Your Offering 101

By: Santi Chacon

Denver, Colorado

Business Coach

I understand that I am over simplifying this subject   My goal is to provide food for thought and to encourage you to build your own philosophy in regards to your offering. I assume that if you are reading this blog and desire to start a business or perhaps have one already that you understand your offering. If for any reason your offering isn't producing the momentum that you expected, this can be your excuse to think through a couple of fundamentals. The conclusion is you should be aware of what you could sell.

Yes! I said 'SELL!' 

In the beginning of a business venture unless you have partners who know how to sell and have sufficient capital, you will have to roll up your sleeves and sell your own product or service. Experts agree that starting a business in the same industry you have experience in is a wise thing to do. Part of the advise is to get experience in the industry, more importantly get experience selling a similar product or service that you feel would be ideal in your business. (On a side note if you have an existing business that is suffering and you haven't quite focused on sales development this could be the reason why everything is less than ideal).

In relationship to developing your offering the first question you should answer: Is what inspires you the most?

A) A Product - Something tangible, physical

b) A Concept - Something intangible, non-physical

If you love the world of concepts and ideals, if you like teaching, or are a day dreamer you should choose 'A'.  If you are a believer of things only when you can touch, see, taste, and are kinesthetic then choose 'B'.

Selling a 'product' is something you can see and touch, like computer hardware or cars or furniture. Selling a 'service' is something like teaching a subject, or being a consultant, or selling life insurance. You truly have to sell people on a dream. 

Consider Your Gifts And Talents.

Ask yourself:

What are you good at and enjoy doing?

Chances are that you already know what you are good at and enjoy doing.

Now Obsess On Paper:

How can you develop this into a product or service you can offer?

This is a matter of self-assessment, commit to reading more about it, and to writing about it.  Do not second guess yourself. You should enjoy what you have to offer; it should inspire you. The fact that you are not inspired should speak volumes.

Marketing 101

Business Coaching and Marketing

By Santi Chacon
Business Coach

The Marketing Message or Your Value Proposition

The market place will ultimately dictate what you need to offer and how you need to frame your message, regardless of this fact you need a starting place. It's only when you continually expose your offering and message to the market place that it will get a chance to be refined. On a side note: once everything is in place the need to work long hours is appropriate to arrive at this conclusion.

I put together a list of questions to help you with clarity. From your answers you should have a good sense about your message. Please don't answer these questions superficially, always measure the questions against what you feel your competitors answers might be (locally, regionally, and nationally). Chances are you serve a market that is saturated with similar products or services, and need to stand apart. If you don't examine your competition in light of these questions, than you will not be as clear as you need to be.

Marketing Message Questions:

• What will your business look like in 10 years? (details, details, details)
• Is your target market B2B or B2C?
• What demographic and psycho-graphic details should you be concerned with?
• What problem, issue, pain, predicament or challenge is your prospects facing that would make them seek assistance?
• What are the warning signs that should encourage them to call?
• What results do you produce when working with clients?
• What do you have that can prove you can in fact deliver the solution?
• What makes you stand apart from your competitors?
• What makes you unique, special and memorable?
• What is it about your business or service that offers a true advantage to your potential clients?
• What are you doing to brand yourself currently?
• How are you going to create traction in the targeted market? Please describe in detail

Now, take all your information and create a marketing message or value proposition (write it down). Communicate with simplicity what you are offering and the relevance of it.

Study the marketing information (i.e. blogs, websites, printed material) of 20 plus competitors. Be thorough when going through this information. You will be able to see and measure your message against theirs. This process should give you a tremendous amount of insight. Take notes, and rewrite

your Value Proposition. You may see that it is different then the one you had first written.

Next, I would recommend starting to design your own website on paper, word document, or power point. You will be surprised of the gaps in your knowledge and message when you do this. Visit the competitors' websites, look at the structure, the tabs, and options.  Call your competitors to ask questions if something isn't clear.  Take them up on their free trial offer, make sure you have a good understanding of what they bring to the market.

It's Note Worthy: as you go through your competitors' information to be aware of your weaknesses as it relates to your offering, it will give you an advantage if you think about how you should frame your strengths in light of these newly discovered weaknesses.

You should be ready to put your marketing message online. From all this information you should be able to create a short value proposition or an elevator pitch.

business is human: psychologies, seduction...

Business Coaching and Social Media

By: Santi Chacon

Business Coach

Please Consider the Implications...

Business is human: psychologies, seduction, hidden motivations, power, and perception. The only differences between human nature and business is that businesses are now driven to become more transparent.

