The Business Alliance Grapevine - It's All in the BAG!
The Capital City Club and Cardinal Club Business Alliance has been created as a way to bring members and businesses together through educational and social events that foster learning, fellowship with peers, and networking opportunities.
Letter from the Editor
Business Alliance has a busy activity calendar over the next few months. Please mark and plan ahead for the Business Connection Expo this August, we continue to get a great turn out and expect the experience to be the same this summer. Remember to join the BA’s Joiners Table every third Thursday of the month, attendance has been continually rising so take advantage of the networking opportunity. Simply call the club to make a reservation. Thanks for continuing to send your company news and events! Warm Regards, Jean Wiley, Editor in Chief |
June Issue 2008 Send your company announcements to Jean Wiley to go in the next Grapevine!
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Happenings
The Conversation of You: Branding Yourself and Your Business on the Web
Avoiding the Prospecting Blues
Business Connection Expo
BA Member Announcements
Our Newest Members…
Featured Articles |
How to Attract Your Perfect Customer – Even in a “Down” Economy and Slumping Real Estate Market
It seems that each time you turn on the television, open a newspaper, or view Internet news, you’re seeing reports on how terrible the economy is; how housing prices are in the dumps; and that layoffs at large businesses are inevitable. As a business owner, you may be thinking: If these businesses are suffering—and the economists are preaching doom and gloom, is there any hope for your business to thrive? The answer is YES! Even in “down” times, there are businesses that do quite well, especially if they know how to attract the “right” customers. Chances are, in your business, you’ve worked with a client and considered it too much fun to be “work”. Did you ever stop to think about what caused this interaction to be wonderful? What if all your interactions were this way? It is possible. In business, especially in a small or a new business, we serve whoever contacts us or walks through the door. In our desire to grow, we often consider any client a good client. However, the truth is, often, the wrong client causes terrific angst and may even lose money for us! How will you know when the wrong customer shows up? Oh, you’ll know! Consider that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. As a business owner, you’ve felt it, but may have chosen to ignore it. But despite your best efforts, this customer was impossible to satisfy. (You can probably picture someone like this in your mind’s eye at this very moment.) If this is typical of your interactions with many clients, don’t despair – help is on the way! You can take steps to attract your Perfect Customer now. The Law of Attraction First, let’s begin with the Law of Attraction. No doubt, you’ve heard this term – and the concept is that you will attract those things on which you place your attention and energy. You may have had a negative interaction with a grumpy person or was cut off in traffic—and you declared: “This is going to be a bad day!” And what materialized? A “bad” day, of course! This happened because you repeatedly attracted negative experiences by focusing on the negative. Instead of having bad days, we can isolate that to a less than ideal moment in time. If we choose to focus on the good, we attract good. Sound simple? It is! It involves awareness of how you’re feeling and thinking at a particular moment. This same concept can be applied to attracting your Perfect Customer. Steps to Attract Your Perfect Customer The initial step is to begin developing your Strategic Attraction™ Plan. Start with a written list of the qualities of your perfect customer. Consider things such as how this customer:
Other considerations are:
When your description is complete, anyone should be able to view your idea of the Perfect Customer – and “see” them. For a real world example, consider the real estate industry: We’re bombarded with negativity about the economy and that a recession is looming. If you own real estate; work in the real estate profession; or are trying to buy or sell a home, the daily news about the industry is definitely on your mind. Thinking positively and expecting positive results can bring you what you desire. There are real estate professionals who are experiencing explosive growth in this “down” market – and are attracting more Perfect Customers than they can handle. A perfect real estate customer may be someone who is ready, willing, and able to purchase; decisive; takes direction from the team working on their transaction; is loyal; values the time of their real estate team; willing to pay for outstanding service; and expects the team to deliver what is promised, in a timely manner. This customer has a spirit of service to others and wants to leave the world a better place than they found it. This has been an Overview about attracting your perfect customer. To dig deeper into the process of developing your Strategic Action™ Plan, an excellent resource is the book: Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez. You may also contact Marirose Steigerwald, a Certified Strategic Attraction™ Planning Coach, at: 919.571.0100. Marirose Steigerwald Bio Marirose Steigerwald, Real Estate Guest Writer. Founder, Workforce Chemistry (www.workforcechemistry.com) With more than 20 years of experience in human resources, Marirose has worked in large and small companies, both public and private, and has executive leadership experience in a mid-sized engineering consulting firm. Throughout her career, Marirose recognized that some individuals made it look “easy” – naturally leading and managing employees under their care. In her research, she discovered that there are certain attributes that great leaders exhibit – some which are natural in their own “chemistry” and others which can be learned and developed. A graduate of UNC-Greensboro, where she majored in Communication Studies and minored in Psychology, Marirose holds certifications in behavior and motivator analysis tools, is certified as a Strategic Attraction TM Planner, and is a member of the ONE: The Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership community. |
