Posts Tagged ‘Indianapolis’

If You Build it, They Will Come

A standard practice for speakers and trainers is that if you have more than 20 people in the audience, you must use a microphone.  A year ago, reachmore hosted an event for Thrive (our 12-month coaching program that produces massive results for participants), and I convinced CJ to purchase a PA system because we had a “crowd” of 30 people coming.

We used the PA only once, because all of our other events had 6-12 people in attendance.

Looking at the dusty barely-used microphone system in our closet used to make me sad, until I remembered that ‘If you build it, they will come’.  Within the depths of my soul, I knew that one day we would have big crowds of business owners to speak to, and a microphone system would be a necessary component in our business.

Now we regularly speak to groups of 40-100 clients and prospects, and our PA system is used so much that it needs a vacation!

Preparing to fulfill your vision before you see any results is an important part of business leadership.  Getting a bigger office before you have more employees, hiring a salesperson or assistant just before you have the revenue to support them, or building an ark before the water comes are all part of being a visionary leader.  This also applies on a larger scale – say, building an Indianapolis mass transit system before traffic problems, economic indicators, and population demand one.

Be an action oriented visionary.  What space and opportunity can you create that fills a need within the vision you have for your business?

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.

Proactive Action Wins Business

Two weeks ago, I went on an adrenaline charged ride-along with an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer.  I dodged used prophylactics from prostitutes in dirty alley ways, wandered through dark and musty abandoned homes, and watched the best of the worst in Indy get hand-cuffed right in front of me.

That wasn’t the best part.  Most impressive in my experience was watching the police officers hi-five, chest bump, and encourage each other after getting an arrest.  Cracking down on crime for these guys is like closing a big sale in business!

To close their “Sales”, the IMPD officers proactively prowl their beats, looking for suspicious activity that could lead to a legal stop.

My officer spotted a small white car consistently sitting in front of a crack house.  The officer decided to squat around the corner and wait for the car to pass, so he could follow it and make a legal traffic stop to question the car’s driver.  We ended up missing the car, but I sure felt like a detective who was creating a case to solve a crime.

Later in the day my officer mentioned that every car that he has ticketed in the past week for illegal tint had drugs inside of it.  So, we actively looked for a car with illegal tint, and guess what – there were drugs inside.

As business owners, we must proactively go after new business.  If you’re waiting for your phone to ring, a new email to chime in, or for your door to open with a new client ready to buy – you are simply prolonging the death of your business.

Get out into the marketplace and find your next client.  Go to a networking event.  Call your best strategic partners and revitalize your relationship.  Find a way to creatively use the $100 google adwords coupon that you get every month.

Just like proactive police officers crack down on crime and get big arrests, proactive business owners close big sales and hit their business goals.

Jamar Cobb-Dennard
is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them.  For more resources on business leadership, please visit http://blog.goreachmore.com.

3 Keys to Business Resurrection

A couple of weeks ago, I was finishing up my workout by doing some cable-fly’s, and a group of gorilla sized men surrounded me because they wanted to ‘work-in’ on the machine.  I normally ignore this group of grunting behemoths, but that day they were cheering me on. “C’mon, bring it back!” “Push it through!” “That’s it, only four?”

I have been lifting weights for five years, and have gotten some great results (of course…).  I usually don’t have a workout partner because my schedule sometimes forces me to workout at extremely early or late times.  As a result, I sometimes lose track of how hard I’m pushing myself during a workout.  Those guys totally challenged me to see my workouts from a new perspective, and also taught me the value of having a team around me for support.

I met a prominent Indianapolis lawyer in an elevator in April.  After our conversation ended, he gave me his card and instructed me to follow up with him.  So I did.  Two weeks later, I was waiting for him in his office, at the top of a skyscraper, and he rushed in 20 minutes late for our meeting.  He sat down hurriedly, looked at me, and said, “What would you like to accomplish today.  I have 7 minutes.”

Talk about being put on the spot.  So, I mumbled a couple of things, and he interrupted me by saying, “I’ve done some checking up on you.  You’re doing some things, but you can do better.  Here is what I expect from you…”

Wow.  My expectations of myself have never been lifted so high in such a short amount of time.  I realized that having a mentor who is willing to challenge me, and is dynamically more successful than me, is crucial to my success.

I also just signed up for sales coaching.  I already know most of what is being taught, and could teach the class myself.  The power of my time with the sales coach is reflection.  I am paying for time to think about how and what I am doing to build my business, and I have a qualified person to reflect my challenges to.  If I want to grow as an intra-preneur, I have to have time to reflect and someone to reflect to.

