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Have a dream? Get The Mindset of a Champion

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Yes, this is the new home of Business Performance Coaching of sbishere.com Thanks for visiting!

Are you or are you not, working on your dream?Why not? Could it be that you are caught in a ‘Performance Trap’?

The Performance Trap: “My self worth equals my performance plus the opinions of others.” (Dr. David Cook, The Mindset of a Champion via TSTN)

To obtain your freedom and extract yourself from ‘ Read more

Forget About Business Productivity - Focus on Business Effectiveness

Many entrepreneurs joke that perhaps they have ADD. For the record a lot of very successful entrepreneurs had ADD and they got a lot done.

Is ADD, a.k.a. AD/HD an Entrepreneurial Trait?

I Google’d AD/HD and Entrepreneur and ended up at the AD/HD website at about.com They have an interesting article, but one sentence got my attention… Read more

Avoid Getting Caught in the “Star Employee” Trap

No matter how long you have been in business you can easily get caught in this trap. If you do get caught in the “Star Employee” syndrome it could easily impair your judgement and set you and the new employee up for failure.

Relief and Gratitude

You are just so happy to have such a well qualified, capable employee that you find yourself continually impressed. Soon you begin to imagine how much this is going to make your life easier.

Soon you start to make a mental note of all the things you want to delegate to them or a future, more senior position. Be careful, their level of professionalism, knowledge, and potential is a powerful elixir that will cloud your judgment if you are not careful. Remember, the very qualities and behavior you are enjoying is the reason you hired them in the first place.

The fact that you have noticed these behaviors and qualities simply means that they have “met your expectations” - so far. Temper your enthusiasm with the brutal reality of answering the following question:

What specific, tangible results have they actually created?

You hire for character, integrity, and how they will fit into your team.

They earn their paycheck and keep their job based on Read more

How is your radar?

I had an amazing meeting with one of the web’s most brilliant and relatively unknown, creative thinkers, Reg Cheramy from web2.0central.com

Reg lives in Edmonton, the same city where I live but in a different part of town. Towards the end of our meeting he suggested that I purchase ceoradar.com which I did (thanks Reg).

Meaning to You

When you think of CEO Radar, what does it say to you? What meaning, feeling, or service/content would you expect to see on a website by that name?

Live Large!

Greg Balanko-Dickson

The Right Price: Develop a Market Price Strategy

If your price is too high, you may not be able to achieve adequate market share and lose important sales and profits. If your price is too low you may be leaving money on the table and you might not have enough profit to sustain your operations.

The purpose of this article is to outline an approach you can use to develop a Market Price Strategy and avoid killing a marketing or advertising campaign. Which is central to the overall development of a successful marketing strategy.

Price objections can kill your business. Generally, the less personal interaction you will have with a customer the more accurate you need to be about your pricing strategy. Before we get started lets review the Definition of Marketing. A process by which:

Information about a product or service designed to meet a need - real or otherwise - is presented or communicated to those who have the need. The process can take place in the spur of the moment or be planned. However, the goal is always the same. To get people to consider the merits of whatever is being marketed.

Remember, marketing is communicating the benefits of a product or service. If your price is too high or low, your prospects/customers may not take you seriously or dismiss your proposition outright. The entire purpose of marketing is to communicate and create a perception of value!

Choosing the correct price is essential to creating the right perception of value - this is where developing a market price strategy comes into the picture.

A Market Price Strategy is the art of balancing the role of price as a means to attracting customers and keeping customers. Read more

How Obsessive CEO’s Create Healthy Organizations

Are you an obsessive CEO? Does your organization have a secret sauce? I hope so because:

The ’secret sauce’ is the intersection where business fundamentals meet vision, life experience, and personal desire to create a one-of-a-kind formula for business success.

That is what makes owning a business so exciting and addicting - it is the ultimate opportunity to express yourself and see your vision come into reality. Via How to Create Your Own Secret Sauce

In 2007 a healthy obsession about your organization’s performance ignores traditional metrics and have your eyes firmly set on the only metric that matters - the customer experience. Everything the company does is examined under the scrutiny of your ‘customer service blueprint‘ (see graphic).

Designing the Customer Experience

Is all about developing the strategy (Experience Blueprint), building processes (sales, marketing, distribution, and delivery, and doing it in a way that is difficult for your competition to imitate. We do this by developing new standards in four areas:

1. Customer Service Experience Blueprint
2. Human Resources
3. Sales and Marketing
4. Distribution and Delivery

No big surprises here right? Wait. Before we develop any standards we must be able to accurately quantify what it is that your firm does that seems to create value - through the eyes of your ideal customer.

