Bruce Outridge

Becoming an “A” Player

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Bruce

I just finished reading the biography on Steve Jobs, he was quite a fascinating guy. The one thing he was good at was creating teams of “A” players. He never wanted to have people not stepping up to the plate on any of his teams. That is one of the things that made Apple a great company turning out great products. His management style was something to be desired but in the end it was an approach that worked out well for him. As an entrepreneur however stepping up totally sets on the shoulders of one person. If you look in the mirror you will find the person I am talking about. What makes you step up to being an “A” player is totally up to you. No one is forcing you to step up to the plate and we all know how it works out for the sweet salesperson who sells the shoes off our feet but doesn’t follow through on their promises, or is that a politician? There is only one thing that turns off customers more is to have someone not follow through with what they say will happen.

You’re an entrepreneur starting your own business, you have integrity, you want to give excellent customer service, you want to have quality products and services, you want to be known for being the person that can be relied on to get the job done. What if you’re not that person? What if you try to do things right but sometimes fall behind? Does that make you useless, does that mean you will never be successful? Wrong! That means you need to work a little harder, plan a little more before bursting out the door, take better notes, work on the area you are falling down in and change it.

I never believe someone is worthless unless they want to be. I have seen great artist that have their limbs cut off and made a great career painting with some other part of their body. I have witnessed people that were down and out come back under conditions that you and I would find horrible and be successful entrepreneurs. I myself have been in that boat, I dropped out of school at seventeen and went back at forty to get my diploma. I figured out how I learn best and worked hard on things I enjoyed doing. I started a business when I was told people couldn’t make it. Any one of you has the power to make a difference. Any one of you has the power to make change. Maybe you weren’t ready when you tried before, maybe you didn’t have the skill set when you tried earlier, but maybe, just maybe, you have it now.

How to instill change in yourself, make a list of five things that would make you better at what you do that you notice you need work on. Create a plan to work on one item each month, if it takes longer that’s okay at least your heading to your goal. Once you have improved in one area then add another item until you have finished your list. The hardest part is getting started. It is possible to change, you just have to plan for it.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for entrepreneurs. More information can be found on his website at www.outridge.ca

Getting Testimonials to Work for You.

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Bruce

2 Comments

One of the areas I find many businesses lack in consistency is in getting testimonials from their clients. They may forget to ask, be afraid to ask, or think that the client may say something negative against the product or service. The truth is if you have done everything you can to make sure the experience for your client has been the best then you shouldn’t have to worry about negative comments. If you do get a negative comment it is how you take that comment and use it that is the most important thing. If you look at it as a personal attack on you specifically then yes you won’t want to hear negative criticism from anyone. In business however, the trick is to remember the saying, “It’s just business, don’t take it personally.” Take that attitude and you will find it easier to take the negative criticism.

Now of course our goal is not to get negative comments on our business. If a project has gone wrong you probably wouldn’t ask that client for a testimonial because you know things didn’t go well, but should you? Negative testimonials are a great way to improve your business. So ask that client in a nice way by saying, “Jim I know the project didn’t go as planned and I certainly want it to go better if we work together again in the future, what things on your end do you feel we could have done better to serve you?” Once you ask that take the information and say thank you for your feedback. Do the same thing on your end and think to yourself what went wrong and how you would do things better next time. Whether you change anything or not is up to you but at least you will know how your client feels.

The point is that we want get positive testimonials as those are the ones we can use to promote our business. The key here is to consistently be sending them out after every job or on a regular basis. You need something simple that can be filled out quickly and that captures the information you need. It could be a quick email, a structured form, or a formal letter. Just remember if it is too much you will have trouble getting people to fill it out. You also need to cover yourself to use it on promotional material.

The key information you want to get is performance of the service, comments on the experience in working with your company, and if they would recommend you to others. So how do you ask for them. I like to say, “ Bob, I was wondering if you would mind writing a few positive statements about your experience dealing with our company for promotional purposes? Please include your name and company if you feel comfortable doing so. I appreciate you taking the time to fill out the form and look forward to working with you again in the future.” Once you have those you now want to place them on key promotional material for your business. Testimonials are very powerful especially if they are given through third party methods that potential clients can tell haven’t been altered. Of course you now have to keep your service matching your testimonials.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for the businesses. More information can be found on his website at www.outridge.ca

What is Your Plan?

