Month: February 2008

Categories
Sales & Marketing

How A Pitch Can Grow Your Business

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When someone asks you about what you do, do you have a ready answer? Or do you stumble and stammer trying to explain your business?

I was recently at a writer’s conference where one of the main focuses was learning to create a successful book pitch. My instructor emphasized what a good pitch can do for a writer. She explained that when an editor asks an author about their writing project, they have one shot at sharing their pitch and getting the editor excited about their project. A great pitch makes a great first impression and can translate into a book contract. On the other hand, a pitch that is not well thought out can cost an author the chance of selling that project.

A good book pitch is a summary of the author’s idea, but more than that it’s a summary with a sizzle. At the conference, I learned that many authors spend hours crafting and memorizing their pitch. Then, when asked about their project, they are able to give a quick, concise synopsis that not only explains their idea, but makes the editor want to learn more.

I believe that the concept of creating a pitch can also apply to the home-based business world. As entrepreneurs, we can put together a summary of our business that will not only explain what we do, but grab the attention of whomever we’re speaking with.
A good business pitch summarizes the business concept in one to two short paragraphs, usually a total of 50 words or less. To begin, write out a list of the five most compelling aspects of your business. Try to think about your business as if you were on the outside looking in.

Whatwould interest you? What would make you want to learn more?

Try to answer these questions:

• Who is my target market?
• What are my top selling products/services?
• What about my company makes it stand out? If I were looking at starting a business, what would interest me about this company?
• Why did I choose this company?

Put your answers into sentences and you have the beginning of your business pitch. Try to keep your sentences short and use simple words. You want anyone who asks to be able to understand your answer, not get lost in your words. Take special care to describe what you like about your business. These same things will generally appeal to others as well.

While you want to keep your pitch simple, you also want it to give a picture of your business. Let’s say, for example, that you run health and wellness business. You wouldn’t want to use the statement, “I run a health and wellness business,” as a reply about what it is that you do. You want to add in a short description and catch the listener’s attention. For instance, you might say, “I operate my own business.

We offer products such as chemical-free shampoo and natural snack foods to help others lead healthy lives.”

When I began my website, I was often caught off-guard when someone asked me about it. I would fumble for words and struggle to express exactly what it is that I do all day. I usually walked away from conversations like this feeling frustrated, and I’m sure the person I was speaking with was more confused than they were originally.

After learning the art of pitching, I can now give a short and snappy reply. “I run a Christian-based website for work-at-home moms,” I’ll say. “I offer resources to help them in their search and am able to make an income by offering advertising.” This usually leads to more questions about my website, which is exactly what I hope for. It gives me an opportunity to talk further about my business to those who are interested.

The next time someone asks you about your home-based business, remember to share your pitch with them. Take the time to hone your pitch to be as short, yet descriptive as possible. Over time, you’ll find yourself refining your words and your answers will become well-crafted summaries that pique the interest of anyone who asks. Word of mouth is one of the easiest ways to build your business and your pitch is a great way to get others talking.

Categories
Franchise

Looking for a New Career? Franchisor Training Can Be Your Shortcut to Success!

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If you are like most women, you chose a career path at the tender age of 18 or 19 and have dutifully followed that path for many years. But let’s say you’ve grown tired of your career, or worse yet, never liked it to begin with. What are your choices?

-Stay where you are and make the best of it
-Change careers and start all over at the bottom
-Take advantage of the training offered by a franchisor and become your own boss in any industry you choose!

Let’s imagine a woman has been in public relations for ten or fifteen years but has a burning desire to spin pizzas instead of situations. What is she to do? As everyone knows, it isn’t easy for someone 40 or 50 to quit a career and start over, especially if she wants to try an entirely different field. She would have to give up a steady income and face months or years of reinventing herself. Perhaps she’d take a job at a pizza parlor and hope to learn enough to open her own shop someday. An alternative solution may be that she could buy a pizza franchise and take advantage of the training and support offered by the franchisor. Provided she has the financing, that would-be pizza chef could be managing a team of pizza spinners in just a few months.

Many or even most women will change careers at least several times their lifetime, whether because of changes in the economy or workforce, or because their careers don’t provide them with enough money/control/opportunities/ etc.

While it was once common for someone to keep the same job from college to retirement, this had changed dramatically, particularly in the past 10 or 20 years, and this trend is expected to continue. Studies suggest that teens today may have between six and 12 careers in their lifetime.

Besides – many people really enjoy the challenge of a taking on a new career. Corporate executives replace their suits with sweats and open fitness centers. Doctors become fried chicken moguls and teachers get remade as pet groomers.
How do they make the transition? Many times through the power of franchising and one of the bonuses you’ll discover about franchising is that they can train you to excel in a job you’ve never done before!

