It is a statement of fact.

There are many assumptions made in that statement.

One of the primary assumptions is we belong to the human race. Because of our membership in this august society, we know how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships that allow all parties involved to grow, prosper and get results.

I am not sure this is a valid assumption.

Why?

Many of us have not been taught know how to build rapport, connect with others, understand the best way to support others and know how to ask them to support us. This is evident by the divorce rate; as many as 50% of marriages end in a divorce (Source divorcerate.org.) What is interesting to me is that the divorce rate drops the older we get. For example the divorce rate is 38.8% for American males age 20-24 versus 6.5% for American males age 35-39. It would seem the old men get the more they understand relationship strategies.

The question is how can we shorten that learning curve?

In business, according to Grant Thornton, 97% of all business owners want to strengthen the customer relationship.

SCORE suggests that 64% of all small businesses fail because they do not know how nor do they understand the value of marketing. Marketing is nothing more than a process through which companies build strong customer relationships. I could go on but you get my drift.

To address this problem, I teamed up with Dr. Tony Alessandra, one of the world’s foremost relationships strategies experts, to create a web site that teaches you how to build safe, effective, successful and lasting personal and business relationships.

The web site is called People Smarts. In this site we address relationship strategy issues, presentations skills, collaborative selling skills, marketing, personal growth and development, how to treat people the way they want to be treated and a host of other important and powerful topics that, when applied, will help you create more effective relationships to get the results you want and need.

The site contains a full array of videos, eBooks, PDFs and MP3 to support you in your personal, sales, business and leadership development needs. We invite you to explore and try out this site.

In lesson one (which you have access) you will learn the different between the Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule and experience the overview of all functions of relationship strategies. In addition, you will receive an introduction of the two dimensions of behavior. In this lesson, you will be presented with a very simple model that has been validated with hundreds of thousands of people. It is a powerful guide you can use to improve communication and morale, build better work groups, and develop better relationships with co-workers, supervisors, customers, vendors and others.

I invite you to give People Smarts a try. To learn more go to www.akris.net.

If you have questions please feel free to call Ron Finklestein at 330-990-0788 or email him at ron@akris.net.

This powerful tool can also be used in you place of business for all your employees. If you would like more details about this opportunity ask Ron and he will provide the details.

Ron Finklestein

www.peoplesmarts.ws

admin@peoplesmarts.ws

330-990-0788

This is one place where you can view key videos. The videos and what we cover are listed below. As you can see all are less than 11 minutes (because I know how busy you are.)

Here is the link http://wn.com/rfinklestein

• Behavior of Successful Business Owners 6:54
• 7 Secrets to Overcoming Adversity in Business…10:54
• Anatomy of a Sales Call…6:38
• How to Grow Sales…9:49
• What Business Owners Can Do To Grow Their Business…9:56
• Hey! It is all about taking action…6:57
• Why Intelligent Self-Interest is Critical to Your Success…5:28
• Nine Principles for Inspired Action: A New & Targeted Perspective…5:50
• Only a few ideas…3:39
• Ownership and Empowerment…2:55
• Measurable, Repeatable, Predictable…3:12
• Persistence…3:29
• Free and inexpensive marketing secrets that works – part 1…9:40
• It is all about results

These videos can be used in these areas:

• grow sales
  
• improve people skills
• people leadership skills
• people performance management
• people skills for managers
• presentation skills tips
• small business marketing
• small business success stories
• team building challenge
• workplace team building

Revenue and Profit Enhancement Specialist
Ron Finklestein
ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788
www.ronfinklestein.com

This is one place where you can view key videos. The videos and what we cover are listed below. As you can see all are less than 11 minutes (because I know how busy you are.)

Here is the link http://wn.com/rfinklestein

• Behavior of Successful Business Owners 6:54
• 7 Secrets to Overcoming Adversity in Business…10:54
• Anatomy of a Sales Call…6:38
• How to Grow Sales…9:49
• What Business Owners Can Do To Grow Their Business…9:56
• Hey! It is all about taking action…6:57
• Why Intelligent Self-Interest is Critical to Your Success…5:28
• Nine Principles for Inspired Action: A New & Targeted Perspective…5:50
• Only a few ideas…3:39
• Ownership and Empowerment…2:55
• Measurable, Repeatable, Predictable…3:12
• Persistence…3:29
• Free and inexpensive marketing secrets that works – part 1…9:40
• It is all about results

These videos can be used in these areas:

• building an effective team
• business advisory board
• business coaching
• business coaching programs
• effective communication training
• grow sales
• improve people skills
• people leadership skills
• people performance management
• people skills for managers
• presentation skills tips
• Small Business Coach
• small business marketing
• small business success stories
• team building challenge
• workplace team building

Revenue and Profit Enhancement Specialist
Ron Finklestein
ron@ronfinklestein.com
330-990-0788
www.ronfinklestein.com

Why?

