“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.”-Susan Rabin
Great leaders live their lives and run their businesses with ENTHUSIASM!

Legendary Leaders have Enthusiasm

When people think of legendary football coaches, they nearly always mention Vince Lombardi. He said to his team, “You are to have confidence in me and enthusiasm for my system. Hereafter, I want you to think of only three things: your home, your religion, and the Green Bay Packers. Let enthusiasm take hold of you.” He drilled one message into his players before every game. “If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”

Everyone Likes Excitement

When people bubble with personal energy, others like being around them. Henry Ford built a giant automotive empire, and he knew what it took to produce results. “Enthusiasm is at the bottom of all progress! With it, there is accomplishment,” said Ford. “Without it, there are only alibis.”

Mark Twain was once asked the reason for his success. He replied, “I was born excited.” Tom Watson, founder of IBM, said, “The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas and enthusiasm.” Zig Ziglar, author and a premier motivational speaker, says, “For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough.”

Jim Valvano, the great basketball coach for the North Carolina State Wolfpack, who died after fighting a long, courageous battle against the cancer in his body, remained enthusiastic to the day of his death. Valvano said, “I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get your emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day.”

Choose to be Enthusiastic

When we choose to add enthusiasm to our lives, people immediately recognize it and often comment on it. When we’re enthusiastic, our attitude is affected. Enthusiasm is contagious. It’s difficult to remain neutral or indifferent in the presence of a positive thinker. Our goal should be to make enthusiasm a total and permanent part of everything we do!

 Our leadership and other strengths are not worth much if we are not able to achieve leverage and results through other people. Without question, our enthusiasm will help us achieve such leverage and results.

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“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”-Henry David Thoreau

We should be asking our employees for input

Do you regularly ask your employees for input, to share their thoughts and suggestions? Do you allow them to contribute ideas and then buy into the direction and goals of the company?

Don’t attempt to go it alone

Attempting to go it alone rarely succeeds. In the business world, results have proven again and again that the most powerful decisions that move a company forward are not those of a strong, authoritarian president. Instead they are decisions in which both the employees and management have come together to find a solution.

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart who became one of the richest men in America, believed in hearing what people, especially his employees, had to say. Once he flew his aircraft to Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and parked the plane with instructions to his copilot to meet him one hundred or so miles down the road. He then flagged a Wal-Mart truck and rode the rest of the way to “chat with the driver.” He said, “It seemed like so much fun.” It was also a great learning experience.

Dallas-based Chili’s, one of the nation’s five best-run food service chains, according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine, is another company with a leader who listens to employees. Norman Brinker, Chili’s chairman, believes that responsive communication is the key to good relations with both employees and customers. He also has learned that such communication pays big dividends. Almost 80 percent of Chili’s menu comes from suggestions made by unit managers.

 Seek input from your employees and start listening!

Our leadership and other strengths are not worth much if you are not able to achieve leverage and results through other people. Keep reminding yourself and your management team that the greatest assets of your business are your people!

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“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only  means.”-Claudian

As leader, we must be a Role Model for others!

Know that we set the tone, pace, environment, and personality of our company. By our consistent actions, we establish what the company values and what gets rewarded. We lead by example and to a large extent, shape the culture of our organizations.

In large part, we maintain the culture.

In large part, we maintain the culture by participating in the interviewing, hiring, reviewing and rewarding of our employees. We need to always make time for these critical activities.

Above all, we should try to create a culture where our people feel appreciated and important and where they believe that they can reach their potential – full use of their talents. William James said that “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” If we achieve such a supportive and fear-free culture, we will have created a successful company with solid retention of our employees.

Make coming to work enjoyable

Also, make coming to work enjoyable. Identify, celebrate, and remember our companies victories. Capture them in stories that we repeat, especially to new hires.

Our leadership and other strengths are not worth much if we are not able to achieve leverage and results through other people. Keep reminding yourself and your management team that the greatest assets of your business are our people!

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“There are no magic wands, no hidden tricks, and no secret handshakes that can bring you immediate success, but with time, energy, and determination you can get there.” – Darren Rowse, founder of ProBlogger

Eight Marketing Strategies for a Small Budget

Everyone knows that building a business takes time and persistence, but it also takes effective marketing.However, most of us don’t have the luxury of starting a business with a six-figure budget. So how do you throw yourself into a solid marketing plan with a teeny marketing budget? Here are some strategies we’ve found work for our clients. Just remember that when you’re spending less money on marketing, you’re likely looking at spending more time to achieve great results.

 Here are Eight Inexpensive Marketing Tips

1) Leverage Relationships:

You certainly have people in your life who will benefit from the success of your business, like your banker, your CPA, your suppliers, your vendors, etc. Determine who would make good informal sales agents for your business by considering who will benefit most from your growth. Once you have that figured out, go to your contacts and ask those people to support your growth efforts through leads, referrals, testimonials, etc.

 2) Work with Current Customers:

Your current customers know that you have a great product or service to offer to the community – and they know people who can benefit from what you’re offering. Ask them for introductions and referrals to other potential buyers or ask them to provide endorsements or testimonials, or see if they’d serve as references. Also, every time you work with customers, ask if there are any needs you haven’t met. There is always more you can do (and charge for.)

 3) Build your Referral Sources:

Take a look at your best referral sources in the last year. Where has most of your business come from? First of all, make sure you thank those people or service providers for helping to build your businesses and then create a strategy to stay in touch with these sources as often as possible. Now consider how you can copy these results. If you’re an estate sale company and your best referrals have come from realtors, how can you meet more realtors?

 4) Make Working with You Easy:

If you’re asking someone to do business with you, consider offering a money-back guarantee. A credible and specific guarantee will bring in much more business than it costs you. If you’re uncomfortable providing a guarantee, consider why. Is there something you need to improve in your system to make your business less risky for customers?

 5) Reach More at Once:

There are only so many hours in the day, so situations where you can influence multiple people at once will serve you well. Consider hosting special events or seminars for customers, referral sources, and prospects. If you can combine your event with people who would make strong strategic partners, you can tap into their networks as well.

 6) Spread the Word:

Even in the Internet age, having a public relations strategy is important. Get to know your local media outlets and reporters and be sure to share stories about changes in your business, especially expansions in staff or services. Get to know the executive directors of the various organizations in your target market.

 7) Use Social Media:

Building social media pages is a slow process, but it’s important to be able to connect with any potential customers on any platform. If you don’t have a Facebook page and a potential customer searches for you on Facebook, how will that look? If you have loyal customers, ask them to write reviews for your Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn pages. Those are powerful messages to potential customers! You can also use LinkedIn to build your personal referral network by leveraging groups. There’s plenty of free training out there for exactly how to make that work.

 8) Leverage Indirect Competitors:

Are there competitors in your market you wouldn’t necessarily go head-to-head against when looking for customers? Maybe you are in slightly different markets or you serve different populations with a similar service? If you’re a residential painter, can you build a relationship with a commercial painter to let leads flow both ways?

 Do you have low-cost marketing strategies that have worked for you?

If you’re struggling to make strides in marketing – or any aspect of your business – it’s time to see what working with an experienced coach and consultant can do to help you grow your business to the next level.

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