Lisbeth Calandrino::

The other day I met a personal trainer who was telling me about her profession. She was in great shape and obviously lived her profession.

“I love it she said, but they want me to sell it to people in the health club. In fact they want me to interrupt people who are working out and tell them about the personal training program.”

So what’s wrong with that I asked?” To which she replied, “I don’t want to bother them!”

I started thinking, how can someone love what they do and not want to share it with others? Have you ever seen a movie or read a book that made you so excited  you had to  share it with others? Did you worry they ”wouldn’t buy it?” After you explained the movie all your friends  wanted to see it.  Why, because you weren’t selling the movie, you were selling passion and excitement.

 I asked if she thought what she did  was important, to which she again replied, “Of course I do .” She gave lip service to her passion, but somehow the possibility of connecting her passion with others didn’t exist.

Many salespeople are under the misconception that sales is about getting someone to do something or buy something because the salesperson wants them to. In this day and age, do people buy because the salesperson “makes wants them to?” I don’t think so.

No wonder salespeople don’t like selling; of course they feel “pushy.” Frankly, I think they have it all wrong.

When you believe passionately about your service or your product, why not share it with the world? If your service can change a life, unleash a passion, or build self-esteem why not share it? Maybe it’s not about selling, maybe it’s about “connecting” with others. It’s not about the product it’s about self-understanding and an ability to connect with another human.

Maybe people just don’t understand why people buy. People don’t buy because the product is irresistible, they buy because it feels a need in their soul or in their life. My friend was telling me about Oprah Winfrey attending one of Tony Robbin’s events ;while she’s there she does the unthinkable, she walks the hot coals. Despite all her experience and  self-understanding, she feels that walking the coals will do something for her her life.

How does this happen? Something that Tony Robbins said sparked a nerve in Oprah, one that said, “there’s more to life than what you have.” (Now I’m projecting what I think was going on in her head.)

Would you have tried to sell Oprah a walk on hot coals? Would you have thought this was something Oprah would have considered or would move her soul? Not me; that’s why I’m not as successful as Tony Robbins, I wouldn’t have thought of calling Oprah! (Maybe I should  go “walk the coals!”)

I’m sure Oprah didn’t do it because it was something to do; somewhere she made a connection with Tony which motivated her to take a risk. Tony’s passion and enthusiasm is catching, and Oprah  caught it. Whatever he had she wanted.

Why don’t salespeople get it? Some of the people with the best products hold themselves back with silly statements like ”I can’t sell.” I think the problem is how we train salespeople; we talk about “closing, getting people to buy, making money” instead of understanding their gifts,  passions and value. According to the article on “value,” Steve Pavlina says that a speaker’s value lies in their ability to change the way people think in a very short period of time, sometimes permanently. That is a powerful statement. Isn’t this just another way to deliver the best customer service? Give the customer a way to get what they want.

Want to be a great salesperson? Instead of selling focus on believing in  your value.

Lisbeth Calandrino is know for her passion and ability to transfer her passions to others. To get a taste of her passion, download her book ”Brain Snacks” which is available as a free download  for signing up for her blog.

I have been using BEST Instruments as a way to help individuals understand how they communicate and what they can do to be more versatile and effective in their jobs. The tests are simple but very telling.  It’s amazing how a 15 minute “quiz” can be so revealing. It is a way to understand yourself and those around you.

The key is learning how to value each other and  realize that each employee has their own assets and should be developed, leveraged and shared  throughout the company. This way people learn from each other and feel valued. By understanding your employees a company can create a highly motivated group who will continually exceed your company’s expectations.

One of the things that was brought to my attention was  that everyone in the room was similar in personality style. The person in charge said to me, it’s because the person doing the  hiring is choosing people just like himself.  This is not uncommon because people hire people who make them feel comfortable. Someone who understands team dynamics and how businesses work realizes that diversity is important. If you’re going to meet the diverse needs of your customers you will need different types of sales people. My father used to say “People are all different and they like it that way!” In other words, don’t try to make everyone the same.

