Impulse Factors

Impulse Factors

People Buy things from Door-to-Door salesmen, on impulse. Nobody wakes up in the morning, wishing for someone to knock on their door and sell them something. It's our job to create such a Fantastic Promotion that people will be impulsed to buy. There are four main factors you can use to create impulse. Fear of loss, urgency, the Jones theory and indifference.

1. Fear of loss: Your Fantastic Promotion or discount, must be a limited time offer. Example: ("We only have 100 products for this area, and they are going like crazy!") Nobody wants to miss out on a good deal.

2. Urgency: You must create an urgency to buy today. People will buy on impulse, only if you can get them excited about your promotion. Example: ("Today is the last day we will be offering this promotion in this area!") It's the now or never concept.

3. Jones Theory: Have you heard the saying: "Keeping up with the Jones' "? It is so true, nobody wants to be the first person to buy. If your customer sees that their neighbours have bought your product or service, it's got to be worth buying! When you make a sale, record the customers name and address on a sales sheet, or a tear off stub from your certificate or brochure. You want to show other customers that their neighbours have bought your products or services, this way the customer feels more inclined to buy.

4. Indifference: One of the hardest factors to master. Never appear desperate for a sale, if you do, your customer become skeptical, and will not buy. You have a Fantastic Promotion which is well worth the money, so you don't have to beg for a sale. Example: ("It's up to you whether you get one today or not, but I've only got a few left and they are going like crazy!") Be careful with this one if you are too indifferent you can loose a sale. It just takes a little practice.

 

Lie To Yourself

It’s easy to spot when people are lying to themselves—like when a co-worker confidently starts a huge project at 4:30, but has a 5 PM deadline. “Who’s he kidding?” you might chuckle. But when you’re telling lies to yourself—well, that’s another story.

When it comes to productivity, you may think you have it mastered. You check tasks off your to-do list, multitask like the best of them, and stay insanely busy from morning until night. But it turns out, your so-called “productivity” may actually be a jumble of popular myths that make you think you’re getting more done than you actually are.

Think you’re using your time wisely? Check out these four lies you might be telling yourself about being productive—and how you can free yourself from that false reality.

Lie #1: My Day’s Full of Activity, So I Must Be Super Productive

These days, there’s no shortage of digital time-fillers that can make you feel productive. You can easily spend all day emailing, tweeting, searching, instant messaging, texting, and whatever else it takes to stay in the online loop. But while your fingers are busy typing and your eyes busy reading, all you’re really doing is getting hits of information—over and over again—instead of working toward a goal.

Or, you might pack your schedule to the brim—coffee meetings in the morning and networking events after work—which forces you to spend all night responding to all the emails in your overflowing inbox. Sure, that makes you feel (and look) busy, but are you really getting anything significant done?

Solution: The Done List

To make sure you’re actually accomplishing substantial tasks each day, keep a “done list”—that is, a list of tasks you’ve completed instead of things you have left to do. When you stop to recognize each day’s accomplishments, you’ll be able to reflect more constructively: Did you spend your time wisely? Did you make any significant progress today? If “instapapered some super-useful articles” is the only item that made it onto your done list, you may need to reevaluate how you’re spending your time.

Lie #2: Please, I’m a Multitasking Master

Multitasking can trick you into feeling like you’re a productivity superhero. After all, if you have the skills to simultaneously compile a budget, listen to a podcast, and catch up on your email, you must be running circles around your single-tasking co-workers, right?

Actually, multitasking can make you perform worse in whatever you’re doing. Studies show that when you try to focus on too many things at the same time, you’re less likely to be able to filter out irrelevant facts, switch between tasks effectively, and remember important information.

Solution: Practice Single Focus

Try focusing on one task at a time. Why should you work against what you believe are your natural multitasking talents? Hear me out: It might feel less productive—or even be less enjoyable—to work on one thing at a time, but extreme focus will bring out your best.

To help you get out of your task-juggling habits, work in ones: Keep one simple to-do list. Complete at least one significant task toward the beginning of your day. If you’re really up for a challenge, try working in only one browser tab! When you single-task, you’ll boost your brainpower—and since you’re not spending partial attention on multiple tasks, you’ll get the task at hand done faster.

Lie #3: Schedule, Schedule! I Go With the Flow

Some people relish planning. I, on the other hand, tend to go with the flow and work from a mental to-do list, starting with whatever seems most appealing at the moment. Usually, this isn’t a problem, and I’m able to get my work done, but I’ve noticed that I get stressed from trying to hold everything in my head.

You may think that having a flexibile and open schedule can be conducive to creativity (and it can be, to a certain extent), but that doesn’t mean all forms of scheduling should go out the window. A little structure can help you clarify your goals and think more clearly—so you won’t waste time trying to figure out if you overlooked anything from your mental to-do list.

Solution: Get Into Rhythms Rather than Timetables

Don’t worry—if you’re a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type, you don’t need to start scheduling out your day by the minute. But what you can do is create a more reliable rhythm for yourself. Instead of scheduling your day down to the very last detail and task, try working with broader goals in mind.

With this strategy, I still recommend to-do lists—but not necessarily filled with specific tasks. Instead, list categories of what you’re working on. For example, replace itemized tasks like “write one blog post” or “contact Beth,” with higher-level goals, like “complete one task that supports growing my network” or “do two things that will broaden my expertise as an analyst.”

