Social Media Fundamentals for Small Business

I am proud to announce the confirmation of Stephanie Nivinskus of ImpressionsOnCall as the guest speaker for my next workshop.

Stephanie is a local San Diego expert in social media marketing.
Stephanie Nivinskus holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Diego State University. Her professional marketing career began in 1995. As a former employee of some of the nations largest media companies, including Copley Press (The San Diego Union-Tribune) and Cox Communications, Stephanie has co-marketed major brands, including The National Football League, Exxon/Mobil and Sprint.

In 2003 Stephanie was asked to consult for The Body Shop at Home, a division of international bath and body retail chain, The Body Shop. For more than 5 years she developed and led a sales and marketing team of more than 500 independent consultants. In just two short years she advanced to a Director position and was amongst the top 1% of performers in the company. In 2008, her story “Confessions of a Former MLM Snob” was published in Chicken Soup For The Network Marketers Soul.

Shortly after The Body Shop was acquired by L’Oreal, Stephanie introduced Impressions Marketing to small business owners worldwide. Impressions Marketing is a full-service, boutique marketing studio. Leveraging the power of digital and traditional media, their creative & strategic team awakens brands by developing and executing business-building solutions for small business owners with moderate budgets and big dreams. The Impressions Marketing team services the marketing needs of nearly every industry, but specializes in servicing the needs of ‘connectors’ – people that have a strong influence, voice & public presence in their niche industry.

If you have been struggling with how to make the most out of social media for your business I urge you to attend this workshop.

In the workshop Stephanie will cover:

Why social media is a critical component to your business success
How to write intriguing posts that establish credibility
How to separate your business from your personal life
How to manage your time
Social media etiquette
What to do if you know you need to have a social media presence, but don’t want to spend the time to make it work.

Seating is limited to 30 individuals. Make your reservations early to guarantee your seat.

Location: Boys and Girls Club of East County

8820 Tamberly Way (2nd floor conf. room)

Santee, Ca. 92071

Time: 8:00am to 10:00 am

Date: September 14th

Hosted By: TGHarris Consulting and the ABA (Association for Business Advancement)

Call or email your reservation today!

619-270-2118 or Terry@TGHarris.com

Workshop fee: $25.00 per person (advance reservation)  $39.00 at door

Payment will be taken at the door via cash or check

You can reserve your seat and pay by credit card online at www.TGHarris.com/events

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know that would benefit from this presentation.

I look forward to seeing you there!
Coach Terry
Knowledge is Power! Success is made!

TGHarris Consulting

ABA (Association for Business Advancement)

Accountability Action System

Your Action Guide to Success!

If Can’t Seem to Get things Done

“This System that will Change your Life”

How do I know? Because I use it myself!

I promise it will change the way you get things done.

For years you have tried to  stay on top of your to do list

and failed every time!

By using my Accountability Action System

You will never Procrastinate or Fail again!

Hi, My name is Terry Harris the creator of the Accountability Action System.
You know for years I struggled with balancing my personal and professional life,
I had big ideas but never seemed to have enough time to put them into action.

Several years ago I began researching ways to hold myself

accountable for getting my To Do List done.

After many frustrating hours in front of the computer going from website to website
I finally gave up and decided to create my on accountability system for myself.
As I started putting this Simple yet Powerful system together I realized
just how Successful this system was going to be.

It was like making a To Do List only better!
The words “To Do” did not invoke any true Action to me.
I needed a true call to Action to make sure I was consistently getting my list done!

That is how I created the “Accountability Action System”

I have been coaching individuals like yourself for over 15 years
and have had my coaching clients using this system with tremendous Success!

The Accountability part is key to it’s Success!

By being held accountable on a daily basis for the completion of your Action Items,
you are subconsciously retraining yourself.
This constant reinforcement of a positive routine allows you to replace the bad with the good.

This kind of constant reinforcement will stop:

Procrastination

Forgetfulness

Lack of interest

Creativity

Loss of time

Missing deadlines

This is how it works.

You will fill in your Accountability Action Item list and submit it to me every day.

I will look for it everyday, once I have received it I will either accept it or make some suggestions of how you might improve it.

You need to be completely committed to the system to start seeing the results.

Once you have repeated the system consistently you will be amazed at how Simple yet Powerful it is!

I have some clients who no longer need coaching and are still on the Accountability Action System because of the

Successes they get by remaining in the program.

And that my friend is a testimony to its Power!

I Guarantee you will benefit from this System

Or I will refund 100% of your money back  “No Questions Asked”!

Why am I so confident you will remain in this program?
Because I have used it Successfully for myself and my clients for years.

If your ready to get started organinzing your life, goals and dream

or simply start getting things done consistently!

Sign up today!

Normally $14.95 but for a limited time it is only

$9.95 a month

( That is only .30 cents a day to have peace of mind you are accomplishing your goals)

(payment button)

What are you waiting for?

P.S. Be one of the next 100 people to sign up and get started changing their lives and I will make your first 60 days only $9.95

This promotion requires a reoccurring monthly payment through PayPal.

On the day 61 you will continue with the program without having to sign up again.

