Old Dog, New Tricks

“Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business.” – Mark Sanborn, Leadership Expert

Last year my twelve-year-old Maltese, Casper, taught himself how to knock over our kitchen trash can, thus availing himself of some leftover goodies and miscellaneous food wrappers. Why it took him twelve years to crack the code on this particular achievement, I don’t know. But it goes to show you that even the oldest dog can learn new tricks.

The same holds true for entrepreneurs and business owners. Often, we talk to people about how we can help them grow their businesses through coaching and intentional action. Every now and then we meet someone who is decidedly an “Old Dog”, someone who isn’t open to anyone offering insight on how to navigate the ever-changing markets of the new millennium. They figure a coach can’t possibly understand how they do business, and they figure they know what’s best for their business because they have been doing it for years and years.

I’d like to challenge that way of thinking on two fronts. First, we find that the most successful business owners are the ones who are open to “new tricks.” These are the guys and gals who understand that the only constant is change. They know that if they are not willing to stay current on technology, marketing and networking, their competition will be. If you are in business for yourself, you always need to be on the hunt for training and ideas that will compliment your business and keep it moving forward.

Second, a good coach is not going to tell you how to do what you do best. We don’t tell dentists how to fix cavities, we don’t tell contractors how to build homes and we don’t tell restaurateurs what to put on the menu. A good coach speaks the language of business, and trains the business owner on the actions needed to fulfill his or her dreams for the enterprise.

Training and education are crucial ingredients for the successful entrepreneur. At Possibilities Unlimited, we offer a variety of ways to stay on top of trends as well as hold yourself accountable to your intentions for your business. Are you ready to learn some new tricks? We’re happy to help. Just contact us through our website for a free introductory consultation. You’re never too old to learn something new and build a winning formula for your business.

Are you ready to win?

The Best of 2010: Strategies That Worked

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." - Abraham Lincoln

This is our final blog post for 2010. Before we uncork the champagne and toast the New Year, let’s look back at business strategies that worked in 2010. Our clients had some terrific successes this year. When we sat down and looked at their breakthrough results, there were some common themes that emerged:

Sales and Marketing Plans – The companies that soared in 2010 were the ones that took a serious approach to sales. They invested time and dollars into well thought out sales and marketing plans, working hard to align on target markets and the necessary actions to pursue them. They continually assessed their progress throughout the year and made adjustments for what was and wasn’t working. A persistent, strategic commitment to sales resulted in unprecedented revenues for several clients.

2. Commitment to Time Management - One of the most important things we work on in our coaching is time management. Business people have lots to accomplish, but what they often don’t realize is that it all has to occur in time. Every activity whether it be sales calls, returning phone calls or management meetings need to be scheduled on the calendar. We tend to let things like sales slide by the wayside when we don’t have it scheduled in our workday. In 2010 the winners were the ones who mastered their calendars.

3. Working as High Performance Teams – We had several clients this year experience tremendous breakthroughs in the ways they worked together. When talented individuals focus on common goals and learn how to shift away from past complaints, the door opens for incredible progress. Coaching gives many companies the forum for developing systems and structures that allow teams to flourish.

4. Taking the Coaching – Companies hire us because they want help fixing whatever is broken in their businesses. We are experts at helping companies develop strategies to improve sales, productivity, profits and efficiency. But as the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water…” The companies that succeeded this year were the ones who took the coaching, the ones who were open to change and willing to commit to delivering on their intentions for their businesses.

At Possibilities Unlimited, we are privileged to work with an amazing group of clients who believe in the power of people working together on a common goal. We love partnering with businesses to achieve unprecedented results. If you could use a partner who is just as committed to your business succeeding as you are, we would love to work with you. Give us a call for an introductory consultation and see what’s possible for your business in 2011.

Are You Ready to Win?

The Case For Coaching

"A good coach will make his players see what they can be, rather than what they are." - Ara Parashegian, Hall of Fame College Football Coach

We’ve all heard that definition of insanity…repeating the same actions over and over with the expectation of a different result. This adage is especially true in business. We can’t keep sticking to the status quo and expect that profits will suddenly increase, our employees will begin working together as a high-performance team, and our sales numbers will jump through the roof.