No Experience Necessary

If you are a woman who is ready for a career change via franchising, the training a provided is one of the most important benefits a franchise system will offer you. An education from the top online schools or graduate schools pales in comparison. The benefit of training goes both ways. It provides you with the tools you need to learn a new career and be successful in your new business. But it is also important to the franchise company. The franchise system depends on the integrity and stability of their brand from store to store and franchisee training is essential to this process.

You’ll find that a good franchise system will take pride in their training programs because, through the payment of royalties, your success becomes their success.
And guess what? Most franchises don’t require you to have experience in their field. In fact, many don’t even want a franchisee with previous industry experience. Because the systems of a franchise are structured for maximum success, previous industry experience often gets in the way when training a new franchisee.

Branding

Branding is another area where a franchise can offer you a shortcut. From California to Washington DC, you can buy a Häagen-Dazs ® Mayan chocolate cone and the quality and taste of the product will be exactly the same. If you own a Häagen-Dazs Shop, the public will know what you sell and that awareness will often make the difference between the success and failure of your business. Imagine how long it would take you to create a branded awareness of your new business if you started from scratch, not to mention the cost of hiring firms to create and advertise your brand.
Just as important to the quality of the product is the service the public expects from a franchised concept. You never know what to expect from the staff at “Jane’s Ice Cream Parlor” on the corner but you can trust that the people serving you at a Häagen-Dazs Shop will be friendly, clean and efficient. Why? Because the franchisor has set standards for employees and provided training and guidance in hiring practices. Everything that effects the perception of their brand is accounted for in the franchisor training.

Franchisors Care About Your Success

Your number one reason for choosing a franchise business over creating your own concept is that studies show your chances for success are exponentially greater. The franchisor has done many things before franchising the business that you, as a franchisee, you won’t need to, including establishing and building the brand, testing a variety of marketing concepts, finding the best way to deliver a quality service or product, and researching the best value in suppliers.

Most franchisors offer help to their franchisees in a combination of important areas, which may include: site assistance, initial training, operations systems, field support, grand opening assistance, national marketing programs, on-going training, and full-time encouragement for you to succeed. They become your business coaches and cheerleaders as you establish your new career.

The greatest merit of a franchise system is that you should be able to walk right into your new business after training and expect to have the tools needed to make it successful. It’s up to you, of course, to put in the hard work that will make that success a reality.

If you are thinking about a career change, don’t overlook the advantages of letting someone else do much of the work for you. A great franchise will offer you the training and tools you need to not only start a new career but to own your own business in any field you choose! Consider it a “shortcut to success.”

KimberlyEllisPhoto.jpgKimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.

Categories
Success Attitude

It Is Not What We Expect, But What We Are Willing To Accept In Life That Matters

aim_high.gifAll of us have got dreams we aspire to attain in our lives. These dreams come from people who inspire us.

We may dream of making $20,000 a month, owning a luxury-y car and living in a million dollar mansion. At the same time, based on our beliefs, we also have what I call a ‘level of acceptance’.

This ‘level of acceptance’ means that though you may aspire to earn $20,000 a month, you are willing to accept earning $3000 a month.

Although you would love to live in a million dollar house, you are quite willing to settle for a small apartment, Although you would love to be at an ideal weight of 65kg, you are willing to live life at 75kg.

You may set a goal to earn $20,000 but if you are willing to accept earning $3000, then $3000 is what you are going to end up getting. Why? Because the $3000 level of acceptance is what we make a ‘must’ for ourselves.

We will not allow ourselves to earn below that level of what we believe is our minimum. This is our tolerance level. The moment we think we are going to go below our acceptance level, our mind hits panic mode and we will do whatever it takes to get above that. Again, when we are committed to do whatever it takes, we will get it.

People who make $20,000 a month do so because to them, that is their level of acceptance That is what they believe they are worth. They will not accept anything less. They will never accept $5000 or even $10,000 a month. They will do whatever it takes to get the level they believe they deserve.

You Must Raise your Acceptance Levels.

Unless we raise our acceptance levels, we will never do what is necessary to achieve our goals. So if you want to make more money, you have to raise your standards of what you are willing to accept. You have to raise your standards of what you are willing to accept.

Be very honest with yourself, what is your current level of expectation and level of acceptance in the different areas of your life? Invest the time to reflect and to write down your thoughts.

If you want success to become your reality, make it so that you will never settle for anything less. Raise your level of acceptance to the level of your goals and you can’t help but become successful.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Why Sales People Fail – Are the right people in the right positions for sales?

