We recently offered a blog to respond to questions about growing email overload from our members and experience personally.  Little did we know that the topic of email overload would be so hot and heavily discussed among technology writers and the popular reporting sources? A flurry of new advice continues as the tech writers are responding with new email solutions.

This is happening because of the rapidly increasing amount of unwanted email. This is the result of the increasing use of email news and notification services provided via social media, especially via Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and Google Plus.

We and others recommend being careful when joining groups within social networks that push email notifications to group members. It’s great to be social and belong to many groups and to grow your network and circles, but this also means that you will often receive a big increase of notifications and updates going right to your inbox.

I monitored a webinar presentation last week in which one of the hosts, the President of a high tech firm complained vigorously about this growing email problem. He turned his webcam around to show his inbox containing a stream of email notifications from social media that he now needed to opt-out or spam block.

Some business owners are coming up with new email policies and solutions. One of the most interesting recently is this story: Why Limiting Emails to 50 Words Is a Great Idea

Reprinted from that story below:

“As Business Insider has subsequently reported, a software engineer at the company took the challenge and wrote a script to apply the 50-words-and-under limit to Gmail.

When compared to Twitter’s 140-character limit, this is actually quite generous. Since that quota evens out to about 25 words, you would now have double the amount to say in an email than what you might tweet. As Twitter users well know, crafting tweets can be tricky, but you can pretty much get across whatever you need to say. With 50 words, you would have no excuse. Enforcing discipline would improve the content of most emails. There’s a timeworn case to be made that shorter is better.”

That story got many hundreds of responses; one was; “What you’re suggesting is kind of ridiculous. It’s not my fault if you suffer from a short attention span. Some things require a lot more than 50 words to communicate.”

Do you believe that services and new tools that enforce an email word count limit to you email inbox would help?

The 5 Week Makeover: C-Store Edition

Massive improvement in your c-store (Convenience Store) in 5 Weeks? NO WAY!
The real need for you, as a C-Store (owner, is YOU being in control of your business rather than your business being in control of you and this can change VERY, VERY quickly.
You see, having a thriving C-Store is not about the location or the Plan-O-Gram or your gas price or the demographics of your business. A thriving C-Store is dependent on the one thing that a thriving chiropractic office, a thriving restaurant, a thriving coffee shop or a thriving Jet engine parts manufacturer need. And amazingly, all of these businesses that I just mentioned need the same thing to thrive.
Peter Drucker, a world renowned management consultant, commented, “Since an organization has one and only one function – to attract and retain a customer, an organization only has two assets. Marketing and Innovation. Everything else is an expense.”
Are you in need of innovation or marketing? Most C-Store owners think they are not. And you may not really think you are in need of additional cash. What you really want is what the additional cash gives you –
• Peace of mind
• Financial stability in a world of instability
• A way to pay for your children’s education
• A way to pay for refurbishing your store with upgraded or new equipment
• A way to hire better quality workers as you have the cash flow to his them
• A way to fund that fun vacation you have been dreaming about
• A way to work less while making more
Hi, my name is Ted Leithart. For several years, I worked in retail management for a Global 10 petroleum company that owned many retail outlets. During those years, I worked crazy hours. At times I worked up to 35 hours from the time I left for work until the time I returned home (as one tired manager!). I regularly worked 15-17-19 hours at a time when an employee called in, call in and noted they would be there (but never showed), and so on.
I’m sure you can identify with this.
And through it all, I substantially increased my inside sales even though two major competitors built new stores within one mile of me. What was my secret? Well, here’s what you will learn:
There are dozens of strategies and hundreds if not thousands of iterations of strategies that can be used to build a business fast. But of all these, there are 5 or 6 that top all of the others…
These are not the strategies that I picked out – these are the strategies that I have gleaned from 15 years of studying. While many were out enjoying their evenings at a concert, a ball game, at the bar with their friends or at a family cookout, I was reading, studying and applying these strategies to see which ones worked the best – and the quickest.
In other words, by attending this seminar, you will have saved countless evenings and weekends of learning what to apply to your C-Store to make it thrive and make it flourish.
You will have saved fifteen years of headaches of what doesn’t work and what does. And this is all backed to protect YOU with a money back guarantee. If you are not convinced that the insights and applications are well beyond the investment in your business that this teleseminar series is, you’ll not pay a cent.
For additional details – and to register, go to www.cstoregrowthprofessor.com Click the Get Instant Access button and fill out your first name and email address (I already have most of yours). Then you can watch the videos if you haven’t already.
If you have watched the videos and want to learn more details about the teleseminar series, just click the I Want More NOW button and it will take you to the page that gives you additional details.
The teleseminar series begins on October 10. Stay tuned for details.

