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Sep 12, 2017 The very compelling need to establish new streams of revenue can often force companies to dedicate their manpower to table fresh ideas for products that can achieve the same, and the unearthing of these potential goldmines is an irreplaceable part of keeping a business afloat. Thus, here are some tips to foster new products and inventions suited to your firm's requirements. Of course, creating a work environment or, even better, a comprehensive and well thought out work culture dedicated to creativity and encouraging of new ideas can go a long way to aid this procedure, while some fabled methods of formulating ideas such as the brainstorming sessions involving entire company workforces that have gained notoriety in the past few decades with the rise of technological behemoths the likes of Apple too are of a great help. A thorough rundown of company statistics and analytics too can throw up a myriad of previously unknown facets of the firm's dealings, while shedding light on essential consumer buying patterns and their preferences. Such data driven information can then aid the particular firm in question to shape forthcoming products directly based on these numbers, and cater more specifically toward a particular crowd, be it their small, but loyal group of customers obviously willing to spend exorbitant amounts on their products if the quality is present, or the larger audience that will be attracted by typical mass market goods and offer little in the way of forging brand loyalty. A similar point is truly exploring the financial sector the firm exists within and its possibilities. A critically charged evaluation of competing brands and the products and services they offer can aid the firm in innovating products that might not be found with any of their competitors, while reflecting upon consumer feedback and complaints regarding a particular line of products perhaps offered by multiple brands can let them fill in the gaps and add the modifications the public might desire. Of course, the entire evaluation method hinges upon the philosophy of necessity being the mother of invention, and keeping this in mind can go a long way in identifying well and truly what a firm's target audience lacks in their daily lives, and birth products toward servicing the same that will most probably have been ignored elsewhere. Another alternative is to simply fund third-party ideas, with the practical application of the same being seen in the exorbitant scholarship funds birthed by large, mostly technological multinationals for students in esteemed engineering institutions the likes of MIT, securing a host of ideas from potential entrepreneurs for little cost except the initial investment toward the fund and keeping their own employees busy with company work, doing away with the distraction a period of coming up with ideas might become in a more traditional firm. Lastly, a majority of this procedure is concerned with enabling all sorts of ideas to be tabled and considered with serious thought before being disregarded, and keeping record of each spectre of innovation that might pop up in one's mind is of great importance. It must also be noted that not all great ideas might be fleshed out completely at their first thought, and its simply allowing a very basic premise to grow and be added consistently toward to formulate a proper product that works most of the time for the largest amount of people, making it essential for budding entrepreneurs or those brainstorming for their firms to not get discouraged. Of course, ideas and inventions alike are the products of creativity, and any institution or individual that can sufficiently allow the same to prosper will undoubtedly never be at a loss for innovation.

Sep 11, 2017 Hi there, this is your brain speaking. Just wondering what thinking mode you are operating in today? Seems simple, but it’s important to know what’s going on up there. Here’s why: Success in today’s hyper-competitive global economy depends on what’s happening upstairs in that frontal lobe of your brain where problem-solving, creativity and other cognitive functions take place. Our research with thousands of managers and individual contributors throughout North America and in 48 countries suggests that we need three to four times as many ideas every day to perform at peak levels in our work. Anything less than a constant flow of ideas won’t be sufficient as we enter a future of constant change. Fortunately, doing a quick, unannounced spot check on your thinking mode couldn’t be easier. Use the list below to identify which of the four dominant thinking modes you are operating in right now.