Change is what’s happening!

This is no time to keep the status quo!

If you’re not changing your competitor is and taking your customer with them!

Sure you may have to be more understanding with people different than yourself but consider another point of view as a gift.

It’s like eating Chinese food your whole life and finding out that Italian food is just as good–if not better! How will you know unless you try it?  Life is for testing and trying not for staying safe.

I hope this article is timely for you; it is for me.  For many of us the  economy is still moping along and we’re trying to figure out what to do next. Consumers are changing their buying habits, myself included. Friends are downsizing their lifestyles and examining their life choices. The recession may be over, but the landscape has changed.  In many ways it’s unfamiliar; at least it is to me.   I’m in a different place too. It’s not a bad place, it’s just a different place and different doesn’t always feel right–especially in the beginning.

Change is good. Well, change is interesting but it’s more interesting if it’s happening to you rather than me. In my case, I find when it’s time  for a change I put more hours in at the health club! Somehow I know it’s a safe place for my mind and my body. I feel less stressed after my workout and  feel I’ve done something good for me.

Each of us is building new roads, repairing our highways and hopefully avoiding serious pitfalls.  I’m convinced that sharing this journey with positive friends who have good intentions will make our journey more pleasant and safe. It’s time to re-cultivate your the garden and  get rid of the weeds that might be choking you from making new decisions. Sometimes, these weeds come in surprising forms–forms we call “friends.”

Just as I’m writing this article, I received this from Kevin Clancey a Realtor in Albany, New York from his Monday Morning Mojo:

The biggest obstacle to creating a wonderful life is self-limiting beliefs. A self-limiting belief is an idea you have that you are limited in some way, in terms of time, talent, intelligence, money, ability, or opportunity. - Brian Tracy

At times we all have limiting beliefs, and there’s nothing to fear except fear itself and fear can be defined with the acronym “false evidence appearing real”. So, now what, where do you begin? It’s time for you to become your own coach, a good coach.

Speaking of coaches, one of my guests on Red Hot Customer Service Show was John Stahl from The Growth Coach of New York  serving business owners throughout the Northeast. John talks about limiting beliefs. Of course, beliefs simplify our lives but limiting beleifs dis-empower and hold us back. John talks about “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable” while making changes. If you’re talking about business challenges, Johns says the biggest challenge is between the ears of the business owner. I think this is a problem that many of us share.

Coach Vincent Lombardi once said that the difference between a good coach and a bad coach is the good coach always knew what the end would look like. If you don’t know where your want to go, how will you get there? If you get wherever “there” is, how will you know it’s the right place? In Warren Bennis’s book, “View from the Top“, he examines ninety leaders and found that one of key strategies was “attention through vision.”

What’s vision you ask? Vision can be a simple act or a thought; what do I really want out of life?

What makes me happy?

What are my dreams, my goals or my purpose? What would I like more of in my life?

I know I want more time at the lake.

Sometimes visions are statement for the future, a destination that you want to achieve. Last year I joined Toastmasters. I have competed in several events and recently joined the advanced Toastmasters Group. My goal is to continue to advance my speaking craft–I love speaking. The club gives me the opportunity to test new topics, get feedback and make changes. It’s a way to continually focus on something that’s important in my life.

Your vision may be simple. If you are invested in the outcome and feel ownership over your vision, then the happiness is in the journey– the appreciation of the uniqueness of the components it takes to get there.

I know lots of customers that would disagree with this statement. If you’ve ever had a customer complaint on line than you know what I’m talking about. I have seen some mighty disagreeable comments that wouldn’t seem to go away.

How do you counteract these things? The first thing is to have your “great” customers  post loving comments about your service, your staff and your products. This way if you have any negative comments there’s a possibility they will get lost in the good ones or the complaining person looks like a nut job to the rest of the  readers. My experience is that most businesses don’t “stack the deck” with great comments to counteract the possible nasty ones before they occur. When a nasty comment is written, it is glaring.

