Archive for May, 2009

Our Remodel Buddy Members hear Tim & I talk about this all the time:

Operating a successful business isn’t about one magic bullet or one big idea. It’s about doing all the little things correctly… Building a culture of success and operating at a high performance level is about doing all the little things correctly…

With all the talk about Green Remodeling/Building and the Federal Tax Credits that are out there – it’s good to remember that it is still the little things that will get that homeowner to sign on the dotted line. Greg Antonioli, a blogger for Remodeling Magazine, summed this up nicely in a recent post:

The remodeling consumer is still going to buy on emotion from someone who authentically identifies and addresses their concerns. Heightened awareness of environmental issues will not necessarily make environmental issues the prospect’s #1 concern, even with tax credits thrown in as a bonus. Budget, schedule, invasion of privacy, jobsite cleanliness and safety, a comfort level with the people working in their home, design….are the other criteria to which “green” and tax credits will be added.

Let’s focus on mastering the little things.

Most people use LinkedIn to “get to someone” in order to make a sale, form a partnership, or get a job. It works well for this because it is an online network of more than 8.5 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 130 industries. However, it is a tool that is under-utilized, especially in the Remodeling & Home Improvement industry. So I’ve compiled a list of 8 ways to increase the value of LinkedIn: 1.) Increase your visibility. By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know, like and trust. 2.) Improve your connectability. Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities. You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials. Past customers can recommend you and increase your credibility. This is an excellent way to also find their connections in your area and see where they “group” and “connect” to people in your community. 3.) Improve your Google PageRank. LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you. To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web. For example: when you comment in a blog, include a link to your LinkedIn profile in your signature. 4.) Enhance your search engine results. In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc. If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! Instant search engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.” 5.) Thinking of hiring a new sales person, production manager or working with a strategic partner like an architect or designer? Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks. LinkedIn’s reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data. Increase the relevancy of your hiring. Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with sales, production and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work. 6.) Be transparent. Earn know, like and trust. Companies will typically check your references before hiring or working with you, homeowners may also check on you before meeting you or before making a decision. This is a great place to privately get to know you and can be a better benefit if you advise them you are there through publications, website, business cards, literature and more. Maybe a potential partner will look for you too. What a great way to be transparent and earn people’s know, like and trust. 7.) Make your appointment go smoother. You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you’re meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, play hockey, or share acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, “I’m doing fine, thank you.” This can be a great warm up tool for a sales appointment. Have a sales team? Get them on LinkedIn. 8.) Ask for advice. LinkedIn’s newest product, LinkedIn Answers, aims to enable this online. The product allows you to broadcast your business-related questions to both your network and the greater LinkedIn network. The premise is that you will get more high-value responses from the people in your network than more open forums.

A nationally recognized expert on entrepreneurship, Barry Moltz has founded and run small businesses for the past 15 years, experiencing both great success and great failure along the way. His latest book, BOUNCE!: Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success, offers entrepreneurs a new perspective on the concept of failure, and how recognizing and even embracing it can set the stage for bigger successes. Use Your Failures to Propel Success Forget about having “no fear,” or asserting that, “failure is not an option.” Actually, it is a very real option, and often happens. It’s okay to be afraid and it’s okay to fail. Not everything works. Learn from failure and bounce to the next action and success. It’s about resilience. If an action does turns to out negatively, then grieve over failures if you have to, but don’t get demoralized. Being able to recover quickly and move to a new place where success is again possible is what matters. I use the analogy of a baseball team. Your opponent can beat you only once per game, whether it’s by 1 run or 15. But the next day, everything’s even and you have a new chance to succeed. Create Your Own Model of Success When it comes to success, there is no one model or type. People want to find the easy, magical steps to success. In reality, success isn’t always a straight line, but a series of ups and downs. There are some great success stories out there, but they rarely apply to anyone else because those individuals have unique experiences and access to certain resources that may not apply to you. If you attempt to follow those same steps, you’re likely to be disappointed. To create your own measurement systems for success and failure, you should look for other things that are important to you—what I call “money-plus goals.” What is it that makes you want to do something to make money and have fun? Are you building customer loyalty? Are you learning things that will be helpful down the road? The key is to establish these systems from the outset so that you know what to work for, and how to recognize success when it arrives. Plan for Success Business plans are valuable planning tools in mapping success. But, the process of creating them is even more valuable because it forces you to ask questions and search for information. You shouldn’t stop once you have the document, however, because business conditions are continually changing, and what you projected may be not be accurate in a matter of months or even weeks. Instead, you need to continue asking questions. Get a Mentor Lastly, remember that other people have traveled this path. Mentors can help you assess a situation and figure out the best direction to take. Whenever you find people who can help you in this way, you will have a better chance of success. Having a mentor–someone who has been there and done it successfully–is absolutely invaluable. No one can, or should, do it alone. Even elite athletes have mentors and coaches. And, in my opinion, every entrepreneur should become best friends with a coach.