Sep 10, 2017 Here’s a strategy that has catapulted even the smallest of companies into super growth mode. In this special report , you will learn :- No matter how small your company is, you can hire a sales force that can catapult company growth like you've never imagined. (One company that took this advice grew 500% in two years.) No matter how large your company is, you're probably using the wrong criteria for hiring salespeople. How to attract star talent to your organization. How to learn their weaknesses before you hire them. (Most companies have to hire a salesperson to find out all the problems he or she is going to have; we'll show you how to get rid of the lightweights in just five minutes) I've helped one-person armies who were struggling to rethink their models for hiring sales staff, and suddenly they were sold out. But I've also helped multibillion-dollar companies understand the unique psychological profile of top producers and why they should hire based on psychological profile rather than background. The type of person I'm talking about is someone you can put in a bad situation with poor tools, no training, and bad resources, and still, within a few months, he or she begins to outsell your best salespeople or build your company in ways you never dreamed possible. Two things drive the superstar, and they are both critical and work together perfectly when you can find them: empathy and self-esteem (a strong sense of self). Empathy: Top producers need to bond with others to find something likable about every person. This is a wonderful trait to find in a salesperson. A salesperson with this quality just keeps going at the client from every which way, trying to find more and more ways to serve and please that client. Empathy is a key trait, and part of your interview process must be specifically designed to identify empathy in candidates. Self-esteem: Make no mistake; great sales results come from people with super-strong self-esteem. Only a person with an extra dose of self-esteem barrels into a client eight times after the client has said "no." People with weak self-esteem go away after a single rejection. People with weak self-esteem fear rejection and therefore never actually close sales. Studies show that 52% of salespeople give up after only one rejection. Only 4% will try more than four times. Yet today it takes 8.4 rejections to get a meeting. And what makes the difference between someone who will face that rejection one time and quit or 40 times and never quit is purely personal (self-esteem). Yes, you can train some people to go back again and again, and I've got training programs that do that. But you can also hire someone who, without ever being asked or trained, is built that way. These people will have way more heart when it comes to getting the sale made. Another aspect of strong self-esteem is personal ambition. Don't you love it when you hire someone who innovates, expanding upon and improving every single task you assign to him or her? This self-esteem and need to please can make these people seem overly eager to please in a job interview . They may even come on too strong. Don't let a little bravado put you off; it is the quintessential ingredient in every superstar.

Sep 9, 2017 Managing is often equated with controls rather than leading and developing a business. The manager feels more comfortable and secure when they are able to put in strict controls on everything that happens in a business organization. This is so especially of Senior Managements where the controls and directing becomes so severe that it erodes any creative freedom for the middle managers to work towards achieving the goals set out for them. Here are a few simple prescriptions to get the best out of your managers. Avoid Centralizing Decision Making :- This is perhaps one of the best ways to achieve totals control. You feel by centralizing decision making you will be able to avoid wrong decisions. While this may be so to some extent who is to prevent your own wrong decisions. Unless your managers are able to make mistakes and learn from them you will never be able to develop expertise through experience. Centralizing decision making is also the surest method to kill your business growth. Provide Working Space :- The top management often entrust tasks and responsibilities to their subordinate managers. More often than not any specific time frames which are comfortable to achieve the given responsibilities or tasks are discussed. However in their anxiety or aggressiveness and sometimes over enthusiasm you start chasing your subordinate for action and results. If you do it too soon and too often you are severely limited the working space of your managers. They may be spending more time in complying with your commands rather than focusing on operational priorities and important tasks. If you are not providing sufficient working space for your managers you are surely heading towards disaster as important tasks may be getting neglected to escape from your frequent and aggressive follow ups. Listen to Your Managers :- While experience is an asset it also makes one arrogant and conceited. Sometimes one tends to believe because he is the superior, he always right. The Boss Is Always Right principle looks good only on posters. It doesn’t work if you want to build a Professional organization. Cultivate the ability to listen to the voice of your managers. Most times they know better as they are more familiar with the ground realities. If you decide on their behalf and just issue orders, you will have clerks in the guise of managers as you have killed their initiative. Don’t Get Into the Nitty Gritties :- Once broad goals and objectives are set with specific time frames and key results are outlined leave your managers to perform. If you get into too many details and meddle with the execution at every stage, you may be sure to mess up the entire process and ultimately the results. The key to managing effectively is to empower people across the management structure so that they feel part of the responsibility and ownership.

