Large Confusion in Business is Not Good For Small Business

Beyond answering the Why are you in business, there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace. This confusion keeps a lot of small business owners just scrambling to stay alive by just barely achieving their goal to meet or increase sales.

Years ago when I first established my consulting practice, I had the opportunity to listen to several gentlemen who shared their wisdom with me and continue to do so. They have become my friends, mentors and coaches. Their willingness to share has kept me focused and is part of the reason why I am still a small business owner some 10 years later.

The first wisdom came from Doug Brown. He said "People confuse motion with progress and activity with results."

How many small business owners do you know that are running from business networking event to business networking event and still complaining about their inability to increase sales? Another one of Doug's gems is that "We drive by more business than we will ever have." If you are confused about your small business results, maybe you need to stop your car and work on your sales skills.

Doug has several associates and one of them is Michael Sleppin. This kind and incredibly funny gentleman has invaluable business experience. Michael said that "in business you must have a Sherwood Forest large enough for you to hunt and small enough for you to defend." His statement does remove the confusion about marketing action plans and selling action p

ans. His sage words specifically address why you must have a niche market.

Another individual is David Herdlinger. During one of his high tech keynotes (he used a flip chart), David said "If you are telling, you ain't selling." In spite of the poor grammar, I no longer have confusion about sales skills and what it means to be an effective sales professional.

Thanks to George Lisenbe, I am no longer confused about when to stop calling prospects. He told me that "you stop calling when they tell you to go to Hades."

Finally, there is Ray Overdorff. Imagine for a moment, Mr. Clean. This is Ray minus the earring. His business savvy is impressive. Rays strength is the ability to help others separate their confusion by asking some of the simplest questions imaginable. Way before Dr. Phil, Ray was asking "How is that working for you?"

Small business success and professional success is about focus and learning how to remove the confusion in your life. The greater clarity that you have along with the ability to crystallize your thoughts will only enhance your capability to achieve those desired small business goals and results.

Small Business Coaching Tip: Seek to determine where there is confusion in your small business from "Why don't my customers buy from me more?" to "What do I need to do to grow my business or myself?" If you cannot find the answers by yourself, then buy a lot of books, talk to a friend, find a mentor or even hire a business coach.

Take this free sales skills assessment to help you increase sales.

Is your business facing inconsistent or insufficient cash flow, lackluster sales to poor productivity? Maybe some exercise at the sales coaching training gym will get you to where you want to go?

Leanne Hoagland-Smith helps small business owners to C Level executives from Chicago to Indianapolis to worldwide who are truly tired of struggling to unlock the results that they want. Call 219.759.5601 to schedule a free business coaching or sales coaching strategy session to begin to quickly unlock tomorrow's solutions today.