Author: chuckfasnacht

Author - Consultant - Speaker - Leadership - Entrepreneur

Seeing eye to eye in a pandemic

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, lifelong learner, startup

Have you ever heard about meeting with another person “eye to eye?”

Meet your customer or prospective customer eye to eye is a very descriptive visual. It is easy to imagine looking into another persons eyes while talking. When you do, it is the most engaged conversation you can have with true authenticity and vulnerability. This is a very powerful way of sharing a moment of communication.

A smile is the welcome mat to your face, and the eyes are the window of the soul. Being willing to look someone in the eye is a critical ingredient to building trust and rapport. Conversely, lack of eye contact can be a sign of deceit, or insecurity. If the other party notices that you avoid their eyes they may perceive that you are being deceitful or at least insecure. If they give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it isn’t outright deceit, they will wonder what it is you are insecure about. It could be something personal, or is it the product or service you’re presenting? These seeds of doubt will cause a lack of confidence and will often break a sales process.

Meeting eye to eye can also connote the ability to get a common understanding. Another way of saying it is “being on the same page.” Coming to agreement in language, terms, and conditions. This applies to relationships as well as the sales or negotiation process. Whether it is your spouse, your partner, your children or your friends, you will want to see them eye to eye. As a descriptive visual expression of agreement, it follows all good relationships.

In this day of pandemic and limited ability to personally meet with people, it is important to remember that it is still possible to remain connected. It may not be as easy to get together as it was in past, but the concept of reaching out to people, and communicating as thoroughly as possible, can still enrich our lives. The eye to eye meeting may not happen in physical proximity, but we can still communicate. We can still ask questions, and listen to the answers. We can still be involved in the lives of others. We can still care, and share ourselves with those who we love. Fortunately, eye to eye can still happen even when we are physically distant.

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Believe in your product

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, lifelong learner, startup

As a business person or salesperson, is your product or service one in which you believe? If not, keep researching and learning until you can say unequivocally that you believe in what you are presenting. If you can’t believe in it, you need to change to another line of work, product, or service.

 Life is too short to try to be selling something in which you don’t believe.

In addition to preparing you to properly serve the community, believing can be contagious. Believing and being enthusiastic about your product or service is vital, and it will help you to know how the product or service will help people reach their desired outcomes. How can you can help people to realize their goal? If we use an automobile as an example, a buyer may have a primary motive to provide safety for their family. Or they may be looking for the most inexpensive way to get to and from work. Another buyer might want to create the most economical decision that will last several years. The motive of every buyer is different.

To know your product or service well, enables you to find a solution where the buyer is more aligned with the goal they have set. Knowing about the engineering safety ratings for a family car; or miles per gallon of gas; or total lifetime routine maintenance and operating costs. All of these different goals could be part of an unsatisfied desire. As a person who knows his product or service, you can assist the buyer to find a solution. So, knowing what the product can do is important, as well as knowing what it can’t do. Always be learning more about your industry, your product or service, and your competition!

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Everyone sells!

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, lifelong learner, startup

You want to start your own business, so let me ask you a question, “What picture comes to mind when you think of a salesman?” Do you think of a salesman as a fast-talking, deceptive, manipulative person? Maybe there is some of those out there, but the best salespeople are trusted consultants and they won’t help you buy if it isn’t the right product or service for the customer.

When I started learning about sales it was through listening to cassette tapes (yes, that long ago!) of professional salespeople speaking about keeping a positive attitude, and helping other people get what they want. This was a new world opening for me. I was introduced to the idea that the highest-paid people in the world are salespeople, and many times they make more money than their managers! What an eye opening revelation. But is selling a skill that can be learned? The answer is yes. If you have desire and are willing to be teachable, you too can learn how to sell. If you want to grow a business of your own and you don’t want to sell, it is still possible. To do so you’ll need to hire a good salesperson to work for you. A good salesperson will need to be paid well for their craft, but in return they will help you build your business faster and more completely than you could grow without them.

Before giving up on yourself and your own selling abilities, consider whether you may already be successful at selling. Have you ever applied for a job? or volunteered for a role in your local church? or convinced someone to go on a date? or to share time with you? If you have done any of these things then you have sold an idea! When it comes to selling a good or service, the key is partly the skills, but first things first. The first thing is to find out why would someone want to buy into an idea that you are proposing? What is their want or need that you will help them satisfy?

