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Bring Your Team Together During Meetings With These 3 Tips

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Business meetings are meant to bring people together to make the decisions that may determine the future of your company.

Business meetings are supposed to serve as a time for collaboration for the betterment of your business. They aim to bring people together through the process of brainstorming. But too often we find ourselves sitting in the conference room with no true progress or off on some inexplicable tangent. Follow these 3 tips on how you can keep business meetings engaging, relevant, valuable, and helpful in bringing the team together.

  1. Make a Great First Impression

The tone of the meeting is going to be set within the first few minutes, so it’s up to you to make it exciting. If you don’t have the momentum going, your employees are going to lose interest and it’s going to be just another monotonous meeting that drags on and on . . . and on. The opening remark should be an exciting short story or important question on everyone’s mind.

  1. Participation Station

If there is zero participation, the meeting will quickly become boring. Once someone speaks up, additional engagement is sure to follow and your team is likely to keep that engagement throughout the meeting. Encourage participation by asking questions directly to individual team members.

  1. Ask Everyone to Write Down a Goal

Each individual walking into the conference room should come in with a goal or question written down. One of the negatives in respect to meetings is that not every question or goal gets the attention it deserves, thus, losing interest from those individuals. If everyone writes down one goal or question they want dealt with at the end of the day, it will help improve the meeting as the necessary questions are raised and answered.

Meetings are an important aspect of improving business because employees are able to speak their opinions and share their views from the trenches. Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to grow your business, create financial security, and have more freedom so you can live life on your own terms!

3 Ways to Learn About Your Target Audience

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Your target audience is the audience that’s going to relate best to your product, and so you should learn the most you can about them.

All businesses need to have an idea of who their target audience is. Sure, the head sales person may know the target audience on paper, but does that person know why this is the target audience at heart? The problems this market faces? What this market trusts and distrusts? Not knowing your target audience can be a big mistake that can cost your business the majority of its clientele. Here are three good tips on how you can learn about your target audience and keep them coming back for your goods or services.

  1. Challenge What You Assume

Don’t assume anything about your target audience. Let’s say you’ve decided your target market is Millenials. Ask why. Because you could assume your things are going to gel with Millenials, only to find out the opposite.

  1. Learn From Others

This is rookie-level market research at its finest. Read up on case studies, examples, and psychological analyses by marketers who have come before you. Using all of the resources possible is the best way to get a handle on your target audience.

  1. Use Social Media

Social media is a great way to know what people are saying about your business. Know what your target audience is paying attention to and why they are paying attention to it. You can even look at your competitors to see their interactions with your target audience.

Your customers will define whether your business has the success you envisioned. Customer service is crucial for your business to do well. It’s time to figure out how you can start earning more, working less, and enjoying life! Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to do just that!

3 Tips for Managing Customer Service

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

If you’ve ever been on the phone with a cable company, you know how much a lack of customer service can make you want to rip your hair right of out your head. You don’t like being treated like garbage; your customers won’t want anything different. Changing your customer service objectives can go a long way for your business. Use these 3 tips to improve your customer service and, in turn, your business!

 

  1. Create Customer Service Plan

Your customer’s feedback should be the backbone of your customer service plan. Once you know the customers’’ expectations of your business, you can begin to build on top of that. Make sure that your policy extends to all customers, not just your top ones.

 

  1. Ask, Listen, Follow Up

Repeat these three things. When a customer is communicating with you, be sure to listen to exactly what they want. Provide solutions to their requests and inquiries, and don’t forget to be polite and respectful.

 

  1. Your Reputation.

Whether you provide an online presence or not, you’re going to build a reputation for yourself regardless. Providing an alleyway for your customers to express their opinions you can better manage them by responding to both the good and the bad. For those negative reviews, be sure to try and address and fix the problem, so you can avoid making the same mistake in the future.

 

Your customers will define whether your business has the success that you were planning on it having. Customer service is crucial for your business to do well. It is time to figure out how you can start earning more, working less, and enjoying life! Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to do just that!

How to Target the Right Audience

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Targeting the right audience can be the final step for your breakthrough.

You wouldn’t open an adult diaper business and expect young adults to line-up to purchase your product, would you? Knowing who your customers are, what their needs are, and why they should buy your product is one of the most important aspects you need to find out about your business. Do you know if you are targeting the right customers? Do they identify with your values and brand promise? If you’re shrugging your shoulder, or don’t exactly know the answer to these questions, these 3 tips will help you reach your customers.

  1. Know your niche.

Knowing exactly where your services fit within the market is imperative to know whom you will serve. Finding and building upon your niche is the only way to know where your services are needed.

  1. Be clear about who you are.

Apart from your product or service, what are you really selling? The reason you opened your business isn’t all for the money, it’s because your realized there’s something upon which you could improve and decided to do something about it. If you’re clear about who you are, your customers will know exactly what you’re here to do.

  1. Tailor your company’s promise.

Once you know who your target audience is, you’ll need to craft a message that resonates with them, while maintaining your hold on your market. It’s time to show what separates you from the rest of your competitors, and why anyone should buy from you. Be clear, specific, and communicate your uniqueness.

