CVS Blog » Business

Systemising Your Business

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:31:49 +0000

A Business Fusion workshop I attended last week amplified my belief that many businesses, large and small, do not operate on a system.

E-Myth Revisited is a book which all business owners and managers should treat as a bible. It too lays down a methodology for systemising your business, the basics of which are just as applicable to the small business.

The mainstay of systemising your business is documentation; documenting, from beginning to end, every process your business employs. Have you documented all the actions that you accomplish in running your business on a daily basis?

From experience, the average business owner does not enjoy writing documents—unless it is part of their business; as it is mine. I have heard of business owners who have claimed that that their business really is systemised- it’s just that the systems are all in their head. Sorry guys—and you may not like this—but that doesn’t count!

Take that first step today; spend a few days paying particular attention to the activities that you perform and record everything that you do in a notebook or journal. Now that you have recorded your actions, organise and order them into groups (for example: accounting, client processes, product creation, answering e?mails, etc).

Now we come to the crunch—put it all down on paper.

Don’t want, or have the time, to turn that data into information that can, and should, be used. Then outsource it to a documentation expert.

*****

Stuck in this area?

Contact me at info@virtualservices.com.au
to find out how I can help you.

Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au – Experience the Difference
http://vacertified.com/client-info/ – First in the World to be VA Certified (and you can benefit)
www.avbn.com.au – Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 61 8 9304 3202 Mobile: 61 414 25 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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The Power of Asking; 7 Ways to Boost Your Business

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:26:43 +0000

The Power of Asking; 7 Ways to Boost Your Business
by Jack Canfield

The gift called “asking” has been around for a long, long time. One of life’s fundamental truths states, “Ask and you shall receive.” Kids are masters at using this gift, but we adults seem to have lost our ability to ask. We come up with all sorts of excuses and reasons to avoid any possibility of rejection.

Yet the world responds to those who ask! If you are not moving closer to what you want, you probably aren’t doing enough asking.

Here are seven asking strategies you can implement in your business (and in life) to boost your results and your bottom line:

Asking Strategy #1: Ask for Information

To win potential new clients, you first need to know what their current challenges are, what they want to accomplish and how they plan to do it. Only then can you proceed to demonstrate the advantages of your unique product or service.

Ask questions starting with the words who, why, what, where, when and how to obtain the information you need. Only when you truly understand and appreciate a prospect’s needs can you offer a solution. Once you know what’s important to them, stay on this topic and find solutions for them.

Asking Strategy #2: Ask for Business

Here’s an amazing statistic: after giving a complete presentation about the benefits of their product or service, more than 60 percent of the time salespeople never ask for the order! That’s a bad habit, and one that could ultimately put you out of business.

Always ask a closing question to secure the business. Don’t waffle or talk around it—or worse, wait for your prospect to ask you. No doubt you have heard of many good ways to ask the question, “Would you like to give it a try?” The point is, ask.

Asking Strategy #3: Ask for Written Endorsements

Well-written, results-oriented testimonials from highly respected people are powerful for future sales. They solidify the quality of your product or service and leverage you as a person who has integrity, is trustworthy and gets the job done on time.

When is the best time to ask? Right after you have provided excellent service, gone the extra mile to help out, or in any other way made your customer really happy.

Simply ask if your customer would be willing to give you a testimonial about the value of your product or service, plus any other helpful comments.

Asking Strategy #4: Ask for Top-Quality Referrals

Just about everyone in business knows the importance of referrals. It’s the easiest, least expensive way of ensuring your growth and success in the marketplace.

Your core clients will gladly give you referrals because you treat them so well. So why not ask all of them for referrals? It’s a habit that will dramatically increase your income. Like any other habit, the more you do it the easier it becomes.

Asking Strategy #5: Ask for More Business

Look for other products or services you can provide your customers. Devise a system that tells you when your clients will require more of your products. The simplest way is to ask your customers when you should contact them to reorder. It’s often easier to sell your existing clients more than to go looking for new ones.

Asking Strategy #6: Ask to Renegotiate

Regular business activities include negotiation. Many businesses get stuck because they lack skills in negotiation, yet this is simply another form of asking that can save a lot of time and money. Look at your vendors and suppliers and see if there are areas where you can be saving money. Just ask.

All sorts of contracts can be renegotiated in your personal life, too, such as changing your mortgage terms and rate, reviewing your cell phone plan and requesting a policy review with your insurance agent. As long as you negotiate ethically and in the spirit of win-win, you can enjoy a lot of flexibility. Nothing is ever cast in stone.