I found myself the target of one of these feuds. A client of mine got some bad press for posting a photo without giving credit to the photographer. The title of the blog charged the customer with something other than the above which was not only incorrect, but slandering.  I pointed out the error of the title and immediately someone else became annoyed at me. (By the way, I checked with a lawyer first about my concerns which turned out to be correct.)  The title charged the customer with a very serious crime, obviously the writer didn’t understand what he was writing.

Online remarks can get very sticky. One of our local supermarkets received an unflattering comment on Twitter which was responded to by an employee of the market. The employee was so upset he went to the commentator’s boss and suggested the person be fired! The target took his case to the local newspaper and the rest is history.

Last year I was curious about a local luggage store so I went online for testimonials. Much to my dismay, there  was more than one nasty comment. When I went to the store to have my Tumi luggage fixed, I told the manager about the comments. His reply, “I never noticed”. Needless to say they closed the following month; they had been in business for over 20 years.

Some thoughts about what to do before it happens and after:

Manage your own publicity; get your happy customers to post great comments.

Post articles of value for your customers; articles that make them smile, feel special and get valuable information.

Be aware, watch for comments, Google your business to see what’s being written about you and your business. Sign up for Google alerts.

Blog about your great customers. Interview your customers about their families and their businesses. Make your customers your business partners. Great customer service means giving your customers what they want and possible helping them to stay in business.Consider the bank or insurance company  that provides valuable workshops on marketing and sales  for their small business customers.

By the way, I couldn’t find any. But it stands to reason if your customers can’t stay in business neither will you!

It was reported that two kittens, Snowyday and Winter somehow dented the bell on a $5000.00 bass trombone.

Trouble in river city.

How did they do it? They probably used a  a chair. The owner, Anthony Giles, a professional trombone player, felt dented, just like the bell but unexpected events often lead us to new discoveries and new ideas.

Did  Edison really sit on the light bulb to create its unique shape? The best brass repair guy was called in New York City. Everyone knows  The Brasslab, Chuck Alexander, the master of Red Hot Customer Service. The “bone” was packed up for its trip to New York City.

An immediate diagnosis indicated that the bell needed to stay for  repair. This is not good. So, the trombone player, Anthony Giles went searching through through his “spare bells” and came up with a 10 year old  bell which turned out to be a better fit for his playing. I’m told that, as a musician, you’re always looking for ways to improve; By accident he had found one.

I think the kittens are not only off the hook but may be psychic and  were trombone players in one of their other lives.

So what  does this mean to the rest of us mortals? Can we possible train our mind to move from “victim” to being “proactive?” Stephen Covey in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Successful People  talks about “mindfulness.”

Make lemonade out of lemons, the obvious.

Realize that even a seemingly a  disaster can be a new path for your life.

Be always thinking and wondering.

Life and success is all about attitude; never let circumstances dictate your feelings.

Think out of the box, why do you even need a “box to think out of ?”

Did I  say, don’t leave your trombone on the floor?

Goal setting with your employees

A friend of mine, Tabby Chapman, suggested that I  map out my goals. “Oh no,” I said, “not another time management, goals setting exercise.”

“No,” she said, “Let’s try something different, you like pictures and words. Let’s see what you think.”

What is it? Mind mapping is a way to show your ideas and concepts with pictures  and words. The structure is based on not only your ideas and concepts but your values. It gives you a visual way to think, analyze and comprehend your ideas. It will also help you generate new ideas. Why is it so powerful? It’ simple.

Mind mapping is not like traditional note taking or text. From what I read it more closely resembles how your brain actually works. It’s attraction is that it is both thought provoking and artistic. You get to draw pictures as you map out your plans. It’s actually fun.  It looks messy but don’t we think that way? This will allow you to use both language and pictures to express your goals and ideas.

You can actually take notes using mind mapping; this is an interesting way to  work with your employees (you will get a much better idea of how they think and what motivates them to come to work.)

