How to Manage Your Time and Energy Through the Holiday Season

The holidays are fast approaching and with them come the addition of items to our already full ‘to-do’ lists!   At the best of times, an entrepreneur struggles to get everything done in their day, and with the addition of entertaining, party planning and emotions running high, it’s easy to get burned out and off course.

When it comes to time management, the basic principals are:

• Set clear, compelling goals daily, weekly and monthly that align with your annual goals
• Prioritize based on importance and time-sensitivity
• Use a planner to keep & book your appointments – including personal
• Be proactive vs reactive (where possible)

Sometimes though, even when we do all of that, we can find ourselves depleted. 

There is a growing school of thought that you will be more fulfilled, happier and get more done if you focus on managing your energy rather than your time.

In an article from Harvard Business Review by Tony Schwartz, Catherine McCarthy, Oct. 1, 2007, they identify 4 key areas as being critical to well-being while you work.  Even though their article is based on a corporate setting, the principals are sound and worth reviewing as good practice for entrepreneurs and their staff to keep ourselves and those who work with us, motivated, happy and productive. 

The article talks about creating “renewal rituals” for each of the following 4 areas:

1. The body: Find ways to increase physical energy ie: frequent breaks, getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising
2. Emotions:  Raise awareness of feelings at different times of day. Incorporate relaxation exercises to deal with stressful situations. ie: deep breathing, expressing appreciation to others.
3. Mind:  Focus. Multi-tasking is inefficient. “A temporary shift in attention from one task to another – stopping to answer an email or take a phone call, for instance – increases the amount of time necessary to finish the primary task by 25%…”  It is far more productive to focus on one task at a time, for an extended period (60-90 min).
4. Spirit: Engage in activities daily that are in alignment with what you value most, and that which provides you a sense of meaning and purpose in all areas of your life.

You can read the full article here: http://academy.clevelandclinic.org/Portals/40/HBRManageEnergy.pdf

At any time of year – especially at the holidays, it’s a given that the list of things to do is never ending.  There is a sense of reward when we accomplish the critical things on our task list for the day, and good time management is a vehicle for this success.  Having the energy to accomplish those tasks is the fuel for our entrepreneurial engine, without which we can end up stuck in ‘Park’ (or lost in the woods!).

If this is a topic of interest to you, and you’d like to read more, there is a great book on this topic that I’ve read called “The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal” by Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz.

6 Tips for Packaging Your Offering

This week is “Chemistry Week” which got me thinking about ways to put things together or “amalgamate” offerings – to make them more appealing to clients. 

 December can be a slow month for service providers, yet also a time when they are most needed. Creating an incentive can give your business a boost at the holidays and be a port in the storm for your clients.  You can use these tips to create an offering any time of the year.

 6 Tips for creating packages that work for you and your clients:

1. Have 2 or 3 packages to choose from: At different pricing levels.  People like choice.  Give your best value for the highest priced package to incent people to choose that one.
2. Choosing a name: There are two ways to do this; 1. Make it exclusive sounding ie: Silver, Gold, Platinum or, 2. Emotional; ie: Heaven on Earth, Escape, Abundance.  See what works and resonates with your clients.
3. Intelligent incentives: Think about ways to bring them back. For example “Buy now and receive $25 off your next massage”.  Have an expiry date that they must use the coupon by (60 days on the outside) to incent people to return or make it transferable so they can share it with a friend.
4. Advertise it & promote it: Let everyone who comes in know about it.  Have a sign or flyer to advertise it and also tell people about it.  Tell everyone you speak to about your promotion. PS: DON’T rely on a written sign to sell the package for you .
5. Limited time offer: If people think it will be available for ever, they are less likely to purchase it, than if they know it’s only on for a limited time. For example, make the offer available “Only for the month of December”.  Tip: Pick a time when business is typically slow to give it a boost!
6. Target the package to your ideal client: Create a package that meets the needs of your ideal clients.  They are the ones you want to bring in and have as repeat customers.  If you’re not sure what they’d value, ask them.

If you’ve found a way to package or promote your offering that works well and you’d like to share it, you can respond to this post or drop me an email at kmartin@martinbusinessleadership.com   I’ll share any feedback I receive!

7 Ways to Make Your Clients Feel Important

 “Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.”

Mary Kay Ash
1918-2001, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

 Mary Kay’s quote reminds us that the key to success in business and life is to value the important people in our lives – be they clients, family or friends. 