A Secret that I want to share with small business owners is called Communication and I believe it is one of the most powerful Secrets there are for creating success in retail business. Each one of you already knows that communication is critically important in your business. The key concept that must be brought forward in all of your communications is that customers do not buy products, they buy solutions and benefits. They buy value, and that is a lot more important than mere price to increase sales.
The key to communicating in today’s world is being authentic, being real, and being you. Your message must reflect you, your values, and your personality. People want to hear you!! If people don’t know you or anything about you, they probably won’t buy from you. Conversely, the more customers know about you the more they like you. This is called the “Know, Like & Trust Factor.”
Few businesses excel at communication. Why is that?
Let’s take a few minutes and review why communication, both written and verbal, is so important and how, if you embrace and follow this Secret, you can accelerate your business to new levels and bring more money your way. Communication penetrates every aspect of your business. From the first moment you walk in the door in the morning and greet your employees to the last phone call you make before heading home at night. We communicate all day, every day, and we do it so effortlessly that not too many of us have given much thought as to why it is so critically important. Let me ask you a series of questions to make my point:

• How have you communicated your vision of success to your employees?
• If you have, how often have you communicated your vision of success to your team?
• How often do you communicate your thankfulness and appreciation to your employees and customers? Daily? Never? In writing? Verbally?
• How do you set the expectations of what you want from your employees that will help to excel your business? Do they have to guess? Are your SMART Goals posted for all to see?
• Is your customer–marketing funnel laid out clearly so every single employee knows what is expected?
• Do they have a complete roadmap for success because you have made the effort to communicate it clearly and in writing?
I’m hoping that this is the case, and if it isn’t, there’s still time. And with my help, you will soon be on the way to practicing frequent and effective communication for your business success. I hope that you are in the practice of communicating exactly what you want in your business. I hope that you are telling your employees and vendors what you want, and not making them guess. Put it in writing and make sure everyone on the team can see it.
Develop a simple document that articulates the three biggest benefits of doing business with you and also develop what makes you different from your competition. The three things that make you different and better help provide the key communication messages to your customers.
The other area of communication takes place outside of the store or business. Are you advertising, and if you are, then communicate the solutions or benefits you provide or the problem you solve for them. I could write an entire book on advertising, but I will save that for a later time. The important lesson here is, however you communicate about your business, make sure you can measure the effectiveness, the Return on Investment (ROI), and that you are saying the right things. Thinking that you have to communicate price all the time is a mistake. People want value and it is up to you to communicate your value, your solutions, and your benefits.
Here are two important marketing communications that must be present:
1. Customers want the best; they want the number one rated item, the best-selling item. Why is that? Customers want to be winners and winners buy the top-rated, the best in class, whenever possible. It is up to you to communicate how customers are winners when they buy your products.
2. When communicating value, and many times that involves price, use a different communication tactic. Communicate the savings rather than just the price; do the math for them. When you communicate the savings you communicate the winnings!! Saving customers money is providing value and be sure to establish that the offerings are based more on value versus being the cheapest price.

