncomfortable. There is a fine line between assertive and pushy. Prospects have confidence in those who are assertive because it’s easy to tell that they are knowledgeable and believe in their product. Those who are pushy, on the other hand, tend not to listen to the prospect, fail to ask appropriate questions, and sometimes make him or her feel pressured to take action right then and there. Potential customers often shut down in response to a pushy salesperson because they don’t want to be rushed into a decision that may not be right for them. Always be sure you are listening to your prospect and responding to his or her social cues (eye contact, body language, etc.).
Don’t rely on your prospect to make the next move. In your effort to avoid being that pushy salesperson, don’t go too far in the other direction by leaving the ball in the prospect’s court. You must still be the one to take action in order to close the deal. That action may be to come right out and ask for the sale when appropriate, or possibly to follow up at a later date by sending an email or making a phone call. Even if the prospect leaves the meeting saying, “I’ll be in touch,” it is important that you follow up after an appropriate amount of time has passed. Reach out to him or her and find out if there are any questions that still need to be answered or where he or she is in the decision-making process. A follow-up is an effective way to seal the deal.
Be positive by limiting negative thoughts. Negative thoughts and self-talk have a way of taking over your brain. When this happens, you begin to doubt yourself and lose motivation. Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations, pep talks, and reminders of all you have accomplished. Don’t just be your own worst critic; be your own best cheerleader as well. By reminding yourself regularly that you are intelligent and capable, you are driving yourself toward the success you so greatly want and deserve.
Think from a customer’s perspective. Avoid getting wrapped up in how a customer’s action or response affects you. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes; doing so allows you to better understand where you may be falling short in some aspect of your business. For example, you’ve recently replaced one of your products for a higher quality, but pricier version. At the same time, you notice that some of your most loyal customers haven’t been around lately. After reaching out to them, you find out that they are disappointed that their favorite product is no longer available. You may have been so excited about the new product that you failed to see how a customer would be hesitant to try something new, especially if it costs more and they loved the old version. Taking a walk in your customers’ shoes is essential to the success of your business.
Become a problem solver. Instead of being someone who sells a product or service to make a profit, be the person who provides solutions to customers’ problems. When the owner of an in-home daycare seeks out new customers, she emphasizes that her business provides the professional quality of child care in the comfort of her home. This solves a problem many parents have: where can I send my children while I’m at work that will be educational and nurturing at the same time? Her clients know that their children are getting the individualized attention and stimulation they need during the day so they can be the happy and well-developed children their parents want them to be. Figure out what problem you can solve for your customers and make it your number one priority to do so.

You can learn how it feels to be successful by putting your customers first. Listen to their needs while being assertive, think from their points of view, and solve problems. Your genuine interest in helping people will certainly shine through, and your business will succeed. What do you think of our list? Please share your comments below!

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Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

Here’s What to Do if You Don’t Have a Business Plan

Whether you are just starting a small business or you are looking to reinvent your existing one, creating a business plan is the first step toward setting goals and generating your action plan. Creating a business plan can be overwhelming, but the good news is that you don’t actually need one to really get going. If you don’t know where to begin but want to take action, start with the following three tasks. These will help you define your ideas and make your business dreams a reality.

Have a vision and goal in mind. What do you ideally want your business to be? What will the experience be like for you? How about the customer? Answering such questions helps form a vision for your business, which in turn will allow you to set specific goals to fit that vision. Even if you can’t work out the specifics right now, having a vision and goal in mind will give you a focus point and motivation to continue. It will also help to be able to describe this vision for others you want involved in your business. So take some quiet time and figure out what you want this business to be so you can work toward making it a reality.
Focus on people by networking and building a good team. Don’t forget that above all else, a successful business is built by hard-working, intelligent, and creative people. Start to surround yourself with good people through networking. When interacting with others, don’t hesitate to ask questions about their own experiences launching a business. You will not only gather ideas for yourself, but you will begin to build professional relationships that will prove essential to your success. Work toward gathering a team of people who share your goals and ambitions. Collaborating with others is a highly effective way to achieve your objectives.
Build momentum, but don’t focus on perfection. Don’t get caught up in making sure everything is done perfectly, at least not right away. Initiating momentum in achieving your goals is more important at this stage of the game. This is the time to form good work habits like setting a consistent schedule for yourself, creating daily agendas and following them consistently, and reaching out to others for ideas and assistance. The best way to learn how to do something is to actually do it, so jump right in and get to work. Have the confidence that you’ll figure out the details along the way.

The specifics of a business plan such as tasks, deadlines, and finances are certainly an important first step for any startup. However, by creating a vision, focusing on people, and building momentum, you can be well on your way to launching your business before you delve into the details of an official business plan. Do you have other ideas to add to our list? Please share them in the comments section below!