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Having a quality sales force in place is essential to the success of most businesses. As with most employees, there are always a few employees who just don’t fit the position they are attempting to fill. And in some cases, people who are a good fit can fail as well depending on the circumstances. But why do sales people fail? We believe that these are some of the primary reasons:
• Poor job fit. The person is just not cut out to sell. Let’s face it, not everyone can do this kind of work. No sense trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
• Poor management. Since sales managers are responsible for hiring, training and overseeing sales people, it is logical that they would have a significant influence on a sales person’s career. More often than not, sales managers do a poor job of hiring people who are cut out to sell. Just because a person is outgoing does not mean that person will be a good sales person.
• Laziness. Selling requires hard work and long hours. Some people just are not willing to put in the time necessary to travel, complete paper work, plan, follow up on problems and issues and develop relationships. Field sales people working less than, say, 60 hours per week are probably not going to be highly effective. Many sales people work 50, 60 and even 70 hour weeks. Most poor sales people put in far fewer hours. There are expectations to this, but not many. Selling is hard work and requires long hours to do it right.
• A short-term mentality. Sales people who view sales as a way to put a lot of money in their pockets in a hurry tend to have short-lived careers in any given organization. Why? Because they view the customer as a cash machine that they can tap quickly and at whatever cost is necessary. This type of approach leads to weak or no relationships with customers. A long-term, relationship-oriented approach is far better. The sales person’s income over the short-term might not be as significant, but over the long-haul is much better. My largest customer, whom we have the best relationship together, took me four years to finally get in the door and close. We are both very happy.
• Lack of follow-up and service orientation. Sales people who leave customers hanging when there is a problem or a question lose credibility with their customer base. Good sales people are highly customer-oriented and service-oriented. They bend over backwards to take care of their customers even if it means working longer hours and fighting a number of battles to get things done.
• Focusing on customers they are most comfortable with. Sales people sometimes are fearful of working new or lesser relationships to the extent they need to be worked. They often gravitate toward customers they have a strong relationship with. However, some of those customers might not buy much. They just like to chat and make the sales person feel good about the possibility of buying something.
• Having no plan. Sales people need a plan each and every day. This plan should be priority-driven and should guide the sales person as much as possible.
• Lack of organization skills. A good sales people is organized and deals with details. There is a school of thought that good people are not detail-oriented. That can be true in some cases, but if the sales person is not detail-oriented, he must work harder to deal with the important details.
• Inability to multi-task. Sales people are required to deal with a number of issues at the same time. Some people can’t handle the pressure of this type of work.
• Poor training. Sales people need excellent product training and sales training. A sales person needs to understand how your business operates and how to sell your products or services. They also need to learn basic selling skills even if they are experienced sales veterans. The longer you are in sales, the more likely it is that you will forget these basic selling skills or even take many of them for granted. For instance, veteran sales people can forget to listen because they have heard nearly every problem their prospects can throw at them, so they are anxious to jump in with a solution before the prospect has a chance to articulate their problem. While the solution can be the correct one, the prospect is put off because he may feel that the sales person didn’t give him time to explain and felt disrespected, or worse, that the sales person did not appreciate the prospect’s concerns and was just recommending something without full understanding or consideration of the prospect’s exact needs.
• Bad support from the company. In some companies, the sales people do a good job, but the company fails. Processes are slow and inefficient. Customer service people don’t support them well. Shipments are slow and inaccurate. The list goes on and on. Even a good sales person can fail if the company fails them. It is important for a sales person to know the company’s deficiencies so that he will not over-promise and under-deliver.
There are some of the key reasons why sales people fail. How do your sales people stack up against this list? How well does your company support your sales people?
Good luck and good selling!

RussLombardoPhoto.jpgRuss Lombardo is President of PEAK Sales Consulting, LLC and an experienced CRM and Sales consultant, trainer, writer, speaker and radio show host. Russ works with businesses to help improve their customer acquisition and retention for increased revenue and success. Russ is author of the books, “CyberSelling”, “CRM For The Common Man” and “Smart Marketing”. He can be reached at 702-655-5652 and emailed at russ@peaksalesconsulting.com.

