This One Phrase Will Transform Your Business.

This weekend, I was hiking with my family in a state park — lots of trees, streams, and ticks. We all had a great time and the summer heat wasn't too oppressive. While we were exiting the forest, we were speaking about the economy and business, and my brother Jeff mentioned a quote I've never heard:

"Shame on you for not charging enough to stay in business."

It hit me like a thunderbolt. How many businesses do we encounter that bemoan the fact they aren't making enough money to survive?

Here's a little financial equation I use to understand the financials of your business and career.

1. How much money do you want to make this year? Let's say $125,000 to make the math easy.
2. Divide it by 50 weeks (you get 2 weeks off for vacation) = $2500 each week.
3. Divide it by 5 days a week = $500 each day.
4. Divide it by 8 hours = $62.50 per hour. But you have to have 40 solid hours of billing. If not, you need to increase this figure — even double it.

That's your hourly rate you need to make to pull in $125K a year. It doesn't take into account overhead, materials, help, etc. But it gives you a generalized idea of how much you are WORTH.

Then I have my clients build their business model the other way:

1. How much can you charge each client on an hourly basis? Let's say $100 an hour.
2. How many billable hours a day do you have? Let's say 5 = $500 per day.
3. How many billable days per week? Let's say 4 = $2000 per week.
4. 50 weeks per year = $100,000. A $25K shortfall.

This is important — usually the salary and hourly rate don't add up. I usually have to tell them to charge their clients MORE MONEY. Or figure out a way to deliver additional services to their clients so they make more money. Can you upsell? Can you sell them more stuff?

In any case — you need to charge enough to stay in business.

What are you charging? Do you need to charge MORE?

What Motivates You? A Simple Checklist.

An individual can't do their job effectively without being aware of what motivates them. A supervisor/manager should be cognizant of the fact that good performance is dependent not only on the abilities of team members, but also on how well team members are motivated to perform their tasks.

Are you aware of what motivates you to perform to the best of your ability? 

The following list includes possible motivators. Which of these are applicable to you?

1. Advancement within the company.
2. Possibility for growth and learning.
3. Responsibility.
4. Job security.
5. Self-Satisfaction by achievement.
6. Recognition of achievement.
7. Money — salary.
8. Good working conditions.
9. Interesting work.
10. Feeling 'in' on things.
11. Sense of belonging — acceptance.
12. Desire to help others.

Once you've circled the important ones, prioritize your choices. Do you see a picture forming?

Hand this list to your team members — have them fill it out. Once you get an idea of what they find important, it's much easier for you to manage their expectations.

What's your #1 motivator at work?

5 Ways To Guarantee A Great Job In Sales.

I have a lot of friends, colleagues, and clients who lost their job and quickly took up with an organization as an account executive. Unfortunately, when they were 'trained' and 'graduated', they found that it's a cold and cruel world out there. With the exception of their family and friends, they had to cold call all types of people to hawk their wares. And that's all they got from their company.

Here are the 5 (okay I lied . . . six . . . extra credit) tips that I relate to all of my clients when looking at any sales opportunity:

1. It must have a defined territory or product line. There are a million sales positions out there and most of them are not relegated to any type of territory or product line. The problem is that you will (not might, will) get overlapping salespeople hawking the same service or product to the same person or company. And that's a bad thing. It immediately communicates that the product is not interested in solving the company's problem, it's more interested in pushing its product. Any sales position worth its salt must have some sort of defined territory, client level, or product line.
2. It must have a current client base that is handed off to you to begin covering. This is basic sales management. When you take over a territory, product line, or client level, associated clients are apportioned to you. This gives you the running start that you'll need to maintain and excel at your new position. It also throws you right into the line of fire so you learn your craft and products quickly.
3. It must have past customers or clients that can be called on. Every good sales position has a number of prospects that got away or clients that have defected to the enemy. It's your job to go get them back. Unless it's a new company with new products. Then be wary — have them demonstrate planned success in your territory.
4. It must have an opportunity to cold call new clients. Cold calling is standard in any sales position — but it should never be the ONLY way you get clients. Any company that shoves you out into the blizzard with a bunch of hokey brochures to only cold call . . . BEWARE.
5. It must be with a company that spends big bucks on marketing, advertising and promotion. This is a big one. You will be swinging in the wind if your company spends too little or no portion of their budget on marketing. I've worked with many clients who have wondered why they've struck out selling a company's products when no one knows who they represent. For instance, would you buy an iPad without all of Apple's marketing and management of the media?
6. It must have some type of salary base. Any offered position must be positioned as a win-win for both the employer and employee. When the employer takes no risk whatsoever and pays no base salary, they have nothing to lose. But YOU DO. Get them to take a bit of risk too.

