www.powerfulwomen.co.uk » Business

To do or not to do, that is the question

Corinne — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:38:49 +0000

I wonder if everyone in the world does a bit of procrastination from time to time, or are there people who never do? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that I’ve met many, many people on my courses who were suffering badly from the effects of putting things off. I hope this article gives some ideas that help you.

When you feel yourself procrastinating, commit to doing one of the following things :

Do it

Deadline it (put a date in the diary and stick to it)

Delegate it

Dump it

Simply by committing yourself to an action, you are no longer procrastinating!

One of my lecturers used to say “if you want to eat an elephant, chunk it.” This works well when you have a large project to do. One of the reasons people procrastinate is because they don’t know where to start. Simply breaking a task down into smaller bite-sized bits means we give ourselves something more manageable. So if you find you’re struggling – chunk it down.

When you feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount you have to do, stop. Reassess what your priorities are. Cut out everything that isn’t important. Ask for help – you don’t always need to do everything yourself.

Remember to find time in your busy schedule for YOU. Look after yourself and you will be much better able to look after all the other things you are responsible for – your family, your business, your home…

The one thing you really shouldn’t put off is dealing with your procrastination. If you are, please contact me to discuss how coaching and NLP can help. You are not alone!

Dare to be different

Corinne — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:33:43 +0000

In business, we all want to stand out from the crowd, but that’s easier said than done. What do you do when you research the competition and find that your business seems to be pretty much the same as many others? One thing you could do is panic, but that probably won’t get you anywhere! Alternatively, have a look at the ideas below and see how you can relate them back to your business. Even one small change in the way you do things can make a big difference.

It sounds obvious – find out what your customers need and offer it. And with a little more research, you can go further by finding out what your target market hates about your industry and then go and do the opposite! Mould your company into the company your customers have been waiting for!

Great customer service counts for a lot these days, so be the company which really goes all out to get things right first time, every time. Deliver on-time. Give great before, during and after-sales service. Exceed their expectations and customers will remember you and come back to you.

Think about what you can give your customers to add value – free information, free accessories, free shipping, upgrades, discounts, coupons… One company I know gives away fortune cookies with every purchase. Random, but memorable!

Don’t get complacent – keep listening to your customers to ensure you keep up-to-date with their needs, and remember to keep up with what your competitors are doing too.

Talk often about what makes you different, and talk about it in terms of customer benefits – “what’s in it for me”. That’s what customers want to hear, it’s what they can relate to. If you have reasons why you stand above the rest, tell people about it – shout it from the rooftops. Business is no place to be modest. Honest, yes. Modest, no.

I’d love to hear what you think, and what change you’ve made as a result of reading. And please do sign up for the free Success Secrets for Business on the home page.

Making a powerful impact

Corinne — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:23:59 +0000

The elevator pitch is what you say about your business to a prospective customer. I know of a fair few business people whose elevator pitch is such a turn-off that they’ve literally lost business through it. So it’s vitally important that what you say makes the right impact. And remember, anyone can turn out to be a new customer. Never judge someone before you’ve spoken to them. My best meetings have often been with the most unlikely prospects! So here are a few tips to help you get it right.

Write down your pitch. Make it interesting. Focus on the benefits you offer your customers. For example, an optician might say “I help people see clearly”. Keep it short and to the point. Think “will it make me stand out from the crowd?”

Practise, practice, practice (in front of the mirror, in front of a friend) until you are confident and word-perfect

People tend to be most interested in people who are interested in them so make sure you learn about them and their needs before delivering your pitch. Try saying “before I tell you about me, I’d love to hear what you do”

Remember to listen actively – that means smiling, eye contact, nodding, asking questions. This enables you to demonstrate a genuine interest in the person

Tweak your pitch to meet their needs. Because you’ve found out about them first, it’s easier to hone in on something they’ve said and match your offerings to their needs.

Always carry business cards; exchange them with the person so you can both contact each other

And remember to follow up with people you meet!

Want some help with your elevator pitch? Simply contact me and I’ll be glad to help!

