by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts
The Bad-Breath Syndrome
When it comes to having bad breath no one knows they have it unless someone else tells them. Bad breath can happen in your business. And, it’s hard to know you have it unless someone else tells you.
Bad breathe — bad word of mouth advertising will always destroy any good advertising. This is what I call having the bad breath syndrome in your business. Unfortunately, great marketing will never override bad word of mouth.
No amount of good advertising will convert into more customers if people have poor experiences with your business. You need to separate the two.
It’s important to incorporate improving customer experience as a part of your marketing plan, but first you have to find out where there’s bad breath.
The First Time I Discovered I Had “Bad Breath”
When I was a new business owner, I asked one of my long time customers named Joyce, to give me her feedback on a full-page ad I was running for the performing arts center I owned at the time because I thought I should have been getting more customers from it.
I was taken by surprise at her remark. Joyce told me bluntly, “Yoon, it’s not your ad. It’s your bathrooms.”
What? I asked in disbelief. What are you talking about? How are my bathrooms hurting my sales? I asked in total confusion. I have those bathrooms cleaned every week.
She went on to explain they get used everyday by hundreds of people. When they see dust bunnies on the baseboards and trash cans full the bathrooms are what mothers (who are the customers) talk about.
Not being a mom yet at the time, I remember getting angry inside listening to Joyce’s decision criteria. That’s not what you should care about! I objected, saying things like,
“But, we have world renown faculty, you won’t get at any other school! We have the largest facility. We are the only one stop shop for families. We are the only school who answers the phone every day. We have the best customer service!”
Once my pride finally melted, I realized it didn’t matter if I disagreed with her decision criteria. If sparkling bathrooms would improve their experience with my business, it seemed a no-brainer to just fix the problem.
That day I learned you’ve got to see your business through your customers’ eyes, not your own.
“What you see depends on what you’re looking for.”
-Anonymous
ACTION STEP: Ask your customers / clients what would improve their experience with your business. Then, listen to your customers and fix the problem.
QUESTION: What ways do you use to discover poor customer experiences with your business? Share your tips and comments below.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog
Are you ready to make 2015 the breakthrough year in your business?
Double Your Business Coaching Call Jan 22
I’d like to help you take your business to the next level this year.
Be sure to join me next week for a unique open forum style Q & A call on Thursday, January 22nd 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT
NO agenda, NO cookie cutter training – just pure coaching to help you with your most pressing business growth challenges.
Get your questions answered. Get feedback. Get guidance, Get support. Get inspired.
Get on the coaching call that can help you achieve breakthrough success in 2015.
Sign up here to receive the dial in info PLUS download my strategic plan template.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset
Do you want 2015 to be a breakthrough year in your business?
Of course, right? Who doesn’t?
Achieving great success in your business does not have to be complicated. Here are 3 simple tips you can follow to set yourself up to having your best year ever.
#1. Get locked into the right goals.
Many people spend their lives hurriedly climbing up the success ladder, only to realize when they reach the top that the ladder was up against the wrong house. They may have succeeded in reaching the goal they set, but what good is reaching the goal when it turns out to be the wrong goal?
An example of this is a client of mine who is delighted she is now working half the hours she used and earning twice as much while still making an impact in her industry. Prior to working together she spent 6 years learning how to market her coaching so she could get booked solid. Once she achieved this goal she realized she actually hated being booked solid. She felt like she created a job for herself, and that missed the whole point of being an entrepreneur. So, in essence, she spent those 6 years chasing the wrong goal.
Start the New Year getting crystal clear on what those right goals really are for you. Identify what drives you. What is the meaningful purpose behind your goals?
- What were your motivating factors and influences in starting your business?
You can pretty much bet that achieving breakthrough success in your business this year will require needing to overcome some obstacles along the way. Having that clear purpose will sustain you through those challenges.
- What is the ultimate outcome result you want to have in your life that you don’t have right now?
Get your mindset super clear on what you really want in the language of outcome result. Take health goals for example. I hardly think there’s a person out there who focuses on the goal to eat 3 servings of broccoli every day. No, what drives them is the outcome result they want – to be thin or to have high energy.
- What is your ultimate outcome result you want to achieve through your business in 5 or 10 years?
- And, what version of that (stepping stone / milestone) would you be excited to achieve in the next 12 months?
