Summer, a great time to plan your Fall Business Strategies

When the long days of summer begin and your business starts to be affected by clients’ holidays, it’s a great opportunity to develop your fall marketing plan.

There are two great times of the year to do planning and the one that is most often overlooked is summer.
In July and August, conduct a review of the first part of the year and set forth a plan for the fall to finish the year with a bang.

Develop a top 10 list of things to accomplish in July and August that will help you through the summer doldrums and accelerate your business through the fall. If you wait till September to start you won’t be ready until Thanksgiving.

Start now with 10 summer business development ideas
1. Deepen your relationships. Catch up with that client or business associate and ask “how ya doin’? It will pay off in the fall when you need to leverage the relationship to assist you with your project or new venture.

2. Build your sales team. Think about the ideal person to help you with your business and spend the summer interviewing people for the busy fall months. Use the summer to train part-time staff for the fall.

3. Time-line for your fall marketing strategy. You can think about things like the dates that you will host your major event or the dates for your press release.

4. New product launch. Put the final touches on you new product launch. By September 15th the kids are back in school and most people are back into full business mode and more receptive to your call or product push.

5. Work on your video strategy. Plan and shoot the videos you’ll need for your September marketing launch. It’s perfect weather to capture the video (or line up the testimonies) that will enable you to recruit new clients to your business.

6. Clean up your database. Whether you’re using Outlook, Act or any number of contact management software, review that pile of business cards you’ve collected and add them to your data base and then import them to your newsletter database.

7. Update your website. This is something we have done for the last 5 years in a row. In fact the new Floodlight site will be launched shortly. A new or updated website will ensure that all of your information is current.

8. Create your blog. It always amazes me how many people have not added this simple technique to their marketing arsenal. A blog enables you to speak directly to all of your clients past, present and future, providing them with relevant information and ideas.

9. Develop your Social Media strategy. The big 3, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Learn to use these tools and add their Icons to your website which will encourage your followers to share your content with their personal networks

10. Plan some Rest and Relaxation. We get so wrapped up in the daily running of our business that we often forget to take time off for ourselves to recharge our batteries.

Summer means renewing old friendships, meeting with long time business associates, taking care of you and preparing to Build Your Business in the fall.

Have a great summer, from the team at Floodlight Business Solutions Group

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight – Build Your Business
Kelowna / Ottawa / Toronto Kingston
Email
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

Business Vision, Mission and Values

In the last few years I have written many articles for my monthly newsletter, blog and for Castanet.

Of all the articles I have written this week’s article on defining Company Business Values is the most read article on my Floodlight website.

This week we focus on your Company Values.

Company Values: Strong values will be those which actually operate in practice. Your company values underpin the Vision and the Mission of your company. No business is value-free and it is important to be explicit about those values that are essential to the business achieving its vision.

If values are not made explicit, then the values of the most dominant people are likely to be those which actually operate in practice. If you do not define your company values, the company will be adrift without proper direction.

Four key questions to define your Company Values:

1.     What are the values that are important to you as the business owner?

2.     What are the values that will be important to your team members?

3.     What are the values that will be important to your customers?

4.     What are the values that will be important to the success of the business?

Example of Values for a construction company:

Our core values form the bricks and mortar of our business, which operates and grows as a company and proud community member.

TRUST: All long-term relationships are grounded in trust and we take great pride in representing ourselves with honesty and humility in all our affairs. Our win-win philosophy also enables us to develop lasting partnerships with our clients.

VALUE: Our clients expect us to earn our fee – not just collect it. We work hard on all our projects to find value through design efficiencies and creative execution in our work.

TEAMWORK: We are easy to work with (clients find that refreshing).

INNOVATION: We are committed to always improving how we deliver our services. From continuing education in the field, to investment in industry-leading management and estimating tools, we strive constantly to be the leader in our field.

COMMUNITY: We feel blessed to be involved in literally building our communities, and we are committed to making a lasting difference in the ones which we build. Five percent of the company’s earnings are donated back to charities every year.

So if the Vision is your “Big Picture”, the Mission is the “How we do it here”, then the Company Values define “How we do business every day”.

Now go and “Build Your Business”.

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight – Build Your Business
Kelowna / Ottawa / Toronto Kingston
Email
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

Build Your Business with a Solid Business Plan

A business plan is an essential roadmap for business success.

This living, breathing document generally projects 1 to 3 years ahead and outlines the Sales, Marketing and Financial Strategies that the company intends to undertake to maintain sales and grow revenues and profits.

