Are you struggling to motivate your team, especially during the summer months?
Sometimes as a business owner with employees you can feel more like a babysitter. The good news is … it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s lots of great team motivation ideas you can try this summer to transform your high maintenance employees into high performing teams.
You just need a few great team motivation ideas to implement. In fact, I want to open your mind on how you can do that even while you are away on your own summer vacation.
Studies have shown that your biggest “a-ha” moments often occur when you put yourself in a different environment – – away from the daily grind of working in your business. That’s why it’s so important to take a vacation to rest your brain (even if for just a day or two)…
So, while you’re taking a much needed respite away FROM your business… but there’s one ingredient I want to offer you that can help you achieve much needed breakthroughs FOR your business… even WHILE you’re away on vacation this summer.
However if you want a breakthrough you need to percolate your brain with new questions from a fresh outside perspective. That’s why I’m inviting you to a free weekly 30-Minute Laser Coaching Clinic– that kicks off on August 7th.
It’s called TEAM TALK TUESDAYS at TWELVE
This is a limited time offer. So, hurry and check it out.
I’m dedicating 4 Tuesdays — Aug. 7, 14, 21 and 28 to help you build your dream team (my summer gift to you!) SIGN UP HERE Whether you have 1 or 20+ employees on your team this is your opportunity to discuss your biggest team challenge right now. We’ve received lots of great questions already like:
How can I motivate my employees?
How can I build sales accountability for my team without having to use complicated CRM systems?
Can I train my estimators from being order takers to generating their own leads?
How can I unload more work off my plate without it boomeranging right back to me?
When is the right time to bring on a new hire?
Where can I find the best admin hires who I don’t have to spend a lot of time training?
And more …
Listen to Last Week’s Team Talk Tuesday Call Here:
Here’s a replay of Team Talk Tuesday Call #3
When you sign up I’ll send you the link to my private conference line. This means you can join the call from your computer or call in from your phone.
During the 30-minute coaching clinic you’ll get a chance to get some laser coaching on your specific challenge when it comes to developing high performing teams. And … even better … you’ll get both myself and business broker Paul Visokey of Stony Hill Advisors.
I’m offering this for free, for a limited time only … so if you’re hungry for a breakthrough in your business … this is a no-brainer baby step towards building your team and blowing up your business!
Yoon ~ PS. Friends don’t let friends struggle alone. Know a business owner who is wearing too many hats? …. Forward them this blog article and invite them to join us for TEAM TALK TUESDAYS at TWELVE (12 noon EST)
I am a big believer in the importance of building credibility and trust over time with your prospects throughout in order to shortcut your sales process — sounds counter intuitive, right?
With so many commercials, ads, emails, notifications and other non stop interruptions that bombard today’s consumer, people need to hear about your business 12-24 times just to remember who you are. (Yeah, sorry if that number sounds high to you).
They need to keep hearing and seeing your brand consistently month after month, so when they are ready to buy, you are the brand (and brand promise) that stays top of mind for them. But, I always still get the question from business owners asking me,
“Isn’t there a shortcut?”
Well, yes and no – 😊
Yes, there are tactics you can use to shortcut your sales process, but that does not mean you should eliminate the consistency factor in staying top of mind to your prospects.
[bctt tweet=”The key to successfully shortcut your sales process is to know what your target customers’ triggering events are.” username=”yooncannon”]
For example, one of my clients sells and installs security systems for businesses. A great triggering event for him is following news about universities announcing a new facility expansion. A triggering event for people like executive coaches is an organization going through a merger. M&A is ideal since managing change is always a turbulent process where a company’s executive team would benefit from executive-leadership coaching.
These are two examples where targeting triggering events like these increases the success of outbound marketing tactics like picking up the phone, email marketing, and/or direct mail.
But, did you know you can also use triggering events for inbound marketing? — meaning your prospects are the ones who take the initiative in finding you. Let’s say you sell software solutions to HR Directors. Instead of exhausting hundreds of hours trying to market to HR Directors at large, an example of inbound marketing is where you create what I call a “pillar blog post” that compares and reviews the top 2 or 3 competitive products + yours. HR Directors who are researching software brand comparisons indicate they are actively looking to buy. So, it makes smart sense to zero in on those who are in the research stage.
But, you have no way of following up on them if you don’t have a system that converts your blog reader into becoming a subscriber (lead). This simple tactic, done right, will transform your website from being a cost center into becoming a profit center. That’s why you want to have something called a ‘content upgrade’. So, at the end of the ‘pillar blog post’ you offer a free irresistible download which they receive in exchange for entering their name and email.
Here is an example of a blog post I published that contains a content upgrade that generatestargeted leads for my business on auto pilot.
Thoughtfully planned content upgrades is a great lead generation tactic that automatically segments where you prospects are in the buying cycle.
If you don’t have a pillar blog post or content upgrade offers, positioned to hot triggering events, you’re missing out on having your ideal clients knocking on your door (which, I may say is soooo much nicer!) Without inbound marketing, you’ll have to keep knocking on doors (outbound calls, emails, direct mail letters). If you’re fine with that — great. But, if you are ready to turbo boost your marketing efforts, you have got to include inbound marketing tactics in your strategy.
