The One Question You Must Be Able to Answer Before Contacting a Prospect
This past week, I’ve had conversations with three separate business owners about how to successfully connect with prospects. Should you connect through LinkedIn? An email? A phone call? The answer is YES – you should do all of those.However, before you do any connecting, you need to be able to answer one question:
Four Steps to the Best New Year’s Gift You Can Give Yourself
“Those who live in the past limit their future.”This was the message I received on my Yogi tea bag last night, as I enjoyed my nightly cup of tea. How timely and appropriate as we bring 2014 to a close.
Gratitude for You in 2014; Your Three Pillars of Success for 2015
As we bring 2014 to a close, I want to thank everyone for their support of Successful Culture. As someone who knows firsthand how hard it is to transform a business dream into a reality, I'm honored and blessed for the opportunities to help my clients achieve their goals.
And the Award Goes To…YOU! Six Steps For a Winning Awards Strategy
Visit any business website, and you will likely see a scrolling list of the awards the company has won. Awards for leadership, philanthropy, marketing, design, organizational culture, industry position…there is literally an award for every size company, in every industry. Most awards programs create categories according to revenue size so that every organization has a chance to be honored.
9 Strategies to Avoid Business Partnership Purgatory
Partnerships are one of the most important – and messiest – parts of business. Right now, I am working with clients who:1: Are building a great partnership2: Are trying to get out of bad partnership3: Have narrowly escaped a seemingly good partnership gone badIn my own experience, I was the majority owner in a partnership at Information Experts (with my husband). With Successful Culture, I am contemplating bringing in a partner.To grow beyond a solopreneurship, a business owner often needs to enlist the help of a partner. There are many reasons for this including:
Ten Questions to Ask to Determine if Your Customers and Employees Really Understand Your Company
Business owners live and breathe their company missions. Often, their business identity plays a significant role in their personal identity. Naturally, they can effortlessly explain what their company does, why it exists, what it stands for, and where it is going.This is not often the case with employees or customers.Here are two sets of questions to help you determine if your two most important stakeholder groups – your employees and your customers – really understand your company.
Strengthen the Body, Strengthen the Mind, Strengthen the Outcome
I’ve been a hard core fitness enthusiast ever since I was 15, when I saw Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. I learned then that physical strength is not only beautiful; it is also essential to feeling confident and capable in all aspects of your life.Executing on a dream or vision to build a business is one of the most mentally challenging endeavors a person will ever pursue. Every day, we are faced with nonbelievers, seemingly insurmountable challenges, and 101 reasons to quit. But still we persevere.
Four Steps to Diffusing a Customer Disagreement
A client called me last week to coach her through a delicate situation with a customer. Her customer had entered into a legal agreement, and at the last minute, wanted to change the terms of the agreement without consent from the other party. This would have jeopardized the entire transaction. Furthermore, her customer insisted that she had told my client about her decision prior to signing the contract (which was not true). My client was on the hook to talk her customer out of a really bad decision, even though her mind was made up.
Four Steps to a Successful 360-Degree Hiring Process
A client asked me, “Marissa, should I involve my other employees in the interviewing process?” My answer was an enthusiastic YES. From the intern to the executive, the CEO should never unilaterally own a hiring decision.
Want Great Customer Relationships? Know Your Deal-Breakers! Six Questions to Help You
I came across an article in The Providence Journal last month, when we were in Rhode Island for a family event. The article advised readers to identify their dating “deal-breakers” before jumping into the online dating world. The idea of “deal-breakers” came up again last week during a client coaching session, but this time I was discussing them in the context of customer relationships.
Building Employee Relationship Equity: Three Steps to a Great Weekly Huddle
One of the most rewarding aspects of working with small businesses is seeing them grow. Growth usually translates into new hires. For many of my clients, we’ve created processes and strategies to lay a foundation built on transparent communication, clearly defined goals, and aligned expectations.One of the most effective actions a company can implement is the weekly huddle. This time together ensures that all employees (and other valuable team members) are kicking off the week in complete unison. It is a time for the CEO to communicate weekly goals and expectations, and to learn from direct reports what employees have on their agenda.This is a high-level meeting, and is a two-way dialogue so that all attendees know that their contributions matter, and that their voices are heard. These touch-points create positive energy for the week, and build relationship equity among the team members.