Every sign, card, flyer or written communication should emphasize your value equation. Promote the value, which includes the biggest benefit or solution you provide. If you are the fastest then say it; this message supports a solution or benefit of speedy service. If product availability is a solution or benefit your customers are looking for then communicate 100 percent in stock, every day and every way!! Communicate your strongest benefit or solution first and foremost and frame it as part of the value equation. Competing on price alone is a lonely road!!
There are also several other communication strategies to help support your goals. Transaction-building communication has a very different look than gaining market share. Communication is the vehicle to communicate how you are different or better than your competition. Telling customers why they should buy from you is always a good thing. You need to be able to tell customers what you are selling and why they need it in less than 10 seconds or you will lose the majority of folks.
Ideal customer: who is it? Where are they and how do you talk to them directly? There are many ways: from networking to direct mail to on-line to social media. Once you know your ideal customer, talk with them through every means possible. Do you talk to them often? Have you created a customer loyalty program? Are you making your communication personal? Is your picture on the Web site? Do you have a presence? It will be more impactful if they buy from Dave than Direct Distributing!! Put a face on your business!! Think of Dave from Wendy’s or Orville at you know where.
Web site and Social Media: have a plan and work the plan. It’s better to do nothing in this space if you do not have an action plan. Make sure your on-line message and personality are the same as the physical store; make sure they are connected not only in look and feel but also in personality. This isn’t a popularity contest. Just connect in a very authentic way and show your customers the personality of the company. If customers don’t know you, they won’t buy from you; if they know, like, and trust you that is very difficult to beat!!
Communicate your call to action very clearly. Many businesses miss this concept because it is so simple and basic. People just don’t ask their customers for the sale. How many retailers sell versus how many allow their customers to just shop and self-select? Helping customers find or select the product that best fits their solution, benefit, or problem will result in a more satisfying transaction. If at all possible, help the customer select as opposed to allowing them to self-select.
Communicate to the customer about how you solve his/her problem and provide him/her with solutions. Focus less about you or the retail business and more about the customer. It is great that you have been in business since 1927, but is that the most important thing? I would suggest to you that today’s consumers are more focused on themselves and less focused on you the retailer. It is all about them and not about you, the retailer. Create and focus your communication on the customer.
Communications is the activator for all the previous steps.
Social media and the Internet (Web site) are fast and ever-changing emerging forms of communication—again, an entire book could be written about the advancement of technology in retail business communications. There is a place for Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and LinkedIn in your business, but develop a specific strategy and tactics and work the plan. Social media can be time consuming, confusing, and a waste of time and money if not planned carefully with a professional. Have a plan, work the plan; if not, you are better off staying away until you do have a plan.
How you do anything is how you do everything? Well, how you communicate anything is how you communicate everything! It is vitally important that you communicate and practice through examples this particular secret.
Another form of communication that I am going to encourage you to get in the habit of doing is communication around failures.
Openly admit and celebrate your failures with your employees. Teach them that if they aren’t experiencing failure, then they’re not stretching themselves. Remember, when you experience failure, you are that much closer to success.
Create a culture of “do.” Celebrate successes, talk about them, but don’t forget to talk about the failures, too. Get in the habit of saying, “We screwed up, but let’s move on.”
Don’t be ruled by fear. Talk with your employees about how they can embrace their failures and show them how failure is just success rushing at you so you can get better!
Now we need to talk about how the right communication around your business plans can become a powerful tool that will assist you in making more money and will lead you closer to your desired business success.
Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! Tell your employees about your vision for your business. Share with them what you see and where you want to go. Getting them on board with your vision will be a very important contributor to your success and their success as well. Don’t forget to communicate your customer sales and marketing funnel process to your employees.
The last, and maybe the most important key, in communication is to always have a call to action. Ask for the sale; ask for their information so you can follow up. A call to action is critical!!
Remember this powerful secret, The Secret of Communication. Do it well and do it often for your business success! Practice the old adage of, “Tell them, tell them what you told them, and then tell them again!” It is impossible to over-communicate.
Communications is the activator for all the previous Secrets.

“What is Success?”
What is success for you?
Most small businesses think that getting more sales is the answer; but success starts long before that.
Or they think their location or their brand is the answer; but I’m here to tell you success starts long before that.

The first secret that I want to share with you today is about how you determine what success is for you.
• What does success look like for you?
• Can you describe it?
• What does success feel like for you?

Unfortunately, many of my clients, when we first start working together, can’t define their success in these terms.
Most clients describe it in money terms. Money is certainly important but it is not necessarily the sole measure of success. Having a crystal clear vision of what success looks like for you is critical and fundamental to achieving profitability in your business.

