Laura Steward Atchison's Blog, page 37

Peer Groups for Success and Faith in the Workplace. Do they work?

You can’t do it alone. No one can. The most successful entrepreneurs will tell you they surrounded themselves by people who round out their skills and are smarter then them in their respective areas. But how do you find those people? Peers who will not yes you to death. Peers who are willing to share their “secret sauce” to growing a business. We’ve all heard about Mastermind and Peer and Networking groups and you may have even joined one along the way. How do you select the right group, make the most of the accountability factor and ensure that the data you receive is accurate?

My guest today is Arlin Sorensen, Founder of the HTG Peer Groups and CEO of Heartland Technology Systems (recently sold) of which I was a member when I owned my I.T. company. Arlin and I are going to talk about how peer groups can help your business and your life grow. We are also going to speak about a topic that too often brings up fear and anxiety or the thought, “We can’t bring that up. HR says we can’t.” Yes, we are going to talk about Faith in the Workplace.

Arlin has a popular blog and morning list that blends his many worlds and he boldly brings his faith to such events as the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference and other tech industry events. He leads with his faith. Arlin is going to share with us his insights on how he balances his faith in his daily routine with the needs of his multi-million dollar companies.

Join us March 19, 2014 at 5PM Eastern on the All Business Radio Network for this week’s edition of Entrepreneur Master Class.

With 29 years in the IT industry as an MSP and business visionary, Arlin serves as the CEO and Founder of the Heartland Companies which includes HTG Peer Groups, a peer group organization serving about 300 members in the IT space and 30 in the Precision Agriculture space; the Heartland Leadership Group, designed to offer coaching, consulting and content to help business owners achieve their desired growth and legacy; and HTS Ag, a precision agriculture company.  Arlin also serves as a strategic advisor to Varvid, a digital multimedia company.  When he is not traveling to speak and consult, Arlin loves to be home on his farm in Iowa with his wife Nancy.  He is a proud “Pop” to their four precious grandchildren who serve as daily reminders of why he is intentionally living so as to leave a strong legacy of faith and integrity

Entrepreneur Master Class – To Email or Not to Email. That is the Question -Larry Hedin

Did you guess this show is about email marketing? Or did you think it was a spoof of Hamlet? The first thing that comes to mind for me is email marketing is less expensive than physical mailings. You could spend over $400 on a postcard campaign to only 500 or so recipients, or you could spend a single hour creating and sending the same announcement via an email to thousands of recipients, for a fourth or less of the postcard cost. But if you don’t do it right, you may be wasting your time.

Join me as I speak with Larry Hedin, a 27 year marketing veteran and successful entrpreneur who is known for his innovative sales and marketing strategies. If you are doing email marketing today or are just thinking about starting, you won’t want to miss this show.

 

 

Larry Hedin is Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Heartland Technology Solutions (HTS).  HTS is a regional IT Solution Provider with 7 locations across the Midwest. Larry has served as a member of the Compaq Reseller Advisory Council, President of Ingram Micro’s VTN Heartland Chapter, Facilitator for HTG Peer Groups, member of Ingram/VTN Advisory Council and is currently serving as Facilitator for the Ingram/VTN Connect Sales Management Peer Group. Larry has been involved in the technology industry for over 27 years and is widely known for his innovative sales and marketing practices.

Entrepreneur Master Class – Four Strategies to Become a Sales Magnet

Cold calling. Even the name brings shivers to the best sales people. I never understood the need for it. The number of rejections to the number of sales was always higher than I thought made financial success. So then how do you get new clients to come to you? You become a sales magnet! You attract new business through the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly actions you take to make yourself attractive to them.

Today’s guest has literally written the book on how to become a sales magnet and she has been one of my personal advisors for close to a decade now. Time sure flys! If you want to learn proven strategies to drive customers to you, join us on Entrepreneur Master Class on Wednesday, March 5th at 5pm eastern time as Kendra Lee tells us 4 Strategies to become a sales magnet in your business. 

Named one of the Top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencers by Top Sales World, Top 25 Influential Leaders in Sales by OpenView Partners, and Faculty Chair in Prospecting and Lead Generation for the Sales Training Institute, Kendra Lee is owner-president of KLA Group, a world-class sales consulting and training firm, and she is author of the award-winning books The Sales Magnet and Selling Against the Goal.

Ms. Lee, once a repeat IBM Golden Circle award winner, is a prospecting prodigy and virtual sales magnet who advises and trains mid-market companies to generate leads, prospect, and sell to mid-market companies in innovative ways that break through common sales and prospecting barriers.

Get the book, The Sales Magnet at www.thesalesmagnet.com or on Amazon.com

Website: www.klagroup.com  Call her at 303-741-6636       Twitter @KendraLeeKLA

 

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Interview with Noah St. John

I love Noah St. John and his latest book, The Book Of Afformations is one of my new favorites. In less than 5 minutes a day you can ask yourself new questions that will make a big difference in how your life moves forward. Since I am all about the questions, you can imagine why this interview was so much fun for me.