We are on the brink of something great; if we consider the implication that business is becoming more and more like human nature. The world of commerce has entered into a a dimension of social media. Social media is about deep psychological idiosyncrasies.  If we are witnessing social media in the beginning stages, consider what it will become in a decade. 

Act Like a Millionaire Maverick

Business has always been about psychologies, manipulation, power, and perception. This is the age when those individuals who have mastered the world of perception first and value second can win over those with multi-billion dollar budgets.

Let Me Say That Again...

Entrepreneurs with little to no funding have the opportunity to compete with the multi-billion dollar organizations and win.

The Hobbyist's Offering

Business Coaching | The Hobbyst

By: Santi Chacon

Business Coaching

What is Your Offering?

You need to know what you are going to offer.  What inspires you to stay up late and get up early? What inspires you to continue in light of challenging times? If you have an idea make sure you think it through.  Sit and brain storm or mind map it, visualize it from every angle possible and make your modifications.

Technology

My hope is that you have at least a decade of experience in an industry, in which will make your software valuable and insightful. If not I would settle for hundreds of interviews of industry experts and potential end users.

If you are going to offer a type of technology, focusing on core capabilities is important. Create and document your stages of development, at each stage make sure the software is functional enough to sell. Ensure you plan for key development areas based on what you discover to be a competitive strength in the market place. If your 'research' shows you that consumers want feature 'A' most; however, you are spending your time developing function 'B' you may want reconsider your strategy. Make sure that you don't focus on capabilities that consumers are not interested in, you risk the chance of creating a bottle neck for yourself. Understand that your competitors are in the middle of developing their next version of the software and that you could end up wasting valuable time and resources. 

VARS

If you are a reseller (this includes network marketers and franchisers) than the difficulties have already been thought through. Getting your hands on as much information as possible regarding your market and product or service is priority. Have long conversations with executives (or active up-line) in the organization you are reselling for and ask about their target market or market information so you can decide how to position yourself. There is no need to reinvent the wheel if you don't have to. 

Service

If you are offering a service that you put together based on your level of expertise, than most of your work is based on thinking things through.  Since you will ultimately sell concepts make sure that your ideas are well thought out.  Prepare several programs that you can take to potential customers. Document your thinking by going through the tedious steps of writing and re-writing your offering.

Conclusion

If time and finances allow it I would suggest taking your business on a test run before solidifying plans. You can offer your new services or products for free or at a discounted rate. You can do this until you  are confident that you can raise your prices or start charging people altogether. Your confidence should be based on your knowledge of the industry and customer feedback.

The Human Side

Business Coaching | The Wow Factor

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

Something Everyone Hungers For

We can go to endless seminars, workshops, psychics, hire an emotional intelligence coach (I am available) or you can simply love what you do and those you serve. If you truly love [love does not mean LIKE or LIKE VERY MUCH it means a sentimentality that you could never live without] your audience loving kindness will follow. Loving kindness provides people what they long for. This is something that only one human being can offer another. With the pressures and speed in how business is done today it is easy to underestimate the power of a loving gesture.

Is This A Moot Point?

Treat Everyone As Though They Were The Most Important Person In The World! Well to be honest for now I would settle for you treating everyone as though they influenced your paycheck.

Five Customer Touch Points

Your consumer isn't a target market (or any other type of target) or a means to an end. Each person you do business with needs to feel appreciated ['need' as in an emotional and psychological 'need']. People feel appreciated in different ways and you should work to identify the best way to serve them. You may find that a person will respond best to your efforts when you combine more then one of the following elements:

Affirm Me

A certain number of people you interact with need to be affirmed. In many cases actions don’t always speak louder than words. These types want to be affirmed and love sincere compliments.

Negative or unkind words or tonalities could cause challenges down the road.

Time Me

Some of your folks will feel appreciated when you make time for them. The time you spend with them translates into providing your undivided attention and concern (don't keep looking at the time or keep putting them on hold).  Affirming that you will be happy to make time and then following through on this commitment when the moment calls for it will go a long way.

Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Lavish Me

A few of your peeps love gifts and feel most appreciated when someone is thoughtful and places an effort in providing a small token of appreciation.

A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous.

Serve Me

"What have you done for me lately?" These clients feel acts of service speak louder then words. Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities beyond the norm of everyday business will go far. The words he or she most wants to hear: “Let me do that for you.”

Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them can be the cause of resentments.