So how do we do that?  This is done by making them feel; seen, heard and understood. When people feel seen, heard and understood, they feel valued. 

What do you do in your client interactions to make your clients feel unique and honoured?  Making people feel valued is very important for building relationships and a strong business.

Here are 7 ways to leave your clients feeling seen, heard and understood:

Seen:

Connection – Make eye contact and/or engage clients in conversation around a topic you discussed the last time you met.  If it’s a first meeting engage in some small talk to find similarities. This helps to put you both in the moment and builds a connection.

Use their name – This tells them “I see you”, not just another body in the crowd.  Something happens in us when we are called by name.  We feel remembered, important and, in a way, special. 

Heard:

Listen to the other person when they are speaking.  A way to show that you are listening to them is to acknowledge or paraphrase their point of view – weather you agree with it or not. You can try something like “I hear what you are saying.  If I got it right, you’re telling me that it would be helpful to have a package for seniors that includes education on stretching.  Did I hear you correctly?”

Body language – Open and attentive.  That means, no crossed arms or reading emails/texts or texting/writing while listening. Albert Mehrabians study on effective communication showed that, in the way messages are received: 7% is what you say, 38% is how you say it & 55% is non-verbal (incl. body language & facial expression.)

Get feedback – Everyone likes to be asked for their opinion.  You can ask for feedback in many ways: after each session verbally, or more formally through the occasional written survey.  It makes your clients feel like you care about their experience and gives you a great way to get to know more about them and their experience with you.

Understood:

Acknowledge their point of view even if you’re in disagreement.  Use the technique above in “Listen” to let them know you do understand what they are telling you.

Add a little extra something – Everyone likes to feel that they’ve received a little extra value for their money; it makes them feel special and valued.  It can be an extra few minutes of treatment or a cup of coffee/tea/water that lets them know you’re thinking of them.

How to Listen to a Buyer

Thank you to Sharon Drew Morgan for today’s article.  Sharon is the visionary and thought leader behind Buying Facilitation®, the new sales paradigm that focuses on helping buyers manage their buying decision.  Sharon’s new book, “Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what  you can do about it” will be released Oct. 15, 2009!

Until or unless buyers know how to manage the tangles of people and policies that hold their Identified Problem in place, they will not make a purchase no matter how urgent their need or how appropriate your solution.

Because sales unwittingly focuses on the very last stages of the buyer’s buying decision, sellers are trained to listen carefully for all of the details around ’need.’ Once sellers understand how their solution would fit into the ‘need’ or the ‘pain’, they work hard to advantageously place their product/service information so buyers will know how to buy. Which they do, around 7% of the time.

Of course, the need-based, info gathering questions that sellers ask are eventually a vital part of the sales model. But they don’t help the buyer understand how to address the internal stuff we’re not privy to, and that they need to manage on their own, prior to any sort of solution choice.

Our questions, ultimately, don’t help the buyer make a buying decision. And we’re asking them at the wrong time.

By now we all know that there is a huge area of off-line issues that buyers must manage before they are ready to buy. Not to mention that once they go through this behind-the-scenes process of finding the right folks to put onto the Buying Decision Team, clearing time and initiatives to make room for bringing something new aboard, or resolving old vendor issues,  for example, their needs get redefined one way or another.

So the details we’ll hear about their ’need’ from the buyer at the beginning of the info gathering process is not the same as what we’ll hear later on. No one’s fault – just the fallout of the sales process being focused on the wrong thing at the wrong time.

LISTENING FOR SYSTEMS, NOT INFORMATION OR NEED

There is another form of listening necessary to actually help buyers address their off-line conversations so they can actually have help garnering buy-in to make a purchase. Note that this Buying Facilitation® part of  a seller’s job is NOT SALES, but a different activity that needs to be added to the front end of the sales process as if it were a different language.

It’s a very different listening: You’re listening to serve as a guide and to facilitate the route without traveling it yourself. You are actually leading them through change. They can’t buy anything until they line up these internal issues anyway – it might as well be with you on their Team. Just remember that this guidance is not about their need!

So before listening for the DETAILS of need, sellers must listen for the SYSTEM that buyers live in to help them manage the behind-the-scenes elements that must agree to add a new solution.  I write about this entire process in my new book coming out 15 October, Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it. In this blog I’ll just mention a few elements.

Has your prospect figured out the right members that need to be on the Buying Decision Team? Asking them who will be on the Team is useless: at the beginning of the change process, prospects really don’t know all of the people that must  be involved… and of course, we can’t help them, because we’re not there with them.

