Lisa Mininni, Author at Excellerate Associates

How Is What You’re Doing Getting You Closer to Your Goals?

December 8, 2011 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Over and over again, I’ve seen how business owners try tactics that are costing them not only the ability to get new clients (and the money that goes along with it) but their reputation. Often times, they don’t realize that they are even making mistakes. They believe that they are just working hard. What they do know is that they don’t have the sales or the number of clients they were expecting.

The comments I commonly hear, even from the most seasoned business owners are, “Lisa, if only I could just learn how to convert prospects to clients,” “If only I had my website…” or “If only I had my brochures done”. Then, after they implement these tactics and are unsuccessful, they just figure it’s the economy, maybe they’re having an off year, or assume nobody has any money. I see hard-working entrepreneurs making excuses and it breaks my heart.

These same business owners are trying desperately to execute tactics, but they are missing the point that it’s their approach that prohibits them from making powerful progress. What they are doing is taking a bits-and-pieces approach with each tactic working in isolation from the other.

How do you know if you’re taking a bits-and-pieces approach?

You spent countless hours getting your website up and running and discovered it did absolutely nothing for you, doesn’t connect you with your preferred client, and isn’t set up to capture prospects.
You think you need brochures but you’re not sure why and you spent a lot of money on a high-gloss marketing leaflet that people just toss in the basket anyway.
You spend more time prospecting than you do working with your clients and are frustrated because you know you have it in you to make more money and make a difference in your client’s lives. Worse yet, you don’t have any idea of how to pre-qualify them before you even talk with them.

What to do?

Acknowledge that you might be implementing your tactics without a strategy. When you implement tactics without having an overall plan, it’s like getting in your car to drive somewhere, but you don’t know where you’re going. Instead, take time to map out how you will get from where you are to your desired goals.

Each and every action or tactic should be mapped to an overall objective and every objective to one of the three to five goals you intend to meet each year. When you take a more strategic approach, you will grow your business with less effort, spend productive hours with your ideal clients, better determine where to invest your marketing dollars, and relish in the sheer joy that you are converting more prospects into paying clients.

To make your 2012 your best year ever, join us for a free training call, How to Double Your Income Making 2012 Your Best Year Ever (and avoid costly marketing mistakes for good). Register now.

Timing Is Everything

December 1, 2011 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Timing is one of the most critical elements of running a successful business. Imagine making every business decision at the most favorable time or creating the right relationship at just the right time.

Hallmark is not only the leader in timing, but has mastered how to tap into the emotional aspects of a particular time of year. During the holiday season, they create timely marketing messages in the form of a short movie that puts their customers in the holiday spirit and tugs at their heartstrings. Through their commercials, they demonstrate how touched someone is when they are remembered with a Hallmark card.

Take some inspiration from the particular time of year to add value to your customer or client community. For example, last year I wrote a blog article entitled, “Year End Checklist for Small Business.” In it, I suggested what to add to your year-end checklist and what to consider as the new year begins. I heard from many small business owners in my community who used the suggestions to round out the current year and begin thinking ahead about the upcoming year. In several cases, they secured additional contracts and clients from implementing the suggestions I made.

Regardless of your profession, a holiday is an opportunity to touch base with your clients. Here are some examples on how you can get your marketing messages out in a relevant way:

Chiropractors – create a top 10 checklist on how to maintain your health during the holidays. Tuck the checklist in with your clients’ holiday cards. When they open your card, they will get an unexpected surprise.
Event Planners – write five short tips on setting a holiday table. Share a tip with your social media followers each day for the five days prior to the holiday.
Speakers – use YouTube to post a short video. If you’re a speaker on customer service, record 10 ways to show your customers you appreciate them.

If you write an article, remember to place it in one of the many article directories. One of my favorites is www.ezinearticles.com. For added free PR, repurpose your material and pitch your article of tips to one of the television stations. They love receiving timely tips for use in their segments.

Remember to plan ahead. At the beginning of the year, review the holidays or awareness months to plan out your messaging to your community of clients. Profitable florists have done this for years, reminding their customers about the upcoming holidays, like Valentine’s Day. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the cancer foundations have used it to educate women about getting their yearly mammograms.