Asking Strategy #7: Ask for Feedback

This is a powerful way to fine-tune your business that is often overlooked. How do you really know if your product or service is meeting your customers’ needs? Ask them, “How are we doing? What can we do to improve our service to you? Please share what you like or don’t like about our products.” Set up regular customer surveys that ask good questions and tough questions.

HOW TO ASK

Some people don’t enjoy the fruits of asking because they don’t ask effectively. If you use vague language you will not be clearly understood. Here are five ways to ensure that your asking gets results.

Ask Clearly
Be precise. Think clearly about your request. Take time to prepare. Use a note pad to pick words that have the greatest impact. Words are powerful, so choose them carefully.

Ask with Confidence
People who ask confidently get more than those who are hesitant and uncertain. When you’ve figured out what you want to ask for, do it with certainty, boldness and confidence.

Ask Consistently
Some people fold after making one timid request. They quit too soon. Keep asking until you find the answers. In prospecting there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get a “yes.” Top producers understand this. When you find a way to ask that works, keep on asking it.

Ask Creatively
In this age of global competition, your asking may get lost in the crowd, unheard by the decision-makers you hope to reach. There is a way around this. If you want someone’s attention, don’t ask the ordinary way. Use your creativity to dream up a high-impact presentation.

Ask Sincerely
When you really need help, people will respond. Sincerity means dropping the image facade and showing a willingness to be vulnerable. Tell it the way it is, lumps and all. Don’t worry if your presentation isn’t perfect; ask from your heart. Keep it simple and people will open up to you.

* * *

Are you ’stuck’ in this area?
Send me your most pressing question, then join me for our monthly
‘Ask Jack Canfield’ Tele-Clinic on Wednesday, July 2nd!
www.AskJackCanfield.com

Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

* * *

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24-Hour Twitter Expert

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:32:09 +0000

Samantha Milner has published a blueprint that everyone who’s serious about using Twitter should read.
Click on the picture for more details

And it’s based on the system that Samantha uses to generate a 60,000+ targeted following on Twitter and how you could do the same for little over an hour a day.

Best of all – It’s valued at $97 but for a VERY limited time I’ve managed
to persuade her to let you have it for…..

ZERO.

I strongly suggest that you download it now.

Regards

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How Do Spammers Get E-mail Addresses?

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:51:36 +0000

Conventionally, spammers obtain e-mail addresses from public sources such as newsgroups; forums, or the “TO:” and “CC:” lines of e-mail messages with an extensive circulation.

It has been known for some unscrupulous Internet service providers to rent out their customer list to earn extra income, but it probably doesn’t happens much these days due to the increasingly restrictive “anti-spam” legislations.

However, would you believe that there is a way for spammers to get your e-mail address – even if you’ve never, ever, used it.

It is called a “dictionary harvest attack” where legitimate e-mail addresses are found by brute force; guessing valid e-mail addresses at a domain using different permutations of common usernames.

The most targeted technique is to create a list that combines common first name and surnames and initials. For example jdoe@example.com, johnd@example.com, or johndoe@example.com. For each message the example.com mail system will either accept the message, which means the address is valid, or decline it with an “invalid mailbox” message, which means that address is discarded.

If you have your own e-mail domain, and you have a “catch-all” account for unallocated addresses, then you’ve probably seen spam addressed to “webmaster@” or “manager@” for example.

The larger e-mail providers are aware of this and battle against these attacks. Computers that attempt to send out multiple messages with such a pattern should be blocked; but it is very difficult for computer systems to differentiate between a dictionary harvest attack and other, genuine, high-volume mailings such as e-mail newsletters.

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Multi-tasking

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:39:23 +0000

I thought that multi-tasking was specific to the female of our species – apparently not. So I could not resist this article to restart my blogging.

This great article by Mary McDonald, CEO/CTO of the McDonald Consulting Group http://www.mcdcg.com/10.html , an occasional client of mine, explains why multi-tasking can be detrimental to productivity.

Multi-tasking vs. Single Focus

People have different opinions on multi-tasking vs. one focus approach… so which is better?

“The Myth of Multitasking” by Christine Rosen details several reasons why multi-tasking is not the optimum approach:

a fall in IQ (more so than if the subject were smoking marijuana
decrease in learning
negative impact on productivity (affecting the economy?)
lost ‘brain time’ as the brain works to juggle several tasks
and many more.