Many people believe that a business plan is just for start- ups.

This is not true.

A business plan is for any business owner who is serious about taking their business to the next level. For the established business it’s an evaluation of where you are and where you want to be.

A well thought out business plan also helps you to look down on your business from 10,000 feet and to think about the key elements of your business. A business plan will help you to obtain financing for expansion, arrange strategic alliances, attract key employees, and boost your confidence. A business plan sells your company to the world and gives you direction as the world answers back.

It also helps you solidify your thoughts on your specific Products and Services and will clarify your thinking before you sit down with your bank or investors.

I am often amazed when I ask people about their business and they are unable to answer simple questions about their business.

I ask questions like:

1. What is your mission Statement?
2. Who is your target market?
3. How much will your product cost?
4. How many units do you need to sell to make a profit?
5. How will you market your product?

I am usually answered with I don’t know!!!

Yikes!!!! This is a recipe for disaster.

The real value of doing a business plan is not having the finished product, but the process of research and thinking about your business in a systematic way.

The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, study and research when you are not sure of the facts, and look at your ideas critically.

A business plan will help you clarify your goals and focus on defining every detail of your business opportunity.  It takes time now, but avoids costly mistakes later.

It typically takes several weeks to complete a good plan.  Most of that time is spent in research and re-thinking your ideas and assumptions.

But then, that is the value of the process.  So make time to do the job properly.  Those who do, never regret the effort.

A good business plan should include:

• a description of your business,
• the business and owner’s background information,
• the proposed resources to be used,
• the business strategy
• present trends on your business and the industry it will operate within,
• how your business will operate,
• who will manage and work within it,
• what other businesses operate in the same market/industry,
• how you will market/ sell your product or service,
• the results expected and finally
• a summary of its feasibility.  (Executive Summary)

There are 9 key components to any business plan:

• Executive Summary
• Vision
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Strategy
• Products/services
• Marketing and sales
• Operations
• Financials

Once you have covered all the areas of the business plan then you are ready to get serious about moving your business to the next stage.

Now it can be broken down into smaller pieces by achieving targeted goals in 90 day increments.

When was the last time you revised your business plan to help you Build Your Business?

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight - Build Your Business

Email
250-768-9415 or 1-888-768-9415

http://www.floodlight.ca   

Kelowna - Ottawa - Kingston - Toronto

How do you want to be found on the Web? Google+ can help!!

At Floodlight one of the areas we focus on with Clients is their Marketing Strategy. Within the Marketing Strategy are Internet Marketing and the use of Social Media.

How do you want to be found on the Web?

Google Places has been one of the best kept secrets in Search Engine Optimization.

Many owners do not realize that they have a Google Places map on the web.  If a business owner has had a yellow pages ad or had their business included in a local search directory then Google has created a listing for that business.

If you are a new business owner your new website may not be enough to get you found and you will need to create a Google Places account.

In the first quarter of 2012, the only thing you needed to do to get on Google Maps was to claim your Google Places page, add photos, solicit some reviews, add keywords in your description and not go afoul of their guidelines.

Google is the internet’s “Big Brother” and just like in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Google is keeping track of your footprint on the web.

As of May 1^st 2012, Google Local and Google+, its social media arm, has been integrated with Google Places.

What do you need to know about Google+ and the new Local tab?

Google has integrated their Social Media Google+ with Google Places to improve the user experience on the web and this will definitely affect search results in your specific local business area.

 Here is a list of changes that we have seen in a short period of time:

• Google+ is integrated with your search results like never before
  • Google+ profile is topping search engine searches
  • The number of people following you and sharing your information will be very important to how you are being found

• If you are logged in, your search will be personalized
  • This means you will see other people or businesses in your profile and their interest in your  search subject
  • Google+ Adoption- Random searches bring up specific people, places and ads based on your search criteria and habits
    •  Richness of snippets and mark ups on the search page -Google is trying to enhance your experience by giving you a plethora of options to catch your attention
    • Client and Customer Reviews - Client reviews or client testimonials will become even more important to your search results. The more reviews the higher you will be ranked
    • The relevance of your information - Your Brand and Name will become more relevant in this new search world

What does this all mean for your business?

If you have been using the internet the social media tools like Blogger, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to push out your message than continue to do so but I highly recommend that you activate your Google+ account and for the next year also post your marketing information on Google+.

Google is making some fundamental changes to how we communicate and with the integration of their social media, they will continue to keep an eye on you and your clients.