If your business is struggling at this point in the year, here are 3 keys to resurrect it ASAP:
1.    Find a team – Don’t go at this alone.  Join a trade association, form a referral team or accountability group.  There is strength in numbers.
2.    Get a mentor – Find someone who will push you and who’s RAS is set much higher than yours (for more on the RAS, email me at jamar@goreachmore.com).
3.    Engage a Coach – A structured program that will help you build your business is invaluable.  Google “Executive Coaching” for a list of some of the best.

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.

Super Niche Business Success!

Where is the best place to go for a “freaky fast” sandwich in Indianapolis?  Jimmy John’s!

The last time I was at Jimmy John’s, I snapped a picture of the back of an employee’s shirt:

They have crossed out ‘soups’, ‘salads’, and ‘hot’, but left the word sandwiches.  To become a success, Jimmy John’s has put their product in a ‘super niche’.

One of the reasons why so many people love Jimmy Johns is because they know that they will get a tasty and filling sandwich that is well priced, and delivered quickly.  That’s it.

You don’t go to Jimmy Johns for a hot dog, ice cream cone, hot Panini, or iceberg wedge.  You go there for a sandwich – that’s it.  The best part of their product offering, is that Jimmy Johns is completely comfortable with being a ‘super niche’ player.

As a small business owner reading this, here is my advice to you.  Stop trying to be everything to everyone.  It won’t work.  That’s why you’re struggling right now.  Pick a product offering that you’re an expert in delivering, and offer that to a specifically targeted market.

Could reachmore train individual salespeople?  Yes, and we do offer sales process training for large sales teams.  But, if an individual comes to me and wants sales training, I immediately send them to our “competition” at Lushin & Associates, who are experts at training salespeople.  As a result, the client stays happy because they get the product that fits their needs, and our product offering and time aren’t cluttered with a bunch of junk that weighs us down, which prevents us from being perceived as experts in coaching for business owners.

Here are some reasons to immediately adjust your product offering and marketing message into a ‘super niche’:

  1. You will make more money – Would you rather serve ¼ % of a 60,000 person market, or 20% of a 1,000 person market?  Sure, saying that you serve everyone in Indianapolis sounds cool, but I’m sure you would rather have more clients and a greater perception of expertise within a smaller market.
  2. Clients know what to expect – When people can pigeon hole your business offering into a super niche, they know what to expect from you.  As a result, the frequency of purchase and long-term value of that customer increases.
  3. The message becomes easily transferrable – My first client at reachmore taught me our slogan – we help business owners build a business that can run without them.  He knew the slogan before I did, because someone else told him.  The only reason I got that meeting and sale was because our ‘super niche’ was easy to communicate.

When your product offering is a ‘super niche’, it becomes easier to market your business, easier to retain clients, and easier to make money.  Take the plunge today and put your product in a ‘super niche’!

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.

Asking Hard Questions Causes Business Growth

If you are having trouble getting your business to grow, start asking your team harder questions.

I recently spoke to a group of 3rd graders in Indianapolis for Career Day.  At the end of my immaculate presentation, I opened up the floor to the students to ask questions.

A tiny African American girl with braids quickly raised her hand and said, “Mister, how much do you make?”

Woah.  I wasn’t expecting that one.  I mean, couldn’t we start with, “what time do you get up in the morning”?  Or, “What’s the hardest part of your job?”

Nope, she went straight for the jugular and asked a brotha’ the money question.  I answered her in the most tactful way possible without giving her an exact number.  She approved.

This little girl taught me a lesson; it is okay to ask hard questions.  Questions challenge people to grow and force them to come up with creative solutions.

Reachmore’s founder, CJ McClanahan, always asks his small business coaching clients why they don’t hold their people accountable by asking hard questions.  The answer is always the same – asking hard questions is, well, hard.

Here are a few strategies to use to make growing your people and asking hard questions easier:

  1. It’s not about you – The purpose of asking hard questions is not about stroking your ego or to make you seem bigger.  When you make the reason for asking questions about growing your business or your people, the pressure is taken off of you.
  2. People like to be challenged – Why do you think board games, skydiving, and AP English are so popular?  People like to grow.  Growth is one of the main motivators of your employees.  Capitalize on that fact by asking them hard questions.
  3. Use a qualifier – If you really need to make yourself feel okay about what you are saying, use a softening statement such as, “out of curiosity” or “I may be wrong”, before you ask the question.

Asking hard questions that challenge your staff is one of the best ways to take your people and your business to the next level!

Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for Reachmore, which provides leadership coaching for small business and executives.  Email Jamar at jamar@goreachmore.com for the latest on Reachmore’s newest seminar, Launch.