#2. Implement a marketing plan that leverages your strengths
You might think of your strength as being your core area of expertise whether it’s on the topic of money, law, taxes, sales, health or other topic. When it comes to growing your business you’ve got to first become an expert at marketing what you do.
Your marketing plan should be bringing in continuous flow of leads (interested prospects) into your sales funnel. You want to create that marketing plan around your natural strengths. One, you’ll get better results because you’re good at it. And, two, you’ll get better results because you’ll be more likely to be consistent with it.
If speaking is your natural strength you would do well with teleseminars, webinars, live seminars, podcasts and/or videos as your core marketing plan.
If writing is your strength you would do well with blogging, guest blogging, article writing, social media and/or press releases as your core marketing plan.
I have some clients who are experts in their industry, but feel that neither speaking nor writing is their strength. The solution in this case that has worked great is the two-step approach. This is where I interview them once a week and have my team produce done-for you marketing that’s re-purposed in 8-10 different forms.
Either way, businesses can no longer just rely on referrals alone. It’s much harder for people to refer paying customers to you. A good marketing plan can easily refer a constant flow of interested prospects to you 24/7.
#3. Get good directions.
You’ll arrive at your success destination much quicker and easier when you start out with good directions.
Often times I hear entrepreneurs grumble that they tried LinkedIn or they tried webinars or they tried X, and it didn’t work; therefore they completely write off that the tactic itself doesn’t work. The fact is, the specific marketing tactic didn’t work because the person either didn’t do it right and/or they didn’t get good directions on how to work it properly.
Be careful not to overlook the importance of seeking good direction. Take driving directions for example. At one point my husband and I had all three of our kids playing travel soccer. I was driving every week to a new, unknown, far away destination. I can’t tell you how many times I got lost trying to find remote soccer fields because I was given the wrong directions. Other times newly built roads didn’t show up on my GPS, so instead it had me frustrated going in circles until I searched for locals to give better directions.
I will also admit sometimes I drove off with just basic directions thinking I could figure out the rest once I arrived in the general vicinity. Of course, I found that just one wrong turn could quickly get me lost.
Getting good directions is just as important to helping you arrive at your success destination in your business. You can eventually succeed with no directions, basic directions or the wrong directions, but it usually always costs wasted time, money and energy. Other times the cost is failing to achieve your goal simply from giving up out of sheer frustration.
- When it comes to growing your business this year are you using the same directions you used last year?
If what you did last year is not what you want to achieve this year, remember, that doing the same thing while expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
If you aren’t sure that you’re following the right direction in your marketing plan I invite you to kick off the New Year with a complimentary 30 min. coaching call. Email your request to me at YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com.
QUESTION: What is the #1 roadblock that is getting in the way of having a breakthrough year? Share your comments and get feedback.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset
What I love about the life of an entrepreneur is it challenges my personal growth. But, developing that personal growth can sometimes hurt. In the gym, we often say, NO PAIN, NO GAIN. I find in business it’s not different.
No matter how many years you have been in business, it’s never just smooth sailing till the end. Setbacks are bound to happen. When they do here are 7 ways to help you turn your setbacks into success:
#1. Expect setbacks to happen.
There is a universal truth that a person’s reaction is based on their expectation.
If you expect that achieving business success is easy, when you experience a setback, it can immobilize you because you weren’t prepared to handle the setback.
Maybe you were blindsided by a key person on your staff who unexpectedly quit. Or, you may not have been prepared to lose your biggest client.
Whether the setbacks were out of your control or they occurred as a result of a poor decision you might ha’ve made, business ups and downs are a part of an entrepreneur’s life.
Part of expecting setbacks is preparing Plan B for how you will handle common setbacks that could happen to you in your business.
#2. Calm your emotions.
You have so much invested into your business that when a major setback happens, it’s only natural to react out of emotion.But be careful to not let emotions cloud your thinking.
Take time to quiet your mind and your emotions before you decide how to respond. I like to find a quiet place to pray and seek wisdom and guidance. Let me tell you about a time I did not do that, when I let my emotions put me in reactionary mode.
I hired a general manager years ago, who I thought was doing a great job. I was blindsided to receive a letter from her attorney accusing me of pregnancy discrimination. As a working mother myself, I was in complete shock that I could be dragged into such a ludicrous lawsuit.
I immediately called in the rest of my staff, where I led an emotionally charged, unproductive, mandatory meeting. While the lawsuit against me was eventually dropped, in retrospect, I was embarrassed how poorly I handled myself in that staff meeting. It has served as an important lesson to always stop and calm my emotions first.