If you are not presently on the web in any form you may be headed down the dark road of decline and in a short period of time not be relevant on the web or in the real world of business.

Google+ will influence your search parameters and also how you are found locally and regionally.

So add Google+ to your internet Marketing Strategies and continue to Build Your Business.

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight - Build Your Business

Email
250-768-9415 or 1-888-768-9415

http://www.floodlight.ca   

Kelowna - Ottawa - Kingston - Toronto

8 FREE ways to Build your Business

There are a number of methods that you can use to build your business. Many of these methods may already be in use but they are rarely used as part of a total marketing system so they are not used consistently.

When you begin using any marketing strategy as part of a system, then it becomes a positive source for the growth of your business.

Most businesses have methods of marketing; however, most do not pay close attention to the results and frequency of implementation. The key to remember is that when something is part of a system, then it is repetitive therefore multiplying the effectiveness and guaranteeing significantly better results.

The best way to implement your marketing strategy is to use this guide and make sure that you answer the questions that are part of each concept.

The goal of you answering the questions is simple. If you take the time to answer the question, even if it is just in your head, you will take yourself to a higher level of awareness of how you are working in your business.

MARKETING WEAPONS

1. Business Cards – Your business card should have key contact information and must be distributed to everyone you meet. The goal of giving your card to everyone is placing you in the subconscious mind of everyone you meet.
Q: Do you give your card to everyone you meet or just people that ask you about your business?

2. Ask For Referrals – Everyone you develop rapport with both inside and outside your business should know what you do and be able to refer someone to you. The best way to get a referral is to give one first. It will pay major dividends for you.
Q: How many people you know who are in business that would appreciate a referral? What goes around comes around!!!

3. Have a Clearly Defined Message – Make sure that everything you do has a message about who you are and/or what you do. Hone your Elevator Pitch!!
Q: What is your message? What do you specialise in? Who is your target market and what are your services? What problems do you solve?

4. Voice Mail Marketing – Make sure your voice mail has special marketing statements. It is very important to place some type of reminder for the listener to ask you about something specific about you or your products.  An example of a voice mail marketing system is at the end of your greeting, you add the statement “Don’t forget to ask me about….!”
Q: How do I get people to ask me about my competitive advantage?

5. E-mail Marketing – This is very similar to voice mail marketing. Every e-mail you send must have as part of your signature, a special offer or a marketing message!
Q: What does your e-mail signature look like?

6. Testimonials – It is a must for you to get testimonials from your clients and referral sources. Your website and marketing material should contain a customer quote. These quotes give customers sub-conscious references to your services and the quality of them.
Q: How many testimonials do you have and are they from different types of sources so you can attach them to the appropriate marketing piece?

7) Community Involvement – Get involved with your community and increase your exposure. Individuals that participate in community activities tend to be compelled to want to help other members of the activity because of the common bond that is shared.
Q: What organization could you join that would surround you with the type of people that either could use your services or refer you to people that could benefit from your services while simultaneously giving something valuable back to your community?

8). Accessibility – Make sure you are easily reachable. Make clear to your clients the best way to reach you along with the best times to reach you. Add on your voice mail message specific times that you will be returning phone calls so clients know when to expect to hear back from you. When you return clients messages when you say you will, your credibility grows and so do the quality of your referrals.
Q: How much time do you need to answer your messages and when would be the best time of the day to answer your messages and return client calls? Do this daily.

Implement each one of these simple marketing weapons and “Build Your Business” in 2012.

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight - Build Your Business

Email
250-768-9415 or 1-888-768-9415

http://www.floodlight.ca   

Kelowna - Ottawa - Kingston - Toronto

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

Dr. Seuss was a favorite at our house and as my family gets a little bit older, we find we all need a break from the commercialism of the holiday season.

Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first.

You are all probably familiar with the Christmas time story of Dr. Seuss', The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

In moving some boxes recently I came across a copy of the now famous Dr Seuss tale and in reading the book it brought back great memories of watching the original show on TV with my daughters.

There is a part near the end that has always moved me and I trust this holiday season it will help you with what’s really important!!!

From Dr. Seuss:

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

It came without ribbons. It came without tags.

It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

As the holiday season approaches, we at Floodlight would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.

It is business associates and customers like you who make our jobs a pleasure and keep our company successful.

We value our relationship with you and look forward to sharing our business thoughts with you in the year to come.

From all of us at Floodlight we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.

Donald Robichaud - President
FloodLight - Build Your Business
 1-888-768-9415

http://www.floodlight.ca

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."