Consider a new way to plan for your business.

• Train your employees to set goals based on their values and motivations.
• Problem solve with words and pictures.
• Gain insight into complex problems; a picture is worth a thousand words.
• Get your creativity moving and have some fun.
• Think about your personal life also, wouldn’t this  be a fun exercise with your family and your loved ones?

How do you begin?

1. First you need a big piece of paper, cardboard is best because it has   stability.
2. Get crayons, magic markers or paints if you want to get fancy. Magic markers are easier to work with.
3. Start with your ideas, what do you want to develop? Check out the layout of your paper before you begin; it is suggested that you use the landscape orientation.
4. Start with your central topic and create subtopics; connect to each one of them to the center with a line.
5. Keep adding subtopic and connecting; don’t forget to use your colors and pictures if you choose. Try to be as visual as possible. Don’t worry about  drawing skills, you will be surprised at the talent in your group.
6. Make your notes short, a single word if possible this will make it more effective.
7. Change letter sizes, fonts and how everything is aligned. Remember we are creating a way for the mind to remember your thoughts.
8. I know this is just a start but if you want more you can research it online.
9. Have fun.

Okay, so now you've heard the recession is over. I don't know what exactly what it means, jobs are scarce, credit card lenders are raising interest rates and banks aren't lending money to small businesses. I wonder what it would look like if the recession wasn't over? 

Maybe more of the same?

As the Newsweek article puts it: "When the economists proclaim a recession is over, they're celebrating a technicality: they mean economic output has stopped contracting. And while that's good news, you might wait awhile before adding Judy Garland's rendition of Happy Days are Here Again to your iPod."

What's the point? It doesn't matter whether the recession is over or not. What really matter is when will your customers be back and why aren't they buying from you? Most likely they're not buying from you or anyone else.  If you can acknowledge this, you"re on the road to recovery. If you're still in the unbelieving stage, your business is in trouble. There are still businesses out there that believe if they continue doing the same things the same way the customers will come. There are lots of businesses out there that believe it will all go back to the way it was. To believe this is to believe in fairies and warlocks.

Einstein's definition of success was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Many of the companies that exhibit these behaviors are companies that have been successful. They believe that success still awaits them no matter what they do. Unfortunately they are wrong. You've probably heard the expression, "what got you here will not get you there." Clinging to the past and what worked before will not move you forward. What will get you there there will be your ability to change, not your ability to cling to the past.

I speak to business owners every day; I admire the ones who call and say, "I don't know about that kind of stuff, meaning the Internet, but I hear it's where my customers are congregating."  These are the ones who will probably survive and grow to be different companies. They will be lean, mean and accountable.

I spoke with a business owner the other day who apologetically said,"When this is over, we won't look like the same company." I asked why he was upset and he said because his company was always looked upon as leaders and now they would have to  downsize. Let's face it, there are fewer customers in the marketplace and probably more businesses than ever who are chasing these customers. As a country we have never been here before and there's no blueprint for success. Smart business owners will have the guts to look the problems in the eye and say, it's time to move on. The bottom line is the bottom line and that's  pretty much it. I know that doesn't sound revolutionary, but neither does "we're waiting around for them to change" or "I'm waiting for the customer to come back." 

By the way, in case you didn't know it, customers haven't been on vacation. Customers are just apprehensive.  

So how do you change? Change is never easy; in fact, the more you know the less you think you have to change. While times are good many business owners stood waiting for their "payoff." Unfortunately it never really came. In fact, many of those who sold their businesses had to scurry back to reclaim what was left of their failing business. Why did this happen? Most of them sold the business to someone who was like the: running the business the same way. The new owner didn't think about changing either. 

One of the things that happens to owners is what Marshall Goldsmith calls the Paradox of Success: "I have succeeded, I can succeed, I will succeed and I choose to succeed." It reminds me of another powerful expression: "veni, vidi, vici" – I came, I saw, I conquered. Why doesn't it work? Because it's not that simple. What is happening in the marketplace requires a new mindset and can't be conquered by old strategies such as dropping prices or selling cheaper merchandisers. It's too late to try and do it faster and better. It's time to do it differently.