Categories
Franchise

Top 10 Franchise Food Trends for 2008

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The food franchise industry is the largest and the most profitable of all the franchise industries. The biggest sub-industry of the food sector is fast-food franchises, such as McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, 7-Elevin Inc, and many more fast-food franchises. But every year there is always a new departure in the food industry that rivals fast-food eating and dining, and 2008 is no different.
This begs the questions, which way are consumer food trends heading for 2008? Although consumers are constantly bombarded with messages about healthy eating, encouraging them to cut down on fats, sugar and salt, obesity levels are still at an all time high. Convenience foods and takeaways are increasing. Nevertheless, there is a still a huge part of the market that is interested in new, healthier food which is all part of a global campaign for awareness of living a healthy, balanced life.
As a result the food industry is responding to consumer’s demands and changes in the market for fast-food convenience food. I have identified 10 key food trends that are encompassing this new desire for healthier foods, and these trends will be big news in the food franchise industry in 2008.
1. Wellness Foods
In response to government and health organizations warnings for greater awareness of what we take for granted in relation to excessive food habits, food companies are producing more foods with lower salt, less fat, more grains and fibres as well as other types of nutritionally beneficial ingredients.
The combination of nutrition and medicine is offering franchisors the opportunity for unlimited scope for new product developments. Recent examples include green tea drink with ginger that burns calories rather than adding them, vitamin enhanced beer and dark chocolate sold as an antioxidant.
2. New World Foods
There is a burgeoning interest in new foods sourced from “new” or “exotic” places. Superfruits like the purple acai berry from the rain forest, which has already achieved a market place in health food shops could make the transition to mainstream if undertaken effectively by clever business people.
Some have suggested that Peruvian cuisine- a combination of Spanish, Italian, Indian, Japanese and native cookery- could be the next big ethnic food. Coconut is finding new uses such as natural juice while fruit soups have also been encouraged as holding consumer potential.
3. Ethical/Environmental eating
This trend overlaps with wellness since both espouse organic and free range foods. However ethical eating goes beyond natural taste and health and into the realms of green politics and anti-globalization. It includes concepts of “fair-trade” and “sustainable” and also “food miles”, which brings together the related concepts of locality and seasonality. Good farming practices in terms of the treatment of livestock are also part of this trend. Organic or free-range food products will be a top of the food list for food franchises 2008-2012…
4. Ethnicity
Ethnic flavors that draw inspiration from distant cuisines are increasingly popular in the U.S. and across Europe. Vietnamese cuisine is becoming popular and, in cities, sushi is now a mainstream restaurant cuisine, and, in some locations, a mainstream supermarket product.
Spanish cuisines and South American restaurants are identified as trends with consumer potential. Similarly Asian food is also becoming quiet a popular food trend across the U.S., with great tasting low fat cuisines full of flavor becoming the dish of the day!
5. Water
Water is huge and is increasingly becoming a political and social conundrum, with the effects of global warming and the reduction in levels of water both for living and for consumption. The market potential for bottling naturally flavored water is huge and continues to be a highly lucrative industry. For example, there are now water bars, water menus along with some water sommeliers in restaurants to pair water with good food choices.
6. Specialities
Making ordinary food special, such as the way water can now be viewed as having health or other benefits, and can come in a range of product variations, is another growing trend.
An example is salt which has been diversified into gourmet sea salt, Hawaiian Red, Black Lava, Sel Gris, pink salt from the Andes and Tahitian vanilla salt. The variations are endless and any “ordinary” food product can be diversified into numerous “types”.
7. Portion Control
Portion control is one of the keys to attaining a healthy diet and losing weight effectively. This principle is also having a key influence on products and services within the franchise industry, such as “portion-controlled scoops”, or “portion-controlled plates” that help individuals effectively measure what is a good amount or bad amount of the food groups for each meal.
In addition, Spanish tapas, Greek meze, and Japanese izakayas are all types of the “portion-controlled” food an individual can buy in a restaurant. Manufacturers have also developed calorie-controlled mini portions of snacks and confectionary in response to healthy eating trends.
8. Constant Diet
Dieting will always be big franchise industry news, with the rise in products and services that help people diet lose weight and manage their weight. The increased pace in everyday life, the stress and longer working hours has ensured a consumer society that is dependent on quick food products.
But this is not great for the waistlines! Manufacturers have as a result come up with new services and products to encourage healthier eating and dieting. More personalized diets tailored to an individuals needs is becoming the new constant diet trend…
9. Provenance
Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of where their food comes from and its origins for safety. This trend overlaps with both wellness eating and ethical eating, but it is also a food trend and consumer preoccupation in its own right. Consumers no longer accept less than transparency. And this means products and services must display origins of content and structure…
10. Retro eating
Consumers, particularly boomers and generation X, tend to evoke sentiments of traditional food products. For the younger demographics, the concept of retro eating can be fun and exciting. There is an association with foods that are additive-free and pure, which, ostensibly, predate mass production and factory farming. And then there are as many new angles to retro eating as there are hindsight re-interpretations of history.
Appeasing today’s consumer is no small task. Food products need to address health concerns with features such as whole-grains, pro-biotics, omega-3, antioxidants, carotenes, vitamins, sugar-free and low-salt together with a dash of the three E’s- ethnicity, exoticism, and ethics- to top it all of, they need to be packaged in convenient, calorie-friendly portions!

AineMeadePhoto.jpgAine Meade is a Website Editor for Franchise Direct, a leading Internet franchise advertising portal. Aine creates high quality franchise information for its international websites in the U.S., and Europe. Aine has a BA (First) in English and History; MA in Literature & Publishing; Diploma in Media Journalism and a Diploma in Marketing.