However your payment will reflect the normal monthly fee of $14.95

unless canceled.

P.S.S. Remember this is a limited offer and I guarantee your satisfaction or your money back!

Here’s wishing you the very best life can offer,

Terry

The one thing I have seen through my years as a coach that horrifies me, is that the owners of service businesses become defensive and kill the value perception for their business when a perspective client balks at their pricing structure. If you are not confident in your fees how do you expect the potential client to be? When you become defensive and try to justify you have lost the battle before it has even started. You have lost to opportunity to build Value Perception for your expertise.

Here are some Don’t s when you are faced with the question “How much do you charge?”

Don’t become defensive!
Don’t justify!
Don’t make excuses!
Don’t compare and contrast between you and your competition!

Here are some Do’ s when you are faced with the question “How much do you charge?”

Do remain confident!
Do give benefits!
Do authenticate credibility!
Do use testimonials!

I’ll give you an example that recently happened to me. I got a call from a perspective new client who wanted to understand more about the benefits of coaching. She had been referred to me from someone I had met at a networking meeting. Our conversation was going quite well when I started to notice she was hesitating a bit with her questions. Realizing where she was trying to go I asked her to just ask me the question that was really on her mind. I knew this would help put her at ease and give her the confidence to ask me “How much do I charge?”

I paused for just a second before answering to allow her to refocus on our question at hand. I briefly explained my fee structure and waited for a moment to let her absorb the information. A couple of seconds went by and then she tells me that my pricing is a little high. I smiled to myself and went into my DO’ s when asked “How much do you charge?”

I did remain confident in my presentation!
I did explain to her the benefits of working with me!
I did authenticate my credibility with a ROI analysis of past and present clients!
I did use a couple of client testimonials regarding my ability to motivate them into action.

All this time I was building value perception in my services and fee structure. By the time we were getting ready to conclude our consultation she was starting to grasp the talent and ability I had to help individuals reach their full personal and business potential.
Now I stopped her and asked her to take a couple of days to think about working with me and to call on a couple of the clients I have for a reference.

I gave her the names and contact information of two of my existing clients and suggested she check back with me in day or two.

The very next day I received a call from one of the references I gave her telling me she was going to start with me next week. My existing client apparently closed the sale for me.

Taking simple steps toward answering their questions with confidence and value perception built into my consultation allowed them to now understand their ROI will be well worth it. All they have to do is take the step towards Success. It was no longer about my fees, it was about the benefit of working with me.

BTW, kind of a funny side note is that her service fees are higher than mine! And the ROI she can deliver is capped in some cases.

Remember DON’T be afraid of “How much do you CHARGE?” Tell them!

About the Author Terry Harris
Terry is the founder, owner, ceo , coo, cfo, and all around good guy of TGHarris Consulting A Business Coaching and Consulting Company. For more info on one-on-one, phone, group, or workshop coaching call 619-270-2118 or go to www.tgharris.com

It has taken you years to create the mold that has become YOU.

For the past 20, 30, 40 years through environment and life experiences you have evolved into the person you are today. Some of your personality characteristics have not always served you well. You have developed fears and limiting beliefs that keep you from doing the things you need to do or they guide you in poor decision making processes that limit your success. They effect your personal and professional life.

You may not even recognize some of them until you are faced with confronting them. These fears and limiting beliefs are controlling your Success.

To even begin to break that mold that is you, you have to ask yourself the question: Why do I act, respond, or handle my life the way I do? Why do I make bad decisions? Why am I afraid of meeting new people? and so on. Once you start asking yourself the tough questions now you must give them an answer. Believe me the answers aren’t as scary as you might think they are. Because with answers their is enlightenment, power and resolution.

When you have an answer you now have the ability to create action steps to making the behavioral changes that will serve you well.

But remember it took you 20, 30, 40 years to become the person you are today. Do not expect to change them over night. That would be unrealistic.

Now you are ready to take the actions to replace your negative behavioral patterns and turn them into positive ones.

But once again remember it took you quite some time to develop these behaviors and it will take time to replace them. Be patient, break your action down into manageable steps that allow you to see results as you work on making the changes that will make your life better.

Stay focused on the end goal!

I am always paying attention to what business owners do to promote their businesses and I continually get amazed at how many of them have a FEAR of promoting their business. What is even more amazing is how comfortable they are promoting other businesses. I will see them wearing designer shirts , hats, glasses, jackets, t-shirts and carrying around a name brand coffee mug and so on. I think you get my point.

To really make my point I want to share a story with you that recently happened to me.

I was walking by a store front of a gentleman that I have over time become quite familiar with. He owns a franchise business that is fairly new to our area. Over a period of time he has asked me for some advice on promoting his business. I have given him about three ideas that would give him great exposure to his target market and would cost him virtually nothing but he has never acted on them. Anyway back to my story. This gentleman always has a cold coffee drink every time I see him, so I commented how he must love coffee. He then proceeded to give me a 15 minute commercial on Costco’s Kirkland brand coffee and how much better and cheaper it was versus’ Starbucks. As I listened to him endorse this coffee brand I kept thinking how I wished he would do the same type of endorsement for his own business.