There are some things that might help but ultimately the answers to this problem have not been written.

• It's time to seriously start talking to your customers. Ask them what do they think about the economy, how has the economy changed their behavior, are they spending the way they did prior to the recession? Everyone I know — even those with good jobs — is apprehensive about spending money. Ask what they're doing to enjoy their lives, probably staying home. This is a good reason to make some changes to the interior.
• Ask your staff what' they're feeling: if they're apprehensive you can be sure this is influencing their interactions with the customers. It's called "misery loves company" syndrome. It feels good but neither party actually benefits. Coming up with solutions works, suffering together doesn't work.
• If new customers are scarce, call your old customers. Offer them an incentive to make a purchase or invite them in for a party. We can all use a little fun.
• Hold a networking party and invite neighboring businesses and past customers. I recently spoke at a networking party in New York City where all types of business people came to make new friends.
• Meet with other businesses and find out what they're dong to get new customers. Partner with them and hold an event; any kind of event, just bring in customers.

This is the season to be jolly and raise money for your favorite charity; collect toys, coats for kids and adopt a needy family. When your customer gets ready to shop you want to be noted for something other than the lowest price. If you don't do something, you'll be out of sight — and out of mind. 

Remember that one?

Sure, everyone knows that if your business is going to survive, it will have to change. That doesn’t mean you have to like it. In fact, maybe whining about it is good for you.Everyone has to change except you and me. Why — because we’re right and we know what’s good for everyone else. Why won’t they get on board instead of getting in my way.

Well, maybe it’s not them. Could it be you?

How you view and treat people has a lot to do with the outcome of the situation.  Just because people don’t agree with you doesn’t mean they won’t change. Maybe they don’t see or understand why the change is coming now. The best thing you can do is adjust your mindset and attempt to understand the people and the situation around you.

People not agreeing with you? Maybe that's a good thing — a way to help you "tweak" necessary changes in your thinking. Even the most difficult of naysayers may have valuable insight into the situation. Before you start firing those for not agreeing with you, consider what is going on around you.

On a personal level, I was involved with a project that was destined to fail. The product was just too different for the market — and way ahead of its time. The person who was spearheading the project had very strong opinions and was well-liked and respected. It was obvious to me that much of the agreement was due to the person's position rather than the marketability of the product. As the focus group leader I picked up underlying feelings that were not positive to the project. When I related this information my comments were considered negative and "in the way" of moving forward. Rather than question the information from the focus groups or listen to those closest to the project, the person  pushed the project through and a great deal of money was lost by the investors.

Success in anything is often due to "timing and economic climate" — it is not always advantageous to be first. Being first can be costly and not always a competitive advantage. In this case, waiting a year or two to introduce the project would have made a huge difference.  For interesting insights on "timing," pick up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s wonderful book, Outliers.

Make sure everyone is told about the changes and how they will be affected. Change is complicated. Often times those who initiate the changes forget that many of those most affected by the changes haven't had enough time to think about what the changes will mean to them or don't even really understand anything about the changes. Consider the part-time worker who just vaguely hears about the change or the person who is the farthest from the decision maker. "There are few things that can shatter a person's view of the world like the discovery that all that was thought to be true no longer holds," says Wayne Hurlbert, consultant out of Winnipeg, Canada. To find out that everything one knows is wrong can be devastating news for many people. It doesn't have to be that way.

Explain how the change is in line with the business mission. Change, if presented right, just means the next step in your business plan. It's important to explain to everyone how the changes will affect not only employees but their customers. Remember, we are all here to serve the customers. If it's the next step for the customer it's the next step for us.