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Using Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business

Using Facebook Ads to Build Holiday Business

Facebook Ads can be a powerful tool in helping you build business during the holidays. For a rather small investment, you can specifically target people you want to reach with your message. Whether your message be related to sales or recruiting, Facebook Ads can help you reach the right people and build your business.

The easiest way to get started with Facebook Ads is to use Facebook’s built-in Ads Manager. To get there, click the wheel icon in the upper-right corner of any page on Facebook, and click Create Ads.

Next, you’ll choose an objective for your ad. If your goal is to increase the Likes on your Facebook Page so that you can build your community and engage them through a series of posts filled with content as well as promotions, choose “Page Likes.” You might choose “Clicks to Website” if you want to point your ad towards a sales or recruiting page on your site, or a custom landing page designed to capture visitor information. If you are going to be hosting a special event for the holidays (an open house, a table at a bazaar, etc.) you might want to choose Event Responses, and set up an Event on Facebook with the details of the event. If you’ve set up a special Offer on Facebook, such as a special discount on a product, you might choose Offer Claims. Choose the type of result you want for your ads, and select the objective from the list.

Once you’ve made your choice, select the options that make sense for you. In this case, we’ve chosen Clicks to Website. Note that we are adding additional tracking by using bit.ly (a link tracking service) that will enable us to count the number of clicks that our link gets. (For advanced users, you can use Google’s URL builder in conjunction with Google Analytics to track the source and medium of your links, and tie it to specific campaigns that you can track within Google Analytics. Shorten the tracking URL that the URL builder creates with bit.ly, and use that URL here.)

Next you’ll choose images for your ads. You can select up to 6 images, and Facebook will create up to 6 versions of your ad with each of the images.

Now it’s time to write your ad. Connect your Facebook Page to your Ad, and then write your ad copy. (Depending on the type of ad you choose, you may have slightly different options here.) You can choose to place your ad in the News Feed, the Right Column, or both. By default both are selected. If, for example, you want to remove the Right Column, simply select “Remove.” For tips on creating your Facebook Ads, read this post. (Facebook has recently changed its ads interface, but this post still has some useful information.)

Your next step is to make choices about who you want to target with your ads. You can choose geographic location, gender, age, interests and more. If your advertising budget is limited ($5 or $10 per day) try to keep your advertising target market small. You may also wish to target people whose friends are connected to your Page, as they may be more likely to engage with your ad because their friends already like you.

Targeting is the most important part of the ad process. Especially if your budget is small, be very specific about the type of people you want to reach. You may wish to limit your geographic area to where you actually live and can service customers, and be very specific about the interests, education level, etc. of the people you want to reach. If you’ve never done an ideal customer profile, now is the time to start. What does your most profitable target look like? What are their interests? What is their lifestyle? The more specific you can be, the more likely it is that you will reach them through your ad campaign. Experiment with this to see which target markets give you the best results.

Your final 2 steps involve creating a campaign and deciding how you will pay for your ads. Now mind you, you must have a billing source associated with your Facebook profile (personal account) in order to advertise.

First you’ll create a Campaign with a daily dollar limit associated with it. For example, you might create a campaign called “Holiday Sales” and add a daily spend limit of $10 per day for that campaign. All the ads you create will be lumped together under this campaign. You can create as many ads as you want for the campaign, but you will never spend more than $10 daily for this campaign. Once you reach that spend limit, Facebook will no longer display any of your ads that day.

Next you’ll decide how much you want to pay for your ads. If you Optimize for clicks, you’ll only get charged for the number of people that click on your ad. This is our favorite method. If you Optimize for impressions, you get charged for the number of times Facebook displays your ad, regardless of whether or not someone interacts with your ad.

You may want to choose “Manually bid for clicks” and then enter a dollar amount you’re willing to pay up to for clicks. Keep in mind that this is a bid, not a set amount. You will never pay more per click than the amount you specify, but you may pay less. Facebook recommends a range for your pricing bid. If you want to ensure your ad is displayed, you may want to work on the high side of this bid.

After you have made these choices, review and place your order. Once Facebook approves your ads (can take up to 24 hours) they will begin to run within the Facebook platform. It is important to continually monitor the success of your ads, and write new ones as needed.

Facebook Ads can be an excellent way to build your holiday business by helping you connect with more people. Start with a small daily amount, and monitor the success of your ads daily. This can be an excellent way to grow your business.

Do you use Facebook Ads? How successful have they been for you? What advice would you give to someone trying them for the first time? Would love to read your experiences in the comments below!

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Five Ways to Keep Customers When Prices Go Up

Five Ways to Keep Customers When Prices Go Up

Throughout the course of your business, you will undoubtedly be faced with the prospect of increasing your prices while making sure you don’t lose your customers. As long as you are truthful and you maintain your high quality products and customer service, you can rest easy with the knowledge that your clients likely aren’t going anywhere. If you find yourself in the situation of having to increase prices, here are some tips.