Sep 8, 2017 One of the keys to being a successful Internet Entrepreneur is choosing a niche. One of the challenges of the World Wide Web is its expansive reach and versatile nature. As the old joke goes, the best thing about the Web is that you can do virtually anything , the worst thing about the Web is that you can do virtually anything. Pick a starting point that you're interested in and stick with it until you are successful or you have established that you idea is not as profitable as you originally thought. Okay, when you begin to market, where do you start? You know you don't want to compete with some of the large companies on the Net. However there are great opportunities for small and nimble operators. Analyze what you are selling or what you want to sell. It should be in an area that you know a lot about or want of learn about. It may have wide appeal, but think of those it appeals to most. For example, does your product appeal to musicians? That's a pretty wide market. Narrow it down. Who is most likely to be interested, singers or instrumentalists? From there you might want or need to narrow it even further. For example, your product might appeal to musicians of a certain age, or musicians who favor a certain kind of music or even a particular singer. After narrowing it down as far as you can, think of appropriate keywords. Check with Google to see how many sites come up using these keyword . Next use a site that tracks keyword usage (such as Word Tracker or Overture) to see if there are plenty of users looking for that information. If there are enough potential customers and the competition is low, you may have found your niche. After you have chosen your niche, try to use it in your Website title. This can help your Website ranking. Another tool for choosing a niche is to study the competition and find out how to make your site unique. Choosing a niche will help your Website stand out. Find one with plenty of potential customers and little competition and you have a very good chance of watching your business grow.

Sep 6, 2017 Ideas are the fuel that often empowers a firm to remain afloat even when a plethora of problems hampers their growth and threatens their very existence, and the generation of the rare ideas that are capable of being branded "great” ranks high atop any company's priorities. Yet, it's this procedure that most firms fail to grasp, and here a few tips as to how a company can enable the idea churning machinery to keep going. One of the more important parts to unlocking a pandora's box of fresh ideas is keeping one's horizons open, a responsibility whose crux lies entirely with senior employees. Of course, conversations about the future of a firm that are confined to a select group of employees can rarely produce results and are bound to get more repetitive and unproductive on each occasion that they come together to bear fruit, and it's essential as such that company officials enable outsider opinion of their firm's inner workings to reach everyone's ears, or, at the very least, hear it for themselves and act upon the advice received accordingly. Even more easier is the simple measure of conversing with employees and executives from other brands in the same industry, allowing a myriad of newer opinions and ideas to enter their mind-frame while keeping them aware of the happenings within their particular financial sector, a seemingly obvious exercise many firms even today can fail to conduct efficiently. Further, establishing an effective communication medium between every employee in the company can not only provide the obvious benefit of inter-personal communication, but enable higher ranked executives to get an idea of employee sentiment and plan accordingly, while the new perception such an undertaking can grant officials of their own firm as to its future direction too can go a long way toward generating newer, inspired ideas. Modern open-door policies, while not exactly achieving the idea stated above, are great methods of generating ideas for they establish direct lines of communication between those who normally come up with the most brilliant of ideas, the employees, and the only ones capable of enacting them as company law, the senior executives. Brainstorming sessions too are becoming a norm in most technological behemoths around the world given their already liberal corporate nature, but for more traditional firms, they can be harder to bring about. For one, not everything discussed within such a session is of an overtly positive nature, and brainstorming around the company's current state of affairs can often bring more uncomfortable numbers and realities to the forefront, democratically handling which in the presence of employees and executives alike requires a firm with comprehensive mutual understanding. But for those firms that are of such a nature, brainstorming sessions can lubricate the entirety of a workforce's mental flow and the involvement of almost all the firm's various departments can start a process of producing ideas not only immediately beneficial to employees working in every one of them, but to the very company's direction itself. Lastly, observation is perhaps the greatest method to understand one's customers. Even the firms engaging in the most impersonal services unconcerned with too much customer interaction, the same is required of almost every single corporation on the planet, and ideas specifically tailored towards them are the pillars of success. As such, formulating them necessitates observation, be it through a pure number-centric approach analyzing client behavior or actual encouragement for employees to observe how their customers feel about the brand, this process is important to birthing great ideas for almost every department in a firm. But bringing the elements here together is an objective task unto itself, and one than can only be achieved by a leader at the helm of a firm. Executives don an important role here too, for identifying and elevating such a visionary individual capable of routing the entire firm to think of newer ideas on a constant basis, and then motivating them to keep doing the same in regularity is undeniably important and doing such can not only provide a plethora of employees with a leader they've already considered as theirs prior to institutional backing, but also further incentive to think differently. As mentioned in the second paragraph itself, keeping one's horizons open, mentally and physically when coming to company executives, is essential to breaking the monotony of habitual discussions and bring about a host of new ideas that can take a firm to greater heights, and employing even one of the methods listed here satisfactorily can push your company toward the same and maybe aspire toward more, because perceiving such a future too is an idea unto itself.