Touch Me

These are customers who need to see you in person.  This is a type of person who appreciates being touched and will show that by being very touchy themselves. Hugs, pats on the back, and thoughtful touches on the arm, or shoulder will go a long way. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial.

Causing these type of customers to feel neglected can be disastrous.

If most cases people will treat you the way they want to be treated so lean in and pay attention.

Now its time to treat your customers like people.  Be anti-cattle!

The Wow Factor:

1. The Search of Wow!
2. What Is Your Special Power?
3. Keep It Personal!
4. Your Wow! Brand
5. The Human Side

CALM DOWN! Branding

Small Business Success | Branding

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

Are You Celebrating Progress Instead Of Perfection?

A key to reinforcing behavior is to celebrate, to make things enjoyable, and to have fun.  After all you are not normal you should know this because you are the only one you know of that has been wearing business suits since the age of four, has the money from your lemonade stand from the age of six, and started reading the Wall Street Journal at the age of 10. Most people don't strive toward 'the perfect' like you do.  Don't miss the fact that you are never alone when it comes to business, so if you can't have fun with this stuff for yourself do it for your employees and your customers.  They would rather have someone who is fun loving rather than a stick in the mud.

Let me remind you: As you work on your business please understand 'the perfect' will never exist; however, progress will always exist. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of progress.  Just because things are not exactly the way you want them to be doesn't mean things aren't worth while or worthy of celebration. If you can't celebrate the small victories, what can you celebrate?

Progressing Is Very Pragmatic

For my intent and purpose here I will describe progress as taking a few of these concepts we are kicking around and incorporating them into a plan. If there are things that I mentioned that stick out to you treat it as you would a technology you are attempting to implement into your business. An implementation should consist of the following stages: pre-planning, choosing a cross-organizational team to set goals and priorities, re-planning with team feedback, establishing processes and protocols, planning for problems, working with each department toward implementation, training and development for all employees, establishing opened communication, and reinforcement.

Branding

The conceptual foundation for branding is a unique message that is communicated to a specific demographic and psychographic. You want your business to communicate something to a niche market, something that is relevant to them and their needs.

Everything Is Marketing

Your business just doesn't stop at the end of the day but continues to interact with people as you pick up your dry cleaning or go to the super market, as your managers go to the movies or the restaurant down the road, as employees share their day with friends and families, as customer service interacts with customers, as customer support assists a customer in resolving issues, as sales people speak to prospects, as your receptionist greets a visitors as they see your office building for the first time, and as online visitors visit your website or blog.

So, do me a favor, I want you  to think through a few things over or maybe just revisit a couple of concepts again. Hey, have fun with this, your right brain will work much better if you do.

Will You Marry Me?

Answer the question: What type of brand is relevant to your target market? Branding speaks to the personality and preferences of prospects and customers.  This is why Edward Jones and Charles Schwab  look conservative, Starbucks is trendy, and why McDonalds has a playground. What are your potential customers and existing customers looking for when they look for your product or service. You are asking them for a date in hopes of a marriage of some sort, not just a one night stand. What romantic qualities are they looking for in a company?

What Is Your Story?

Be like a novelist; create a character profile for your company. The more in depth your company profile is, the more dynamism others will witness. It will not just be a value proposition but a living and breathing story. Revisit a movie or novel that you enjoyed. Take a hard look at a character, his or her personality, courage, sense of humor, neurosis, and narcissistic tendencies. Notice how the writer hints at pieces of the subconscious, which intrigue you and compel you to know more. The character has a complex past that shapes and molds the characteristics that unfold before you. What do you want to tell your customers and prospects? Do not think 'value proposition' just think 'story'.

Are You On The Same Page?

The next step is to create different dimensions of your story through out each department and streamline the company's personality. From your schwagg to how clean your restrooms are, all communicate your brand. Branding needs congruence. Each department, each employee, and each manager has the opportunity to tell their portion of the story. If you make the story exciting and adventurous, each individual will talk and brand your company. Chant it like a mantra, say it with me: 'Everything Is Marketing'. Be congruent from the website to how employees interact with each other and with customers. You have the opportunity to improve each person's life that comes under your influence. You have a chance to create any impression you want, so make it a lasting one.