Use the times of the year to position your marketing messages, add value to your community of followers, and get your message out in a relevant way. When you implement these ideas, your marketing messages become much more relatable and you develop a reputation as the go-to expert

What You Hold In Your Conscious Thought, You Invite More Of It Into Your Life

November 24, 2011 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Each year we gather around the table to give thanks for our blessings. In my own life, it’s pretty amazing how people and opportunities have come my way from both expected and unexpected sources. The ease and flow with which I am able to create a life I truly desire has been amazing.

And, as I pause and reflect with you today, one thing is very clear. It’s a perfect opportunity to share about the Principle of Conscious Thought and the significant role it plays in making my life extraordinary.

Every year, thousands of people sit down at Thanksgiving and reflect on what they are thankful for. By reflecting this way, you acknowledge the blessings that have come your way. The more I’ve routinely practiced this principle of expressing gratitude, the more I’m convinced you prepare yourself to receive more blessings as well as pave the way to make a bigger contribution to the world.

It reminds me about the story of Connie. Around the table at Thanksgiving, Connie experimented with being thankful. The rest of the year, she forgot about being thankful and always complained about what she didn’t have. As a result, she struggled in life in many ways. Then she heard of the Principle of Conscious Thought: what you hold in your conscious thought, you invite more of it into your life.

While taking a walk one bright, sunny day, she found a penny on the ground. She replied sarcastically, “Well, I found a penny, I’ll be rich in no time.” At that moment, she stopped herself. She realized the other important part of the Principle of Conscious Thought – to be genuinely grateful. In that moment, she realized that she was stopping the flow of abundance if, in her heart, she wasn’t truly thankful for even the little things. How could she be given more, when she wasn’t truly grateful for the little things?

After practicing the principle of conscious thought routinely, it didn’t take very long for her to realize the true power of the principle. In the weeks that followed, she would receive three phone calls from people wanting to do business with her – effortlessly. Connie made it part of her every day routine to express gratitude.

Being in gratitude has proven to me over and over that when we are thankful, opportunities come in abundance regularly and effortlessly. What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lisa

Using the L Word to Grow Your Business

November 17, 2011 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I get it all done and get my business to the next level?” This is a common question I get from my new small business clients. In fact, recently, I received an email that read, “How do you manage to keep up with your emails, clients, customers and travel? You are just amazing and my hero!” When at a meeting last week, I got a similar question from a networking colleague, too.

So if it seems effortless, a lot of it is! However, it wasn’t always that way. It was only after I adopted the L word: leverage. What do I mean by leverage? By definition, leverage is a lever allowing you to lift or move a heavy object with a lesser amount of energy.

The truth is leverage is a mindset and separates an ordinary business from a highly profitable one. If you’re not leveraged, you are working way too hard. It is one of the most important elements that helped me to grow my business each year.

Your business cannot be dependent on just you. If you do everything yourself, there is no leverage. When applied, leverage works like magic. Unfortunately, most people don’t apply it or believe they need lots and lots of money to start and run a profitable business or expand an existing one. This is a common self-limiting belief many entrepreneurs have. In many cases, they are leaving a lot of money on the table because they aren’t taking advantage of things they already have.

While it is important to invest in yourself and in your business, you may have a lot of leverage slipping through your fingertips that won’t require any additional investment. While going through one of the leverage exercises we cover in my annual three-day intensive workshop, a client remembered a long-forgotten program she created. She immediately realized she could start marketing it and instantly brought in income for herself.

It’s actually very easy to apply leverage to a small business, get more done, and make more money. If you’ve been in my reader community, then you know that I rely on systems to do my heavy lifting. But systems are only one of many ways to leverage your small business. In this article, I’ll get you started in leveraging your business so you get more done starting today:

First, list all of the activities you can automate or outsource that aren’t directly related to generating income or clients. This includes administrative tasks that are necessary but can be outsourced or automated.