The one action toward success that I want you to take is to first define who you are and what you do.
• What are you famous for?
• Why should I buy from you?

Without a crystal clear understanding of you and your business model, success can be a very tough road. If you do not know specifically what benefit or service you provide, and how you provide it, your customers won’t know either. If your customers do not understand what you are selling, you won’t sell it!
I want you to fill in the missing pieces in the following sentence and once you do, you will begin to get very clear on what success might look like:
Are you ready?
I help __________ (Fill in the blank. Let’s insert who your ideal customer is, or the target market you want to go after).
For example, in my company, I help retail business owners and manufacturers…
Now let’s fill in the next part of the sentence:
Do, or be, or get, or achieve __________ (Fill in the blank and insert here the result that you can get for them).
Using my earlier example, I help retail business owners and manufacturers get more customers and sales…
And now we’ll insert into this sentence an adverb that defines your business:
Differentiator: __________ (for example, are you faster, does it take less effort to use your product, or do you offer a more streamlined process, or make things easier for your customers, etc.)
Using my earlier example, the sentence reads like this,
I help retail business owners and manufacturers get more
customers and sales faster and easier…

Do you see how this sentence is beginning to define who I am and what my business model is?
Are you ready to fill in the final part of the sentence in this exercise?
Even if __________ (and here I want you to insert the biggest objection your customers can have about your business or service).
So here is the complete sentence using my example: I help retail business owners and manufacturers get more customers and sales faster and easier than they ever thought possible.
The sentence that you eventually write should clarify for you a crystal clear understanding of you and your business model. And that leads to success!
Let me read another example so you have a good understanding of the end product of this process. Are you ready?
I help convenience store owners achieve incremental sales and profit in the alternative tobacco category, faster and easier, even with restricted space availability.
Do you see how simply writing out a sentence like this can help to create a better picture of the success that you want to achieve?
I hope this little exercise was helpful for you. It might not be easy the first time that you try it, but keep working on it, writing and re-writing, until you are able to develop the best description of what you and your business model will look like.
Now let’s move on in our discussion about defining success.
Did you know that you create your life with every decision you make and
every action or non-action you take?

This is a very important concept; so let me repeat it again.
You create your life with every decision you make and with every action or non-action you take.
This is a really important concept because once you have learned about my 7 Secrets to getting more sales and customers; you will have to implement them!
That’s right, you have to take action on the 7 Secrets if you want to create greater success in your business.
Right now, I want you to take a minute and do an exercise with me that I call “Imagine the Possibilities.”
When most people think about their business, they do not think in terms of how big can I be? Imagining the possibilities, and then taking action to get there, is a key step in obtaining business success.
With that in mind, here are a couple of questions I want you to think about:
• Can you envision your business as the leader in your market? Is your dream to be the “go-to” business?
• When customers think of a product, do they immediately think of your business as the place to go and get it?
• What have you done to differentiate your business from your competitors?
The relentless pursuit “to be famous” for the product or the service you offer is one way you can increase sales and profit margins!
And while you are “Imagining the Possibilities”, I also want
you to practice something I call, “Thinking Big”.
So how big can you become?
Now, I’m not talking about getting a bigger facility or a larger store or adding more locations. That will come later, after you begin to implement my 7 Secrets all day,
every day!
What I am talking about is learning to “think big” in your own mind. If you want to achieve the success that I know you can, you must be relentless in your pursuit of the concept of “thinking big” and being the best at what you do.
Here are a few more questions you should ask about “thinking big” and success:
• Are you the best at what you do?
• Do you want to be viewed as the best by your customers?
When you begin to think bigger about yourself than you are today and then take action toward that goal, I know it will produce extraordinary results for your business.
I have seen it happen to my clients and they were astounded by the results.
You will be too.
I asked you earlier if there was any negative self-talk going on with you.
• Do you ever find yourself doubting your abilities?
• Do you ever find yourself thinking about all the reasons why something won’t work?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, what you are experiencing is fear. And fear is a very normal response for most people.
DO NOT LET FEAR IN!!