Steve Jobs

1955-2011, Co-Founder of Apple Computer http://amplify.com/u/a1g82n

"And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."

Johnny Carson

1925-2005, Television Host and Comedian http://amplify.com/u/a1fk73

Donald Robichaud - It starts with a Great Elevator Pitch

I recently attended an Ottawa Chamber of Commerce networking with 100-plus people and had the pleasure of meeting many new business owners.
When I meet someone for the first time at one of these events, I usually start with something like, “So, (use their name here), what do you do at (their company)?”

It helps to be a good listener, and ask open questions. I let the other person speak first.

While they speak, I’m able to assess if my services are the right fit to their needs.

I can take it one step further and deduce the specific area where I might be able to help, by breaking it down between Sales, Marketing or Branding. If my service is appropriate for their business, I use my tried and true Elevator Pitch to explain my services.

I spent time with all my friends and business acquaintances and as I left the event, I realized that I had made 10 new business acquaintances and found 5 new leads.

Another successful night of networking!

FloodLight - Tip of the month / You need an Elevator Pitch

Every day you meet people who could use your products or services, or people who know others who could benefit from what you do. But unless you tell them what you do in a clear, concise and compelling manner, these relationships go nowhere.

That’s why you need an Elevator Pitch – a short description of your business that enables prospective buyers to know who you work with and what value you bring to the relationship. An elevator pitch conveys these marketing messages in a manner that literally attracts the right
customers to you.

In today’s fast-paced world, the average person is bombarded with thousands of marketing messages from multiple mediums every single day. Advertising is everywhere and most people don’t even notice them anymore.

To break through all this marketing clutter, it’s imperative to have an enticing elevator pitch that speaks directly to the needs of your customers. And it has to roll off your tongue easily, naturally and conversationally – and in about the time it takes, you guessed it, for an average elevator ride.


Click here for great examples of Elavator Pitchs from MSNBC Your Business


How do I write an elevator pitch?
If you need help creating your Elavator Pitch Click here!!
Donald Robichaud
President
FloodLight Consulting
250-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/
Sales Coach Sales Consulting Kelowna Canada

Great Quote from the late Steve Jobs

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.

So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Steve Jobs - 1955-2011 http://amplify.com/u/a1ean4

It's the little things you do that can make a big difference.



What are you attempting to accomplish?



What little thing can you do today that will make you more effective?



You are probably only one step away from greatness.



Bob Proctor http://amplify.com/u/a1e8m7

Ottawa Business Coaching

Ottawa Business Coaching

At Floodlight our Ottawa Business Coach  and Consultants work with business owners, executives, and senior managers to Assess their business needs, Assemble a comprehensive business strategy, and Apply tailor-made business solutions in a practical, day-to-day action plan.

Floodlight will help you to illuminating the dark corners of your business and to expose things that you don’t always look at closely enough. Our goal is to help you breakthrough your present situation, with actions to maximize your results and achieve a business turnaround..
What to do! How to do it! And When to do it!

What our clients like best is that we help to identify the inefficiencies or problems in their work flow, and set forth a plan that ultimately improves the success of the company.


Floodlight specializes in:

Business Coaching,
Sales, Marketing,
Branding,
Business Development,
Web Content and SEO development
Debt Reduction and Profit Strategies in Kelowna, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto Canada.

To start  to Build Your Business today:
Please contact Ottawa Business Coach  Donald Robichaud at 613.466.0416  or email us (Click Here) for more information on how we can help you “Build Your Business”!

Donald Robichaud President
FloodLight Consulting - Build Your Business - 613-466-0416
http://www.floodlight.ca

Ottawa Social Media Marketing

Ottawa Internet Marketing Social Media Solutions and Ottawa Marketing Support

At Floodlight we can help you through the marketing maze!

We work closely with our clients to identify and action the marketing strategies and opportunities that will grow and improve your business.

■ Create a quarterly marketing plan -- Set the following year into four key quarters and then begin to target marketing dollars and resources to achieve your business goals

■Send out monthly Newsletter -- Create a strategy to inform, educate and support all products and services to your past present and future clients. This program keeps you top of mind which becomes the branding of your organization.

■Blog Marketing -- Re-purpose all relevant information to the blog so that you become the leaders in your field and utilize all the free internet tools made possible on Google to drive down traditional marketing costs.