I’ve seen first-hand how multi-tasking affects our decision making — while sitting at a light waiting to make a left, I watched a woman coming through the intersection from the other side, talking on a cell phone, and drive right into a telephone pole. She never braked until she actually impacted the pole; and she continue to chat as she got out of the SUV to inspect her damage! Unluckily for her, a patrol car was at the red light on the cross street; he simply flicked on his lights and pulled over to write her up.

When trying to get a project complete, divide the project into smaller tasks. This tip: do those smaller tasks in their entirety prior to moving on to the next step.

Good ways to accomplish this:

ignore the phone and email while working on a project
set aside time on your calendar to do research, gather materials, and write rough drafts
work from start to finish without pause, if possible
if you must break, take a break at a logical stopping point, and leave your materials in place for easy restart

WARNING: These simple ideas may cause you to become more focused, productive, and happy. PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au – Experience the Difference
www.virtualservices.com.au/CVS_blog – My contribution to business owners
www.avbn.com.au – Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 61 8 9304 3202 Mobile: 61 414 25 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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A Parable for Today’s World

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:12:41 +0000

I can’t believe so much time has passed simcve I last posted to this blog – and even Christmas has come and gone.

A break in the thread.

I don’t know the origin of this, but feel it very applicable to the current world economic situation.

So, with grateful thanks to the author —

The Man Who Sold Hot Dogs

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs.

He was hard of hearing so he had no radio.

He had trouble with his eyes so he read no newspapers.

But he sold good hot dogs.

He put up signs on the highway telling how good they were.

He stood on the side of the road and cried; “Buy a hot dog, mister?

And people bought.

He increased his meat and bun orders.

He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.

He finally got his son home from college to help him out.

But then something happened.

His son said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio?

Haven’t you been reading the newspapers?

There’s a big depression.

The European situation is terrible.

The domestic situation is worse.”

Where upon the father thought, “Well, my son’s been to college, he reads the papers and he listens to the radio, and he ought to know.”

So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs.

And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight.

“You’re right, son” the father said to the boy.

“We certainly are in the middle of a great depression.”

Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au – Experience the Difference
www.virtualservices.com.au/CVS_blog – My contribution to business owners
www.avbn.com.au – Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 61 8 9304 3202 Mobile: 61 414 25 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:57:48 +0000

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Crisis Management, for the most part is when a deadline has snuck up behind you and robbed you of all choice. And crisis management, for the most part, is poor time management. Why? You’re under pressure, maybe cutting corners. Things can slip through the cracks. Your stress level is increased. The quality of your performance may not be what it ought to be.

I have been amazed through the years when my college students would hand in term papers and inform me that they didn’t have enough time to do a good job. I would reply, “When in the future will you get more time to redo it because if it’s as bad as you suggest, I’m going to give it back to you to redo.” You don’t have the time to do it right; where will the time come from to fix it?

I would suggest that if you find yourself in Crisis Management a lot, it probably has less to do with your day-to-day responsibilities and more to do with a lack of anticipation, because most of the things that put you into Crisis Management are things that are capable of being anticipated.

USE A CRISIS MANAGEMENT LOG

A problem well defined is 95% solved. If you have an accurate accounting of your time crunching crises, you’ve gone a long way to reducing them in the future.

Here is a good exercise to help reduce Crisis Management. For the next two weeks, run a Crisis Management Log. Nothing fancy about it at all. Simply take a pad of paper and entitle it “Crisis Management Log” and for the next two weeks when you encounter a crisis, log it in. Put down the date and time it occurs and a little detail, so that two weeks later when you go back to review, you will remember the particulars. After two weeks of accumulating this data, go back and review every crisis you encountered and ask yourself, “Which of these could have been avoided?”

Most people discover that about 20% of the crises they suffered through were unavoidable. “Stuff Happens.” We cannot eliminate all crises.

Most people discover that about 80% of the crises they suffered through could have been avoided with better anticipation and planning. After running your Crisis Management Log, start taking the corrective steps to reduce the frequency of crisis management events by, for example, starting items sooner or requesting needed information sooner rather than waiting until the last minute to receive it.

Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our free “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson Street
Stratford, CT 06615
(800) 969-3773
(203) 386-8062
fax: (203) 386-8064
Email: ctsem@msn.com

_____________________________________________________________

Terence CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au – Experience the Difference
www.virtualservices.com.au/CVS_blog – My contribution to business owners
www.avbn.com.au – Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 61 8 9304 3202 Mobile: 61 414 25 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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How to Stay in Business — When the Sky Falls In Final

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:29:16 +0000

To wind up this series on Business Continuity Planning here’s a summary as to why you should plan:

Information systems built on computers have become increasingly vital to the effective operation of a business;
The provision of timely business services has become progressively more dependent on computer systems;
By now you should be even more aware of the impact on your business that a serious incident could have;
The necessity of setting up at least a semiformal procedure to be complied with when a disaster happens;
The high probability of an increase in inefficient IT and data protection safeguards;
The need to set up efficient and effective recovery strategies to diminish the consequences of any disrupting events;
To have the goal of lessening the costs and losses which might otherwise arise from the occurrence of severe events, and finally
Prevention of failure of your business resulting from any disrupting events.

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How to Stay in Business—When the Sky Falls In Part 3

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:57:57 +0000

Develop your plan.
BCM plans will be different for different businesses. However, effective continuity plans will share many important features:
1. Use non-technical language so that any- and every- one can understand it.
2. Identify who does what, and who takes responsibility for what. Try to include an alternative to cover key roles.
3. Use checklists.
4. Include clear, explicit instructions for the crucial first hour immediately following the occurrence of an incident.
5. List items that do not need to be addressed until after that first hour.
6. State how often, when and how you will check your plan to make sure it always a ‘live plan’. Always update your plan immediately changes occur in your organisation and in the risks you might face.
7. Include information from outside experts and from other business people who face similar risks.
  1. Find out what your local authority plans are in response to a major incident or terrorist attack.
  2. Ask the fire brigade what they will want to know from you during a major incident? Who will be the point of contact that emergency services will speak with after an incident? Ask about access to your premises after a major incident.
  3. Would a major incident on the premises of a neighbouring property or business affect you and vice versa?
  4. How can you help each other?
  5. Find out what your Utility companies will need to know if your business is involved in a major incident.
  6. How will you contact your clients and suppliers to advise them you have been adversely affected by an incident? Involve them if at all possible.
  7. What information does your insurance company need? Determine whether you would need their permission to replace damaged critical equipment immediately.
  8. What alternative lines of communication and data access have you established?
8. K.I.S.S. A good plan will be simple, but plan for worst case scenarios. You will never be able to plan in detail for every single eventuality. The aim of the plan is to enable people to be able to react quickly and effectively in an emergency
To be continued

Terence CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au Experience the Difference
www.avbn.com.au Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 618 9304 3202
Mobile: 614 1425 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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How to Stay in Business—When the Sky Falls In Part 2

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:03:52 +0000

There are five key steps to developing your continuity plan.

Analyse your business.

BCM requires a comprehensive understanding of your business and all of its processes. These should be documented in your Operations Manual. Without this documentation, how could anyone fill in for you, effectively and efficiently, in your absence, either on holiday, or due to illness, whether short- or long-term? How else can you be consistent in operating your business? Have you got one?
Assess the risks to your business.

Risk assessment is the process of determining the risks that could cause business interruption and consequent damage to your income and reputation. This assessment is based on how you run your business.

In evaluating risk a business impact analysis will help to enable prioritisation based on probability of occurrence. You cannot afford to include every business process and application in a mitigation process or a recovery, so you should inventory and prioritise every critical business process.

Software is available to help with this process, but a spreadsheet can be designed to achieve the desired outcome.

Develop your strategy.
Having assessed the risks, whatever type business you are conducting, you will probably choose a proven strategy:
- Accept the risks—change nothing.
- Accept the risks, but make reciprocal arrangements with other businesses. They could even be competitors.
- Attempt to minimise risks.
- Attempt to minimise risks and make arrangements for assistance after an incident.
- Reduce all risks to where you should not need outside assistance.

Evaluation of cost effectiveness will be the driver in choosing your strategy.

To be continued

Terence CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
Principal, Cyberspace Virtual Services, Western Australia
www.virtualservices.com.au Experience the Difference
www.avbn.com.au Australian Virtual Business Network—You Deserve the Best
2007 Thomas Leonard International VA of Distinction Award Nominee
Contented Member of ‘A Clayton’s Secretary’
Use our skills to help you succeed
Tel: 61 8 9304 6983 Fax: 61 8 9304 3202 Mobile: 61 414 25 1091 UK Residents: 07092391723

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