Sep 5, 2017 The perception of a venture's failure as an end to one's career is certainly an outdated one, a fact bearing testimony to such being that no entrepreneur of repute today has managed to satisfactorily avoid the grasp of failure through the course of their career, and most succeed in emerging over the phase of depression it can bring about through one, very simple realisation - it doesn't define you. Failure is, if anything, an invaluable learning process that's almost guaranteed to grace the path of a successful entrepreneur at one point or the other given the lack of financial security provided by sectors most today are vying to establish themselves within. An entrepreneur who is conscious of the above and perceives the struggle to emerge over a failure as an inevitable one is better placed than most to plan forthcoming successes, as such a realisation, for one, allows one to not blame themselves for their venture's demise. Treading for great periods of time over one's failure and treating it as a shortcoming in their overall character, or perhaps an evident sign of some weakness as an entrepreneur, can only hamper the process of returning toward normality, nor does it provide any sort of optimistic teaching or learning experience. Self-deprecation is, as many fabled leaders can attest to, an endless cycle that harbours the potential to completely obliterate even the forthcoming events in one's career, and an unarguably better alternative is, instead, reflection. A teaching evident from the ways reputed entrepreneurs emerge from failures is that, although not treading upon failure is perhaps the best path to take, buckling down and reflecting upon it, to extract even the menial ounces of knowledge it might contain for averting from such mistakes in the future, too is of great importance. Figuring out what went wrong with a seemingly smooth sailing venture, or why a constantly declining one couldn't be rescued despite obvious signs of nearing rock bottom can only be achieved by ample introspection upon the particular entrepreneur's actions, though this is, of course, made tough by the myriad of negative emotions one might attach to their past venture, thus requiring even greater mental strength to focus on the positive aspects. Moving on, thus, simple as it may sound, is the hardest task an entrepreneur has to perform in the aftermath of the failure of something they poured months, perhaps even years, of effort into. Of course, one can't help but think about the negative facets of the past if the only thing their surrounding environment enables them to do is the same, and considering how the failure of their venture pits them against unemployment and perhaps even a shortage of monetary resources for the near future, entrepreneurs would be well-advised to seek pastures away from home and even employ the skills in their arsenals to secure a stream of income. Advisory roles at firms for those with the necessary experience are aplenty today, and an entrepreneur who sufficiently understands the factors that brought about the demise of their own venture can find another platform to benefit from their introspection at such a juncture. Taking up such roles also enables entrepreneurs to efficiently fill the void that might exist while they, if their process of recovery is going right, seek to establish new ventures, bringing us to another point, that entrepreneurs MUST move on from their failures, be it jumping on-board with another firm or an infant venture which they helm themselves, an immediate fresh start squanders the possibility of any entrepreneur treating their failure as a final nail in the coffin, a decision many young entrepreneurs can often arrive at due lacking motivation or encouragement, both of which require not only cognizance of the above stated points, but a good support system. A bulk of the recovery process concerns itself with banishing the remnants of any sort of negativity that might exist around a professional finding a way to return to their own feet, and such a task can only be accomplished in the presence of loved ones or, at least, those who believe in an entrepreneur's vision. Leaders of the past have urged vying professionals at a multitude of occasions to not perceive the need for affection or the like from family and friends as a sign of weakness, but part of human nature and an irreplaceable facet of finding one's path again after witnessing the downfall of their venture. Now more than ever, with the "start-up" becoming the primary objective of many vying entrepreneur's careers, failed ventures are to become a commonplace occurrence in even the most diverse industries. As such, teachings from corporate behemoths from the past such as those listed above and found at every bookshelf in the world are to don even greater value than they ever have, and educating future entrepreneurs upon them and terms such as perseverance can save us a generation of unmotivated leaders.