■Search Engine Optimization (SEO) -- This includes, the Research of Key words, Develop search strategy, Optimize web content(tweaks), Link Building, Monitor and adjust

■Competitive Analysis- We then determine what your competitors are doing we look at how many links they have, where they are getting those links and the keywords they are optimizing for their websites. This gives us an edge as we can see what is working to get top results for your keywords. This analysis will allow us to implement strategies that should move your site above your competitors in the search engines.

■Localized Search Optimization -- Local search sites are primarily supported by SEO for businesses that wish to be prominently featured when users search for specific products and services in specific locations. Local search optimization can be highly effective because it allows your services to be targeted very precisely to the search terms and location provided by the user.

■Analytics -- Floodlight can help you track your efforts and analyze the visitors to your Blog and website, and assist you in making better internet marketing decisions for your business.

■Social Media Optimization -- Set up of accounts and tools to push out marketing message • Need a social media strategy that will incorporate Site-Specific Programs •Micro blogging (Twitter)
•Business Networking (LinkedIn)
•Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
•Photo & Video Sharing (Flickr, YouTube)
•Submissions to web based Articles Directories

■Link Building -- What is your back link Strategy? -- High rankings can ensure that your message is viewed first. One of the most important aspects of increasing your Google Page Rank The search engines still believe that back-links are an important factor in assessing your site, so until that changes, we still have to work at generating valuable back-links.

■YouTube Videos - Videos are a great way to promote your products and services. Signature Videos set the tone for your company; Testimonial Videos give you instant credibility with your consumers
Give us a call today to implement your Internet Marketing Plan.

Contact us today and start to Build Your Business!!
Floodlight -- Build Your Business
Kelowna -- Ottawa -- Kingston -- Toronto
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/

Donald Robichaud
President FloodLight Consulting
Build Your Business

"Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness."

Marianne Williamson

Author and Speaker http://amplify.com/u/a1dnnu

Floodlight Expands Across Canada

Floodlight Business Solutions Group of Kelowna, BC, is growing. With the addition of more experts in a variety of business disciplines, Floodlight offers a wider range of products and services for its clients in the Okanagan Valley and now across Canada.

Floodlight was founded by local entrepreneur Donald Robichaud in the summer of 2005. His vision was to
offer cost effective business coaching, sales training, marketing advice and branding solutions to small and medium sized businesses in Kelowna and surrounding areas.

Robichaud‘s ultimate goal has been to develop the same services for business owners across Canada. That dream is becoming reality
as Floodlight opens for business in Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto.

Robichaud says, “With changes in the global economy there is tremendous pressure on businesses to operate effectively in all facets of their business. They are looking for expert guidance through cost effective coaching and mentoring.”

Floodlight advocate’s a 3-stage process they call Assess, Assemble, and Apply.

“What our clients like best is that we help to identify their key priorities with our free assessment focused on ten key areas of business”, says Robichaud. “This helps us set forth a plan that ultimately improves bottom line results. At the core of our solutions based coaching programs is our ability to help Build Your Business.”

Being a business owner presents a variety of challenges. FloodLight Business Solutions Group offers one-on-one programs to provide the coaching and mentoring necessary for success in today’s ever-increasing competitive market place.

“We found that our clients were using Floodlight as the sounding board to guide them through their many decisions”, says Robichaud. “As a result, we surrounded ourselves with experts in the areas of Sales, Communication, Marketing, Debt Reduction and Profit Strategies, IT and Software Solutions in order to improve our services.”

Among the new products to be launched this fall are Floodlight Corporate Video Production, Corporate Identity Packages, Mobile Web Pages and Digital Signage.

Clients now have the ability to introduce and promote the virtues and benefits of their brand to current and prospective customers by using powerful corporate videos on their websites and in other marketing venues like mobile devices.

On September 20^th 2011, Floodlight is holding a launch party at the Avenue Bar in the Prestige Hotel on Abbott Street. Please
join us from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, to meet the Kelowna based Floodlight team, including Ted Farr, Andrew Gregson, David Anderson, Jerry Mason, Rudy Jaspers and John Gibson.

RSVP at 250-768-9415

Floodlight Business Solutions Group services clients across Canada with consultants in Kelowna, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto.

Within the next year, Floodlight plans to expand further with more consultants in other key Canadian markets.

For more information please contact Donald Robichaud at 250-768-9415 and you can visit us on line at www.floodlight.ca.

Social Media Marketing ..Is it for You? Lets get Social!!

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels such as:

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels in Kelowna, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and throughout Canada.