Since you’re looking for shortcuts — the fastest way to launch this effectively is to get expert help.
Whether you want ‘done-for-you’ … ‘done-with-you’ …. Or you want us to ‘teach-you-how’ Sign up for a complimentary Inbound Marketing strategy session to help you determine the best solution for you.
PS. One of the triggering events for my business is when an entrepreneur decides they want to get serious about growing their business. That’s the time to graduate from reading free tips and advice to taking action on strategies based on your unique business. If that sounds like you … let’s talk.
QUESTION: What is an example of your best triggering event or triggering action? Share your tip below and feel free to include a link to your website 😊
In a previous post I shared my one line response to a popular question I am often asked — “What’s your advice on achieving fast drivingbusiness growth?”
“Never try to do it alone” is always my response.
If you enjoyed reading about the 3 powerful leadership principles that helped operations manager Beth to bring out the best in her people, here are 3 more powerful leadership principles from my coachingwork with Bob.
KEY CHALLENGE: Sales Growth Stuck at 7M
One of my clients (we’ll call him Bob) is a CEO of a family run technology company focused on growing his 7 Million company into a 10 Million company. For several years he keeps plateauing at the same level.
When asked what he attributed may be the primary cause he pointed to the pattern that he continues to be the primary problem solver instead of his people being able to make swift executive decisions in their day to day work.
Observation: In visiting Bob’s company I noticed his office (and everyone else’s offices) were in an open floor plan. Bob wanted the open floor plan to let his people know he was never too high up that he was perceived as far too removed or inaccessible. He also liked the ease and convenience of being able to monitor people on the floor.
But, because of the open floor plan and Bob’s open door policy, he was bombarded with constant daily interruptions and thereby, pulled into every problem that occurred. His people can see him there, so the easiest thing for his managers to do is go straight to Bob to help them resolve their problems and/or help them make decisions quickly.
Bob’s 3 Leadership Principles That Transformed Positive Change:
A. Effective leaders must create boundaries.
B. Don’t ever forget you’re in the PEOPLE business.
C. Commit to helping your people S.O.A.R.
Actions Bob implemented:
1. Creating boundaries:
We eliminated a whopping 70% of his interruptions by Bob communicating changes to his accessibility. This might sound overly simple, but it just goes to prove how easy it is for business owners to fall into patterns of behavior when you have no one else to report to.
So, Bob posted a few weekly time slots where he could still have his open door policy, but outside of those hours each of his key people were given scheduled meeting appointments instead of the old way of allowing them to approach Bob whenever they wanted.
For the first time, Bob even started posting a “do not disturb” sign on his door (and stuck to it) which allowed him to make huge strides in working “on” his business
2. Reframing what business you’re in. Bob’s technology business took off because his knowledge, expertise and passion was in technology. But, as Marshall Goldsmith famously wrote, “what got you here, won’t get you there”.
During our coaching sessions Bob admitted he really didn’t enjoy managing people. That just wasn’t his area of expertise. But, it was his area of greatest frustration. Because he didn’t like having to manage people, he avoided holding any regular meetings with this team whenever possible.
After discussing the advantages and disadvantages of:
A. Hiring a General Manager to manage everyone for him
B. Creating more effective approaches for Bob to manage his key people or …
C. Keep doing things the same way …
Bob chose option B and began to reframe what business he was really in. And, after some practice, Bob even came to embrace it. One of the tools that helped Bob be more effective and enjoy managing people was holding weekly one on one meetings with his key staff using my simple S.O.A.R. meeting template.
3. Holding weekly 1-1 meetings to help your people S.O.A.R.
In the past, Bob tried to schedule bi-weekly meetings with his team members, but they often got postponed, cancelled and eventually avoided all together. When I asked why Bob vented he felt like he was just babysitting his employees. We discovered there was no set structure to his meetings outside of being a low level Q&A session.
I encouraged Bob to start using my simple S.O.A.R. meeting template and to commit to it for 12 weeks (12 meetings). Only 3 weeks into the challenge it didn’t surprise me how excited Bob was at seeing positive changes in his people’s performance already.
Here is the S.O.A.R. 1-1 meeting template: S = What is your SINGLE motivating purpose that is driving you this week?
O = What OBSTACLES do you need to overcome this week (month, quarter) and how do you plan on overcoming them?
A = How do you want to be held ACCOUNTABLE for key actions you will take full ownership of?
R = Recognition – What are the greatest wins you’re most proud of this week?
Result:
1. Bob’s interruptions decreased dramatically allowing him to be able to focus on CEO level tasks that were sorely needed to drive the company’s revenue growth.
2. Now that Bob embraced being in the ‘people business’ he saw his team getting faster and better at completing client projects, allowing them to handle more sales.
3. The S.O.A.R. meetings Bob instituted developed his people’s critical thinking muscles. They were able to handle higher-level tasks and decisions on their own and needed Bob’s guidance less. As a bonus, his people now use the same process to train their direct reports on developing their own critical thinking skills.