Second, determine the amount of time it takes for you to do these activities yourself. Identify which ones you can outsource. Think of all of the resources you have at your disposal, including interns at the local college or stay-at-home mothers who are looking for work they can do from home.

With just these two steps, one of my clients freed up more time on his schedule when he outsourced a process. He was sending letters to each new networking contact but this activity was administrative in nature. Although it was necessary, it wasn’t directly related to bringing in income or clients. Instead of sending out the letter himself after attending a networking meeting, he notifies his virtual assistant who then sends a letter to his new network colleague. He now spends more time on revenue-generating activities and other relationship-building activities with his clients. In just the first couple of weeks, he brought in two new clients considerably offsetting what he paid his virtual assistant.

There are many exciting forms of leverage, including licensing products, automating, and using the latest technology to take over manual processes. Leverage is an essential tool to catapult your business to the next level and grow your business exponentially with a lot less effort.

Believe to Achieve

November 10, 2011 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Believe to Achieve

I love to watch movies any chance I get. Recently, I watched the 2006 movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, a rags-to-riches story based on the autobiographical book of the same name, written by Chris Gardner. The movie chronicles how Chris Gardner, despite all odds, makes it from down-and-out salesperson to become owner of a multi-million dollar brokerage firm.

While the movie takes some creative license over the actual events written in the book, the story details the challenges of this budding entrepreneur. Despite people around him doubting that he could ever become a successful broker, he pursued his dream of winning a spot in one of the country’s biggest brokerage firms.

At the lowest points in his life, however, he and his young son lived in and out of shelters, slept in subway bathrooms, and ate at soup kitchens. Yet, despite his every struggle, he took action each day excelling throughout his internship. Throughout the entire movie, you witnessed his unending resolve that success would happen.

Every entrepreneur could learn from the attributes that took him from believing to achieving his dream. The one thing that kept him motivated was his belief that success was possible and that he could make a better life. It was interesting to see several attributes that any entrepreneur could learn from:

Do What It Takes

Once Chris secured his internship, he was asked to get donuts and coffee and other jobs that made him feel underappreciated and underrated, but he did it anyway. While he had to take public transportation, he still managed to get to his internship job early. Rather than look at these challenges as barriers, he found a way to make it work to achieve his goal.

Be Innovative

Chris learned to make the best use of his time while at work. As an intern, Chris had to make a certain number of calls each day. A certain amount of calls each day meant a certain number of prospects which turned into a certain number of clients. He had to make every minute of his workday count because he had to leave on time. One minute late could mean the difference between getting a bed for him and his son at the shelter or risk losing his spot and sleeping in the public bathrooms. He found that he could gain another eight minutes each day by touching the disconnect button instead of physically hanging up the phone on the cradle like the other interns were doing. He used this productivity tactic to book more business.

Rebound

While trying to sell one of the last scanners to a doctor that he had leftover from a previous sales position which would give him money to eat and a place to stay, it quit operating and he couldn’t sell it until he fixed it. Disappointed and down, he found a shelter for the night. He stayed up the entire night fixing the scanner while also studying for his internship test. The next day, he packed up, caught the bus with his son and made his way back to his internship. Each day had its challenges, but he showed up again the next day ready to move ahead.

Believe

One of the poignant parts of the movie with an important message for entrepreneurs came when he and his son were playing basketball. His son loved basketball. At one point, he found himself saying to his son that he didn’t want him playing ball all day wasting his time. His son immediately dropped the ball and began putting it away. Realizing that he just discouraged his son from pursuing a dream, he stopped himself and shared with him to always believe in and pursue his dream no matter what anyone said.

The real Chris Gardner’s company would go on to develop an internship program and help a young woman who then went on to get her college degree. She was the only one of 12 children in her family to do so. This movie and the person and events that inspired it have a purpose. As an entrepreneur, you have a purpose. There is an impact you will have in the world. In fact, right now, there is a person who is hoping for a solution that you provide. It’s up to you to do what it takes, be innovative, rebound and believe success is possible.

Each day, what inspires you to keep on achieving your goals?

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