The OCD ADHD CEO and Small Business Success 

1. Management
2. Branding
3. Market Research
4. Business Finance
5. Lead Generation 
6. Lead Conversion
7. Client Fulfillment

CALM DOWN! Market Research

Small Business Success | Market Research

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

...Okay, I'll Give In

Hey, I just had an earth shattering revelation 'If you are going to be fixated and OCD about something obsess over your people'  Wow! you read it here first. After all say it with me, "Everything is marketing!" Your brand is on the line. Start a cult that revolves around your brand and began from the inside out; the best companies always do. If you're gonna be a perfectionist you might as well make sure you choose the right thing to be a perfectionist about otherwise you'll  look like an idiot. No point in being a perfectionist in something that has no value or consequence (hmmmm, now there's a thought).  Just don't lose sight of what is truly important.

Enough Of The Shenanigans!

So far we covered management and branding, now we are going to cover market research. If branding was a jigsaw puzzle market research data when interpretated would be the picture on the box. In other words you have no idea what your brand should look like to your key stakeholders unless you took a hard look at the box (market research data). Many executives attempt to guess in this area, some become lucky and have successful careers but some guess and find themselves in bankruptcy, the choice is yours.

The Market Research

Ultimately, as a business owner you should have located some type of industry news source with market data i.e. journals, blogs, research articles, etc. If you read regularly on your industry this market research stuff won't seem so overwhelming. Ongoing industry research will provide a landscape to measure customer data against and as a consequence provide a holistic depiction of your companies advantages and disadvantages.

Macro-Market Research

The first area of market research is going to be embedded in your business plan. This is nothing more then a business prediction based on your interpretation of data measured against your ideals. These are predictions on how economic forces and conditions will affect your offering and vise versa. After examining your ideals and your environment you'll gather experienced professionals to assist (if possible) and you'll start to develop your offering, beginning your long journey toward profitability.

Micro-Market Research

The second type of market research is based on your real-time response from key stake holders i.e. front-line employees and customers.

In the beginning, as you make your first five thousand cold calls you have painful conversations with prospects and forge through your eureka moments bloodied and battered. You began to understand your offering through the eyes of the market as you receive push back on your value propositions from talkative prospects who explain to you why they need or don't need your product. With the lapse of time and relentless effort your marketing message becomes more relevant; you began to fine tune your offering, your value propositions, and brand. Finally, after years of experience and countless incremental adjustments to your offering and marketing message your sales efforts have transitioned to a sales force. 

At the end of the day you retire to your quiet office. You take off your suit jacket and drape it over a seat, you sit back in your overstuffed leather love seat, lean back, and put up your feet on your ottoman. Exhausted you take out your long awaited cigar and clip from a near by humidor and began to reflect on your time on the front-lines.

As a start up executive you had experienced customer acquisition and customer turn over. You had experienced customer loyalty, prospects who were on the fence, while others who became customers soon after continued  shopping around in hopes of finding more value or a lower price elsewhere. And even then it was hard to understand the motives of your customers.

How do these ongoing complexities affect your brand?

Now, you have about a dozen sales professionals, a few resellers, account managers, and a solidified marketing strategy that brings thousands of visitors to your website and blog weekly. As a sales person you could barely manage your own sales pipeline and now you are suppose to make assumptions regarding brand experience.

Just as we talked about in our last conversation you should want congruent and consistent branding. You can't have this if you fail to understand how individuals experience your brand.  You also don't know what attracts or discourages prospects or customers from converting into raving fans. Oh, sure you may have some notions or have picked up on a few things  but unless you have clear cut market data you have only observed the shadows of your business potential.

Market research data should be collected and labored over to understand the implications on your business.

So, roll up your sleeves and get to work and start developing your questionnaires. After all a marriage is so much better when you are intentional.  Roll out a marketing plan that puts a questionnaire in a customer's hot little hands every six months and provide incentives for filling out your 'short' questionnaires. Most importantly, when you receive your data began to make appropriate changes and enhancements.

...and to all a good night!

The OCD ADHD CEO and Small Business Success 

1. Management
2. Branding
3. Market Research
4. Business Finance
5. Lead Generation 
6. Lead Conversion
7. Client Fulfillment

CALM DOWN! Business Finance

Small Business Success | Business Finance

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

This Is Not Your Grandmother's Finance

Don't complicate it! have more money coming in than going out, keep cash reserves for a rain day or an economic burst, know when you reach your financial cap on a product or service and set market share goals, and diversify in other industries.

Good Accounting

Positive cash flow is a big challenge with smaller companies.  Negative cash flow is symptomatic of faulty marketing or no marketing at all. Being a great marketer takes experience.  If you haven't forged the experience to make your company profitable just know that marketing is a skill that can be learned or outsourced.