You see he had never followed up with the promotional ideas I gave him because he was too EMBARRASSED to let the organizations I had referred him to know he was soliciting their help in the marketing for his own business.

Why are we so comfortable PROMOTING someone else’s business and so EMBARRASSED to PROMOTE our own?

In today’s economy SELF PROMOTION is not SHAMELESS it is SURVIVAL!

Please tell me your Self Promotion Story.

Terry

The Business Coach

I was talking with a client a while back and we were discussing her lack of follow through with her marketing efforts. I started to see a reoccurring theme with our discussions. She would start on a new marketing project, get it going and start to see some business from it. Then she would stop following up with it and move on to next Big Idea. This was happening over and over again.

I finally asked her why she kept starting and stopping her marketing efforts. She replied “I don’t know”. I looked straight at her and asked, do you have a Fear of Failure or Success? Fear of Failure or Success! Which one is it?

If you look at her track record it is clear that she does not have a Fear of Failure but a Fear of Success. Why do I say that? Because she comes up with a great marketing idea, acts on it, gets some positive results and moves on.

If you find yourself doing the same thing, ask yourself the question. Do I have a Fear of Failure or do I have a Fear of Success? Now here is the real trick, you have to give yourself an answer.

Do I have a Fear of Failure or Do I have a Fear of Success?

As the economy and job market fluctuate, many companies have embraced a leaner approach to business, laying off or dismissing thousands of employees.  Or, maybe you find yourself on the wrong end of a divorce, inventorying your resources and coming up short.  Whatever the cause, this juncture is where many people make the decision to go from employee to small business owner.  For the purpose of this narrative, we’ll call these people “impulse owners.”

The problem with small business is that for most small business owners, the creation of their business enterprise was more of an afterthought than intelligent design.  They are unhappy with their current salary/finances/situation, and use these feelings as justification for leaping head first into business ownership.  Although they might have the talent/ability to successfully manage a business, these impulse owners have not done the research necessary to give the venture a fighting chance.

Many employees confuse expertise in their field for sound business know-how.  However, if we compare the ideal business owner to the impulse owner, the differences between the two become glaringly obvious.  For example, the ideal owner has a plan for his business.  Not an official, SBA-approved business plan perhaps, but an idea of his goals for the enterprise.  He has a good concept of his business model, knows what type of capital he needs, and has some form of marketing strategy.  Now, compare this to the impulse owner.  He created his business because he needed a source of income and he has not allotted much time to research or conceptualize the fundamentals of his business.  He has no awareness of his market, has no idea which type of business entity to create, and no real understanding of what he wants to do with his business.  In short, he has all the ingredients for failure.  The fact that most owners don’t grasp is that they are not failing because of a poor business concept necessarily, but because of poor execution.

In order to create a successful small business, an owner needs to understand their plans for the business’ future.  Think of making a cross-country road trip without a map—if you drive long enough, you’ll end up somewhere, but it might not be where you had intended (or desired!).  Unfortunately, this is how many small business owners start.  However, what many fail to realize is that you don’t have to attempt this undertaking alone–there are numerous resources at your disposal.

Business coaches/consultants are one example.  A business coach provides 1-on-1 interaction in order to identify the weakest points of your business.  They’ll discuss your plans for the business and what you’re looking to get out of ownership.  Is this a passion or merely a source of income?  How much time and effort are you looking to invest in its operation?  Once you have identified your goals, a business coach can devise an action plan for shoring up those weaknesses that are most detrimental to your business.  Most importantly, a coach can hold you accountable!  By establishing priorities and specific goals, you can take drastic steps to improve the quality of your business.  Business coaches provide very direct, specific coaching and can usually be retained on both a project and monthly basis.

Another resource lies with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).  SCORE is a volunteer organization that has access to literally thousands of former business owners and corporate executives.  While the advice/mentorship they provide is significantly more generic than what a business coach/consultant can provide, their assistance can still have a positive effect on your business.  They can help you answer questions concerning a variety of topics, like how to file taxes, how to secure financing, and how to plan out the stages of your business.  Although they will not actually walk you through how to implement their suggestions, they are a good resource nonetheless.

Finally, there are also numerous articles pertaining to the creation and operation of a small business.  Many of these articles can be found on SCORE’s website and on the Small Business Administration’s website (www.sba.gov).  There is a wealth of knowledge contained within these libraries, and even if you decide to employ a coach or mentor, every small business owner should take a glance.  Although this method is time-consuming and would best be served as a supplement to a coaching agreement, the information contained in these online libraries is invaluable.

While most small business owners might have started out with very little actual knowledge about how to run a business, there’s no reason to remain uninformed.  There is a wealth of resources available that can help transform a struggling enterprise into a successful venture.  But please, don’t wait until the situation has turned desperate or impossible before you begin looking for help.  Remember, just because you’re new to business, doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.

Article written by James Sly, Business Coach TG Harris Consulting. A full service coaching and consulting firm. For more information regarding products and services visit www.tgharris.com or call 619-272-9337.