I know that’s easier said than done, but giving into fear will undermine the positive steps you are taking to finding success in your business faster than anything else.
We’ve all been through tough times in our lives, experienced a time when fear raised its ugly head and stopped us in our tracks.
But I have a tip you can implement right away that will take away the fear!
Are you ready?
The best way to eliminate fear in your business and in life is to walk directly into it. That’s right, walk directly into it and then watch what happens to the fear.
It disappears.
You might be asking; how can it be that easy?
Well, it’s not easy. But when you decide to face fear head on and when you take action against your fear, you will immediately begin to feel more powerful and in control. You will begin to have faith in your abilities and the fear will evaporate!
Helping my clients learn to face the fears they have about their business and then giving them the tools to overcome the fear, is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job when working with my clients.
Now let’s talk about something else closely related to fear, and that is disapproval.
• Are there people around you that tell you every chance they get that something will never work?
• Do you have family or friends that openly doubt that your
business will be successful?
• Do they tell you this often?

There will always be someone who disapproves of what you are doing.
So get used to it!
But DON’T LET THEIR DISAPPROVAL DETER YOU in finding YOUR success!
Choose to be positive, choose to be optimistic, choose to surround yourself with cheering friends, family and customers.
Choose success!!
Positive thinking about your business and having positive intentions are extremely powerful factors when it comes to success!
Now, we’re about ready to wrap up our discussion on defining what success is for your business. You have created your success statement and stretched yourself to “Imagine the Possibilities” and to “Think Big.” You have learned how to walk through your fears and learned how to face down disapproval.
I want you to get ready to play big, because there won’t be any room for smallness in your business once you have defined your success.

I know that this might sound kind of odd to call “failure” a good thing, but let me explain.
How many times have you tried to do something in your business and have failed?
I bet you were disappointed and maybe even a little bit frustrated. Failure can take the wind out of our sails with surprising speed. Failure can bring any forward movement you might have generated on a project to a complete and sudden stop.
Because of this, I want to introduce you to a secret in creating success in your business.
If you put into practice what you are going to read, it will forever change the way you look at failure. In thirty years of retail experience, I’ve considered failure to be a gift.
Yes, you heard me right; a failure should be looked upon as a gift. When failure occurs, it brings you that much closer to winning!
And everyone loves to win.
From now on, when you experience failure and it knocks you down, I want you to get up, and decide that you are going to do everything in your power to improve on whatever failed. If you do this, you will move closer and closer to success.
Every time you create forward movement and forward momentum and you take forward action, you defeat failure. This moves you closer to your success.
Here’s an important lesson I have learned working with my clients. If failure occurs with a new project, or product launch, or new marketing plan, don’t abandon it because of the failure. Instead, take a step back and analyze what can be saved from the project or marketing plan. Many times it is just one small piece that needs to be tweaked. You don’t have to start over from the beginning.
Failure can bring fear to many people. You’re going to learn to walk through the fear and face down disapproval and face down disappointment. You will never let fear control you again.
Let me ask you the following question:
Do any of us ever reach ultimate success?
I sure hope not because we should always have something new that we want to accomplish. It is important that we keep stretching ourselves, and by stretching ourselves, we keep motivated and excited about our business.
Do you have a new product to introduce?
Or a new marketing campaign or employee sales contest you want to implement?
There should always be some project you are working on to challenge and stretch you so your business continually grows and you make more money!
Here’s what happens when you allow the fear of failure to be alive in your business.
What decisions do you make when you operate from fear?
I’ll bet that they are not good ones.
It might sound a little crazy, but I want you to welcome failure into your life. Don’t shy away from failure because of fear.
After all, fear is only False Evidence Appearing Real!
You have to ask yourself the question: “Would I do things differently if I consistently operated from a position of faith instead of fear?”
Let your faith in your abilities become your parachute.
The number one thing that I hope you take away is you do not need to fear failure any longer in your life!
How liberating is that?
From now on, I want you to promise me you will not let fear run your life.
I want you to make a commitment that you will constantly stretch yourself. And commit to constantly stretching your employees. You will be amazed at how they will learn from being challenged, and they will grow into being more productive employees during the process.
If you stretch yourself and your employees, I promise that it will keep you motivated and excited about your business. And if one day you happen to reach what you believe is ultimate success, however you choose to define it, remember it’s not time to stop. Ever! Keep pushing harder, create more forward momentum, reach for the stars and add another stretch goal that is just beyond today’s reach.
I make the following promise to you, if you no longer allow the fear of failure to hold you back, you will always be handsomely rewarded.