Double Vision Versus Tunnel Vision: Which One Do You Have?
Vision without execution is just hallucination."Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.""The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion.”"The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious."Vision and leadership are two sides of the same coin. One can’t lead if they don’t know where they are going. I’m often asked how a leader can develop “vision.” There’s no simple answer.
How to Restore and Refresh for Greater Leadership Results
I’m writing this column from Bethany Beach, Delaware, which has been our family escape for 17 years. As we were packing, I checked quite a few times to make sure we had our chargers, my laptop, and my iPad which I loaded with several business books to read.Fast forward six days… I didn’t read one business book, and I responded to less than 20 emails. Instead, I picked up a great beach read that chronicled how the lives of three very different women interconnected.
The Seven Simple Secrets to a Successful Company Launch
So you’re finally taking the plunge. You’ve had it with fulfilling someone else’s dream, you know you have a unique value to bring to the world, and you’re ready to get it out there. The problem is, you have no idea what to do first.Here are the seven simple secrets to setting yourself up for success.
The Two Steps You Need to Take to Triage a Bleeding Company – and Five Things to Avoid
A very successful business owner who is going through a rough patch asked me, “Marissa, what’s the one thing you recommend I do to triage my company, and turn it around?”As the owner of a 20-year company that has experienced multiple government shut-downs, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the implosion of several industries, major contract protests, and even a lawsuit from an unethical subcontractor, I have a lot of experience with triage.
Six Strategies For Managing Toxic People
Can we be honest with each other? As much as we love our work, we don't always love the people we work with. What happens when you encounter someone in the course of your workday that can potentially suck the life out of you while you are trying to succeed in the workplace?In my coaching with dozens of CEOs, this issue presents itself over and over. Potentially toxic situations manifest with customers, vendors, employees, or other industry colleagues every day, in virtually every environment.
Riding Shotgun is Completely Over-Rated: 9 Steps For Taking Control of the Driver’s Seat
“I CALL SHOTGUN!”I’ve always been amused when kids fight over the front passenger seat. Maybe it’s because when I was growing up, I never had a shot at the front seat, since I’m the youngest of three, and the only girl. I was always relegated to the middle seat in the back with the hump. But that’s a story for another day.Kids are under the illusion that the “shotgun” seat holds more importance than the back seats. Actually, the only seat that really matters is the driver’s seat, because it’s the seat that controls the journey.In business, this is often the case as well.
Three Ways You Can Excel in the New “Insight Economy”
I attended Matt Dixon’s presentation on The Challenger Sales Model last month, which was particularly relevant for today’s selling environment. The last few years have been especially tumultuous and challenging for many industries, and connecting with your customer in a meaningful way has never been more important.
“Verizon, My Other Cable Company’s Not Working. Can I Get Your Service For Free?”
Have you ever walked into a clothing store, saw something you loved, and just walked out with it without buying?Or, have you ever called a service provider who is the competitor of a current provider, and asked them to help you for free because their selected vendor isn’t doing their job well?
The REAL Differences Between Leadership & Management and The Two Tools to Help You Excel
I attended an exceptional Young Presidents Organization (YPO) learning event last week, where Steve McLatchy, author of Decide: Double Your Results, Reduce Your Stress & Lead By Example, spoke. Many people speak at a high level about the differences between management and leadership, but few articulate it well. Steve nailed it.Leadership is a result you produce. If things are exactly where they are when you arrived in a “leadership” position, then you’re providing maintenance, not leadership. A true leader never “arrives” at leadership. The moment you’ve arrived there, you are a manager, and in maintenance mode.In a nutshell, leadership = improvement, and management = maintenance.