#3. Focus on the learning.
Whatever setback is happening that’s affecting your business success, if you focus on the problem and the pain, you’re only going to get stuck in worry and anxiety.
Remember that character is revealed during times of adversity. When you’re going through a setback, make some key decisions.
> Will I choose to grow bitter or get better?
> Will I complain about the pain or learn from the pain?
> Will I dwell on the problem or decide to discover the lesson to learn?
#4. Retrain your brain.
When you’re dealing with a crisis, adversity, obstacles or challenges in your business, it’s critical that you develop success mindset muscles. One of my first mentors who impacted my thinking is Brian Tracy. I first purchased his personal development training 22 years ago when it was still on cassette tapes.
I would highly recommend his book titled, Change Your Thinking; Change Your Life. You can order the book, the MP3 or both. It’s only an hour to listen to on the go.
Retraining your brain is like developing any muscle. In the beginning, you may find it challenging to change from your old, negative way of thinking to a new, positive habit of thinking. I have found the easiest way to shut up all that negative inner dialogue is to blast positive messages from people like Brian Tracy.
#5. Get expert support and guidance.
Two heads are always better than one. Seek out experts in your network you can call on as a lifeline when you are going through a difficult setback. You can grow so accustomed to doing things the way you’ve always done them that thinking out of the box may not come naturally.
#6. Have a push week.
It’s hard for many businesses to find good people. When my office manager notified me she was moving to another state, it took me much longer than usual to find a replacement. In her absence, I was juggling both her job and mine.
After six weeks of frustration from this setback, I finally decided to push all my other priorities aside and for one week give 100 percent of my energy solely to finding and hiring a new office manager. By the end of the week I had my new hire. Having that push week got a job that previously set me back for six weeks done in five days.
#7. Keep your setbacks in perspective.
Whether in life or business, you can always find someone who has achieved greater success than you, as well as others who have suffered greater failures and adversity.
When we go through tough times we can become easily self-absorbed and overwhelmed by our own challenges. I find the best cure to get some perspective on our setbacks is to listen to someone else who is going through an even greater struggle.
I’m not just talking about listening as in a one-time five-minute exercise, but taking the time to fully process their story. Whenever I do this, my mind gets readjusted and I see that my problem is truly small stuff compared to theirs.
I leave with a renewed confidence that I can handle my setback because in comparison to the other person’s problems, mine is a cake walk. When you also choose to help that person or cause – through donating or volunteering on a regular monthly basis, it not only blesses them, but it reminds you how truly blessed you are.
QUESTION: What was the best lesson you learned from a setback in your business? Please share your comments and questions.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset
| Each year I co-chair the Philadelphia 100 Awards where we recognize the area’s 100 fastest growing companies. Our big gala is coming up in just 9 days
Meet my friend Bryn Davis. His success story shows the power of keeping things simple while thinking big. Read my interview with Bryn and ask yourself:
“What should I stop doing that’s making my business more complicated?” “What’s keeping me from thinking and playing bigger?”
Then, I want you to tell me where are you stuck in accelerating your own business growth. |
How This Recent College Grad Bootstrapped His Way to 5 Million!
Landing a high paying position can difficult in today’s job market, especially when you’re a young college grad like Bryn Davis. Bryn chose instead to pursue the life of an entrepreneur.
He started with a simple idea and a small amount of savings. Just six years after graduating Elizabethtown College as a business administration and marketing major, Bryn landed the distinguished Philadelphia 100® Award. This young entrepreneur is recognized as the area’s 100 fastest growing, privately held companies based on sales growth 3 years in a row.
I congratulated Bryn at a recent CEO breakfast pictured here. What I love about Bryn’s story is how much it illustrates the opportunities we all have that are right in our own back yard.
Whether you are a middle aged professional struggling with job loss or you’re a recent college grad struggling to just get your first job starting a successful business can happen even on a little bit of capital.
Here’s Bryn’s story on how he did it:
Yoon: What is the business you started? What is Bryn and Dane’s?
Bryn: We are in the restaurant industry and operate as what we call ‘Healthy Fast Food’. We adhere to our trademarked philosophy of ‘LOCAL. LO CAL.’ which completely describes how we approach all of our offerings.
Yoon: How did you get the idea to start a healthy fast food restaurant?