This will allow you to work productively toward your goals without locking yourself into turn-by-turn directions. Then, set aside a dedicated block of time for you to work on each category, so you can minimize distractions and focus on actually producing.

Lie #4: No Worries! I’ll Do it Tomorrow

The power of procrastination is, well, pretty powerful. Without much thought, the top task on your to-do list can get pushed to tomorrow, and then to the next day, and then to the next. And in your mind, you truly believe you’ll get to it eventually—but “eventually” keeps getting pushed further and further away.

Solution: Find an Accountability Ally

The root of procrastination is often a lack of accountability—if no one knows what’s on your to-do list, no one knows that you’re not actually making any progress on it. To stay on track, partner up with a co-worker or group of peers—people who are committed to helping each other do what they say they’re going to do—and plan to check in with each other at least once a week. Whenever you meet (whether virtually or in person), review your progress, share your upcoming goals, and provide feedback and encouragement. You’ll be a lot more likely to finish your blog post if you have a friend who checks up on you: “I haven’t seen an update on your blog today—when are you going to post it?”

If you can’t find an accountability partner, technology can help you become your own coach. Check out apps like iDoneThis, Lift, and Email Game, which keep you updated on your progress toward specific goals—which can help keep you on track and motivated to stay productive.

Admitting our productivity lies can be tough. In fact, you may even go through a mini-cycle of grief when you first hear them: denial (“I don’t procrastinate!”), indignation (“I get plenty done!”), bargaining (“I’ll start tomorrow”), and a bit of blues—all before finally accepting them and taking the next steps. But, those steps aren’t as hard as you think: With these solutions and a hearty dose of honesty, you’ll be on your way to unmatched productivity in no time.

Tell us! What productivity lies do you tell yourself—and how do you overcome them? Maybe we can share with your experiences –carleadbest.

Designing A Business Plan

DESIGNING A BUSINESS PLAN

Most creatives probably tremble at the thought of creating a business plan, and most likely keep pushing it to the back burner until eventually they need one and throw something together that isn’t complete. I’m going to show you an easier way to go about creating your business plan, with basic steps that shouldn’t be too daunting, if you take them one at a time. So, what is a business plan? A business plan is meant to guide your business in the right direction and document your thoughts and ideas for your business. It’s a structural tool that can keep you, your employees and your business on the correct path.

The first purpose of a business plan is to identify the aspirations of the business. Second, it’s needed to determine if these aspirations are feasible in the current economy. Third, your business plan is needed to outline the steps you will take to reach your main objective.

When I create my business plans, I like to lay it all out there first, and then start to remove pieces that are irrelevant. Think of your business plan as writing a book; you’ve determined the ending, but now you need to fill in how you will reach that desired ending. You will want to be able to hand this business plan over to investors, peers, banks, attorneys, etc, so it’s important to keep a defined look.

But, since we are creatives, don’t be afraid to play with the layout and colors, just don’t get too crazy! Keep it readable, clean and professional.

The basic elements of a business plan

1. Executive Summary – this is a one-page nutshell of your business. It includes the background behind your business, your mission, your vision and your tagline/message (if you have one). Keep it short and to the point. The rest of the business plan will go into much more detail.

2. Target Customers/Ideal Clients – this is where you will explain who your business is targeting, who your ideal clients are; their personalities, what they like to do, how old they are, their income level, how much they are willing to spend on your products and/or services. A survey is definitely a good idea to help gather information on your ideal client.

3. Competition/Competitive Advantage – this is where you will detail who your competitors are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, their business structure, and your competitive advantage, or what makes your idea better/different than theirs.

4. Human Resources – if needed, this is where you will document what staff you will need to run your business, what their skills need to be, how much experience, how much you can afford to pay them, etc. I did not need this section on my business plan, because I do not plan on having any staff in the near future. When the time comes, I will definitely add this section to my business plan. It would be wise to add an intern description here, if you plan on having an intern soon. This would layout the groundwork for what they would be responsible for.

5. Vendors/Supplies – this is where you will determine what outside sources will be needed to run your business. Are there any products that you must purchase on a weekly basis (jewelry supplies, paper) or do you use certain products for your clients (USB drives, cards, shipping, boxes/packaging materials)? Put all of these items here, their costs, what category they fall under (supplies, client gifts, packing/shipping, etc). You will need these for you financial plan later, but this section will detail each of the costs.

6. Marketing Plan – this is where you will show how to get your products and/or services in front of your ideal clients. What social media profiles are they on, are they bloggers, do they read certain blog, do they attend conferences? All of these things will help you figure out where, when and how to find your perfect customer. Your marketing plan is actually an entirely different document outside of your business plan, but laying out the general ideas here is great.

7. Operations – this is where you document how to get the job done in the most efficient way. What are your routines for your projects? What order do you follow from the first time you talk to the client/customer to when the client/customer has the final product delivered to them? Describe your operations as if you were teaching 5,000 people how to work at your company. Document everything.

8. Financial Projections – this is where you determine how much money you need to open/run your business and where you will get this money from. Most creative businesses are able to start their companies on smaller budgets, because they tend to not need real estate, and already own the large equipment needed to get the business going. Put your financial forecast on here; how many products do you want to sell, how much do each of your products cost, what is the yearly total? How much did you spend on supplies? What is your profit for the year? You want to be able to show an investor why and how your business is going to make money, so be realistic.

Helium Stick

Who Moved My Cheese