Stacking the odds in your favour

Corinne — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:54:27 +0000

We all want to be successful in life and in business. As we start out in business, we hope we are going to be successful, that we will thrive and make money. So what can we learn from successful people – what is it that they do?

Successful people work hard
Successful people remain positive
Successful people are resourceful and resilient
Successful people manage their time
Successful people keep on believing in their ideas and themselves
Successful people research their ideas and their market
Successful people know how much money they are making, spending and saving
Successful people save money for tax bills
Successful people ask for help and advice
Successful people know how to keep their customers

These are some of the success ingredients that we can apply to ourselves to help stack the odds in our favour. Be honest with yourself – which ones are you doing well, and which ones are you struggling with? You don’t need to struggle any longer, remember that help and advice is out there waiting for you. Contact me for an informal chat.

Love it or hate it? Networking works!

Corinne — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:11:16 +0000

I love networking and I love my role as Group Leader for 4Networking Harlow. We meet every fortnight in the lovely Churchgate Hotel and enjoy a combination of yummy breakfast, buzzy atmosphere and good solid business connections. As Group Leader, it’s my job to keep things running to time and make everyone feel welcome. I get to meet so many wonderful people, many of whom I now consider to be friends. I’ve gained so much through networking – confidence, contacts, friends and, of course, clients. People buy from people they know, like and trust, and I know I’m much more likely to use 4Networking members when I need something too. Having to speak about my business made me realise how important it is to put the right message across, and it made me refine my pitch until it felt congruent with who I am.

Who would have thought back in December 2009 when I walked nervously into my first 4Networking meeting in Ware, that a few months later I would be leading a group myself? I can thoroughly recommend networking as a great way to develop yourself as well as your business connections - though don’t expect this to happen on your first visit – like good wine, networking takes time so see it as a longer-term investment. And if you’d like to visit 4Networking Harlow, just let me know and we’ll be thrilled to welcome you!

Find out more at http://www.4networking.biz.

Making the most of what you’ve got

Corinne — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:48:14 +0000

If you’re thinking of self-employment but you’re not sure if you have the right skills, then this article is for you. Did you know you have a whole heap of transferable skills you’ve built up as a woman – as a wife, mother, daughter, friend, colleague and so on? Well you have, so let’s explore some of them :

Managing money – running a household budget, paying bills, budgeting for things you need, working out if you can afford something, keeping a record of what you’ve spent

Negotiation – settling arguments and dealing with requests from the kids or him indoors, getting a decision on where to go on a night out with the girls

Selling – maybe you haven’t done any direct selling but there’s a good chance you’ve sold an idea to someone (maybe the kids or him indoors again!)

Managing time – scheduling everyone’s activities, appointments and clubs, getting them there on time, being in two places at once – I bet you’re a master at multi-tasking

Project managing – co-ordinating a redecorating, garden or extension project or running a school PTA event

Leadership – being a role model to your kids, family and friends

I bet you can add more to this list. Remember, all your experiences are useful as you enter into a new business venture – you are the product of your experiences and you are continually learning.

The new world of work

Corinne — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:34:34 +0000

Prof Carey Cooper of Lancaster University suggests that the recession has ended the notion of “a job for life”. Whether that’s purely down to the recession is a moot point, but it’s certainly true that we no longer expect to work for the same employer all our working life. Research suggests we might work for up to nine employers or go into business for ourselves. The upshot is that we need to think differently about our career paths, and to consider the “portability” of our skill set. For many of us, self-employment might be an option we hadn’t previously considered.

What’s for breakfast, champion?

Corinne — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:15:44 +0000

Feedback really is the breakfast of champions. Without it, you have no idea how well (or badly) you are doing.

Running your own business brings its own challenges and it’s imperative to look for ways to elicit feedback, otherwise it can be like the emperor’s new clothes – the only one who doesn’t realise when something is wrong is you.

Ideas for eliciting feedback include;

asking customers and suppliers for their opinions
asking staff for improvement ideas
testing and measuring everything you do to determine what works
and self-reflection to learn from your experiences.

So I leave you with the question – what will you breakfast on tomorrow?