Post your comments below this video and let Noah and I know what you think. Noah will be checking out your comments as well and answering questions if you post them. You can also grab some free resources and bonuses at www.afformationsbook.com.

 

Enjoy!

Reflections on Turning 50

 

 

Are you being arbitrary?

I recently was doing some business and couldn’t understand why all of a sudden there was a line in the sand around one critical item. What I mean by line in the sand is a sort of artificial wall that exists for no reason other than the other party has decided they don’t want to negotiate or converse anymore and they will not allow you to move past the line without argument. Have you ever had this happen to you during business or life discussions?

In this particular case we had contracts around everything and I knew there was nothing in the contract that set a limit around what we were working on. It made no sense and felt arbitrary to me.  It did get me thinking though about where in my life and business I may be being arbitrary.

Dictionary.com defines arbitrary as, “subject to individual will or judgment without restriction;contingent solely upon one’s discretion”. I encourage you to look at how you are living your life and running your business. If you seem to be making decisions based solely on your discretion, consider why that is. Look at the results of those decisions and then ask yourself, if I did not draw the line in the sand where I did, what result could have been achieved?

If you can see a more powerful result by erasing that line and revisiting the situation to get a better result, I recommend you reopen the door and invite a new result in. You might be pleasantly surprised at how business and relationships will change just by admitting you were being arbitrary.

In the situation I was telling you about, we eventually worked it out but not without unnecessary delays, hard feelings and even some loss of respect on my part for the other person and company involved. If you are involved with a similar business dealing, consider calling the other person out on it in a non-confrontational way, and see if you can both erase that line.

What do you think? If this post made you think, please SHARE it on and comment below as well.

 

Is it Just Business? Part 1

“It’s not personal, it’s just business.” Have you ever used that line or had it used on you? I have used it and been on the receiving end once or twice and I have to say, it is personal. The first time I heard it come out of my own mouth was in the heat of an angry moment with an employee years ago and the look on his face made me realize in that instant that it truly was personal for him.

I have thought about that phrase for many years and I still don’t understand how it came about. How can anything we do in business not be personal to someone? Yes, the decisions we make as business owners and managers are ones we need to make to keep the business viable but we also need to recognize that every decision we make affects someone, directly or indirectly. That does not mean we should not make the hard decision but it does mean we need to keep the human element in mind and clean up our messes. Or better yet, not make a mess.

As business owners we have to make tough, hard choices every day. What I’ve learned is that communication about the business reasons why choices and decisions are being made goes a long way to minimize the personal problems that arise. People may not agree with what you are doing but they will, on some level, get it. It may take them a bit though but remember how you felt the last time you felt “blindsided” by a decision.

Living in Florida the whole Digital Domain bankruptcy sticks out as prime example of the whole lack of communication it’s just business scenario. It is coming out how management knew they could not sustain the business but they kept hiring people, accepting new projects and then, one day, the doors closed and vendors and employees are in shock and without money owed to them.

I am not saying that this is your business or your situation. I use it as an extreme example of be in integrity with your business and your communications and you can minimize, or in some cases, eliminate the personal conflicts. Part 2 of this series will look at the questions to ask yourself and others as you make choices using Digital Domain and some other corporate snafus as examples.

What do you think about this post? Have you ever been on the receiving or delivering end of its just business? How did you handle it? Would you do anything differently? Do you agree with me or disagree? Let me know. Post your comments below. Feel free to share this and let’s get a conversation going.

Big Mo Has a Plan. What’s Yours?

It was 4:15am Pacific Time as I walked out of the hotel to catch my car service to the airport for my flight home. I had only gotten to sleep around midnight so I was still a bit sleepy. Not so my driver Mo. His energy, courtesy and smile welcomed me as he opened the door so I could enter the car. I was curious about this man who demonstrated all the qualities of exceptional customer service.

His dress, manner and speech were impeccable as was his car. Of course I had to ask what his story was. That was when I discovered Big Mo had a plan. Nine months ago he was laid off from Cisco at 51. After a month he was told to start collecting unemployment.

“That didn’t work for me,” he said. He felt that as long as his body and mind were able he needed to find a way to get back to work. Instead of just trying all the traditional methods of searching for a job he took a more creative approach.

He figured out which car service had the biggest share of clients in Silicon Valley that were decision makers and promptly got hired. Big Mo believes that every passenger is a potential employer or connection to an employer so he uses the drive to tell his story and show his work ethic, creativity and ability to communicate.

He has received three job offers so far from some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley but Big Mo is looking to help a smaller firm grow. What do you think about Mo’s unique job search process? Got any others? Let’s get a conversation going and see how many creative job seeking methods there are out there.  Maybe we can help someone find a job by showing them some different ways to seek! Let me know what has worked for you!