by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts, Success Mindset, Success Mindset
Note From Yoon
Only 3 more months until we find out who the 100 fastest growing companies are in the Philadelphia area.
If you would like to attend to network with these CEO’s I invite you to email me for an invitation. Or, if you’re like to be one of these winning companies I invite you to call me to discuss how we can get you positioned for fast growth awards like this.
Enjoy today’s article on my take on the Myths Behind Fast Growth Companies.
Blessings~
The Myth Behind Fast Growth Companies
As co-chair of the Philadelphia 100 awards I get to help promote our area’s 100 fastest growing companies. When you read about the success stories of fast growing companies it’s easy to get sucked into the thinkingt hat these lucky entrepreneurs had the “midas” touch and got to enjoy overnight success.
Well, more often than not, that just isn’t so. When you read past the headlines and dig deeper into many of the back stories of those successful entrepreneurs who turned their small business into the dream big business, what you’ll learn is a common thread of simple patience.
There is a special species of bamboo that grows in China and the Far East. After the bamboo is planted, no visible growth occurs for up to 5 years. Even under ideal conditions, the plant shows no signs of growth for years after it is planted. Then suddenly, as if by magic, the bamboo begins to grow at a rate of nearly 2 ½ feet per day until it reaches its full height of 90 feet! The bamboo farmer who persistently cares for the seemingly barren land will reap the rewards once the bamboo shoots take off. He knows that the rapid growth of the bamboo is not at all magical – the bamboo is able to grow so quickly because it spends the first five years of its life developing miles of roots to support its growth.
As a business owner, you must also develop a “root system” . When it comes to your marketing tactics are you patient in your persistence or do you swiftly abort tactics that do not result in immediate prospect inquiries? Frequently, it is just when a tactic was about to begin to take root that the business owner quits and moves on to trying something else. Often times, the difference between successful outcomes and failed outcomes is the one degree difference in your own mental state of mind between ‘trying’ and ‘committing’.
How about in your prospect conversion strategy? Do you have a follow up system that keeps in touch with your prospects for up to 2 years or do you typically give up after just 2 or 3 follow ups? Did you know that, on average, businesses have to follow up with potential clients 8 times in order to make the sale?! So, if you’re not happy with the results of your marketing, ask yourself, “Have I been patiently persistent?” If you’re considering whether to abort a specific tactic take a good look at your actual efforts and ask yourself, “Have I simply been trying or have I truly committed to this tactic?” If you’re willing to be persistent, but just not sure whether you are taking the right approach to nurturing the root system of your business.
QUESTION: What inspires and encourages you as an entrepreneur to keep pushing forward in the midst of struggle? Please share your comments below in the comment box.
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
QUESTION: What inspires and encourages you as an entrepreneur to keep pushing forward in the midst of struggle? Please share your comments below in the comment box.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset, Success Mindset, Time Management/Productivity
When you are dedicating yourself to achieving a specific goal, you must promise yourself to use the time you’ve blocked off for in ONLY working toward that goal.
Has this ever happened to you? You’ve blocked off time to work on that big project but you find yourself unmotivated, confused and generally unfocused? You’re trying to remember if your son or daughter has a ride home from school, dreading an afternoon meeting or what you’ll eat for dinner tonight.
Some call it ricochet rabbit–your mind is “Bing,”Bing”,”Bing” all over the place and pretty much everywhere but on your project. Instead, the cursor blinks on your blank computer screen and feels like a mocking purgatory.
1–First, take a deep breath. Know this is perfectly normal, everyone feels this way at some point.
2–Make a list of everything that needs to be done for this project to be complete. If it’s a new product, the product has to be created, marketing materials need to be produced and the right audience needs to know about it. What’s your role? Do you need to research the product so you can write a fact sheet or a brochure? Write down everything that needs to get done for that project then rank them in the order they should occur. If you’re familiar with mind mapping this is a great technique to use for clustering all the associated tasks.
Break the project down into individual tasks and then break those into smaller, bite size chunks. For example, you need to write a brochure–who’s the audience for the brochure? What should it highlight? If you’re introducing a new product for dentists for example, look at the key benefits of the product–will it save them time? Does it make an activity easier? What’s in it for them?