Stewardship

Great financial stewardship should require three things. The first concept is to save what you can, the second is spend slowly, and third create more income streams within reasonable time. Consider the illustration of having a tub (this represents your business), with holes (these represent accounts payable/debt) and  running faucets (these represent accounts receivable/earning opportunities).  The goal of the business finance game is to turn on as many faucets and plug as many holes up, so that the water (cash) steadily increases.

Water

Your first financial obligation to stakeholders is to grow cash reserves. Cash has the benefit of keeping your lights on and keeping jobs i.e. buying you time when you are racing against the clock to produce results.  You will have rainy days in business maybe even rainy years brought about by unexpected market or economic conditions. Be prepared! Save at least two years worth of of your company's expenses.

Holes

An executive needs to be disciplined in spending, if you find yourself making poor purchasing decisions I have a few suggestions you can apply before making a purchase:

• Measure and Document Your Return on Investment 
• Document Your Opportunity Costs 
• Create a Purchasing Board

Faucets

Set market share goals. Focus on penetrating target markets until you meet your objective.  As your business experiences steady growth began focusing a percentage of your resources on creating a related subsidiary. A key to creating a successful subsidiary is to leverage current strengths i.e. knowledge, experience, customers, vendors, partners etc. in gaining traction in your new niche.

Examples Of Related Industries

A few examples of closely related industries would be Telecommunications and PBX (Long Distance and Phone Systems), Telecommunications and Teleconferencing (Long Distance and Audio Conferencing), Hosted Software Solutions and Stand Alone Software Solutions, Business Consulting and Business Coaching, and Business Consulting and Information Products (reports, books, booklets, e-books, subscription based publications online and offline etc.).  All these related businesses can be leveraged using the same resources.

The OCD ADHD CEO and Small Business Success 

1. Management
2. Branding
3. Market Research
4. Business Finance
5. Lead Generation 
6. Lead Conversion
7. Client Fulfillment

Your Wow! Brand

Business Coaching | The Wow Factor

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

Branding

A unique brand could be the difference between getting in the door and getting shut out. Branding is marketing and "Everything Is Branding".

It's A Users World

Can You Say: "Self-Expression"?

One thing we should learn from Apple is that people have a need for self-expression. The 10 billion downloads and counting should tell you something. This public gesture is as though each application is a pixel in the identity of a consumer. Folks this is not just technology but someone reclaiming her identity one download at a time in a world , in which she has to filter herself through the average of business as usual. People want to move off of buying a generic out of the box solution to purchasing something that not only reflects their unique preferences but their personality. We still live in a world of the infamous model T, in which you can have any color you want as long as it's black.

Do you have enough options so your audience can choose something that personifies their own ego?

Experiment #1

be the Chief Creative Officer

I am convinced most answers to great brands are found in the imagination. Before turning to outside help i.e. consultants, coaches, or mentors; get your right brain involved in this process and...

Slip Into Another Paradigm.

Take an art class, music class, film class, dance class, creative writing class; brush away the dust and cobwebs from any artistic talent you may have. Decide from this day forward to re-examine or reconstruct your brand. This time do it from a paradigm that hungers for self-expression i.e. the paradigm of an artist. Yes! I am suggesting that you allow your right brain to reconstruct your brand.

Through art learn to have a direct link to the emotions of your audience.

You can only give what you possess: How self-expressed are you?

Experiment #2

How Do You Create A Users' Infrastructure?

How do you provide more options that appeal to your customers? Can you say 'Partnerships'? The world is filled with geniuses who would love to collaborate if money is at stake. This means that you outsource certain options to trust worthy organizations or resell products or services.

Experiment #3

Brand and Relational Stuff

If you find yourself single or can remember the days you were single it was her looks and personality that drew you in and her character that made you want to stay. The same is true for your business: What Type Of Personality And Image Does Your Brand Exude?

Brand image is the first place people look: Does your image claim to be a hub for self-expression?

Can you get some of your best customers to help you to reconstruct your brand? so that its what they want and not what you think they want.

The Wow Factor:

1. The Search of Wow!
2. What Is Your Special Power?
3. Keep It Personal!
4. Your Wow! Brand
5. The Human Side

Keep It Personal!

Business Coaching | The Wow Factor

By: Santi Chacon 
Business Coach

Love At First Sight

The moment our mind connects with a solution is the moment we begin that conversation that may result in a love affair. As soon as we witness the hope of something valuable our heart leaps. At this stage the pursuit of a romance begins as information is gathered, which inches us toward something a little more serious. Although a decision hasn't been made we want to feel appreciated especially if we are planning to make a larger investment. When we speak on the phone with a company representative we hope the conversation will go smoothly and wouldn't mind feeling a little smarter and flattered about our potential purchase. We expect any feelings of guilt to be alleviated and to feel justified. We want a sample of that value without the commitment (I think we can call this a date). When we are convinced that the product or service will satisfy our needs or desires some of us may elope and make that overnight commitment.

