The Dynamics of a Discovery Call
14 May
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise, Marketing

The Dynamics of a Discovery Call: It All Begins with Hello

Discovery calls are an essential part of any entrepreneur’s life. From flooring companies, to financial planners, to paper-sellers, discovery calls are what stands between a company and a potential client–and, oftentimes, a failed discovery call was usually preventable with a couple of conversational tweaks. 

Being able to persuade a prospective client into believing your company holds the solutions for their problems is a skill honed over time through experience and practice. However, in the business world time equals cash, so I’ve dissected the ins and outs of the perfect discovery call so you can stop making mistakes and start making money.

Before You Pick Up The Phone

The title of this blog post is a little misleading–it doesn’t begin with a hello, it begins with research. Before you even get on the horn with your potential client conduct a google search into their online presence. See what you can dig up about their company and any potential issues that your products and services may be able to solve. 

By conducting this initial research, and then using it to inform your conversation you’re accomplishing two things:

  • Proving to the client you care.
  • Establishing yourself as a meritable partner. 

Before your call outline pertinent info for you to mention during your conversation, and leave room to write down more notes as they come up.

ACE Your Opener

After saying hello, follow these steps to show your client that this conversation is about them:

  • A: state to the customer that you appreciate them taking the time to speak with you
  • C: check that the allotted time you had scheduled still works for them
  • E: establish an end goal for the discovery call 

This opener allows the customer to feel in control and communicates to them that they’re not just going to hear another sales pitch–this conversation will suss out if you two are a match for each other. 

Establish the Reasons Behind your Call

Next, you should discuss with your client what they want to get out of today’s meeting–and make sure to write down and address their top priorities before the end of the call.

Discuss your clients goals for their company and if they don’t have any, create some with them! Ask where they want their company to be in five years, then ten, and have a conversation about how your product or service can help them get there. 

Have a Conversation with Active Listening

The biggest mistake people make during a sales call is making it a sales call. The best calls are when you’re mostly asking questions and listening to the answers. Some great questions to ask include ones about their situation, identifying any pain points, and discussing what they would like your impact to be. 

Remember to summarize their answers before moving forward and remember that the call is not about you–the client should already know about you and your services. This call is meant to help you get to know the client and then discuss how your solutions can help them. 

Wrapping Up the Phone Call

When you’re ready to wrap up the conversation, this is a good time to highlight any potential solutions you’ve come up with throughout the call. You can make references to other cases you’ve worked on, since having worked with their peers is a great way to establish their merit. 

Being able to persuade a prospective client into believing your company holds the solutions for their problems is a skill honed over time through experience and practice. However, in the business world time equals cash– utilize these tips so you can stop making mistakes and start making money.

The Dynamics of a Discovery Call
26 Oct
calendar management, Team Management

4 Problems That Occur With Poor Management Skills

Is your organization facing poor management issues? Wish to improve the overall management skills of your business? Lack of proper management in a business organization could impose a long-lasting impact while affecting the entire organization. 

The results could be toxic, misleading, and lack of commitment across the organization. The given factor could even affect employee retention; this is why Allison Todd –Founder & Chief Executive at SiMar –a leading business coaching agency, unfold the importance of ensuring proper management skills for improved results.

On the other hand, when an organization features strong leaders having good management skill, it tends to impact a firm in multiple ways positively.

Some of the potential benefits that we can observe are reduced turnover time, empowering employees to deliver more productivity, improving overall morale, etc.

Management is expected to lead the employees by proper example while creating a positive working environment for the workforce to deliver performance at their best-ever capacity.

Problems That Occur With Poor Management Skills

If your organization features poor management skills, here are some of the problems that could occur. The issues also dictate how effective management strategies could help in solving workplace issues.

Here are some problems to look out for:

Avoiding Recognition:

When the organization’s employees are not recognized or accredited for their roles in the organization, it is a clear sign of poor management. When the employees are only criticized for their respective shortcomings, they might not feel valued and would always work in a state of fear to avoid mistakes. 

In such a situation, proper management skills come into play. It should promote the notion of communicating correctly. The given ability is not just about delegating.

It should also include the efforts towards allowing employees to know that their roles are being valued in the organization. You should ensure proper & constant communication with the employees to receive useful feedback. Simultaneously, it is the team managers’ responsibility to guide subordinates upon boosting the employees’ overall morale.

Executing Poor Meetings:

Meetings in an organizational setup are not always what it is meant to be. While the managers are keen upon staying in the loop and delegating tasks, the employees, on the other hand, are looking for ways to stay away from such situations.

For the administrative staff, meetings are mostly perceived as some sort of hassle. To avoid such a case, visiting organized turns out to be one of the top management skills for running a successful company.

Instilling a Sense of Fear:

Poor managers are known to threaten the overall job security of the employees. When employees fear their job, it leads to a lack of confidence and trust in the given organization. On the other hand, you should aim at creating an environment of trust and honesty. 

Creation of Negative Environments:

When managers tend to commit some of the traditional leadership mistakes, they create a hostile environment in the office space. Managers should aim at treating the employees as equals.