If your business fell short of your intentions this year, now is the time to determine what actions you are going to change in 2011. Year-end is the perfect time to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. And most importantly, what you are going to do about it.

A business coach can be a tremendous asset in this process. It’s always beneficial to have an impartial perspective and input when you are looking to take your business in a new direction. A good business coach will help you to develop specific and measurable intentions for the business. A really good business coach will not sit back and agree with you about all the reasons you can’t change. A skilled business coach will show you new possibilities, and help you chart the path toward breakthrough results.

Sometimes business people resist getting help with their businesses. We all have egos that can get in the way of our progress. And we all too often fall into that trap of thinking that if we just work a little harder, or a little longer, things will work out fine. The truth is that companies that make an investment in business coaching are far more likely to thrive than those that resort to “business as usual.”

At Possibilities Unlimited, we are committed to giving people access to the actions that can change their businesses for the better. We are experts at designing intentions that are the framework for success. If you are looking to transcend the status quo in 2011, give us a call. We’ll put together a winning formula for your business and partner with you to deliver unprecedented results.

Are you ready to win?

Do You Need a Business Coach?

“You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.” – Les Brown

Many of the people we work with have never worked with a business coach before. Quite often, they know they need support to keep moving their businesses forward, but they are hesitant about signing on with a coach. Because coaching can be somewhat of an intangible process, people sometimes wait to get help because they are uncertain of the value they will receive.

Working with a coach can double the chances of you delivering on your intentions for your business. The coach’s job is to hold you accountable for what you want to achieve, and make sure that you are taking concrete actions to move your projects forward. Coaching does cost money, but in the long run, it’s far less expensive than hiring additional staff, or than missing out on opportunities because you were too busy handling the day to day pressures of running a business.

How do you know if you need a coach? To start, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you exceeding your sales goals?
2. Are your sales numbers going up 20% per year?
3. Do you have a sales and marketing plan?
4. Are you using your sales and marketing plan?
5. Are you working less hours and producing more results?
6. Are you maximizing your potential?
7. Do you know how you will meet your sales goal by December 31^st?

If you answered no to two or more of those questions…YOU NEED A COACH! At Possibilities Unlimited we believe that a healthy business is one that is constantly moving forward and one that is profitable. If you need support in taking your business to the next level, give us a call for a free introductory consultation. We’ll put you and your business on a winning path!

Are you ready to win?

What Are Your Intentions?

“Excuse me gentlemen, but what exactly are your intentions?” Tom Hanks as Captain Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

As business coaches, we are constantly working with people to craft their intentions for their businesses. It’s surprising how few people have put serious thought into what they want to get out of their businesses or their careers. One of the first things we do as coaches is drill down to the specifics of what people want.

“I want to make a lot of money.” “I want to work fewer hours.” “I want to sell the business.”

These are all understandable ideas, but they are not specific intentions. You need to think about exactly how much money you want to make. Are you wanting to make enough to retire? To put kids through college? To pay off debt? How much money is enough? Be specific about what you want to make.

How many hours is “fewer”? Twenty-five hours a week? Thirty? And if you want to sell your business, how much do you want to sell it for?

We ask our clients to come up with three big intentions for their businesses. These intentions need to be something unprecedented, something they don’t already know how to do. And they need to be specific.

Once you get specific about your intentions, you can start using them as tools to that will drive all the actions and decisions you make in your business. Your intentions become the top of the mountain that you are going to climb. Stand at the top of that mountain and ask yourself how you got there. What resources did you need to do to accomplish your intentions? More hours in sales? More employees? New computers? Whatever it is, start doing it. Set a timeline for accomplishing your intentions and make sure you have specific and measurable benchmarks along the way to track your progress.

Do you need help creating intentions for your business? Do you need someone to hold you accountable for those intentions? We’d be happy to help. We’ve worked with thousands of people over the years to help them deliver on their intentions and win the game of business.

Are you ready to win?