Give an honest explanation for the increase and thank them for being loyal customers. It won’t take long for customers to notice a price increase, especially for items that they buy on a regular basis. The most important thing is for you to be honest. For example, a local business owner who designs and makes window treatments (curtains, draperies, etc.) gets most of her materials from out of state. Because of a recent increase in gas prices, her distributor is charging more for shipping. In order for her to maintain her profit margin and keep her business afloat, she must increase the price customers pay for both her supplies and services. Customers will understand and most likely relate to your reasons, so don’t keep them in the dark. Instead, thank them for understanding and show your appreciation for their loyalty. They won’t want to bring their business elsewhere if they know you sincerely care.
Offer another lower price item. There will be times when a customer is unable or unwilling to pay the higher price, so in this situation you may want to offer an alternative. The window treatment designer offered her customers a similar fabric that is less expensive for her to buy, so she is able to pass that savings on to her customers. Again, be honest about what you are offering and why it is a lower price, but be sure to emphasize that it is of the same quality that your customers have come to expect.
Add more value to your existing items. This is a great way to keep your customers happy despite the price hike. Add value to your items by offering an extra service or perhaps a discount on a future purchase. Listen to what your customers want, and be creative in finding ways to make them happy. In most cases, they won’t mind spending a few extra dollars if they know they are getting more for it, instead of less.
Show how the increase gives them more for their dollar. When the window treatment designer explains the reasons for her price increase to her customers, she also makes a point of explaining that without the price increase, she wouldn’t be able to offer as wide of a selection of fabrics. This is a big selling point for her because her business is among only a handful of those like it in the region, and by far the one with the most choices. So for customers who are willing to pay the higher price, they are getting an expert who can offer them exactly what will be best for their needs.
Demonstrate how the increase in price is not to increase profit. If you have been honest in your explanation and fair in your increase, it will become apparent to your customers that you are increasing your prices out of necessity, not greed. All too often, we read in the newspaper how large corporations are posting record profits, even in times of economic distress. Show your customers that your small business is unlike those corporations and that you need to increase your prices to maintain your business and livelihood. They will likely agree with you and understand the reasons for your actions.

By being honest with your customers and adding value to your products and services, you will maintain your clientele despite your prices going up. Your customers will appreciate your honesty and will remain loyal if they know you sincerely appreciate them in return. What are your ideas for keeping customers while raising your prices? Please share your comments with us!

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Four Paths to Success

Four Paths to Success

There is no single path to success. Different people may make different decisions, but end with similar results. There are, however, some paths that provide a greater possibility of success than others. Here are some of these paths, along with actions you can take to follow them.

Build in certainty to your actions. You shouldn’t just blindly be going about your business, completing tasks and projects each day, without knowing what will happen as a result. It is comforting to know that certain actions have specific outcomes. For example, paying your bills on time will result in building and maintaining a good credit score. Use this approach in all aspects of your business when possible. What actions can you take that will have results you can count on?

Take calculated risks that will have a greater chance of positive results. Risk-taking is a necessary part of growing your business. Be smart about those risks by researching possible outcomes, preparing for a negative outcome, and analyzing the results once the action is completed. Let’s say you have some extra money coming in that you’d like to reinvest back into the business for marketing purposes. Investigate different marketing methods, such as how much they cost, how well they might reach your target audience, and how effective they have been either for you in the past or for others in your field. A risk doesn’t have to be dangerous if you do your homework.

Take action to follow a great idea only if others think it’s a great idea as well. You may come up with what you feel is a brilliant idea. This feeling is unique in that it sometimes can cloud our judgment, causing us to act too quickly. Make sure that before you act on an idea, run it by several people who are knowledgeable in your field and/or in business in general. It is becoming more and more common for entrepreneurs to crowdsource before taking action in their businesses. Use your network to your advantage of their collective experiences before acting on an idea.

Find something that is difficult or undesirable to do, and master it. There is bound to be some aspect of your business or some related niche that most others won’t take on for themselves because it is too difficult. Make yourself an expert in these types of tasks, and you will be able to edge out your competitors. While scoping out the competition, one local restaurant owner noticed that most other restaurants had very limited menus for people with dietary restrictions. In response to this trend, the restaurant owner decided to learn as much as he could about dietary restrictions and trained his staff to transform his business into one that specializes in alternative dietary choices. By making himself an expert in something that was too difficult for his competitors to deal with, he was able to make his restaurant one of the most popular spots in town.

Each of these paths requires a good deal of preparation. Find one that you can tackle right away for your business. Which path on our list will you take? Please share your ideas below!