Does your prospect know, and know how to manage why, the problem has existed so long? Who/what has kept it in place? What is the work-around that maintains it daily and how will it be addressed if change is occurring?

Since our prospects have to go off-line to manage change before they can buy, we can either wait til after they’ve figured it all out and they come back (as we do now), or learn a new skill set: facilitate buyers through all of the elements they need to address. We will do this as decision facilitators or change managers – NOT sellers. And, because so much of it has little to do with their need or our solution, we really, really have to add a new skill set to the one we’ve been using for so long.

6 Steps to Overcoming Firsts

Being an entrepreneur is just a big, fat pile of “firsts”! Sometimes you think they will never end – especially in the beginning years.  It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed with the unending litany of new and uncomfortable tasks; business plans, sales, accounting, bookkeeping, websites, creating products, packaging services, renting space, social networking…the list goes on and on. 

All we want to do is practice our craft, yet in order to get people into our practice and do just that, we are forced to do all of this other “stuff” to get there.  Hmmm, does it sound like I’m speaking from experience? Let me share with you what I’ve learned about pushing forward when all you want to do is pull back…

 Here are 6 steps you can take today to get you through your “Why the &%$# am I doing this!” moments:

1. Big Picture: Revisit your vision.  Remember why you decided to start your business in the first place, and focus on the results you are working to realize. Look at the big picture.  Also, connect with something bigger than yourself and the knowing that you will be ok.  This too shall pass. (…and it will pass faster after you do it!)
2. Cry it Out: Sometimes you just need to curl up in a ball and cry “Why! Why! Why!”  Then you wipe away your chocolate-tinged tears and get back to work!  It’s your life and it’s your business.  Allow yourself time to express your frustrations in the way that works for you, and then move on.
3. Take a Step Back: Avoid leaping to drastic conclusions like assuming that just because you haven’t had any new clients this month, that your practice will fail.  Challenge any limiting beliefs and do a reality check on what’s really true about this situation and review what makes you so brilliant!
4. Get “Quality” Support: Imagine having someone who can either do the work you hate and are avoiding, or someone who has a formula for doing what you struggle with?  Your struggle is someone else’s talent – find them and ask them to help you. Find someone who specializes in the type of support you are looking for. In today’s entrepreneurial world the resources are abundant – VA’s, coaches, home study programs, books etc.  Plan, interview and do your homework so that you are working with the resource that will serve your needs the best.
5. Get Over It!  Yup, that pretty much sums it up.  Step up to the plate, take responsibility for the choice you made to go into business for yourself.  You are stronger, more talented, gifted and brilliant than you give yourself credit for.  Only by stretching and doing the uncomfortable will you be able to know how strong you really are.  Flex those business muscles!
6. Take Action: It’s imperative to take the steps you need to move forward in creating the business and life you want to have.  YOU WILL NOT GROW YOUR BUSINESS HIDING IN YOUR OFFICE, BEHIND YOUR COMPUTER OR BURRIED IN YOUR 100TH SPIRITUAL GROWTH COURSE!  You know what needs to be done to grow your business – and if you don’t – ask someone who does!  

Remember, when it comes to firsts, after you’ve done it once, you’ve overcome not knowing how to do it, and it’s not a first anymore!  Add one more thing to your list of things you know how to do.

You went into business for yourself to serve the world in a way that only you can.  You have all that it takes to live your dream!

Events for Fall 2009

As the end of summer approaches to make way for autumn, we wish you a relaxing, enjoyable and profitable transition into the season of colour!

We have 2 events to tell you about:

Preview call September 2, 2009 at 7pm EST On this call I will share with you the 5 Key Strategies for Promoting Your Business with Authenticity & Joy!  I will also share details about our upcoming 6 Week Super-Size Sales Bootcamp Teleclass that starts September 15, 2009.  Click here for more details and to register: http://www.martinbusinessleadership.com/six-week-super-size-sales-bootcamp-free-teleclass/

6 Week Super-Size Sales Bootcamp Teleclass Sept. 15, 2009 at 1pm EST  If you’re looking to strengthen your “business muscle” and come away with a the tools to promote and sell your offering with integrity, sign up for this 6 week teleclass at our introductory price of only $397.00!  Visit here for further details: http://www.martinbusinessleadership.com/coaching

Blogtalk Radio Interview

I was recently interviewed by Catherine VanWetter on her Blogtalk radio show “Inspirations of the Heart”.  To hear our discussion “How to Sell With Authenticity & Joy!”, click the link below and scroll down the left side of the page to listen to the interview: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inspirationsoftheheart

*NEW* Blogtalk Radio Interview – September 28, 2009 8:30pm EST

Join me for an exciting 3o minutes on “Master Your Universe”  Law of Attraction Radio! I will be the guest on September 28, 2009 at 8:30pm EST.  You can join us by visiting this link http://loaradionetwork.com/sabrina-kinckle.html.  See you there!