Listen to those around you. Often time owners don't listen to those closest to the customers. It's not unusual for owners to purchase products or attend trade shows without any of their sales staff. What you're seeing as resistance to change may be just the people around you voicing valuable opinions. For a clear picture, your feedback loop needs to be open, not closed. As I recall from history, the court jester was often asked his opinion because his ideas were always "out of the box."

Welcome challenging ideas from your employees. Maybe your employees aren't being stubborn; maybe those thoughts which appear to be challenges to your ideas will actually lead to new and better solutions. Remember those closest to the  problems have an insight that is much different than the vision from 35,000 feet.

• Business World Blog
• Change Management

We are privileged to be able to listen to what’s making history this morning — way before the newspapers get the information. We can follow it on Facebook, Twitter, or even by calling  877-my AMFIX. I decided to call AM/FIX and was asked whether the traditional face-to-face meeting was obsolete. My two cents: Of course we have to meet! Seems like a wasted question. President Obama can't make the same connection to Prime Minister Gordon Brown or the Queen via Facebook now can he?

I followed the Obamas trip to England and was interested in what news came out of it. Did you know that England issued a limited edition President Obama coin available in silver or gold? This is entrepreneurial and an interesting way to stimulate the economy.

Certainly there are people who have created major problems relating to our economy. However, we are all responsible for moving forward. In England, Obama stated that the rest of the world has always relied on the US for relief and to help everyone, but his statement was also that the U.S. has to take care of its own house first. Everyone will have to assume responsibility for this global problem if it’s going to get solved swiftly.

Let’s not forget Michelle Obama. She was dressed simply and not wearing a sleeveless dress so we didn't have to hear about her well-toned arms. But I also noticed that her blouse was a little low cut and this will no doubt come under scrutiny. Michelle represents the 21st century woman, in my view: Well-educated and super successful in her own right. She is popular around the world and let’s not forget an  African American woman. We have yet to see her effect on the world. She appears to be able to listen and is obviously interested in collecting new ideas.

This was the first official meeting between the U.S. and Britain as the British Prime Minister Brown and President Obama meet to discuss their concerns prior to the G-20 Summit meeting.

So should we spend, save, invest? No clear answers, but we will get through this and we must realize there will be a future. Brown was more specific than Obama about what needs to happen: Basically, straighten up the banks and financial institutions, invest in fiscal stimulus contributions, cut interest rates and restructure the financial system. I think by now we all know what’s wrong, let’s just keep moving forward!

Obama was much less clear, speaking of taking action and pushing back, being cooperative and support economic growth, support trade and not forget the human side of our problem. Cooperation, cooperation,cooperation. I hope we have people that want to join us in this effort.

Obama's buzz words:

• Kinship of ideas
• Lead and listen
• Corporation between powers and work together
• Global plan for economic recovery. Everyone needs to raise the bar and put some type of regulations for banks in our global economy.

The biggy sems to be to create a stable economy by reducing interest rates and stop the loss of jobs and businesses. Unlike the 1930s, we have many social programs in place which will help get us through this.

So what’s a business to do? Remember, eventually people will buy cars and houses, though they'll be a bit more cautious.

• Invest in the future while keeping your business stable. If you need to downsize to survive, then do it.
• Consider what will be the best possible decisions that you can make and then make them.
• Focusing on fear will not help you make decisions; fear only immobilizes people.

This is the time to act and look forward—the future is never in the rear view mirror. Looking back doesn’t help, this is 2009. And we have a lot of resources available to resolve the problems.

Oh, and if you keep up with the goings on of the Obamas, you may know that they recently got a Portuguese water dog, which the kids named Bo. I wrote him a note on his Facebook page giving him a piece of my mind that the dog wasn't a rescue dog. Was that out of line?

Resources:

• news.bbc.co.uk/
• www.usatoday.com
• www.brookings.edu/opinions
• www.huffingtonpost.com
• news.yahoo.com/
• www.g20.org/
• Pictures: courtesy of the White House 

"Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of the rain dance." – Cowboy proverb

Yesterday I was speaking with my friend Tom Ramsey about the economy, and asked him what he thought about the current state of affairs. His response was memorable: “Status quo is Latin for 'the mess we’re in.' Nothing good will happen unless something or someone changes — for the better.”