Because they are an essential component of

• building an effective team
• business coaching programs
• effective communication training
• growing sales
• improving people skills
• developing leadership skills
• managing people’s performance
• people skills for managers
• developing presentation skills
• small business marketing effectiveness
• building team

and so much more.

True profit and revenue growth comes from within, not form with out. What I mean is your personal growth in a large part drives your success. I learned that when I learned and applied The Platinum Rule in my own life. The Platinum Rule helped me create a great marriage and strong relationships with my children.

Because my personal experience has been so positive, I approached Dr. Alessandra about using this concept in all areas of business. I put together a DVD on The Platinum Rule (TPR).  TPR was created by Dr. Tony Alessandra. TPR is defined as Treating Others the Way They Want to be Treated.

In this video you not only learn TPR, you are shown how to apply what you learn. This DVD  will work for anyone trying to build better relationship, but the primary audience is small business owners who want an edge in sales or improvement in their marketing. Additional applications include building better relationships with their employees and significant others. Many of my clients use it to take the stress out of their relationships: with peers, family, customers, prospects, and employees.

Check it out here.

The material is based on a book I coauthored with Dr. Alessandra and Scott Zimmerman called The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery. The book focuses on the application of TPR in twelve areas of business. The DVD only cover TPR but the book covers the application of TPR in sales, marketing, customer services, IT, business process, and business planning to name just a few areas of application.

I invite you to check it out to how TPR DVD will help you with your business challenges.

Ron Finklestein
Revenue and Profit Enhancement Specialist
ron@ronfinklestein.com

Nothing is off the agenda. We can discuss lead generation, and lead generation techniques, peer groups, advisory boards, leadership, building effective teams, growing sales, increasing revenues, people effectiveness, teambuilding, small business marketing, business coaching, performance management, to name a few.
Just email me at ron@akris.net (or call at 330-990-0788) to schedule your date and time.

The following locations are within easy driving distance and I would be happy to visit. If you are outside this area, please contact me. Though I may not be able to visit I can provide the same service over the phone, via email or over the Internet.

Summit County
Cuyahoga Falls
Stow
Hudson
Barberton
Norton
Green
Springfield
Tallmadge
Mogadore
Richfield
Peninsula
Fairlawn
Bath
Copley
Coventry
Silver Lake
Sagamore Hills
Boston Heights
Macedonia
Montrose

Canton and all Stark County Ohio including:
Uniontown
Alliance
Jackson Township
North Canton
Canal Fulton
Massillon
Hartville
Waynesburg
Sugar Creek
Louisville
Minerva
E. Sparta
Brewster
Medina and all Medina County Ohio including:
Brunswick
Hinckley
Brecksville
Granger
Sharon
Wadsworth
Westfield
Litchfield
Guilford
Lafayette
Kent and all Portage County Ohio including:
Ravenna
Brimfiled
Suffield
Randolph
Rootstown
Streetsboro
Atwater
Deerfield
Aurora
Freedom
Hiram
Edinburg
Palmyra
Shalersville
Wayne County Ohio including:
Wooster
Doylestown
West Salem
Canaan
Marshallville
Orrville
Dalton
Sugar Creek
Lebanon
Shreeve
Maysville
Congress
Creston
Sterling
Rittman
Smithville
Fredericksburg
Apple Creek
Kidron
Carrol County
Tuscarawas County
Lake County
Geauga County
Cuyahoga County
Bay Village
Beachwood
Bedford
Bedford Heights
Bentleyville
Berea
Bratenahl
Brecksville
Broadview Heights
Brook Park
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights
Chagrin Falls
Chagrin Falls Township Township
Cleveland (County Seat)
Cleveland Heights
Cuyahoga Heights
East Cleveland
Euclid
Fairview Park
Garfield Heights
Gates Mills
Glenwillow
Highland Heights
Highland Hills
Hunting Valley (part)
Independence
Lakewood
Linndale
Lyndhurst
Maple Heights
Mayfield
Mayfield Heights
Middleburg Heights
Moreland Hills
Newburgh Heights
North Olmsted
North Randall
North Royalton
Oakwood
Olmsted Falls
Olmsted Township Township
Orange
Parma
Parma Heights
Pepper Pike
Richmond Heights
Rocky River
Seven Hills
Shaker Heights
Solon
South Euclid
Strongsville
University Heights
Valley View
Walton Hills
Warrensville Heights
Westlake
Woodmere

Lorain County
Amherst
Avon
Avon Lake
Beaver Park
Belden
Brentwood Lake
Brighton
Columbia Center
Columbia Hills Corners
Columbia Station
Elyria
Lorain
North Eaton
North Ridgeville
Oberlin
Penfield
Penfield Junction
Pittsfield
Rochester

Just a quick review. Nothing is off the agenda. We can discuss lead generation, and lead generation techniques, peer groups, advisory boards, leadership, building effective teams, growing sales, increasing revenues, people effectiveness, teambuilding, small business marketing, business coaching, performance management, to name a few.