24 Oct
Grow Your Business, Start Your Business

Four Ways to Make Your Brand Stand Out

There are over 28 million small-scale businesses across the United States of America, per recent study. Safe to say there are a ton of brands in the world. So, how do you get your brand to stand out? Even if a small portion of companies are brand competition, you still have a lot of competition. You want your brand to be noticed.

Brands are competing against each other for improved visibility by using innovative advertising and marketing campaigns. They produce creative content and intriguing stories specifically for their target audience. Allison Todd, Operations & Digital Growth Strategist and founder of SiMar –a leading digital business agency, explains that if you want to get noticed amid the competition, you do noteworthy things. A lot of people think this is complicated. Many times, they are just overthinking their audience. People want you to show up, daily. They want to be able to know, you – your brand, is there for them. That’s hard to believe when your audience can’t find you, doesn’t ever see your content and is still trying to figure out what you do! For these reasons, your brand must stand out.

Digital Engagement Package

The leading business coaching agency, SiMar, features a team of business experts who provide in-depth insight into the innovative ways to make your brand stand out.

Ways to Make Your Brand Stand

Here are some of the essential traits that you need to adopt as a brand to stay competitive:

Originality

Indeed, the first step is that your brand needs to be original. If you wish to mimic a brand from your competitor’s list; The target audience will not have a valid reason to trust your brand.

If your messaging lies in sales talk and clichés, it will not resonate with the respective customers. Therefore, you should aim to find an angle that has not been taken up by any other brand for developing an image.

Sincerity

Your brand should aim at demonstrating a sense of sincerity at the same time. If you respond to all the customers on different social media platforms with some type of copied template, people will feel something formal about your brand.

As such, they will never be able to develop an informal relationship with your brand. You should aim at investing in creating the “personality” of your brand. 

Understanding

Some of the most popular brands out there are known to understand the respective target audience effectively; This is demonstrated by creating customized messages that turn out relevant for a target niche. 

For instance, if your brand targets parents, you should mention some common parenting problems. Mentioning common parenting problems would instantly demonstrate the overall degree of sympathy while making it easier for the target audience to connect with your brand and would eventually lead to more traffic and conversions for your website.

Consistency 

If you have not defined the brand standards clearly, then you might end up alienating the audience. The ultimate goal is to retain customers and followers for as long as possible. Ensure that your marketing campaigns are well-executed and follow a consistent pattern.

Conclusion

For your brand to stand out, you should offer something unique to offer a personalized experience to the target customers. Make the most of high-end marketing strategies to ensure the best results for your brand.

Stand Alone Strategy Plan
Stand Alone Strategy Plan
16 Aug
Grow Your Business, Start Your Business

Website Launch: My Pandemic Pivot

Over the past few months, businesses have seen the effects of the global pandemic. They have faced closures and combat emotions of loss and lack. Now is the time to figure out the new normal now. Make your pandemic pivot! How many times have you heard that? Our immediate next steps are unknown. So, what can businesses do to stay ahead in the pandemic (and everything else in 2020)?

My Pandemic Pivot

People may be tired of hearing the “pandemic pivot” but I can attest, it’s a real thing. My decision to redesign my website and re-introduce my brand was not one made lightly. In December, 2019. I hired a coach to help me stay focused on the big picture. I planned some really cool events and more. As we began to make plans, I thought I had all the pieces in place. And then, the world changed.

One of the components of this plan was to redesign this website. I weighed the pros and cons with a focus on the budget. This is a time to stack, I thought, not a time for big purchases. It just didn’t seem like a smart decision. Many days, I would chuckle at my focus to plan growth goals instead of watch the news. Planning for moving forward, while it felt like time was standing still, what was I doing? Surprisingly, I think this is the “thing” that grounded me, amid chaos.

My message since March has been to remain focused and grounded. To keep going. Respect your feelings. Celebrate the wins. And, don’t forget to show yourself grace. For all these reasons, I had to figure out a workaround for the budget. Without many ideas, I reached out to a creative circle of friends. Whether they were cheering me on or lending their skill to get the job done, all were vital and needed.

Pivot, Position & Profit

If you haven’t guessed it, I’m here to share more about what I was working on (see blog title). And let me say, having my super friends support, was everything. I’m moved by their energy and expertise. They make me want to do more. I needed to do more. First, I created Position2Profit.com. This is a community for business owners to share and support while learning yours truly. And it’s in this community that I teach business lessons, share years of expertise and giveaway some goodies!

Next, I took 50% off some products in my shop. I want to build a community where business owners have support, accountability and motivation, like I do. That special circle of friends fueled me . They dedicated time and value to the redesign of allisontodd.com. As such, I hope to help and inspire others.

The energy, the late nights, the intricate details ….all the reasons I kept going on the many days when it felt easier to stare out of the window. The feeling of putting your heart into your vision, is unique and fulfilling. Creating something special and impactful is just what the doctor ordered.

What About the Team?