Sep 4, 2017 Managing is often equated with controls rather than leading and developing a business. The manager feels more comfortable and secure when they are able to put in strict controls on everything that happens in a business organization. This is so especially of Senior Managements where the controls and directing becomes so severe that it erodes any creative freedom for the middle managers to work towards achieving the goals set out for them. Here are a few simple prescriptions to get the best out of your managers. Avoid Centralizing Decision Making :- This is perhaps one of the best ways to achieve totals control. You feel by centralizing decision making you will be able to avoid wrong decisions. While this may be so to some extent who is to prevent your own wrong decisions. Unless your managers are able to make mistakes and learn from them you will never be able to develop expertise through experience. Centralizing decision making is also the surest method to kill your business growth. Provide Working Space :- The top management often entrust tasks and responsibilities to their subordinate managers. More often than not any specific time frames which are comfortable to achieve the given responsibilities or tasks are discussed. However in their anxiety or aggressiveness and sometimes over enthusiasm you start chasing your subordinate for action and results. If you do it too soon and too often you are severely limited the working space of your managers. They may be spending more time in complying with your commands rather than focusing on operational priorities and important tasks. If you are not providing sufficient working space for your managers you are surely heading towards disaster as important tasks may be getting neglected to escape from your frequent and aggressive follow ups. Listen to Your Managers :- While experience is an asset it also makes one arrogant and conceited. Sometimes one tends to believe because he is the superior, he always right. The Boss Is Always Right principle looks good only on posters. It doesn’t work if you want to build a Professional organization. Cultivate the ability to listen to the voice of your managers. Most times they know better as they are more familiar with the ground realities. If you decide on their behalf and just issue orders, you will have clerks in the guise of managers as you have killed their initiative. Don’t Get Into the Nitty Gritties :- Once broad goals and objectives are set with specific time frames and key results are outlined leave your managers to perform. If you get into too many details and meddle with the execution at every stage, you may be sure to mess up the entire process and ultimately the results. The key to managing effectively is to empower people across the management structure so that they feel part of the responsibility and ownership.

Sep 3, 2017 One of the keys to being a successful Internet Entrepreneur is choosing a niche. One of the challenges of the World Wide Web is its expansive reach and versatile nature. As the old joke goes, the best thing about the Web is that you can do virtually anything , the worst thing about the Web is that you can do virtually anything. Pick a starting point that you're interested in and stick with it until you are successful or you have established that you idea is not as profitable as you originally thought. Okay, when you begin to market, where do you start? You know you don't want to compete with some of the large companies on the Net. However there are great opportunities for small and nimble operators. Analyze what you are selling or what you want to sell. It should be in an area that you know a lot about or want of learn about. It may have wide appeal, but think of those it appeals to most. For example, does your product appeal to musicians? That's a pretty wide market. Narrow it down. Who is most likely to be interested, singers or instrumentalists? From there you might want or need to narrow it even further. For example, your product might appeal to musicians of a certain age, or musicians who favor a certain kind of music or even a particular singer. After narrowing it down as far as you can, think of appropriate keywords. Check with Google to see how many sites come up using these keyword . Next use a site that tracks keyword usage (such as Word Tracker or Overture) to see if there are plenty of users looking for that information. If there are enough potential customers and the competition is low, you may have found your niche. After you have chosen your niche, try to use it in your Website title. This can help your Website ranking. Another tool for choosing a niche is to study the competition and find out how to make your site unique. Choosing a niche will help your Website stand out. Find one with plenty of potential customers and little competition and you have a very good chance of watching your business grow.