Value Configuration

Did you happen to notice that value configuration comes before designing the customer experience in my chart?

It makes no sense designing a customer experience for anyone other than your ideal customer. So we need to understand the needs of your ideal customer and the chain of events that creates value in the mind of your customer.

Nothing else matters.

Until you can identify the links in your value-added chain you will not be able to design the customer experience with any reasonable level of accuracy and effectiveness. I guarantee what the customer sees as valuable is not what you think. Which is why discovering and developing your specific value configuration is so important.

I need to warn you that identifying the links in your value added chain is hard work, but worth every ounce of sweat and worthy of a magnificent obsession. The Remote Control CEO program coaches and supports you to uncover and expose this powerful triad:

1. Market Needs
2. Ideal Customer
3. The Value Added Chain

Reminder: Summer Mentoring Program

My Summer Mentoring Program will start soon and provides six months of coaching and support. It is very affordable, check it out.

Live Large!

Greg Balanko-Dickson
Licensed Professional Business Coach

P.S. Are you ready to learn what obsessive CEO’s already know? There is an application form at the end of the page.

Notice: I have no intent to offer this program at any price ever again - I just happened to have some time open this summer - I made a decision to offer this program because it will force me to get off my butt and put the finishing touches on it. You get the benefit of getting to pick my brain and leverage my 17 years of coaching businessowners in more than 32 industries.

Business Model Mentoring Program

Six months, eight group coaching sessions, two one-on-one coaching sessions, access to my library of more than 400 tools and articles, and the opportunity to learn from six other non-competitive business owners like yourself. If you have been thinking that business could be better and are not sure where to begin this is the program for you. Very affordable!

Just five spots left for the Sizzlin’ Summer Mentoring Program, visit the program outline to learn more.

Applying for a Commercial Business Loan, New Business Loan

Applying for a new business loan need not be a unpleasant experience. By eliminating your limiting beliefs and preparing for the meeting in advance you have every reason to feel confident.

Remember, that the bank wants to lend money, they really do. They are in the business of making new business loans. In fact banks love to make new business loans because businesses are very good customers and make a lot of money for them.

Supporting Documents Needed for a New Commercial Business Loan

Your bank will expect to see a complete business plan plus:

• financial projections including income statement, balance sheet, cash flow projections, your resume or bio.
• personal net worth statement (include a separate list of assets and liabilities if there are a lot of items).
• copy of your personal identification and social insurance number.
• copy of either your certificate of incorporation or DBA (doing business as trade-name) registration.
• list of personal bank accounts and credit references.
• list of company bank accounts and credit references (if any).

If you are applying for a new business loan for a business you have been operating, they will also want to see: Read more

New Business Loan 101, Commercial Business Loan

Getting a new business loan for a business is simple if you follow a few key points. It still is a little bit of work, but well worth the effort.

If you are looking for a new business loan, you are in one of three different situations:

• Start Up: you have a business idea or concept and you need a loan to help you get the business up and running.
• Established: you have been running for a little and up to now have been able to fund the business yourself. You have made some profits and the growth of the business gas put some strain on your cash flow. A new business loan will help you maintain your growth pattern, ease the financial pressure and allow you to invest in the business based on some ideas you have.
• Re-Financing: you have been running the business and now you find the debt load a little tough to handle. You are profitable but would like a longer term loan to consolidate your payables and perhaps relocate the business by purchasing a building.

New Business Loans 101

If you understand how a bank makes a business loan you will be able to better prepare and improve your chances on getting the financing you need and want. Read more

How Do Factoring Services Work?

A factor service discounts invoices or accounts receivables. It pays you before your normal payment terms and before the customer pays. Factoring is an alternative to a line of credit at a bank, and it can be an effective method of raising cash in a hurry.

There are different ways of managing the process, depending on the factoring company. Here are my observations:

1. They will review your business, invoices and may even do an audit.
2. If approved, they will provide you with instructions on how to do the invoicing.
3. You invoice your customers as usual.
4. You will send out a letter to your customers advising them you are using this service and that they should pay your invoice to the factoring company.
5. Depending on your arrangement, you can choose which invoices to factor. If you decide to use this method you will probably want to get a stamp made so you can indicate which invoices to pay to the factoring company.

Why use a factoring company?