Targeting the right audience can mean the difference between an empty store full of adult diapers that are aimed for young adults, and a full store filled with older people that may require the use of this very important commodity that’s made for them. It is time to figure out how you can start earning more, working less, and enjoying life! Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to do just that!

Create Stability While Growing Your Business

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Starting your business can be a little shaky over here, and wobbly over there. Once you know what owning a business is actually like, it’s time for some stability! Follow these steps to help your business gain some stability as you continue growing.

  1. Regulation.

Staying with regulations are very important for the continued growth of your business. Join organizations and seminars to know the updates on any regulations your business should follow.

  1. Hiring the right people for the job.

Hiring the right person for the right position is the most valuable asset for your organization. When interviewing your candidates, make sure that you give them an opportunity to talk about their experience in the field, their training, and what lead them to apply for this position. While money may be the real answer for all your applicants, the clever ones will have researched your company and given you an answer that fits your company’s values.

  1. Trust & Trustworthiness

Employers want the ability to trust employees, customers, vendors and the others with which they conduct their business, and vice-versa. However, in order to gain trust one must be trustworthy. Being a good leader is the best way to gain the trust of your employees. Learn from your mistakes and communicate well with your clients. Leadership begins with the careful and purposeful integration of identity and performance, being and doing, essence and activity.

Stability is sought after by everyone. After you’ve worked so hard to get your business off the ground, achieve the stability your business deserves. It is time to figure out how you can start earning more, working less, and enjoying life! Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to do just that!

Changing Your Behavior for Success!

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Some habits can be dangerous for your business. Do you have any of them?

No two snowflakes are alike: that’s something we learn from a very early age that holds scientific truth. This is because no two snowflakes fall in the same path—with even the smallest of temperature or pressure differences, they come out looking different. Similarly, your business likely had its own unique start and you alone can make people realize that that difference is worth their money.
Some habits you may have picked up on the path to uniqueness could actually be hurting your business. The following questions are ones you should answer, and try to transform any of these detrimental habits.

  1. Do you focus on results or reasons?

It’s said that when it comes to business there are two kinds of people: those who see results, or those who see reasons. The people who see reasons only see the reasons that their dream can’t be realized, while the others get the results that they want to see. You have to focus on goals that are possible for you! If you’re driven by results, you’ll see your dream come true faster.

  1. “Why not,” or “why bother?”

“Why bother” people easily throw their hands up in the air when they are presented with challenges seeing the time and effort as not being worth it. “Why not” people see the situation as an opportunity. If they fail, they’re no worse than they were before.

  1. Are (some) rules meant to be broken?

Rules are there for a reason: they keep order in our society filled with human beings. Some rules, however are better to be broken that kept sacred. In life, sometimes playing it safe can hold you back. People are admirers of those that take risks and break the rules that need to be broken.

Growing your business can only be done when you, yourself, grow as a person – a business owner – and as a leader. These can only come from within, and if you’re serious about your business, you’ll look into making these changes. it is time to figure out how you can start earning more, working less, and enjoying life! Contact Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program to do just that!

 

How Workplace Collaboration Benefits Companies and Employees

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

The old saying "two heads are better than one" has been around for a long time. Today it’s known by a more modern term, workplace collaboration. The Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program promotes collaboration based on tips from Kevin Gazzara, DM, a faculty member from the University of Phoenix, School of Business.

 Gazzara has authored a book entitled The Leader of Oz: Revealing the 101 Secrets of Marvelous Leadership for the 21st Century. Gazzara, entrepreneur and business leader for 30 years gives tips for collaboration, saying that it is a win-win for businesses and employees. It is necessary for true efficiency. 

 He says that “Managers should provide the structure of how to achieve management’s targets. Collaboration makes the most of everyone’s knowledge and effort and results in a faster time to market for goods and services. 

Gazzara advices that collaboration is needed to keep up with advanced technology and fast-paced global competition.  Team players with diverse strengths and abilities can accomplish more tasks and a bigger variety of them. This ensures keeping up with fast marketplaces. 

Gazzara says that workplace collaboration goes beyond job descriptions tapping into team players varied abilities. He gives an example of how he used neogiating skills along with his managorial skills in the past. Consequently, team members develop cross-functional skills. 

Finally, Gazzara maintains that the benefits of workplace collaboration results in results in employee retention. 

Find out more about improving you business through Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program.

Increasing Your Efficiency and Productivity with Downtime

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

The Puritan Work Ethic with its almost constant emphasis on frugality and diligence, but even more so on hard work, leaves little room for doubt about the relative value of work compared to rest and relaxation. But since the days when the Puritans’ ideas were prominent we have learned a few more things about work, and about how rest actually helps us accomplish more with our work.

Work is performed for reasons, called goals and objectives, and the more efficient and productive your work is in moving toward or accomplishing objectives, the more successful that work is deemed to be. The Puritans frowned on rest and relaxation as vices, robbing us of our prized accomplishments from hard work. As it turns out, however, without rest work can become counterproductive.