Tom is not only my friend with a marvelous sense of humor, but comes with the best credentials.  He has an MBA from Georgia State, is currently Sr. Faculty and Curriculum Coordinator at De Vry University's Graduate Division, and has spent 12 years in the Georgia House of Representative and two years in the Georgia State Senate.

As far as I'm concerned, it’s almost like talking to the President himself! Sure, the president has a headache as a result of everything that's going on, but it’s not all his fault. Part of the problem seems to be that everyone wants things to go back to the way things were when things were good. “The big three,” you may know (and I’m not using capitals anymore for them), want bail out money so they can feel better, keep their lifestyles the same and basically pretend that they’re not in the dumpster.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have someone give us money too so we could turn back the clock to better times?

If anything is to be different with your businesses, you will have to bite the bullet, get focused and hire someone who thinks differently. It amazes me how often business owners hire someone who thinks like them. That reminds me of the old sentiment, “misery loves company." When times are good, why listen to anyone? We know it all, and why break it if it works?  When times are bad, a business might find out how really off the mark it is. Over the years, I have hired several coaches during both challenging times and good times. I always feel energized after meeting with them — my ideas get validated or questioned and I'm able to find some new options. In any event, I see that there's the possibility of change.

New Sign on the Door

The game around us is changing these days and the rules are changing. Things are not like they were. I might venture to say they might never be like that again but I’m reminded of when I wrote we would never see gasoline at $2.50 a gallon — and last week I saw it for $1.89! So who knows? 

If you’re losing money, the first thing to figure out is why. What has changed for you? Yes, the economy has changed, but more importantly have you been changing along with it?

I saw a TV ad the other day for Best Buy where the salesperson was talking about how they were located near a military base and they had special offers for military personnel and their families. The salesman also spoke about how proud he was of our military forces. Obviously, the opportunity was there and they grabbed it. 

Are you losing money? If so find out where the loss is coming from and stop it. Stopping it is different than hoping it will stop. It's the difference between being proactive and reactive.

A highly respected business owner told me recently he was losing business in one of his stores at the rate of x number of dollars a month. He said, “If this continues I will have to close the store next year. I’ve tried all kinds of things but it’s just not getting any better.” He was essentially asking me, what should I do?

I looked at him and said, why not just close the store?

He was somewhat taken back by my statement but I continued by saying, look at all the money you would save if you closed? Of course there were other issues involved – a building lease and a centralized warehouse. But this alternative created new opportunities that he hadn't considered – opportunities that could turn out to be more profitable than he though.

Social media is a geat way to change your business. And in this environment, it's critical. Do you know what customers are saying about you? Are you controlling what they say? Is blogging still out of your vocabulary? Check out Remarkablogger or Duct Tape Marketing. Both are great sources.

Are you so entrenched in who you should be, could be and want to be that you can’t see who or where you are? I think of a musician friend of mine who continues to talk about the success he had 10 years ago and how he wants the same thing. What may be missing in the equation is: what’s changed since then, and where can you go with it?

What many businesses need is to get hit with “a dose of reality.”  I’ve heard people respond to this by saying: you’re stealing my dream! My thoughts are, unless you are going to live in your dreams there are very few options there. I just picked up a copy of the December 2008 issue of Entrepreneur. There's plenty of information on trends that will help you with reality. It really is the best place for you and your business, as it provides you with the most options. Start reading, talking and tuning into your reality – it’s possible success is hiding right under your reality nose! Do whatever it takes. Invest in training programs that help with reality and change. Remember, in bad times, word of mouth is still your best bet. 

"Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal." – Arthur Schopenhauer

Additional Resources

• Bazaarblog – Ideas to help customers build your business

• Work911 – Business, Management and Personal Development Resource Center