Bryn: I was never a chef or dreamed of becoming a restaurateur. I was just a guy looking for a healthier way to eat. So I started where all healthy food starts on a farm. It was my grandfather’s farm to be exact. That’s where I earned the start-up money for the first Bryn and Dane’s.
Yoon: It sounds like you had a problem yourself that you weren’t able to find a solution for, so you offered that solution to the market.
Bryn: Yes. I used to be 70lbs overweight. I found that eating healthy was very challenging, especially when you’re out. I didn’t really know what to eat, where to eat and how much. So, I learned how to make food that wasn’t just good for you, but also just plain good. I began to shed the weight and decided to share healthy fast food with the world. That’s how Bryn and Dane’s was born.
Yoon: Give us a snapshot of your business growth that landed you as a Philly 100 winner?
Bryn: We are the epitome of a ‘bootstrapping’, ‘start-up’ that had our beginnings fueled by a whole lot of passion and very little capital! I started B&D’s with $12,000 in cash, two credit cards, and a whole lot used equipment. On Day 1
we offered only B&D’s Smoothies and flavored Air-Popped Popcorn. It wasn’t a whole lot on the menu, but we hustled it!
Over time we saved up our money from cash flow, and reinvested by adding in kitchen equipment. After a little over a year, we were able to make wraps, salads, and other menu items that allowed us to put up a sign that said ‘Healthy Fast Food’… the concept we always wanted to be!
We went from doing a couple hundred dollars a day just a few years ago to next year being on pace to do over 5 million in revenue. It’s been an amazing journey and we are just getting started!
Yoon: What gave you the confidence to go after what many people may view as too risky or unstable?
Bryn: This is a hard one to answer- as I always felt that not following my dream was far more risky. Although financially it may have been a risk, the risk of regret of not pursuing my passion always felt far greater.
On the same token- the people who had said it was too risky were usually people who had lives that I wouldn’t personally want. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, but rather that their judgment and assessment of risk led them to a career that I personally do not want (although it makes them happy). I tended to find support from other entrepreneurs and risk takers, so I focused on that!
Yoon: What were the key factor(s) that attributed to your company’s fast growth?
Bryn: Our social media following is immense. Horsham, PA has a grand total of 14,000 residents. Our Facebook following alone for this region is at just under 30,000 fans! We are able to communicate messages to this base whenever we would like and the response is unreal.
We also treat B&D’s far more like a ‘tech start-up’ than we do as a conventional restaurant. Right now I am sitting in a circle with 5 of our corporate positions, in our commissary, working on things from graphics, to social media outlets, to our new menu launching in 12 days.
Our designer is on the road working on B&D’s Cube we are opening on October 11th. It’s a high pace atmosphere, and we have amazing people that work with us.
Yoon: What were the biggest challenges you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
Bryn: Capital, capital, capital! Accessing capital isn’t the issue per se, but rather raising money without giving up equity in the B&D’s brand is a balancing act that takes a tremendous amount of attention.
Yoon: What is your advice to other entrepreneurs who want to accelerate fast business growth and win the Philadelphia 100® award next year?
Bryn: If they want to ‘win’- I suggest they drop what they are doing and join the B&D’s Team 🙂
Yoon: Ok, how about what are the core disciplines you spend your time doing that makes the greatest impact in running your company and driving your business growth?
Bryn: I spend the majority of my time on, I guess, what you would call brand development. We are fine-tuning our model now so that when we expand more aggressively we are who we want to be as a brand. Right now, that requires constantly bending and conforming to the needs of our market, all while adhering to our principles. So, that balancing act is what I spend most of my time addressing.
Yoon: Bryn, congratulations again on winning the Philly 100 Award. Thank you for sharing your success story with us.
What I love about the Philadelphia 100 Award® is it truly levels the playing field for all industries and companies of all sizes to compete and win. Established middle market companies and small business startups are equally applauded for their exceptional achievement for driving business growth.
Why not come and join us at the Philadelphia 100® Award Gala held on Wednesday, October 16th from 5:30pm-9pm at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia. It’s an excellent opportunity to meet and network with the CEO’s of the top 100, fastest growing companies in the area. Get your tickets at www.Philadelphia100.com
QUESTIONS:
- What should you stop doing that’s making your business more complicated?
- What’s keeping you from thinking and playing bigger?”
- Where are you stuck in accelerating your own business growth.
© Copyright 2016
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