Is It too Much To Ask?

Regardless of how wonderful a company seems to be in the beginning we will eventually hit a snag. We will eventually have a challenge, want more value, or may have important questions. When we begin to witness any type of incongruence we want the person on the other end to take it personal. When we are on our soap box we want the other person to lean in with a note pad and to take some notes, ask questions do the 'uh humm...', 'please continue..', 'okay..' but not too often only during the very important parts. During the most emotional parts of the conversation we want the individual to paraphrase back to us just to make sure they understand.

After all is said we want the representative to tell us what he will do to remedy the situation. We want him to have the authority to move forward regardless of how big or small our challenges are, since he was so understanding. When we are frustrated we don't want to be placed on hold or transfered back and forth from people who are not taking ownership of our problem. We want to feel that the company we are doing business with really cares about what we had paid them to care about.

Relationships and Emotion

All relationships are driven by emotions even if the relationship is with an organization through a product or service you had purchased.  In any relationship people have expectations, preferences, and idiosyncrasies. when these three concepts are not being met the relationship loses value.

How are you doing with understanding expectations, preferences, and idiosyncrasies of your customer?

The most valuable relationships are those that anticipate our needs.

It Is No Different For Your Customers!

Perhaps the best time to have a heart to heart talk with your customers is when they are happiest, which is usually just after a purchase is made. What type of conversation am I speaking about? It is the type of conversation that says you really care about  the relationship. This is a conversation that kinda sounds like a marriage or at the very least a love affair and it should. A one size fits all doesn't exist for this type of stuff. Maybe this is a conversation that says you are taking business personal. Maybe this is a conversation that gathers information to anticipate needs. The most valuable concept here is to have that conversation soon.

A Course Of Action

Well now that you have all that information what are you gonna do with it? How do you create a customer process that says we are here for you but not in a business-ee sort of way but in a personal and meaningful way.  Let your mantra be 'Keep It Personal' even when you have to break up with a customer or prospect either because they just don't think you are a good fit or they want to date your competitor...ugh!

The Wow Factor:

1. The Search of Wow!
2. What Is Your Special Power?
3. Keep It Personal!
4. Your Wow! Brand
5. The Human Side

What Is Your Special Power?

Business Coaching | The Wow Factor

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

A Few Hidden Nuggets

Talents have a way of defining who we are and adding color to our lives. Our talents are our psychological bents, our predilections, and affinities. Oftentimes we think of talent as those rare individuals that create grand gestures in the world, although these stand as a testament of what gifts can become, these alone rarely define a thriving organization. For each grand gesture in the world there are hundreds if not thousands that work to support and undergird the grand efforts that we witness in today's business environment. These supporting roles have assisted those rare individuals in surpassing fears as they provide insight and direction. The talents of those around us that make our challenges more bearable and that will take our business to a unique place are: the gift of leadership, hospitality, encouragement, faith, discernment, wisdom, teaching, and knowledge.

Do not take for granted all the talents that connect yours' to the world.

My Disclaimer: Talent Is Never Enough

Congruence is important when displaying our unique attributes. St. Paul stated something profound in the instance that we should serve people. Paraphrasing, Paul concluded that talent is never enough if a person doesn't focus on delivering that talent through love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), and self-control (self-restraint, continence). In an environment, in which these precepts are extended talent will bear long-term fruit.

With that in mind…

Excellence in business doesn't always have to be associated with a financial investment. The potential wow factor in your business can be found in how you do what you do. Be creative and dramatic in the display of your talents and invite your customers and prospects to pull up a chair and watch the show.

How do you confound your competition with your unique results in the market place?

Talent is like a finger print it is very unique to you and will work to identify your business. Your ability to do something better or magnificently different then anyone is your special power.

How are you displaying that in your business? and how are you streamlining it?

Maybe I am a romanticist but I believe you were placed on earth to do something very special, in which your talents are an indication.

The Wow Factor:

1. The Search of Wow!
2. What Is Your Special Power?
3. Keep It Personal!
4. Your Wow! Brand
5. The Human Side

The Hobbyist's Commitment

Business Coaching | The Hobbyst

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

Introduction

I understand that for some reason you don't think of yourself as a business person, but you are. You made money at this thing right? There are a couple of things you can do to get this thing up and going, but you will have to begin thinking like a business owner rather than a hobbyist.