Leading a Meeting: Build an Effective ContainerCreating a meeting that has the best chance of succeeding begins with the facilitator's attention to a number of factors outside the actual agenda itself. Setting up the conditions for a successful meeting, especially if the topic is likely to be contentious, requires a good measure of planning and forethought. This article describes five dimensions of building a strong meeting container that will allow you to maximize the productive attention of your participants. An effective meeting can be likened to a strong container: the container must be light and flexible yet strong enough to hold whatever you are planning to carry in it. A bucket with multiple holes in it will not carry water; neither will a meeting that has multiple punctures in its boundaries successfully carry your agenda. So, think of your meeting as a container that has a perimeter with multiple layers of boundaries around it that protect it. These boundaries are constructed in time, space, sound, purpose and behavior. Breaches in these areas will create distractions and drain the energies of your participants. Below are a few examples in each category. Time Boundaries A published schedule including start, stop and break times will allow participants to plan their lives around the meeting. Make it a point to start on time to honor those who show up according to the clock. At the same time it is often useful to allow an agenda device to welcome and include those participants who are unavoidably late in arriving. This can be accomplished by positioning critical agenda items later on the agenda, and starting with other items that are of value to the early participants but do not exclude the late-comers. Holding a rigid, one-time-fits-all boundary does not often reflect reality and simply creates distractions when the late-comers arrive. By gracefully acknowledging the early-arrivers and the late-comers the time boundary stays intact. Similarly, keep to the published schedule unless you renegotiate with the group for additional time or a shift in how the time is allocated. Your maintaining responsibility for the time boundary signals to your participants that you take seriously your obligation to protect their contribution of time and energy. Space Boundaries Meeting rooms that have not been thoroughly cleaned or are cluttered with unneeded furniture and AV equipment send an immediate signal that you are not in charge of your meeting. Rooms that are too hot, or too cold or have chairs arranged such that participants cannot easily see each other or see the presentation materials also create distractions. When the outdoor environment is attractive and the weather is good it is invariably uplifting to open the blinds (which for some reason always seem to be closed.) Spacial boundaries include visual distractions as well. So if a blinding glare from the early morning sun is creating such a contrast that partipants' faces are unrecognizable it is your responsibility to handle the problem. If the chairs are uncomfortable the participants will unconsciously register that your meeting is not one they want to return to. Select a room when possible that gives you control over such creature comforts. At the very least, remove any broken or uncomfortable chairs if you have a choice. Sound Boundaries Noise can be a distraction in many ways. Construction and maintenance noise, loud air conditioning fans, and conversations just outside your perimeter that can be heard inside your meeting space all function as holes in the container. If participants cannot hear each other adequately they are being excluded from the meeting at least at a psychological level. Assume responsibility for trouble-shooting sound distractions in advance of the meeting. For sound intrusions outside your control it often helps to acknowledge the distraction and allow the participants to comment on the impact and contribute to creating whatever solutions might be available. If the participants are involved in mitigating an acknowledged distraction they will be far less likely to attribute their distraction to the facilitator's expertise. Boundary of Purpose Some meetings are routine, with the purpose being well defined and known by all. Being clear about the purpose of a special meeting, however, often requires pre-work on the part of the facilitator. When work needs to be accomplished it is common that participants imagine both different priorities and a variety of ways to proceed. I will frequently interview participants in advance of a meeting to be sure everyone is aligned in their expectations. Asking "What would be the best outcome for this particular meeting?" often surfaces participants' different agendas. Asking "What would be the most valuable use of your time?" empowers participants to establish priorities and describe the kind of meeting that they will most appreciate. Even if pre-interviews are conducted it is almost always a good idea to take a few minutes to ratify the purpose and objectives as the facilitator understands them. As flight attendants routinely say, "This plane is going to San Francisco. If that is not your destination, now would be a good time to come forward and de-plane." Boundaries of Behavior There are two categories of behavioral distractions to your meeting. Some come from the outside, others from the inside. At times people not associated with your meeting will intrude on your space. For example, when a catering crew arrives an hour earlier than planned, right in the middle of a critical conversation, it may be advisable to meet them at the door and request that they enter at a juncture when the setting up of plates and utensils will not be disruptive to the meeting process. From inside the meeting many distractions are possible. One common example is when participants veer from the stated purpose, working a separate agenda from the agreed one. In such cases an option is to acknowledge and honor their direction and ask them to hold it until another occasion. Sometimes recording their idea briefly on a "parking lot" chart pad has the effect of both honoring their contribution and also keeping the meeting on track. Some participants take up a disproportionate share of the discussion. It usually works to ask the vebose participant for their permission to have you limit their time so that other voices can be heard. Other participants will love you for intervening. To avoid participants' unexpected early departures from the meeting secure a commitment in advance to attend for the entire meeting, unless an exeption is granted. Being forwarned you can manage the leave takings more gracefully. The most powerful device to manage behavioral distractions is to construct a set of operating agreements or meeting guidelines at the opening of the meeting. We routinely ask people to agree to a set of guidelines that establish a respectful learning environment during the work session. For example, we secure an agreement with participants to speak for themselves, agree to disagree when necessary, and speak up when the meeting process is not working for them. In Conclusion By attending to the various boundaries of your meeting you engender goodwill while maximizing the chances for focused dialogue and work. Pre-planning will give you an advantage when unexpected threats to a smooth meeting develop. Good luck and success in your endeavors. p.s. It is okay to pull the buffet table away from the wall in order to cut the time in half that it takes your participants to get through the lunch line. They will love you for it. THOMAS GRIGGS, Ph. D., is President and CEO of New Science Consulting Group, Inc., in Raleigh. His particular interest is in designing effective programs that bring research scientist/engineers into new business ventures, and he especially enjoys designing and implementing solutions to apparently impossible challenges. He is a graduate of Duke University and holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in Palo Alto, where he received an Ark Foundation grant for peace research and the “Outstanding Dissertation Award” for his doctoral thesis. He has been on the adjunct faculty at Duke University and currently teaches at the University of Richmond. Dr. Griggs may be reached at tgriggs@nscgroup.com or 919.844.1990.
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