Sep 2, 2017 Just imagine . You have walked out of a shop or put down the phone after purchasing something and your immediate reaction is “WOW!”. How do you feel? Excited; satisfied; fulfilled – eager to return and buy again? Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your customers to feel the same way about dealing with you? Lots of small business owners (and not so small!) seem to think that the customer is merely an interference. But how can you get your customers all pumped up and ready to do business with you again? I’ll share some tips on exactly how you can get a ‘Wow!” response and show how it can positively impact your bottom line. Get promising :- These days too many businesses seem reluctant to commit to anything. As a result, you walk away with a nagging doubt that nothing is going to happen and so the whole experience is not pleasant. What a refreshing change to get a business that provides a firm promise on dates and times or opening hours. Can you provide a clear promise to your customers? Have a think about each aspect of your business and highlight all your ‘promisables’ in your sales and marketing stuff. One great tip – under promise and over deliver. Promise delivery in 7 days, knowing you can do it in 3 days. When the goods arrived 4 days before expected, that’s a ‘Wow’ factor if ever there was one! Important point – if you can’t deliver it, don’t promise it! Be a Tigger :- Remember Tigger from Winnie the Pooh? He’s all over the place; bouncing up and down with endless energy and enthusiasm. He just leaves his friends breathless! What a great person to be with and do business with. Are you enthusiastic when you speak and deal with your customers? Are your staff brimming with enthusiasm? If you can’t project an image which says “I’m happy to be here”, how can you expect your customers to feel different? So, have a Tigger day every day! First impressions:- If you have a shop or office where customers visit you, what do your premises say about your business? Is it modern, fresh-looking, clean and tidy? Or is it worn, tired and generally looking run down? Like it or not, customers will judge you on what they see. They may say ‘Wow’ but for all the wrong reasons! A pot of paint and a splash of colour can make all the difference and it doesn’t have to cost the earth. Be a problem solver :- Despite all businesses believing they have great customer service, the fact is that the majority don’t. The main reason is that when people complain, most feel that they have not been listened to and their problem has not been solved. Be a solver of problems – quickly and efficiently. A motto – ‘Resolve to solve’. Be their friend :- I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for business owners who take their time to know me and recognize me when I next call or visit! The bond and the desire to do more business with those types of entrepreneurs, is strong for me. Do you take time to build a relationship with all your key clients? Do you go out of your way to greet them when they next do business? As the saying goes, aim to turn strangers into friends and friends in to customers.

Sep 1, 2017 Is your company really serious about customer service?? When it comes down to it, excellent customer service is one of the best way to convert visitors into customers. If you are truly serious about offering quality customer service, one of your best option would be customer service software. With customer service software you can reduce customer service costs and increase your conversion rate. Customer service software helps small businesses and large businesses alike by offering customer service and support messenger 24/7. It can also allow you to track customers online, and know their behaviour. Many people like customer service avatar as it makes them feel like they are talking to an actual person. Quality customer service means a serious customer service solution. You might want to consider customer service software for your online business if you would like to convert visitors to buyers and improve your ROI.

Aug 31, 2017 The old way of running a company won’t cut it in a digital age . Today, it might be apps, big data , 3d printing ,”the cloud” or another current example of digital technology. There is no border anymore between the pre and post digital worlds. Digital is business and business is digital. There are some ways lets look into it :- 1. Digitization requires an unbiased understanding of the external environment. 2. Digitization may require a reformulation of the firms mission. 3. The meaning and impact of digital to the firm must be clearly stated . 4. Digital understanding and capabilities are required across the firm . 5. Digitization must be supported by the firm’s corporate culture. 6. Digitization requires great engagement with the public . 7. Digitization demands a great level of collaboration.