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Casual Articles - Goals and Traffic Lights
Of all the things you can give out at your trade show booth, by far the most useful and most direct in terms of communicating your sales message is some kind of printed material.Unfortunately, compared to more imaginative handouts, printed materials can be fairly ordinary -- some would call them boring. But the fact remains that printed materials are almost always the best way to communicate your promotional message.You work hard to make an impression with your trade show booth. And you train your staff to say all the right things. But once your visitors are gone there are really only two things connecting them with your company and your products: your follow-up strategy, and your handouts. Will your handouts make it past the waste basket? Have you made them an integral
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As yo
When do you use the newspaper for publishing announcements for promotions or new partnerships?Adding an announcement to a newspaper will only bring further recognition to your business. You should always send items such as the hiring of a new employee, the announcement of a new contract, the change of location or any other item that you would like the world to know. Announcements are a way for you to communicate to the rest of the business community that you are a company on the move. You must find the right locations to place your announcements and you should have a list of the local, regional and national media that has a calendar, or section that places these announcements.You do not have to put your ego into the announcement; simply stick to the facts so that your
Don’t get me wrong. Far too few business owners, especially we solo-preneurs, take the time and effort to plan their day much less their month or year. (You’ve read a hundred-and-one articles on the importance of documenting your goals and objectives. That’s not what this article is about. However, if you didn’t create a formal, written plan of your primary objectives for the year you’ve just cheated yourself and your business.) So, while planning is a critical step to success, what separates those who get by from those who REALLY make it is executing the plan; taking the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. steps that follow.
So, for those of you who are astute enough to document your key objectives – your plan - do you really know how you’re doing; specifically? Take your plan out and let’s review your progress. Even if you’ve not seen it for a while, dig it out from the bottom of that pile, reach way back in that file cabinet… That reminds me; do you know what a SPOTS plan is? Strategic Plan On the Top Shelf – which is where most plans end up, rarely seeing the light of day the rest of the year, unfortunately. So even if you have a SPOTS plan, take it down from the Top Shelf, blow the dust off of it and take a look. It’s time for a review, especially as year begins to wind down.
Here’s a process you will find helpful and you can incorporate it into any review you process you might already do. It’s called Traffic Light Check and it should become a normal part of your quarterly business routine. The Traffic Light Check is a simple procedure for checking progress on your goals and identifying what’s next. It’s important to keep an eye on your plan regularly, throughout the year.
Look at each goal, one at a time and determine that goal’s current status. Are you on track to making it happen? I don’t mean that you’ve achieved the goal; but does it look likely that you’ll achieve it by the end of the year? If your answer is yes, the status of that goal is green.
If you’re doing pretty good on the goal, but you can’t honestly predict that you’ll achieve the goal by the end of the year, classify this objective as yellow. You can still make this goal happen but you just need to give it more attention than you’ve given it to date.
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As yo
I have been involved in a number of online business ventures and I can honestly say that the best thing I ever did was to outsource my time and effort. So, I have used people in India and Pakistan for a good deal of my daily chores. But outsourcing is taking on a new and more important persona in the form of China.It may seem like China is becoming the new leader in business- but the competition is well met says researchers. Many American jobs are being outsourced to China- but is this good or bad? Well it may be neither but it is certainly a shift in focus.The outsourcing of work to China has continued to let American business flourish- in theory, this will continue as eventually business will flow from manufacturing to services. China serves to possibly refute this t
So, for those of you who are astute enough to document your key objectives – your plan - do you really know how you’re doing; specifically? Take your plan out and let’s review your progress. Even if you’ve not seen it for a while, dig it out from the bottom of that pile, reach way back in that file cabinet… That reminds me; do you know what a SPOTS plan is? Strategic Plan On the Top Shelf – which is where most plans end up, rarely seeing the light of day the rest of the year, unfortunately. So even if you have a SPOTS plan, take it down from the Top Shelf, blow the dust off of it and take a look. It’s time for a review, especially as year begins to wind down.
Here’s a process you will find helpful and you can incorporate it into any review you process you might already do. It’s called Traffic Light Check and it should become a normal part of your quarterly business routine. The Traffic Light Check is a simple procedure for checking progress on your goals and identifying what’s next. It’s important to keep an eye on your plan regularly, throughout the year.
Look at each goal, one at a time and determine that goal’s current status. Are you on track to making it happen? I don’t mean that you’ve achieved the goal; but does it look likely that you’ll achieve it by the end of the year? If your answer is yes, the status of that goal is green.
If you’re doing pretty good on the goal, but you can’t honestly predict that you’ll achieve the goal by the end of the year, classify this objective as yellow. You can still make this goal happen but you just need to give it more attention than you’ve given it to date.