 Exciting News!

Our 2 business coaching programs: Selling With Integrity and 6 Week Super-Size Sales Bootcamp Teleseminar are both qualified for 3 category B CEU’s each, by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario & the College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland & Labrador!

*NEW* Book Launch

As many of you may know already, I am a contributing author to the soon-to-be released anthology Overcomers, Inc., True Stories of Hope, Courage and Inspiration due out this fall.  This book is filled with gripping stories by 36 people from all walks of life.  Overcomers, Inc. will make you smile, move you to tears, and fill you with the strength to face life’s challenges. Right now we are giving away a free ebook at: www.overcomersinc.com/grace   Stay tuned for more!

Look forward to “meeting” you at one or more of our events!

Kimberly

How to sell with authenticity and integrity

The cornerstone of the health and wellness service industry is ethical behaviour and integrity.  For small to mid-sized business owners, the business is a direct extension of us, and we want our presence to be in alignment with what we offer and how we offer it.  We want to be authentic; genuine, real and true to our selves, our beliefs and values. 

Hmmm, how much of that sounds like selling?  It’s actually the exact opposite of how most people define selling.  Well, not to me! 

I spent my 15-years of corporate sales work in the healthcare industry being highly successful because I worked in a way that was in alignment with my ethics, was true to who I was, and with honesty and sincerity.  Yes, it is possible for all that stuff to live together in harmony.

The starting point is to know yourself – so that you know when you’re in or out of alignment with who you are.

Here are 5 steps to knowing yourself better:

1. What are your true values?  These are the things that you must have in all work and personal interactions.  (eg: honesty, affection, commitment, independence etc.)  You can find values lists on the internet for ideas
2. What do you stand for?  (What do you and your business represent in the world?)
3. What will you not compromise?
4. What are your top 5 strengths? Things that come with ease, that you look forward to doing, and time passes quickly when you’re doing it.
5. What have others told you you’re good at?

As strange it sounds, sometimes what we know least is our self.  Our society is externally focused and motivated so it’s easy to lose our way.  When we know who we are and what we represent, we now have a touchstone to measure our actions against.  That’s how you sell and operate your business with authenticity and integrity.

Next time we’ll look at:  Using your Emotional Intelligence in selling!

How to Overcome Common Negative Beliefs About Selling

The number one thing that keeps people from engaging in selling interactions is their negative beliefs about selling.  Having these beliefs is no surprise really.  We’ve all heard the negative terms used to describe sales people and the sales process.  When we’re putting people down we use terms like; huckster and used-car salesman.  Then there are the parody’s on TV like Herb Tarlic the salesman from WKRP, or the tragic protagonist that almost kept me out of my sales career – Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.

No one wants to be “sold to” or “taken”, which are things that we associate with the sales process.  As a matter of fact, right now in North American society one of the most maligned and despised groups of people are telemarketers!  Am I right?  So much so, that in both Canada and USA our governments are even stepping in to “protect” us from their calls!  As if they’re dangerous to our well-being.  We need protection from them.  So no wonder we all want to shy away from, in any way, shape or form, being even remotely connected to this sales image.

Underlying our distaste for the sales process is the feeling of powerlessness.  What we hate most of all is feeling that we’re being forced into a decision that we will later regret.  There’s even a term for that – buyers remorse – because it happens so often.  We feel bad about ourselves as if it’s a poor refection on our intelligence or our decision-making skills.  “We should have been smarter about our decision.”  “Why did I let him/her talk me into that?”  These are some of the things we may say to ourselves after we consider the item back in the comfort of our own home.

As a service provider who needs to sell their services and products to grow their business, how does one get past this belief that is so ingrained in our culture?

Redefine what selling is to you.

When I started my career as an Athletic Therapist I never imagined I would have a sales career.  When I naively got into my first sales position, I struggled primarily with my negative beliefs about selling.  My big turning point was when I redefined myself as an educator.  I learned that when I was speaking to the right person, at the right time, and giving them the right information, they could decide if my offering would work for them.  This took the pressure off me to “make them buy” from me. My approach changed, and I grew my business.