 Everybody has insecurities and uncertainties when dealing with this sort of thing, just take it one step at a time. Focus on improving each area before moving onto the next.

What you are going to need at this stage of your business falls into one of six areas:

• Level of Commitment
• Your Offering
• Your Marketing Message
• Lead Generation
• Sales
• Partnerships

In order to get a business moving in the right direction you need to look at the six areas with me. It really is going back and fixing how you think about business fundamentals.

What is You Level of Commitment?

You need to make up your mind regarding your standard. You must decide that you are going to be a workaholic for the next three to five years. This is an undertaking of 12 to 15 hour days for six days a week. If you are not sure than figure it out. One thing to keep in mind is that your life should be different after you make the decision. Your time should be consumed with your business. It's not like you can choose to start a business and continue spending your time hanging out with your buddies or spend time watching TV. Your commitment should be a 'magnificent obsession'. If you can't embrace this type of commitment you are not ready to start a business.

The Cost Of Doing Business

Business Coaching | Customer Acquisition

By: Santi Chacon

Business Coach

Alright so you are attempting to have that conversation again with Bob regarding his changing needs. No matter how much you have tried to make that personal connection and add value to Robert, he has been indifferent and seems to be on the fence about a few things. In your opinion he has a different agenda then he leads on. Reading in between the lines you are convinced he sees your solution as ubiquitous and something that can only be differentiated on price. You know the moment you are not able to meet his needs at commodity prices he will shop elsewhere.

• What are the costs associated with doing business with Bob long-term?
• How much is your time worth? and how much time does Robert require?
• If you want to make your company profitable (long-term implication) can you afford to continue to pay Bob's monthly costs (both in time and discounts) with enough profit to justify him as a customer?
• What is Bob paying you to add value?
• Is he paying you less than you pay for him?

Have you ever heard of firing a customer?

If a customer is not interested in how you differentiate yourself, your company, and your solution; you are in a losing battle. I would caution you to consider his costs. Don't get caught by the Wal-mart effect especially if Bob has the pocket book of a fortune 1000 company. Perhaps it is time to consider an exit strategy.

The Search of Wow!

Business Coaching | The Wow Factor

By: Santi Chacon

Business Coach

Be Anti-Cattle

We as professionals get wrapped up prematurely in our solution or even worse the sale of that solution. All to often we serve a mentality that sees people as livestock versus individuals with unique preferences. We turn on the conveyor belt mindset to push through our numbers so we can meet self-imposed deadlines. We sell and service people as though they were cattle waiting to be branded (pun intended). It is about time we move off of our solution and into the hearts and minds of people. Move off of the value proposition and into opened and meaningful conversations.

Value Beyond A Solution

Every business must begin with the ability to follow through on commitments. A CEO can not expect to be around for very long if he makes commitments that he either is not willing to keep or doesn't have the ability to keep. So, the moment executives are certain they can satisfy a consumer's needs they should learn to move off the solution first and foremost.

As business owners begin to explore the value outside the status quo of what is called client fulfillment they may come to the realization of the potential to differentiate themselves beyond the offering. And when a business has looked beyond the daily exchange of a solution for its' monetary equivalent executives will see that their clients are people who desire something more meaningful then a transaction. The challenges or goals that bring people toward a solution are personal. At a time in which companies attempt to live and die by 'client fulfillment' there is a deep need that customers' have for something greater that they may not even be aware of.

The Market of Feeling Special

To move past the monotony of the daily grind professionals want to feel acknowledged and important. Consumers not only want to feel they received the best solution from the best company at the best price but they want it delivered with emotional intelligence and great service. Consumers want to feel as though people are going out of their way to serve them. Not only do customers desire emotional intelligence and exclusivity but they also want personal meaning; they would prefer custom tailored suits or skirts versus one that is made with the masses in mind.

Can You Offer That?

How does your solution, posture, and language compare to this ideal? Are you selling a one size fits all solution? or is there congruent customization, hospitality, and the desire to really know your customer? Are your customers part of your family? (hopefully a functional family).

With these concepts in mind we will discuss precepts that may get you started. The four precepts at play here that will help you to add value beyond the status quo of what you believe is client fulfillment are: Talent, Keeping It Personal, Branding, and The Human Touch.

Stay Tuned!...

