Mike Ferrell Interviewed by Carla Beaurline on Around Town TV

Launching New Ideas

I am working on a new product launch and it's always an exciting time for me because of all the facets that go into a product launch. Today I would like to talk about launching any new idea and how to make sure it's a success.

The first thing you want to think about when launching a new idea/product/service or whatever it is you're launching is who is it intended for, be very specific here. What is the target audience for this idea and how will it impact them or their business. Once you have answered that question then there is a whole list of things to consider before launching, here are a few:

• How will you market it? Including Website, Email, Social Networking, Blogging, Direct Mail etc...
• Are there possible multiple product offerings in your idea, for instance in the product I'm currently offering I will also be able to spin off an e-book, a seminar, coaching services and a monthly subscription.
• What is your sales process? How will you sell the product and what will the sales approach look like?
• How will the service end look? Do you need to do anything different from a service perspective?
• And what does the profitability look like? Can you maintain margins to make the idea profitable.

These are just a few things to consider when launching new products, ideas and offerings. Too many times I see companies roll out a new product assuming there's a market for it but not taking care of the front end details that I mention above and then when they launch and get no response they can't figure out why. The other issue is look into how you might preview the launch and take a page out of Apple's book, by letting a few details come out on what you are launching to start to create buzz, Apple is an expert and creating a buzz before they ever launch a new product. I hope these ideas help you successfully launch new ideas and look for an exciting new product soon from me that will help you create a simple, yet powerful strategic action plan, keep your eye on our website for more details!

Simplicity Means Focus

I met with a client this morning and he was telling me about how good it felt to spend last weekend in his office just cleaning out and getting rid of old files and things that he didn't need anymore and it got me thinking about how clutter can keep us from being focused on the things we really need to be doing to move our businesses or sales forward.

When you look at your desk are you constantly trying to figure out where you put something so that you can work on it? When you look at what you should be doing do you have multiple to do lists and post it notes all over the place? When you look at your calendar do you have notes scribbled all over the place and it's hard to figure our what you should be doing next to follow-up with that prospect or client? And finally when you call a meeting does it turn into a free for all because there is no set agenda?

These are all things that creating some simplicity in how you do things can really help you focus. Let's look at each one of them:

• First organizing your desk, keep on your desk only those things that you need to work on for that day, move the rest of it somewhere else or better yet go through it and toss out the stuff you truly don't need. This will keep you on task and not wasting time looking for things.
• Your to do list; I work with my clients and get them to do a weekly worksheet that gets them thinking about organizing their entire week versus just a day at a time, I think this keeps them focused on the big priorities that need to get accomplished and they don't get hung up on the things that are not vitally important. I also encourage them to do time blocking which helps the concentrate on setting critical blocks of time aside to work on revenue generating activities versus time wasters.
• Your calendar and follow-up; get a system that keeps everything organized for you, here's where technology can really help. Look for a system that will keep everything at our fingertips, emails, calendars, documents, etc... and easily accessible. I use a system called BatchBook that is easy to use and syncs with all my devices.
• And last but not least and I've written about this one before, meetings! Set a start time and an end time and have a written agenda. This will help you stay on track and not waste time in meetings. If there is not a specific objective for the meeting then don't have one!!

By simplifying the various things you do on a day to day basis you really can create focus!

What's Your Passion?

I was interviewed last night by Carla Beaurline for her Around Town television show and one of the questions she asked me was, "there are many people that have lost their jobs in this economy and they are considering starting their own businesses, what piece of advise would you give them?" The first thing that popped into my head was "find your passion", if you're going to start a business, make darn sure it's one that you truly love and can see yourself doing for a very long time.

As I thought about this question over the past 12 hours or so, it also occurred to me that this is very relevant to anyone that already has their own business. Many of my clients and people that I talk with that have their own businesses have lost that passion, they have become so engrossed in the day to day activities of running their businesses that they have forgot about the real reason they created the thing in the first place. One of the best ways to find that passion again is to look at what you're doing on a day to day basis and make sure that the bulk of the time is being spent on the things you like to do, that can clearly help your business grow. If you like the operational side of things then make sure that's where you're spending your time and find another person or way to handle the sales and marketing side of things. Vice versa if you really like the sales and marketing side of things then focus on that and find other ways or people to handle the operational side of things. And I'm not necessarily talking about hiring new people, in today's business environment there are many options beyond hiring people, it could be outsourcing or new technology, think outside the box!

If there's no way to do what I say above then at the very least, make sure you are creating time to do the things you love to do in your business. By planning your time out weekly versus daily you will find that it will allow you to create blocks of time that you can focus on the things you really like to do! If you can remember why you started your business in the first place, or if you didn't start it but bought it or inherited it they why did you get involved and start focusing on creating that vision that you originally have your mental state will be much better and your business will be better for it!! Several months ago I was interviewed by Krishn De for her highly listened to podcast series Biz Growth Live and I talked about creating a plan that will help you get that focus back. You can listen to it here!
And if you need help visit our website to find out how we can help you get that focus back!

The Winter Blues

Here in Minnesota February is the roughest part of the winter, we still know that we’ve probably got a good two months of cold left and we don’t have much to look forward to other than Valentines chocolates. And judging from all the news we hear on the economy it sounds like it’ s having the winter blues as well.

So how do you snap out of it? Well my best advice to you is to get busy, there is nothing that gets you out of the blues better than getting busy and staying busy. But when I say get busy I don’t mean doing just anything, what I mean by getting busy is to get your focus back on your business. Get your team together and talk about what you can do to stimulate your business. Try some new marketing ideas, launch a new service or product, connect or reconnect with your customers/clients.

There is nothing that gets your juices flowing like some good old hard work and if it’s focused on the right areas it won’t only get your out of the winter blues but it will also get your business moving in the right direction as well. In this economy you need to do everything you can to stay in front of customers and prospects so go back and revisit what you’ve done in the past and look for ways to do it better and more effectively. Also tie in education as a component of staying in front of your customers, they are looking for reassurance in this economy so you need to educate them on why they should be doing business with you and not your competitors.

And one last thing, bring some fun back into your business, schedule an event with your team that brings in some fun, remember there’s a good chance they have the winter blues as well! If you want to know how to build these ideas into an action plan download my free e-book, Business Planning on a Bar Napkin, go here for it!

Will This Be Your Best Year Ever?

With today being the 11^th day of the New Year already do you know that over 50% of the people that set New Year’s resolutions have already broken them. Are you one of them?

What are the keys to getting out of the blocks fast this year and hitting all the goals or “resolutions” you have set for yourself? First the key is to not focus on them, the more you focus on them and the minute it becomes apparent that you won’t hit them or exceed them they will fall by the wayside.

Instead focus on the actions that need to happen in order for you to hit your goals. Create what I call in my book Ultimate Breakthrough Planning: The Business Funnel Approach key milestones. Those key milestones should be measured on a monthly basis and they should be strictly actions that need to occur in order for you to reach your goals.

An example would be in your marketing area measuring the specific things that need to happen such as the number and type of marketing campaigns that your are doing and the number of people that are receiving them and responding to them.

Make your business as measurable as possible, every possible thing you can measure when it comes to action will allow you to fine tune things until they are working the way you want them to work. And by measuring the actions that are happening if you are hitting the milestones on a regular basis I can guarantee that you will hit your goals and resolutions.

If you really want to take your business to new heights take the Ultimate Breakthrough Planning BusinessBuilder Challenge. We guarantee you will grow your business 20% or more or you pay nothing, check it out here!