3-Set a timer–at eggtimer.com you can set a timer on your computer that will alert you when your allotted time is up. Or, you can set the timer on your cell phone. Tell yourself for the next 30 minutes, you’ll truly focus on the task at hand. When your mind wanders–and it will!–bring it back by reminding yourself of your time limit.
4–Shut out distractions for the duration of the time you commit to focusing on the project at hand. That means close the door. Turn off your emails, pagers, cell phone and land lines. Have a snack and drink at your desk so you don’t feel the need to get up for that. If you have staff, tell key people you are not to be interrupted for the duration of your project slot.
Here’s my own favorite “gotta get focused” trick. I drink 2-4 cups of Ginkgo Clarity tea (double bagged of course). Either this herbal concoction is really effective or my mind just convinces me I’m more focused because of it. Hmmmmm…?
I hope you will start implementing some of my tricks for staying focused. If you feel overwhelmed and need help prioritizing, I’m never more than a phone call away! (215) 292-4947. For more great business growth tips subscribe at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com
QUESTION: How do you get focused when you’ve got too much to do? Please share your comments below:
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset, Success Mindset
Reader’s Question: I’ve heard you speak at a recent conference and you mentioned map mapping as a technique you do in business planning. Can you explain more about how to do mind mapping? — Frank Rosen, San Francisco, California
Yoon’s Answer: Great questions Frank. Yes, I was referring to mind mapping to help you clarify how to reach your BHAG –big, hairy audacious goal. So, what can you do today to make progress on your biggest goal? What’s holding you back? If you don’t know, take some time and write your goal on the top of a piece of paper.
Next, write down everything you can think of that you’ll need to do to accomplish this goal. Then, put them in order. If you don’t know where to start, that’s a starting place. Write down everything you think needs to be done. Where can you get more information? Can you do some research online to get a better idea for what you need to know? Can you enlist the help of a mentor or coach?
Sometimes it helps to mind map an idea, especially if it’s really messy. If you don’t know what a mind map is, here’s how it works.
1–Take a piece of paper and write your idea in the center. Maybe you want to make more sales or close more clients.
2–Then, you can write “close more clients” in the center. From there, you’ll draw lines radiating out from the center and write down every way you can think of to make this happen. Maybe it’s making more phone calls or becoming more visible in your industry. Write down everything.
When you’re done, you may have a messy piece of paper, but you’ll also have completed a terrific brainstorm and can now use th
is to create an action plan for yourself.
Here’s what it’ll look like.
You can do it on paper or use mind mapping software like www.Mindmeister.com–the choice is yours. What’s important is that you make a plan for your success and take action!
Try your hand at mind mapping and share your results below.
If you have more questions about mind mapping post your questions in the comment box below. Here’s to Your Success!
Yoon ~
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset
Mind mapping can be a great tool to jog your memory around a topic and get all your ideas down. Because it’s visual, it can help you literally “see” areas where you can branch out on an idea or where you’ve forgotten an important point.
You can download a software program like mindmeister or even do this with a piece of paper and a pen. The way it works is you write your idea or topic in the middle of a piece of paper. Then you write all the ideas you can think of around that topic. Some will be a clear sub topic, write that on it’s own line. Others will go under those sub topics so you put them under it.
The end result is a messy brainstorm that lets you see where the gaps are and how you should organize your material. It’s a great tool for times when you feel overwhelmed about a project so you can see it in a “big picture” way.
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts, Success Mindset
Note From Yoon …
The summer is a great time to spend on sharpening your skills. One of the most valuable skill to have in your business development toolbox is the skill of public speaking. Why? Because it helps to quickly build your expertise platform. Speaking allows you to leverage your time from marketing one – one to one to many. Speaking builds strong know-like-trust factor with your audience.
Recently, when I was speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event I was approached by an audience member who remarked she wished she was a naturally gifted speaker like me. I thanked her for the kind compliment, but had to correct her that speaking is actually a skill you can learn.
So, friends here’s today’s blog article on how you can sharpen your speaking skills to quickly build your expertise and attract more clients for your business. Enjoy!
Public Speaking Tips for Business People
People who listen to a great public speaker often refer to that person as a “natural.” While some people have a natural ability to know what the audience wants to hear, the majority of great speakers became skilled with practice. Professional speakers have had thousands of opportunities to try their skills in front of people. Learning from the professionals is another way to enhance your own skills.