Now one opportunity might have some of these offerings and some might have all. Bottom line — the more offerings you get — the stronger the foundation you will have to build a firm and successful sales presence. This isn't my opinion, it's a fact.

Negotiate Salary Without Tipping Your Hand.

You’ve gotten pretty far in a job discussion. You like them. They like you. And it's getting down to the nitty gritty. by Marci Alboher at Yahoo.

Then your prospective employer pops the question you’ve been dreading: “So what are you making now?” (or some variation like, “What were you making in your last position?”) You freeze. You know that answering the question can only hurt you. It might peg you at a salary you feel you’ve outgrown or that you improperly negotiated. And you know that you’re always supposed to let the other person name a price first in any negotiation.

So what do you do?

Avoid revealing your salary. Never reveal your prior salary, says Ramit Sethi, creator of the blog, IWillTeachYouToBeRich, and author of the recently published book of the same title. He is clear and unequivocal. “It’s just none of their business,” he told me. “You’re focusing on a new job and if you reveal what you made previously, two things happen. First, you’ve laid out all your cards. Second, you’re admitting that you are inexperienced in interviewing and negotiating.” (That last bit was particularly painful for me to hear since I’ve made the mistake of revealing a prior salary and I’m in the business of advising people about how to manage their careers.)

Focus on your value. If the employer persists, Sethi suggests steering the conversation to the value you’ll be bringing to the position. If you can focus, say, on the hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue you’ll help the company generate, it becomes harder for them to focus on the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars you might be haggling over. If your position doesn’t have a clear connection to the bottom line, Sethi says to emphasize how your job will allow your manager to do his or her job more effectively. In the end, it’s all about how you’re going to help the organization achieve its goals.

Discuss salary ranges. If you get the prior salary question, steer the negotation to why you should be at a certain number or range, says Carol Frohlinger, managing director of Negotiating Women and author of the book, “Her Place at the Table."

One instance where it's fine to reveal your salary is when you feel like your current salary is in a reasonable range and you are only seeking a slight bump--say around 10 percent--according to Susan Cain, president of The Negotiation Company.  "If you're not there, which is often the case, then you'll want to deflect at least until they love you and don't want to lose you," says Cain. "At that point, you can say that you don't think your current employer would be comfortable with your disclosing what you earn." If you ultimately feel you have to disclose, Cain says you should just explain, in a non-defensive way, why you think it's low and why you should be in a higher range. She recommends saying something like: "I've had various training and experience and am now looking for a position that will reflect my acquired expertise."

Know your worth. When you do sit down to talk numbers, make sure that you do your homework so that you know what the range should be for the position. “It’s not just what the job pays, but what does it pay in your geographic area, in a company of the size of the one you’re looking at, in the same industry,” says Frohlinger. “And also think about what there is other than salary, what other things people have gotten for a total compensation package.”

Do your homework. In order to build a picture of what a job is worth, canvas your entire network, looking especially for people who have left a company you’re talking to. In addition, check out sites that offer comparative salary details, like Vault, PayScale, Salary.com and Glassdoor. If you work as an independent contractor or freelancer, ask your peers what they charge. “Talk to at least five people,” says Sethi, “since not everyone charges properly for their work and you might get a range of anywhere from $30-$200 an hour.”

What if you reveal too much? So what if you’ve messed up and revealed more than you wanted to? The best way to recover, says Sethi, is to start collecting evidence of your success on the job and immediately plan for an opportunity to sit down with your manager about how you’re doing. You’ll have to let some time pass--Sethi suggests about six months--but it’s important to let your manager know far in advance that you are preparing for a conversation that will include revisiting your compensation as part of it. In fact, Sethi says that by the time you have that conversation, your manager should fully know that you’re seeking a raise since you will have been laying the groundwork and showing off your accomplishments along the way.