Application Questions:
Who are the people who interrupt you the most?
What kind of boundaries do you need to create?
How effective are your 1-1 meetings with your key people?
Here’s to your success!
QUESTION: What is 1 paradigm shift that made a powerful difference in bringing out the best in your people? … Share your comments and questions below.
*This article was originally published here: https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/driving-business-through-strong-leadership/
Everything I learned in life, I have learned from pain. I have learned nothing from (success) and pleasure.” @RickWarren Don’t waste your pain …
A painful time in my life as an #entrepreneur was having to put out fires from the hospital bed. My office manager/production manager really showed her true colors when I was in labor with my 3rd child in 2004. She couldn’t handle the stress of an upcoming 1,000 person event we were producing and threatened to quit on the spot if I didn’t put out the fires that were happening.
I made the crazy mistake of actually taking her calls in between contractions 😳 which led to me giving bad directions, causing more problems, as I was not clear headed at all. 😦
To make things worse, she actually walked into my hospital room and dumped a pile of urgent paperwork for me to fix, giving me an ultimatum of quitting on the spot.
I was taken by total shock 😱 at how she was handling this, especially since my previous managers never acted this way when I had my first two children.
I was angry. 😡 😡 I felt completely robbed 😩 of enjoying even one day with my newborn. But, there was a lot riding on this event and no one in the wings who could replace her immediately.
So, there I was lying in my hospital bed, working to put out the fires because I wasn’t willing to risk the negative impact of potentially taking a $400,000 loss if I didn’t step in.
The key lessons I learned that day was:
➡ Never assume someone will make a good manager just because they were a good worker bee.
➡ Always have a 2nd string who is trained as a backup.
➡ Never make yourself the backup.
➡ Always get a personality assessment done prior to choosing your managers to validate you have the right people in the right seats.
➡ Always update your team’s job description with clearly written expectations. (yeah, my mistake that year … the production manager part never got updated in her written job description)
I hope you’ll apply these lessons in your business and avoid the painful consequences I had to endure.
QUESTION: WHAT WAS A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE or PAINFUL TIME IN YOUR BUSINESS THAT YOU LEARNED THE MOST FROM❓ –– please share your comments below.
Don’t waste your pain … share a key lesson you learned to help others.
Important Tip On Increasing the Value of Your Business
Sometimes it’s easy to get sucked into the busyness of running your business to forget to reflect …. Have your activities this quarter been increasing or decreasing the value of your business?
If you’re not sure … we are here to help you avoid costly mistakes in growing your business. I’ve teamed up with my friend Paul Visokey of Stony Hill Advisors.
As a business broker, exit planning specialist and M&A intermediary Paul gets questions all the time like:
How do I really know what my business is worth?
When is the best time to sell my business?
What is the process of selling my business? … and more
Whether you’re thinking of selling your business in the next 2 years or not for another 10 years, you want to make sure you’re taking the right steps to build maximum value in your business.
In this short video response, Paul highlights the #1 most overlooked secret to doing just that.
Check out here:
QUESTION: what is the one biggest challenge you have in increasing the value of your business right now?
When it comes to business development we know we should follow up with prospects multiple times. But,
[bctt tweet=”have you ever been guilty of sending out emails to a bunch of potential prospects and then forget to follow up on them? ” username=”yooncannon”]
Yup! I used to forget too.
Sure, I have CRM system and other tools that use automations, but there’s a lot of times when it is quicker to just to fire off a bunch of emails straight from your gmail account … but then .. life gets in the way of all our good intentions, right?
That’s why I decided to add Boomerang to my follow up toolbox.
What is Boomerang?
This is not the Boomerang App used on Instagram and Facebook that takes videos and makes it repeat itself from start to end in seconds. Yep, that app has the same name as this one but just to clarify. This isn’t that app we are going to talk about.
Boomerang for gmail and outlook is an app that allows you to write an email and automatically send it later on the perfect time you scheduled it. Plus, it has a feature that will also notify you if you don’t get a reply on the email you sent and/or if the person you sent it to did not even open the email.
Having Boomerang is like having your very own executive assistant who alerts you on who to follow up on your email prospecting efforts.
Some also use Boomerang to email themselves reminders for next day, or next week, etc. It allows you to organize your inbox to prevent email overload. It is a useful and a simple tool to use that can be installed on IOS and Android smartphones too.
This can easily help you in prospecting clients because it has the capability to track responses. Unopened, unreplied emails will then boomerang back to you based on the setting you had when you sent the email.
You have the ability to set the date when it will be boomerang back at you and to varied situations stated below:
If not opened
If not clicked
If no reply
Regardless
You can identify who to follow up in regards to your proposal let’s say.
How to Download and Use Boomerang for Business
Here is how to download and install it as a browser extension.
Go to Boomeranggmail.com and click INSTALL
2. A pop up will come up and click add extension. Let it run and that’s it.
If you learn better through video, here’s a good demo we found:
QUESTION: What’s a favorite productivity tool you use in your business development process?