“How you do anything is how you do everything!”
Let me repeat that one more time because this concept is so important to finding success in your business.
How you do anything is how you do everything!
Don’t you think this statement speaks for itself?
When you set the standard for excellence and when you set the expectation for greatness, your customers and employees will react and follow your lead.

It is very important for you to project a winning image as the leader in your business on a daily basis. You must see yourself as successful if you want others to see you in the same way.
• Who doesn’t love to be on a winning team?small
• Who doesn’t love to be around people who are inspirational?
• How you do anything is how you do everything!

When you set the expectation and then practice courtesy and kindness it comes back to you. Would you be surprised if I told you that one of the Laws of the Universe is that it will come back to you seven-fold?
The practice of courtesy and kindness is something that you must put into practice immediately! It is a foundational skill that every great leader possesses and practices daily. Think of Mother Teresa. Think of the Dalai Lama. Both of these individuals were and are inspirational leaders whose very names are synonymous with courtesy and kindness.
How you do anything is how you do everything!
Another way to look at this principal is to consider the time-honored saying, “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Now I know you are not in the business of catching flies, but I hope you are in the business of catching customers!

How we treat our customers, how we treat our employees and vendors, says more about who we are than anything else we might say. Remember that actions will always speak louder than words.
As the leader in your business, it is up to you to set the expectations and model the behavior you want for your employees. How you treat your employees is how they will treat your customers.
Set strong policy, but remember to be gentle in your interactions with your employees.
Please remember this concept and put it into practice daily. Practice courtesy and kindness, you will reap larger money rewards than you ever imagined.
When you expect and practice quality workmanship, it comes back to you. You can create the future that you want. It starts first in your thoughts and then in how you treat your employees. From your good example of courtesy and kindness, it will flow from you to your employees, and then onto your customers.
How you do anything is how you do everything!

When you expect and practice abundance, it comes back to you. Be sure that you are not guilty of being too cheap in your business. Ask yourself the question, “Are you squeezing the money hose too tightly?”
Instead of saying, “I can’t afford it”, turn the phrase around and say, “How can I afford it?”
One of the ways you will be able to afford it is to practice. Set the intention now to be the best that you can be, and don’t be afraid of the responsibilities when your intentions come true!
You will get more customers, more sales and more profits. And hopefully you will enjoy the journey as you pile up more profits than you ever imagined.

What you have in your life is what you believe and expect. What you put your focus on always multiplies. Be sure to do this every day!
If you want something, start acting as if you already have it because: How you do anything is how you do everything!
One final thought: It is not about luck. There is no such thing as luck! There is only hard work and taking full advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
Replace the word luck with the word opportunity!

Once you set the expectation and practice whatever it is you want, the Universe will move because you made the commitment.
Be it courtesy, kindness, quality workmanship or abundance, it will always show up in your life in the form of an opportunity.
Your job will be to recognize the opportunities and not let them slip away.
Never forget …How you do anything is how you do everything!