1. Keep the end in sight
The best way to start the speech writing process is to have the end in mind. What is it you want to leave people with? What is the goal of the speech or presentation? How do you want to impact your audience with your speech? When you have a clear understanding of the outcome you want to achieve, you can be focused on that goal as you prepare.
2. Keep the message simple
You are an expert in your field, so there will be the tendency to give people much more information than they can digest. Your goal is to come up with a few simple points that support your message, and give just enough detail to make it relevant, understandable or entertaining. If you bury your audience in facts, figures and details, they will still be digging themselves out at the end of your presentation, and will have lost the message in all of the other information you gave them.
3. Know the space and the people
Know the audience and the room in which you’ll be speaking. There are times when you don’t get the chance to prepare. When you can, mingle with people as they walk in. Stroll through the room, taking note of the best and worst places to hear you. Take a mental poll of the mood of the crowd. The more you feel familiar with the people and the space, the more comfortable you’ll be during your presentation.
This is especially important for speakers who often present to busy people. For example, the current CEO of Ernst & Young, Mark Weinberger, was appointed as Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) of the U.S. Treasury by President George W. Bush. His role was to help Congress understand the convoluted tax policy. Getting to know the people he would be speaking with and the venues in which he would present allowed CEO Mark Weinberger to explain this very complicated topic to a room full of very busy people. When the subject matter you’re speaking about is complicated, knowing your audience allows you to better convey your ideas effectively.
4. Tell a good story
Work on being a good storyteller. This is one way to connect with your audience. When you are able to share something that shows a little of your vulnerabilities, people will think, “Ah, he is one of us.” You can give the audience a lot of information, of which they may retain only a little. Or, you can make them remember how you made them feel by telling a story including personal challenges and accomplishments.
5. Project your message with your entire body
Body language is also “speaking” to the audience as much as the words you say. Match your body movements with the message you are delivering. Until you are comfortable with your own speaking style, have someone shoot a video of you presenting, and watch yourself. The best advice is to be and act naturally. Forced body expressions are always noticed.
Watch some of the great speakers, and notice the ease with which they get an important message across to the audience. They, too, had to learn these tips, and watch other speakers in order to create their own unique speaking style. Consider joining a public speaking organization, such as Toastmasters International, to improve on your skills.
What public speaking tips to you have? Share them in the comments.
About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 20 years Yoon has started 4 successful companies and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. Grab free valuable gifts and resources at https://www.ParamountBusinessCoach.com To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon@ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call (215) 292-4947.
© Copyright 2016
by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset, Success Mindset
Note From Yoon
Sometimes it’s those little things in life that speak loudly on the big lessons worth learning.
I noticed this tiny little ant who was carrying a piece of food that was bigger than his own size. He didn’t seem to slow down his pace even though the temperature was scorching hot on this summer afternoon. He didn’t even pause when I watched him occasionally slip into the crevices of my porch floor. He was one motivated ant!
It reminded me of the immense power that motivation has on us. As business owners we are bound to occasionally lose our footing and slip into those crevices of setbacks.
The right motivation can empower you with the strength to keep moving forward to your goal. Read today’s blog article and please share your comments and questions on how you can stay in peak motivation.
Here’s to Your Success~
Superman’s Motivation – Do You Have It?
The world knew Christopher Reeve as a Super hero. He could leap tall buildings in a single bound as he righted injustices.
Then, in real life, he fell from his horse and suffered a spinal injury that left him paralyzed from his neck down. He could have felt sorry for himself for the rest of his life. But, instead, he confined his sorrow to a good cry each morning and then got on with it.
“In the morning, I need twenty minutes to cry,” he said. “To wake up and make that shift, you know, and to just say, “This really sucks”…to really allow yourself the feeling of loss…still needs to be acknowledged.” But after his long, hard cry each day, he would tell himself, “And now, forward!”
Reeve operated his wheelchair by blowing through or sipping on a straw. Yet he still traveled around the country speaking at Commencement addresses, directing movies and was a spokesperson for finding medical cures for quadriplegics.
He was determined to not to let the very real obstacle of being paralyzed keep him from living a life worth living. He can be an inspiration to all of us. (more…)