The Wow Factor:

1. The Search of Wow!
2. What Is Your Special Power?
3. Keep It Personal!
4. Your Wow! Brand
5. The Human Side

A No Brainnnerrrr

Business Coaching

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach

If we are in business for ourselves or with someone else, there are studies you can take on, in which will create great momentum. These subjects are: 'The strengths Movement" (The Gallup Organization) as well as The Keirsey Method (David Keirsey). Both would seem to come out of the Positive Psychology Movement, because of similarities in their themes. You can work with these tools hand in hand.

Transformations

While we were sleeping organizations have transition from big and bulky to flat from centralized to decentralized. These businesses have moved from authoritarian leadership to authentic leadership, from hierarchy to teams, where authority is based on consensus.  Companies have moved from thinking of people as a capital expense to people as a capital investment. They moved from thinking people had produced systems, products, or services that were thought to be the competitive advantage, to understanding that people are the competitive advantage. The organizations with this curious yet fascinating infrastructure have learned to run like gazelles. All this is due to their talent other wise known as their people.

Discovery Of Discipline Mavericks

A laser focus on selecting the right candidates and with employee development infers that the attempts at seeking perfect candidates should not be sought through methods that promote generalizations but through methods that promote meaningful specifics.  Executives should discover based on a person's idiosyncratic neurological patterns (that's specific!) the right prospect for the role. As your process begins to discover the disciplined mavericks of the business world you would do well to create an environment that nurtures and motivates their genius.

When all is said and done it would seem that your people were custom tailored to excel at their roles in  your company.

Would You Like To Have A FREE BUSINESS COACHING SESSION?

Having your FREE evaluation with a business coach is a value of $500.

The Beginning of a Work in Progress

Business Coaching and Small Business

By: Santi Chacon

Business Coach

Posturing

When it comes to starting a part-time business or a business that is running on a shoestring budget your posture and follow-through are everything. The key to success right out of the gate is to work with what you have. Don't obsess over what you don't have. Don’t use anything as an excuse to fail.

If you have the ability and resources to launch a website and marketing materials than do it to whatever degree you can. Extend yourself as far as you will go. If you don’t have the ability to set up a website become professionally creative. Do not use lack as an excuse not to take action on your dreams. You have to develop the skills to move forward. And you develop the skills to move forward by moving forward and persisting until they have developed. Plain and simple, let nothing deter you from action.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that you have to have everything in place in order to succeed. This is not true. I have won business based on a simple text email, from people who have never heard of me, that simply stated my intentions; I have associates that have won business due to their initiative and reputation of excellent service – no marketing materials exist.

Mull it Over

Moving forward with your existing resources is no excuse not to think things through. Make sure you put thought into what you are doing. Think through your marketing information, think on paper or word document, even if you don’t have a marketing budget to invest. This process will help you to think through your value proposition, so you will sound half intelligent when speaking to a prospect.

Now, that you put away all the excuses not to take action and have thought about your offering, put yourself out there. If you don’t have business cards to pass out put an email together and send it out. Look online for a couple of hundred phone numbers to call. Get out there and get your story in front of people consistently. In business timing is everything if you hit a chord with the right professional at the right time you will get business. 

If this seems a little too far fetched for you, partner with someone who provides a similar service. Let the CEO or VP of Business Development know that you will sell for them for a commission. This is also known as a reseller agreement. Let them know you will be willing to exchange your efforts for their reputation and collateral. You may find that it is more profitable for you to join them than to go our on your own, especially if they have a reputation in the market place. There are many businesses that create revenue through reselling another companies products or services.

Accidental Success

What happens when you stumble across a potential customer that says yes? Make a connection by providing extra value free of charge to show your worth. The added value could be a free consultation, free trial, white paper, or a free e-book that is related to your services. When you get an opportunity to provide a free assessment or analysis or added value than you have earned the right to ask for the business. After a few of these you will have the confidence and finances to put some marketing materials together. Value needs to be contributed  to the fact that your potential sales are not based on marketing materials but on gaining the skills to move forward in the light of difficulty.

Creating Leverage In a Growing Business

As your company becomes moderately successful you may find that you are limited by billable hours. When you can't find time to bring on more clients began investing in creating something you can sell along with your services. Restructure your business model, so that you can sell more of something without having to invest your time in billable hours, raise your prices, partner with others, to create a one stop shop for any related needs you may run into, or work to resell other services to existing clients. These suggestions have the potential of adding credibility to your company. 

You are always limited by your lack of imagination and hard work. 'Necessity is the mother of invention.'

Remember to think outside your box and to always posture yourself for business success.

A FREE evaluation with an business coach is a value of $500.