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If you think you’re lost

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, Goals, lifelong learner, startup

I started traveling with a new position and my first assignment was to shadow a mature, retired Marine Colonel. You may have heard it said that “there is no such thing as a retired Marine.” Ultimately, once they have had the discipline and experience drilled into them they never go back. I’ll call him “Jay”, and Jay taught me a lot about traveling and developing habits and routines that would enable me to always find my rental car keys, paperwork, the next hotel, and clean bathrooms. In the days before smartphones and GPS systems being everywhere, we used maps to get from one place to another. “If you ever think you’re lost,” he said, “its because you haven’t gone far enough.”

I was thinking about this pearl of wisdom this week and realized how it is such a simple yet valuable lesson. It has happened several times when I thought I was lost; or had gone too far; maybe missed the turn; when I remind myself of this principle. If I THINK I am lost or on the wrong road, just go a little bit farther down the road. The feeling of moving in the direction of a goal when we aren’t getting enough feedback, will sometimes make us think we are on the wrong track or maybe we should turn around. Don’t give in! Keep on going in the direction of your dreams. If you are unsure, keep going. Soon you will KNOW WITH CERTAINTY whether you are on the right track or not. Just go a little bit further!

Developing Your Best Self

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, lifelong learner, startup

When it comes down to it, YOU are the most important commodity in which you should be investing. Start now while you are currently employed and invest in your personal knowledge and develop your best skills. Find a way to maximize your output by putting your best skills and talents to work and developing a cooperative relationship with others that will fill in the gaps of that which you don’t excel in.  You are your best investment, and if you are going to invest in yourself, start where you are now. The benefits of using a franchise system to supplement your skills will be that the franchise can bring talent and skills and a business format for you to plug yourself into for maximum output. 

 The key is, FOLLOW THE PROCESS, and be willing to be a humble, lifelong learner!

Buy your copy of The Franchising Fast Lane today.

Ownership mindset!

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, startup

Being an owner can sometimes be a very lonely role. It is common to find that the owner is the first to arrive and the last to leave. Employees will do what they are paid to do generally, but a person with an owner’s mentality won’t mind going the extra mile to provide excellent customer service. The ownership-minded person won’t walk past an errant piece of litter, and will typically give better attention and more personalized service than those with an employee mentality. An ownership mindset is a major differentiator between a corporate owned business and a locally owned and operated franchise location. The locally owned and operated franchise business will typically provide better service, and show a personal interest in the customer. As a consumer, don’t you prefer to do business with a customer-centric enterprise, assuming they have all the proper training and business format?

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Starting over or plugging in?

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, startup

When considering a new business idea, you have choices whether to create a new idea or plug into an existing format. There are pros and cons to each of course but in either case, you will want to surround yourself with a support system. If you are in a committed relationship bring your partner into the discussion, and, if you have a relationship with a higher power, pray about it first.  Starting a business is like having a baby… there isn’t a part-time pregnancy, and you will need to have a laser-like focus on your goal as you begin. Think about the lifestyle you want for yourself. Make your plan with the end in mind. How do you want to live and contribute to the daily achievement of your goal? Dream big, as if there is no limit to your success.

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Don’t Quit!

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, startup, Uncategorized

When you are thinking of starting your own business, don’t quit what you’re already doing!  If you are being paid to do a job now, continue in that effort and improve your service to your current employer.  What does this mean? It means to look for ways to add value to your current engagement. Be a lifelong learner and do your best during the time assigned to your current employment. If you have been laid off or given notice of impending termination, can you find something to continue your income while considering your business start up options? Your current income will provide some stability while you prepare and research your next steps with regard to business ownership. When it is time to decide, and you have done all your homework, start immediately without reservation.

Buy your copy of The Franchising Fast Lane today.

As you’re thinking about your own business the first question is:

by chuckfasnacht, posted in entrepreneur, franchising, startup, Uncategorized

Are you the “smartest guy in the room” or are you a lifelong learner?  If you are committed to humbly seek a lifetime of learning, you will have the ability to follow a proven system and heed direction. Alternatively, if you have the need to know everything and a do-it-yourself mindset, you may lack the ability to trust a committed mentor. Doing it yourself might be the best option until you find that you’re willing to consider the suggestions of another person or an organization’s leadership. There is no right or wrong answer to these questions but being honest with yourself will help save you a lot of time and frustration.

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The Franchising Fast Lane Book: Start with a Proven System and Accelerate Your Business Success

by chuckfasnacht, posted in Uncategorized

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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