Business Tips Blog
Enjoy Evan’s easy-to-use advice for your business.
Your Stuff is Awesome, But Prospects Don’t Understand
Why is it that your past customers rave about you, but prospective customers often don’t realize how much you have to offer them? It’s so frustrating when they don’t “get it” and they don’t buy. It’s because conventional marketing is selling you short! I’ve developed this new process so you can quickly crate marketing that WOW’s customers–by turning your marketing on its head. After 10 years of helping businesses grow faster than ever before, I had a huge AHA! moment when I figured this out! Today I’ll show you what’s holding most companies back from getting A LOT more customers. [download_box](Jump to the end to get the worksheet to easily apply this to YOUR business)[/download_box] The Problem: Our Stuff is Awesome! But They Don’t Get It. If you’re like most of my clients, you have really happy customers. A lot of them rave about you. Which makes it so FRUSTRATING …
Seek Dissent, Not Consensus
We spend a lot of time and energy trying to create consensus…with customers, employees, partners, etc. But consensus does not always create the best decisions. In fact, sometimes it results in big mistakes. The most successful managers actively seek out dissent. They realize that people often withhold unpopular viewpoints, and that decisions will be better if all perspectives are on the table. This article is based on the research of one of my Harvard professors, Amy Edmondson, who has spent decades analyzing team decision making. Thank you Professor Edmondson! The Problem: People Don’t Always Speak Up Have you ever had a situation where something went wrong, and you wish someone had spoken up sooner? A big reason why this happens is that it’s often not “cool” to share conflicting viewpoints. There’s a lot of unspoken pressure to be a “team player” and to not “rock the boat.” Especially vulnerable to …
How to Communicate Bad News to Customers
Stuff went wrong, now you have to tell your customer. Here’s 5 steps to keep the conversation constructive in a tough situation.
Formula for a Killer Elevator Pitch
Want people to perk up and say WOW! when they hear your elevator pitch? Here’s a simple formula. First of all, beware of some common errors people make when introducing themselves: [fancy_list style=”arrow_list” variation=”blue”] Putting themselves into a box by saying “I’m a ___[your profession here]___.” Giving a laundry list of the services they offer Telling a long story about how their business came to be Rambling [/fancy_list] Bottom line: If you’re missing any of the key ingredients in a powerful elevator pitch, you are losing sales opportunities! Get a Free Copy of my Elevator Pitch Template To help you turn heads, I put together a simple and powerful one-page worksheet. Follow the instructions and you’ll construct a killer elevator pitch. This was originally published in the Manhattan Quarterly. Enter your info below, and you’ll immediately receive a free copy of the worksheet via email. Have fun with it! I’ll …
Is This the Right Person for the Job?
In a small business, everyone needs to be pulling much more than his or her own weight. But it’s often hard to know if someone’s the right person for the job. Nobody’s 100% perfect, but is this person good enough? Would it be worth the hassle of finding someone else? Whether you’re hiring a new person, or rethinking a veteran employee, here are the four things you need to consider. [margin30] [div style=”float:left;margin-right:20px”] 1 [/div] [div style=”overflow:hidden”] They’re smart This person has the smarts necessary to succeed in this role. They learn quickly, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. If you’re frequently retraining them, or fixing their work, this employee becomes more of a burden than an asset. [/div] [margin30] [div style=”float:left;margin-right:20px”] 2 [/div] [div style=”overflow:hidden”] They get stuff done Smarts alone isn’t enough; you need someone who pushes the business forward. Do they get stuff done without …