Just email me at ron@akris.net (or call at 330-990-0788) to schedule your date and time.

The following locations are within easy driving distance and I would be happy to visit. If you are outside this area, please contact me. Though I may not be able to visit I can provide the same service over the phone, via email or over the Internet.

1.   Get clear on what you want, make a decision to go for it, then take action.

2.   Stay focused on what you want.

3.   Surround yourself with people that will hold you accountable and tell you want you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Research, research, research!

4.   Do the things that you are afraid to do or don’t want to do.

5.   Do not be afraid to ask for help you need it.

6.   Do not be afraid to fail. Test, test, test. Failure is essential to success.

7.   Ask for what you want, and keep asking until you get it.

8.   Never stop learning.

9.   Figure out what works and keep doing it.

10. Do rules 1 through 9 again.

According to SCORE, businesses fail for many reasons. I listed the top eight below.

Lack of a well-developed business plan  78%
Not pricing properly  77%
Being overly optimistic – sales, money  73%
Not recognizing, or ignoring, what they don’t do well
 and not seeking help from those who do  70%
Ineffective prioritization  66%
Denying problems exist  65%
Minimizing the importance of marketing  64%
Insufficient business experience  63%

Not having a business plan is the single biggest reason a small business fails and it drives all the other reasons a business fails.

Let’s translate what will happen when these problems occur:
1. Can not grow sales
2. Can not improve people skills
3. small business marketing suffers
4. can not build effective teams.
5. not reaching out for help – especially business coaching

A business plan has four primary objectives:
1.Defines what you do and why others will buy from you and your firm
2.Define the markets, companies, people, etc who can buy from you and how to reach them
3.Defines the road map to making money, where you need to spend your money (i.e., marketing, Internet, computers, fax, telephones, etc)
4.Defines weaknesses where you should be looking for help or areas to you need to address

A business plan is essential. You would not try to build a house with blueprints. Why would you start or run a business with the same type of blueprints.

The strange part is that if you don’t know how to do a business plan you need to ask. Number four above, really should be number one. If you don’t know what you don’t know, how do you know you don’t know it? How do you know to ask for help?

A business plan, depending on its purpose, can be a short as one page or more than 100 pages (venture capitalists want to know everything).

Just going through the exercise of writing a business plan will tell you more about what you don’t know about your business than any single exercise.

A business plan is a living document that should change as you and your business change. I will give you seven simple questions that you need to answer as part of your business plan:
1. Why are you in business? If you are not really passionate about your business, you will have trouble during the hard times and, most like you will lose interest and fail.
2. What are you selling? What problem do you think your product or service solves for your target market?
3. What is that one thing you do better than anyone else in my market? It could be as simple as free shipping to a lower price point using a new production break process.
4. Why would your target market care about what you do? Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself “what’s in it for me?”
5. Why would your prospects buy from you? Even if you are the best, will people buy form you and if so why?
6. How much money do I need to get started? Do not underestimate.
7. How will I make money and how long with it take before I am profitable.

I do not expect you have these answers to all these questions immediately (except #1). The answers to these questions will changes as you mature as business owner and you gain in understanding about your marketing, your industry, your products, your customers and your services.

The important part of this plan is to test everything. Ask your prospects and call your competitors, do research.  If you spend some time up front answering these questions, you will save yourself much pain and suffering.

Call me if you have questions and a free consultation.

Ron Finklestein
303-990-0788
ron@akris.net

Would you like to get objective feedback from your peers (business owners)? They have no hidden objective except your success.

Would you like to learn small business marketing strategies that work? We share best practices all the time.

Do you feel overwhelmed because you have so much to do? If so you are not alone. Let us help you prioritize and stay focused on what is important.

Are you looking for an Ohio business coach you can trust? If so, how can you tell? Simple, look for the guarantee.

Are you looking to grow sales? If so call us today for your free consultation. There is no risk to you.

Ron Finklestein

Business Coach

330-990-0788

ron@akris.net

In today’s economic times, as a business owner, it requires you think differently about small business marketing to grow sales.

Always have at least three small business marketing initiatives going on at all time to grow sales. The intent is to make sure at least one is always producing. Three small business marketing initiatives that can help grow sales could include:

Blogging

Develop referrals

Email marketing

I get at least six leads a month over the internet. I belong to a referral group that helps small business market themselves through using others networks. Lastly, I follow up with everyone I meet using email.

Remember to grow sales through small business marketing.

Sincerely,

Ron Finklestein

Small Business Coach

330-990-0788

ron@akris.net

www.akris.net