If you are growing quickly, starved for cash and the banks will not lend you the cash — factoring is a way of getting the cash sitting in your accounts receivables into your hands. The cash can be helpful if you need to buy inventory or buy raw materials to build more goods for your growing business.

However, if you are using these funds to pay other bills, you may be in too much financial trouble for it to solve your problems. Also, if you have signed a loan agreement at a bank, it probably states that you need permission to use other forms of financing.

Improving Management Of Your Accounts Receivables

Your collection period for accounts receivables depends on four factors:

1. economic environment;
2. recession;
3. season of tight credit;
4. your credit policy.

There is only one item on the list you have total control over - your credit policy.. The general economic environment is beyond your control - concentrate on what you can control.

Important Decision

Before you consider completely revamping your credit policy you need to consider your company’s investment in accounts receivables — all credit you grant has an associated opportunity cost. Cash you have tied up in your accounts receivable is not available to be used elsewhere.

The most important decision you have to make is the amount and terms of the credit you choose to extend to your customers. There is a delicate balance to maintain.

The tighter your credit policy you will have less cash tied up in accounts receivable and fewer bad debts — however, this could also negatively affect your sales and reduce your profit levels.

Volatility Factors - Size & Number Of Accounts Read more

Team Effectiveness: Thinking Inside the Box

I wrote this article following a training I developed for a client and their team. I hope you enjoy this as much as they did.

Before we begin ‘Thinking Inside the Box’ lets first review what ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ means.

Thinking Outside the Box

What does it mean to ‘think outside the box’?

Typically ‘thinking outside the box’ meant that we were expected to change our thinking, paradigm, and expectations. This was often the result of attending a seminar, speech, or an employer who was trying to encourage innovation.

As a result, we think we need to create something totally new and in the process we forget, discount, or ignore what we already know and get caught up in the endless loop of what I call the Grass is Greener Syndrome and change for change sake. Which can prevent us from seeing the need to learn from our failures.

When we do not learn from our past failures we can easily miss seeing the obvious or worse, misidentify the problem, which creates a bigger mess.

Outside the box thinking can distract us from paying attention to the options and opportunities that are blatantly visible ‘inside the box’ that could dramatically improve our work, performance, and success.

Thinking Inside the Box: First Grasp the Context & Situation

Resist re-inventing the wheel because we can easily miss the obvious. Read more

IBM - Expanding the Innovation Horizon: Global CEO Study 2006 - United States

Nice to have IBM confirm that business model innovation is the new differentiator and can pay off.

These and other findings are in “Expanding the Innovation Horizon,” the 2006 IBM Global CEO Study reporting on the agenda of CEOs in the next few years.. with 765 chief executives from around the world… Among the 2006 study’s findings: * Business model innovation is becoming the new strategic differentiator. “The business model we choose will determine the success or failure of our strategy,” one study participant said. In contrast to the findings of the 2004 survey, innovation in the enterprise’s business model garnered nearly as much attention as innovation in a company’s core processes and functions. * Business model innovation can pay off. In the financial analysis for the study, companies that have grown their operating margins faster than their competitors were putting twice as much emphasis on business model innovation as underperformers. Via IBM - Expanding the Innovation Horizon: Global CEO Study 2006 - United States

Gaining a Foothold: Patience, Pesistence, and Commitment

In an entrepreneurial landscape where people write books with titles like Instant Income, Millionaire Mind, and You Will Make Money While You Sleep is the story of a husband and wife team that did it slowly.

“It takes a long time to gain a foothold. We worked for 3 years without a salary, and eight years until the company had a positive net worth.” That patience has paid off, thanks to calculated risk, trust, and a mother’s fabulous recipe. Via A Brownie Fairytale

It is a great story that illustrates how important a strong vision, long-term business plan, and belief in a product - the difference it makes to the success of business. I can just imagine telling their family that they have plans to build a business around Grandma’s brownie recipe, uh huh.

What would you have said to them? Would you have thought they were nuts? Think about it, how many brownies do you have to sell just to pay the bills?

What do you think makes the difference and allows someone to build a business around a brownie?

Aging Workforce: Asset, Liability or Succession Opportunity?

Manpower suggests that using specialized retention and recruiting strategies will allow you to target the single largest available workforce segment – those over age 50. If you are looking for people to staff our business and you are ignoring the 50+ worker you could be in for a tough ride.

Training programs – Mature workers are lifelong learners, and programs that build skills and increase employment opportunities will positively impact employee engagement.

Flexible scheduling options – Studies confirm that non-traditional schedules are one of the top priorities for older workers. Policies that offer part-time, flextime, job sharing, project work or generous time-off plans allow those in their retirement years to have ample time for work and personal pursuits.