If you struggle with negative beliefs about selling, here are some steps you can take:

1. Describe all the things you hate about sales people and being “sold” to:
2. Describe all the ways that you and your business are different from that image:
3. Think of a recent positive selling interaction where you were purchasing a service or product.  What did the person you purchased from do well?  What could they have done differently?
4. How will you change your approach in selling interactions for your business?

The primary way to avoid making a potential client feel uncomfortable in a selling interaction is to ask for permission before sharing information.  If someone says “Yes, I’d like to hear more”, or “No, I don’t have time”, you can avoid what I affectionately call “telemarketers syndrome’!

Join us again soon!  Next time we’ll be talking about “Selling with authenticity & integrity!”

What is Selling?

Selling, at its essence, is a conversation with a purpose.  Really, that’s all it is.  What that means is that whenever you are having a conversation with anyone related to your business, it could be considered a selling conversation.  These can happen anytime, anywhere.  The purpose of a selling conversation could be to build relationships, understand clients’ needs, or to promote, advocate or gain acceptance for what you offer.

How does that fit with your approach to selling?

The barrier that many people who may define themselves as “sales reluctant” come up against is the view that selling is separate and isolated from everything else they do.  Selling becomes this whole other awkward, uncomfortable thing that happens under only certain specific conditions.  Seeing selling as an integrated part of what you do every day makes it much easier to incorporate into your skill set naturally and authentically.

My definition of selling is broad and continuous.  Having had very successful corporate sales career in healthcare, I have learned a thing or two about how to build strong relationships and make selling a win/win for all parties.  They key is to make it a natural, ongoing part of your business relationship.  And I don’t mean that you should be selling to your client in every interaction 24/7, but that you can flow in and out of various stages of selling at any time.

Most business relationships start with introductions and getting to know the person.  If there may be a fit to work together, you flow into asking and answering questions.  The next phase is asking your potential client if they’d like to work with you.  This basic formula can happen in as short as a couple of minutes or go on as long as it takes.

The important take-away from this, is to begin to shift your perception of what selling is, so that it works for you.  No one is telling you what you should or shouldn’t do; after all it is your business.  These are just clues to give you ideas and perchance to reframe past negative experiences.  The goal is to offer you the greatest opportunity to grow your business and have the success you desire!

Visit us again soon!  Next time we’ll be discussing “How to overcome common negative beliefs about selling!”

Why Bother Selling?

The million dollar question!  Can’t we just avoid it?  Service providers in the health and wellness fields especially, would rather do just about any thing else than talk about their offering and…gulp…ask someone to work with them.  I’ll bet you’re cringing already, just reading that!

The thing is, if you are not seeing the level of clients that you deserve to be seeing in your practice, by finding a way to comfortably speak about your offering and then ask someone to begin working with you, you will likely continue to struggle.  One of the key areas we work with clients on is just that, and it makes a tremendous difference to them and their practice.  Not only does their practice grow, but they learn how to have these conversations comfortably and confidently.

So to answer the question about why we need to have selling interactions we focus on two main areas:  What’s in it for you (and you’re business), and what’s in it for your clients.

To get some insight into why it’s important to promote your business, write down your answers to these questions.

 

Do you know what’s in it for you to gain new clients?

• What are all of the benefits to you, and to your business by increasing your client base?
• What is the average value of one client? (average of how many visits x cost per visit – per contract or annually)
• How many clients do you need to see to pay your bills?  Earn a living?
• What are any additional benefits you receive by working with new and existing clients?

Do you know what benefits your clients receive from working with you?

• From your point of view, what benefits do your clients receive from working with you?
• What have your clients told you they value most about working with you?
• From a client’s point of view, what are any additional reasons why they should work with you?

The perspective generally held about selling, is that it’s “taking” something from someone.  By looking at selling as a way to “give” to yourself, your business and to your clients, it shifts the focus from greed to generosity.

In closing, think of a time when you purchased something of great personal value to you.  It may have been a service or product that improved the quality of your life.  How did you find out about it?  What was the process from when you first heard of it to when you purchased it?  What did you like about the process?  What would you change if you were leading the process?  Think about how your life may have been more difficult or complicated without it, and how grateful you are to have it.

Your offering is solving a problem or improving the life of someone who uses your services or products.  Sharing your gifts with the world is a form of honouring what you’ve been given.  Share your blessings!

Check back soon!  Next time we’ll further define, “What is selling?”

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