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Bruce

2 Comments

Planning is an important part of succeeding in business. Most people think of it as something to do afterwards but it is important to have a plan ready and in working order. Don’t be like the guy in this cartoon.

Time, It’s Yours for the Taking!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Bruce

1 Comment

There are two schools of thought on time management. There is the one group that says everyone should take time to smell the roses (or is it coffee) and experience life to the fullest. Then there is the other group that says time stands still for no man (or woman) and you need to make the most of it while you’re here. I agree with both parties and do manage to work both ways. As someone who has multiple businesses going on at the once time management is something not to be taken lightly. Where I find many people going wrong is that they are on one side or the other, but need to challenge themselves to reach a place in the middle that works for them. Many of you and I have in the past focused on the time for personal satisfaction or were way on the other side focusing on business satisfaction. If you focus on personal satisfaction then personal issues dominate your time and you may run fast for no one. That is fine and dealing with artists as I do I also find that many of them do not complete projects promptly. On the other hand I work with many entrepreneurs who are focused on business are stoking the fire like crazy trying to get everything done and attain their goals. These folks are on the other side of the fence and sometimes as my wife reminds me from time to time need to slow down and smell the roses. Both groups are right so how do you find a happy medium?

For me the happy medium comes from a partial blend of both formats. In my past career my days routinely started at 3.a.m. in the morning. I worked a 60-70 hour work week and was gone for a week at a time for the most part. I ma not complaining about that as I chose that profession and enjoyed it very much. When I left to start my own business one factor was driving the decisions, time! I wanted time for me, I also however wanted to be successful so business was important for me as well. The challenge was finding middle ground. Middle ground was found by setting my own set of rules. I found I am a morning person, I enjoy the freshness of the day. I also found I felt better with exercise therefore that was important to my day. I hate traffic so I arrange my schedule around those factors. So it works out like this.

I am up at 6 a.m. each morning and put in the important information first. I start by reading for an hour, I then write for an hour, I then take two hours for myself and go for a walk, make breakfast, shower, etc. I then set my hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m as my regular hours. If I choose to work at night that is my choice. I try not to book meetings before 10 am if possible. Now I do change things around to meet client demands, but for the most part I choose how I want my day to go. I am willing to work six days a week and some time do seven, but try to have Sunday for me if possible. So try doing the same for your business if you find yourself in a tangled mess with time management. Remember you can have the best of both worlds, you just have to schedule it.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant. He specializes in the transportation and creative markets. For more information on Bruce visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Marketing by Saying Hello

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Bruce

8 Comments

Are you one of those people that say hello to everyone in the street whether you know them or not? I am most certainly that kind of person and it always amazes my wife when we are out together as to how I know so many people. The truth is that I don’t go out and try to know tons of people I just try to be a happy person. So you are probably wondering what this has to do with business? It has everything to do with business, these days business is everywhere, on the street, in the grocery store, and in the workplace. As more of us start to look for ways to get out of that dreaded office commute and technology affords us greater detachment from the office you will find more people out of the workplace that you can connect with. As an entrepreneur I am always in client attraction mode even if it is out on a leisurely walk. Now don’t worry if you see me walking down your street I won’t accost you but I will probably say hello. Most of us are looking for ways to market our business to others, but very few realize how a sales cycle works so they separate their marketing efforts. If they are out for a leisurely stroll they don’t say hi because they don’t want to think of work, however in work mode their hands start to sweat, and they foam at the mouth looking for prospects. Does that ever work?

I have met more people walking each morning around my neighbourhood, Usually it starts with hello a couple of times, then an introduction at a later date. Here is an example, my wife and I were walking on our usual route one Sunday when a man was unloading his car. He owned a catering business as the name was splashed all over the side of his vehicles, so as we walked by I said hello and then asked from afar, “So how’s the catering business these days?” Being a caricature artist he may have clients looking for entertainment for a venue. He dropped what he was doing and talked with us for nearly thirty minutes discussing our businesses. I didn’t have a card on me so told him I would drop off a package with my services at a later date. I dropped the package off a week later in his mailbox and got a call two weeks later about the possibilities of working on a project together. This is not unusual for me, all because I looked cheerful and said hello. The point of this is that being nice to people should be your first marketing strategy, as I tell people in my seminars, “Don’t try so hard!” Your next client may be right outside your front door.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for businesses. More information can be found on his website at www.outridge.ca