• Micro blogging (Twitter)
• Business Networking (LinkedIn)
• Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
• Photo & Video Sharing (Flickr, YouTube)

This is a powerful strategy that will get you backlinks, attention and a great amounts of traffic.

There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.

Tradtional marketing like TV, Radio and the Newspaper are having their market share reduced.

If you are selling products/services or just publishing content social media marketing is a potential method that will make your site profitable over time with the appropriate strategy.

Those who ignore the benefits of social media usually fall into three categories;

1. the ones who don’t know much or anything about social media
2. the ones who are interested but don’t know how to use it
3. those who don’t believe in the value that a social media strategy can bring to any site or business.

Which one are you? Let's Get Social!

For more information contact:

Donald Robichaud
President
FloodLight – Build Your Business
250-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions:



Who am I around?



What are they doing to me?



What have they got me reading?



What have they got me saying?



Where do they have me going?



What do they have me thinking?



And most important, what do they have me becoming?



Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?



Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."



Jim Rohn - 1930-2009, Author and Speaker http://amplify.com/u/a1c9v5

"Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimisim is better than despair."



Jack Layton - 1950 - 2011 Canadain http://amplify.com/u/a1bqq7

Build Your Business in Ottawa by Listening more!!

Listening is the key to selling

In today’s business world, unless you go into the sales arena with a strategy in mind, you will fail more times than you win with prospective clients, as they are busy with their own businesses.

When selling in these times, you must learn to ask the proper questions in order to gain the appropriate information that then leads to increased knowledge.

What are your best questions?
Knowledge is power, and as you ask great questions, listen to your client’s answers, you will discover a tremendous amount of information that will be pivotal in the sales process.

What are the top 10 questions that you will ask every client?
Once you fully understand the client’s situation, you will be able to make effective presentations which will enhance your personal credibility.

This will give you the confidence to express your own ideas clearly, specific to the situation, and visually when necessary.

All of these factors will significantly increase the probability of making the sale.

Please contact us for more information on how we can help you "Build Your Business"!

Floodlight – Build Your Business
Kelowna – Ottawa – Kingston – Toronto
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/

"Deal first with whatever is causing you the greatest emotional distress. Often this will break the logjam in your work and free you up mentally to complete other tasks."

Brian Tracy

Speaker and Author http://amplify.com/u/a1aeyf

When was the last time you did a Google search on you or your company?

Who are you? Who, who! Who, who!

Amplify’d from www.floodlight.ca

When was the last time you did a Google search on you or your company? Everybody does a search for information, and especially for relevant information about you and your services.

I publish volumes on the web, and I check to see if my name comes up readily in a Google search and it does. I also want to see if my information is relevant and if it’s been re-purposed (copied), on someone else’s site. As business owners we should always be checking to see what people are saying about us or our business.

The web is a great place for businesses to expand their presence, but it a can also be a dark area for people to rant, rave and target businesses and individuals without any retribution. No different than the bully in school, the unsuspecting can be torn apart in forums with no way to add their own comments or defend themselves.

I have worked with a few clients who have been attacked on blogs and forums by people who hide behind the anonymity of bogus names. It’s been upsetting to my clients and the negativity can affect their business.

I recommend to my clients that they raise their profile on the web by being an active user of blogs and social media with a targeted message about their business or themselves. Positive information on the web can be a real bonus. If someone does take an unkindly swipe at you or your business, at least you’ll have information on the web that speaks and reflects well of your business and what you do.

This is where testimonials on a web site can pay major dividends. When you have lots of people stating how much they love your products and service, and one person on a forum putting you down, who are people most likely to believe?

I believe that in our instant access world, you really need to think out your internet marketing strategy and decide how to build up a wealth of positive information about you and your business.

Used effectively and skilfully, the web is a great marketing tool and a great way to ‘Build Your Business’.

Donald Robichaud is the President of FloodLight Consulting and can be reached at 250-768-9415 Read more at www.floodlight.ca

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1aaeo

"As for worrying about what other people might think - forget it. They aren't concerned about you. They're too busy worrying about what you and other people think of them."



Michael le Boeuf - Speaker and Author http://amplify.com/u/a1a94v

"When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, not luck."



Estee Lauder - 1906-2004, Entrepreneur http://amplify.com/u/a19mlm

"Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself.



And that's a lot.



Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect."



Rob Reiner - Director http://amplify.com/u/a19lna

"Every individual has the power to change his or her material or financial status by first changing the nature of his or her beliefs."

Napoleon Hill http://amplify.com/u/a17nce