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As yo
Your sales structure for outbound calls can be summarised using the well know acronym AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) we will explore at a high level what should be happening during a telemarketing call.Open The Call Then Set Your AgendaThe opening minutes of any sales call are vital. You must remember that rapport is built immediately so how you sound is important. Everyone makes decisions about who they are talking to in seconds. This is why it is so important to sound great as we are immediately graded and however we do will be the starting point of the relationship. We are now at the beginning of the process of building rapport and developing what we hope will be a long term, profitable relationship – so sound fantastic.When we meet someone for the
Here’s a process you will find helpful and you can incorporate it into any review you process you might already do. It’s called Traffic Light Check and it should become a normal part of your quarterly business routine. The Traffic Light Check is a simple procedure for checking progress on your goals and identifying what’s next. It’s important to keep an eye on your plan regularly, throughout the year.
Look at each goal, one at a time and determine that goal’s current status. Are you on track to making it happen? I don’t mean that you’ve achieved the goal; but does it look likely that you’ll achieve it by the end of the year? If your answer is yes, the status of that goal is green.
If you’re doing pretty good on the goal, but you can’t honestly predict that you’ll achieve the goal by the end of the year, classify this objective as yellow. You can still make this goal happen but you just need to give it more attention than you’ve given it to date.
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As yo
Two things you can do to get paid on time by your customersThere is nothing more frustrating to a business owner than delivering quality products and services on time, only to have to deal with a customer that pays late. Slow and late paying clients can drain your resources and be a major source of frustration. Many slow paying customers seem to require multiple collection calls, reminders and cajoling in order to finally pay. At their worst, slow paying customers can create significant problems, especially if cash flow is tight.When cash is tight, many owners tend to go into “collections” mode. They will try every conceivable way to get late paying customers to pony up. This is an understandable knee jerk reaction to a tough problem. Unfortunately, it seldom w
Look at each goal, one at a time and determine that goal’s current status. Are you on track to making it happen? I don’t mean that you’ve achieved the goal; but does it look likely that you’ll achieve it by the end of the year? If your answer is yes, the status of that goal is green.
If you’re doing pretty good on the goal, but you can’t honestly predict that you’ll achieve the goal by the end of the year, classify this objective as yellow. You can still make this goal happen but you just need to give it more attention than you’ve given it to date.
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As yo
Why do some small businesses become glorified jobs for the business owner, often earning the owner less money per hour than if they had a job?I see this happening very often in small businesses. The owners start out enthusiastically, then experience all the extra paperwork, organising and chasing that needs to be done and slowly the novelty wears off. For the majority of business owners it gets too hard and they give up, adding to the high failure rate of small businesses in the first 12 months.It doesn't have to be like that!There may be some tough times in any small business and there is nothing worse than wondering if you are going to sell something today. Wondering if the sales in the month will be enough to cover the bills. As a business owner you need to kn
And then, for many of us there are the goals in the red zone. There are major problems with these goals; these are goals we haven’t made much, if any progress on. Perhaps there was more involved in accomplishing this goal than you had planned on. Or, perhaps the goal was too difficult or you just lost track of it. No matter, this goal is in serious danger of not being realized.
As you go through your goals it’s important to remember, doing the Traffic Light Check is only a review process. Do NOT get into the blame, self criticism or excuses. All you’re doing now is a progress check where you’re telling yourself (and facing) the truth about where you stand on your priorities for the year. You have to be able to look at your goals and assess the status without judging and without the emotion. I was as guilty as anyone about avoiding this review process. Deep down I knew I hadn’t stuck to my plan and I didn’t want to see it – as if not facing the fact I had let things get out of control made the reality of it any different. It was because I didn’t review my progress regularly that I ended up getting so far off track in many areas.
It’s important to do what you know you need to do. Force yourself to check in and face what is real. Be honest with yourself and look at what is going well and what is not. There’s no other way to do it. What happened, happened. What didn’t happen, didn’t happen. That’s it – period. This is a reflection of your performance. This is not a reflection of your self-worth, your intelligence or what you have to offer. It’s only about your performance and that can always be improved; especially when you take the time to see how you’re doing on what matters most to you.
Once you’ve completed your review and categorized your goals as green, yellow or red, go through the goals again, one-at-a-time, and ask yourself this question: “What is the next step?” What is it you want or need to do in the next month to stay on track – or to get this goal back on track?
Again, ask this question on each goal – “To make this happen by the end of the year, what is it I need to do in the next 30 days (2 weeks, 7 days, …)?” List these responses as your monthly goals and you now have a clear action plan for the next month and you know exactly where you stand on your plan.
Simple? Yes. Easy? Probably not. But the few minutes you invest in this review will make a huge difference in your success. Again, it’s about commitment and accountability. Are you serious about your success or just interested?
Be BOLD. Review your plan – Make it Happen. It all starts with a vision ...a Bold Vision.
The Traffic Light Check process is probably universal, but I learnned about it from Jenny Ditzler, creator and CEO of Best Year Yet, LLC in Aspen, Colorado. Best Year Yet© is the planning
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