While wanting to stare out of that proverbial window, I wondered if it made sense to keep the team. Would I have enough work to keep them busy? They wanted to keep working. So, I figured out a way. And Team SiMar jumped all in. They managed work projects and collaborated with curiosity and creativity. I think working on the website and the new packages and products was a good dose of what all needed. Thankfully, my pivot project kept us busy and active.

During this time, I understood how crucial coaching and guidance is to entrepreneurship. I can’t help but wonder how many business owners need someone to help them find their reset button. How many more business owners needed to hear my message? How many needed superfriends in their life? Maybe 456 because that’s how many Position 2 Profit members we have so far. I want us all to win. Creating this website will help me to find more business owners with a story, untold.

The Keys to the Digital Door

With that, I snap the digital red ribbon and open the virtual doors to allisontodd.com. Today, August 16, 2020, I announce the relaunching of my website. My intentions are to ensure that I am more available in a digital space. To motivate and inspire business owners. To guide them in the positioning of their businesses and their brand. To assist them in building profitable teams. And to offer my expertise and information where it is needed.

I’m hopeful this site will help me reach a wider audience and solve more problems. Eagerly, I share my knowledge with brands and businesses. My goal to position businesses to profit and scale. I want to do my part to make the world of entrepreneurship a better place. In the meantime, I promised my twins I would move the launch up a day, today, their birthday. And here we are, let’s celebrate!

P.S. Please share your feedback. I would love to know what you think.

25 Dec
Uncategorized

Happy Holidays and Christmas Memories from Allison Todd

Sharing some childhood Christmas memories with you on this joyous day. Mommie Dearest would always make the biggest deal of this holiday. There were Christmas decorations in every room, the tree was always grand and not a ribbon or bow untied. Although, Santa hadn’t come down the chimney yet, the gifts overflowed from under the tree and the kitchen smelled like all wonderful things. And while she prepared the final details for guests, dadE entertained. He would open the doors to his den and turn his shiny stereo all the way up. Instantly, the show began. He would sing and dance as if the four temptations had turned into one. What a performer, I remember. And I would sit with the lights twinkling and watch in excitement in my fancy red velvet dress, opaque white stockings and black patent leather shoes. Before you knew it – all things met perfection – and Mommie Dearest would sit beside me. For the 10 minutes before the 1st doorbell rang, unbeknownst to me, this would become one of my absolute favorite Christmas memories.

Then, the house would fill with tons of people friends, family and neighbors. The best memories (while my parents were still married) was when both grandmothers and both sides of our family gathered – in one house. It denotes a time in my life where I was convinced, I was a princess. And it wasn’t because of all the things but the vast amount of love, laughter and togetherness that surrounded me. Aw… I tear up remembering my dad tend to both grandmothers like they were queens, rest in paradise. Mommie Dearest poured her heart in to this experience. I later learned that to be one of her greatest expressions of love. My aunts, uncles and cousins … the neighbors …their co-workers – laughing, dancing, drinking and celebrating. Love, such a commodity. It is one so greatly ignored and sometimes taken for the granted. Love, seemingly invisible, is indeed to glue to all these beautiful, picturesque memories.

I write this on the heels of my annual homesick regimen – pictures and memories are not all that is left now but they are indeed what’s left of those completely blissful times with all my family gathered and together. Oh, dear children! It’s those times when we had not a care in the world, no real responsibility and no idea of the challenges of the world. It is indeed the grace of the world through a child’s eyes. Those Christmas celebrations would go on to the wee hours of the night. All the kids would fall asleep well before the parents were done partying. And the next day we would do it all over again at another relatives’ home. While this was a time in life when I had yet to discover the wealth of gratitude, the value of traditions or the unique blessings of family – I knew enough to know that it was a gift that would continue giving for a lifetime. And here I am filled with joy decades later in the reflection of Christmas memories.  

And all of this was beautifully motivated when I stumbled on this YouTube playlist while searching for the perfect songs to play as family gathers today. While there are sprinklings of 2020, it will take you all they way back to your favorite memories. This one had to have been secretly recorded during this exact Christmas memory. Each and every one of these songs will put you back into my childhood home –Black Jack, Missouri. Today, I share with you from Atlanta, Georgia creating new family memories in a new era where my children are adults. I am joyfully giving thanks for the memories that made me who I am today. Thankful for every family and friend that can share in this memory with me. And for every new friend and family member that continues to create the picturesque moments that last in our hearts forever. Life, never perfect, is uniquely designed with love in mind. Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you and your families. Spread this gift of love and be open to what was and what can be. These my friends are happy tears for a life …well lived with love.   

This year I’ve put together a small photo gallery of a million memories to share with you and you and you. It has photos of both of my paternal and maternal grandmothers, my parents while still married(to each other), a few photos from my childhood and the twins. As you browse, you will note how mom’s love of Christmas and experience lasted long past my childhood well in to the twins childhood. And dadE’s love of entertaining, has officially become my Christmas duty. Headed to hangout with family and friends now. And so glad I took the time to create, complete and share.

xoxo,

Allison