Job redesigns – While mature employees want to work, many would elect to bring value to an organization in a different capacity. Whether it’s less travel, fewer responsibilities or a decrease in physical demands, consider job accommodations in order to retain the institutional knowledge and skills of the most experienced employees.

Targeted recruiting strategies – As with any hiring plan, employers should consider how to reach people in the demographics that meet their needs, and older workers are no exception. Look to professional organizations, company-sponsored alumni groups and online communities for possible candidates. Via Aging Workforce

I would want to see what I could do to take advantage of this large labor pool before their Business Dreams and Retirement Collide.

What do you think? Are you now or will you use any of these strategies?

Planning, Startups, Stories: The Essential ‘Why They Buy’

Tim Berry asks some great questions and my favorite is the last line about strategy:

Whether you’re planning for a start-up or to grow an existing business, start with buyer motivation. Why do they buy from you? What do you do better, or at least different, from your competition? How can you build that difference into strategy? Via Planning, Startups, Stories: The Essential ‘Why They Buy’

Answering these questions will be a journey and could take you awhile to answer, keep at it.

I have been working at it for 9 years and I feel like I am just starting to sort it out for myself. It is much easier doing it for my clients than myself.

Sizzlin’ Summer Mentoring Program

Summer of 2007 will be sizzlin’ for a select group of entrepreneurs and business owners. Why you ask? I am holding a summer mentoring program designed to help you start your business, grow/expand, or increase your results and profitability.

What’s Included in the Mentoring Program

This program will be part coaching, consulting, and training designed to help you get on the fast track. Based on the needs of the group I will develop group training sessions, I could see covering topics such as Business Models, Business Planning, and Sales Systems. When I mentor you, you get:

1. Greg’s Coaching: My 100% commitment to you achieving your goals.
2. Group Meetings: audio/video meetings with the frequency, dates, and time mutually agreed upon by the group. This guarantees that you will be able to fit them into your busy schedule.
3. One-on-One Coaching: whether by email, Skype, or phone you will have unprecedented access to ask questions and get the support you need.
4. Action Tools Library: everyone will get access to my Action Tools Library, which currently stands at more than 370 documents, articles, and templates.
5. Private Mentoring Workspace:
6. Ideas, Tips, and Observations: throughout the entire process I will be spitting out ideas, tips, and observations to help you make money, fast track a project, refine your approach, and develop new skills.
7. 3 + 3 Mentoring: the program will begin in July and the group and one-on-one mentoring will continue for 90 days from our start date. Then for another 90 days I will continue to mentor you via email or in the the groups private workspace. That’s six months (3 + 3 = 6) of mentoring, coaching, and training.
8. Meet Some Great Entrepreneurs: one of the greatest things is you will get to know six other entrepreneurs just like yourself. This gives you the opportunity to learn from their experiences, challenges, and make a new friend.

Why is Greg Doing This?
Read more

The Remote Control CEO Sustained Coaching Program

This is the only professional coaching program I know of that will help you to make the transition from working daily in your business to operate your business by Remote Control.

Making the transition to operate your business ‘Hands Free’ can vary greatly depending on your current business situation, number of years you have been in business, and Read more

World Class Beliefs, Roles, Habits, and Behaviors of a Remote Control CEO

Actions are the physical manifestations of our beliefs. - Steve Siebold

Everyday my coaching practice reminds me that Steve’s statement is 100% true. Steve brings a distinction that I think we all know but have thought little about.

Beliefs Primer

Our internal frame of reference which is shaped by our parents, teachers, friends, and family is like lens through which we view the world and what we accept as ‘true’. Steve calls it ‘programming’.

Programming shapes our thinking that forms the basis of our beliefs which guides our behavior. We base our decisions and actions upon these beliefs and as Steve says, “Actions are the physical manifestations of our beliefs.” Read more

What Are Your Business Goals

Learn to Make Your Business Work For You

Yes, absolutely it’s possible to enjoy the benefits of owning a business that is effortless to run, efficient and effective.

First, you must make the transition from being ‘Hands On’ (at the center of everything) to creating the structure so you can operate the business ‘Hands Free’ - By Remote Control.

Business Performance Coaching Helps You Develop the Strategies, Resources, People, and Systems…

So the business starts to work for you because you have replaced yourself with systems, processes, training, and leadership skills. No longer are you at the center of everything and you are able to operate your business ‘hands free’. Read more

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