“Your Special Ability” Regardless if you are a small business, CPA or attorney…no matter what you do…
I’d like to begin by asking you to honestly answer the following questions:
• How do you spend your time while you are at work?
• Do you spend the majority of it in your business and not on your business?
• Are you running your business or is it running you?
• What happens when you try and do everything without seeking any help?
You end up doing a bunch of “stuff”, but does any of this stuff get you more sales, customers or profits? Or is it all busy work that distracts you from being successful?
The secret of getting more sales and customers involves focusing and working on your strengths and letting others provide the support that you need to be successful. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Well if it was so simple, then why is it that most business owners have such a hard time doing it?
Believe me, I know, because I was once guilty of trying to do it all in my business before I found ways to delegate what was not my special ability.
My passion is helping retailers achieve success in their business. My special ability is not doing monthly client billings or updating my web site.
You have to be passionate about what you are doing, and if you are, that is your special ability. If you are too busy and distracted doing things you don’t enjoy, then your employees and customers will sense your frustration and in turn will not be passionate about you or your business.
The secret is simply doing what you do best, your special ability, and then finding ways to get the busy work done through different means.
Let me ask you one more question.
What is it that you would do every day, all day long for free?
The answer to this question is your special ability! Everyone has one, but most of us haven’t learned how to find it.
Special ability is who we are at our very best. Wouldn’t it be great if you could spend all of your time doing only the things you love, that you know are guaranteed to put money in your pocket?
We are going to discuss the fine art of delegation and then we will explore how to find the necessary resources that will free you up to actually run your business and not have it run you!
Let me share with you a story about a client who was getting bogged down in accounting paperwork and other administrative tasks and he hated every minute he spent doing it. When I asked my client what it was that he loved to do, he replied, “I love to sell and work with my customers.”
I suggested that if he spent his time selling and working with customers and hired a bookkeeper to do all the other tasks, he would be able to generate the additional sales needed to pay for the bookkeeper. He would then be a much happier owner.
At first he resisted and argued about why it wouldn’t work but finally agreed to give it a try. Now my client’s business is thriving because of this very small shift in his mindset. He is working in his special ability and has never been happier, and his business has never been more profitable!
Now, let’s roll up our sleeves and get started on finding the right resources to help you get the support you need for the things that you do not love to do.
• What can you delegate to others so you can spend more time with your special ability?
• Do you have trusted employees that could help you with the tasks that are not contributing to your special ability?
• Can you hire a part-time person?
• Can you hire an intern? The good news today is that many interns will work for no pay because they are grateful for the opportunity to gain work experience and have something that will add to their resume.
• Can you hire a Virtual Assistant?
We’ve only touched on a few, and there are many, many ways to delegate or shift responsibilities. You must first focus on what your special ability is and then maximize that strength by allowing others to support you.
You need to make a conscience effort to do what you love and be committed to finding resources for the all the other stuff!
In summary, everyone has a special ability. It’s vitally important that you discover what your special ability is. It’s whatever you would do all day, every day, for free.
Everyone has a special ability. Your goal is to find yours and then surround yourself with the support staff and employees who have their own special abilities that complement yours.
What is it that you love to do that will make you the most money, in the shortest time, with the least effort and have the biggest on-going impact?
Let me ask you that question again.
What is it that you love to do that will make you the most money, in the shortest time, with the least effort and have the biggest on-going impact?
When you find the answer to this question, then you are working in your special ability.

The Power of Three

You’re probably asking what the heck is the Power of Three. The Power of Three is a very powerful selling concept that works extremely well whenever it can be implemented.

Whenever you have a service or product the Power of Three should be considered as a sales tactic. Let me tell you why……

If you are selling a service or a product and you offer a single price or package the consumer or client makes a yes or no decision, they either will buy or not. This decision for the seller becomes a 50% proposition; you win or lose 50% of the time. Getting potential customers to decide to buy or not to buy is not the where you want to be as a provider of goods or services.

The sales tactic of offering a basic price and a premium price on products or service packages is better than not having options as in the single option above. When you offer two options the consumer may very well pick the premium upgrade but it most cases the consumer will pick the lower priced option. As long as the lower priced option has the margins needed to run your business this is a good way to go. A percentage of customers will pick the premium option and then everyone is a bit happier, the consumer gets a premium product or service and the seller achieves a slightly higher profit.

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How has the current economic situation affected your business?

Everybody is struggling so don’t feel alone. Just about every retailer or manufacturer in the U.S. is hurting from a decrease in sales and profits.

There is some good news. Eventually, we’ll emerge from this recession just as we have from all previous ones and begin to grow.

The other good news is that your competition has thinned out a bit and with fewer competitors to deal with – and fewer people competing for your customers – you can now earn a bigger share of your market niche.

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