Multiple studies have begun to clearly point to rest as a key element in our brains’ ability to function efficiently. If efficiency and productivity are important, then rest is, too. Our mental capacities are continuously depleted during daily conscious behaviors. Various types of mental downtime, in the form of rest, serve to replenish our reserves. It seems that all work and no play does, indeed, make Jack a dull boy.

Napping can seriously increase productivity, and naps of about ten minutes seem to be the most beneficial, more so than either longer or shorter naps. But so can meditation in its many forms help to increase mental sharpness. Even simply resting idly, or daydreaming can be highly beneficial to mental functions such as concentration, memory, attention, creativity, and general productivity.

What this means for busy insurance professionals or anyone else who wants to increase their efficiency and enhance the results of their work, is that downtime can accomplish more by recharging your batteries. Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program is built around the concepts of increasing your productivity and efficiency. If periodic rest and downtime accomplish this best, then the sufficiency of your rest can be equated with your success.

Mike’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program serves the business and professional world nationwide, and is ready to revitalize your agency’s operation and recharge your batteries to improve efficiency and profit. Contact Mike today. 

Maximize Your Time in 2014

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Time is a precious commodity. As the New Year begins, reevaluate your schedule to employ strategies that can make a huge difference in your time management and efficiency. Here are some tips:

  • Set shorter goals.

This will help you focus and get to the finish line a lot quicker than putting all your concentration into long-term goals. It also gives you incentive to keep pushing!

  • Make a commitment.

Make a commitment to get things done and stick to it. Hold yourself accountable, with consequences if you don’t complete your tasks.

  • Create small blocks of time to get a lot done.

Give yourself 15 to 30 minute increments to get tasks done. Use a time schedule to increase your productivity.

  • Use less time for meetings.

Cut the humdrum, get to the point and end your meetings.

  • Create repetitive, daily tasks.

Get these done quickly and you’ll have more time to do the things that are more important.

These will help you get the most out of your time. For more information on time management, check out Mike Stromsoe’s Unstoppable Profit Producer Program.

Does Your Team Stand Out When ALL of the Chips Are On The Line?

Posted on by Mike Stromsoe

Our claims service report series is one of our most requested by agents…..so what the heck is a claims service report?

Claims service reports are a custom document that we sent out to our customers a certain number of days after a claim occurs, because in our agency, we monitor all claims activity.  We don’t wait for the document or the notification to come in; we go out and get it.  We proactively hunt for it on carrier websites, we look at things that come in, and once we see that we proactively contact our clients, and make sure the claims process gets started.  In addition to that, we talk to them about the claims process, and make sure the companies are standing up to their end of the bargain and are taking care of our customers in the manner that they should be taken care of.  We really feel good about that.  At the end of the process, we send them out a claims service report, and we ask for feedback on how the claim went.  Our claims service report have a lot of different questions on them, which kind of lead up to the final question, which is, “Tell us about your claims experience,” and those claims service reports just time after time bring great feedback, and a lot of the responses are GREAT testimonials.  “Thank you, your agency just took great care of us.  We appreciate you being there for us always,” so forth and so on.  So keep in mind that that also is a positive emotional situation.

In other words, it’s not anything negative, it’s positive, and they’re feeling good about the situation.  We also forward all claims service reports to the carriers, good and bad. Carrier claims reps need to hear the good reports too. Our carriers LOVE this. We also market to the CLAIMANTS. You got it. If we are provided a name and contact information, we start a separate campaign to the CLAIMANTS. Here’s a situation that happened just last night:

I was in the office and it was late, a client walked in, I said, “Hey, how can I help you?”  And he goes, “Something great happened, and I just had to come by and tell you guys, and in addition to that I want to find my agent, because I feel like I want to give him a hug.  I’m that jazzed about the claims experience I just had” and I said, “Tell me more,” and he told me about the situation.  What had happened was, the agent in our office had gone the extra mile.  He had gone way out of his way to help him out, to make sure that a situation was resolved.  It was a situation we didn’t make any money on, but he went the extra mile anyway, and got the situation resolved for our customer, and our customer was, so happy they couldn’t stand it, so they drove down here to tell him.  And that particular agent was on the phone, so it was a great opportunity, that positive emotional situation was at its very highest at that point.  So, fortunately, we were in an area of the office which is right near our marketing room, and our marketing gal, who’s always on it, she just kind of handed me the camera, and I didn’t even have to think about it.  So I said, “Mr. Client, would you mind if we helped other people with just a few words about what just happened to you?”  And he said, “Yeah, no problem, what do you need me to do.”  I said, “I’d just like to record how you were taken care of by our agent, so I can share this with other people who might ask about our services.”  He said, “I’d be happy to.”  And right there on the spot, full of emotion, he recorded the testimonial.

So, that’s a perfect example of a positive emotional situation, which is the time that you always want to ask for a testimonial, because that’s when you’re going to get your very best testimonials.

Be Unstoppable when taking care of your customers! “No one cares how much you know until they know you care”

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