Arnel's Blog

Social Media @ Beach - Great Conference!

Recently, I attended the event, Social Media @ The Beach, on

1/23/2010 from 10 AM to 4 PM. It took place at Peabody's 

on 21st Street in Virginia Beach. There were approximately 75 people at this

event.

The keynote speaker, Jeff Turner, is a renowned expert on Social Media.

The breakout sessions and the opportunity to hear and learn from Jeff made

this event exceptional.

What I learned from Mr. Turner: 1) Your brand is shaped by your values,

2) "Call to Action" buttons are very important in developing business

and 3) The end result of utilizing Social Media in your business is 

not only getting business but developing a community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give credit to the organizer of this event.  

I believe it was a worthy investment of money and time to be there. I will be at 

the next one!

Here are some links to the events:

Social Media @ The Beach

SMARTB GROUP

The 90 Day Challenge Report

This is "The 90 Day Challenge Report" for the week of 1/17/2010 to 1/24/2010:

1) I had 3 serving conversations (serving conversation is my term for sales appointment) with potential clients.

2) As a result of the 3 serving conversations, I picked up two new clients. The other serving conversation did not happen;the meeting was canceled by the potential client.

3) At my workshop, "The 90 Day Challenge - Double your income in 90 Days", I had seven business people there. Out of the seven people, I have at least 4 people interested in having a serving conservation.

4) I met at least 4 new business people and saw at least 2 business people I knew early in the week at a meeting; I will be calling each of them to setup an initial meeting (A total of 6 business people needs follow up).

5) I met one of the premier experts in social media and was able to listen to his presentation. The information presented brought confirmation to me concerning the direction in which I believed my business should go.     

Results of this week are:

2 new clients for February 2010 and 6 new business people to follow up with. It was a great week. 

Looking forward to the week of 1/17/2010 to 1/22/2010 coming up:

1) 2 serving conversations scheduled

2) Follow up with at least 4 people for a serving conversation

3) One event where I can meet at least 2-4 business people that I can follow up

 

4) At least 2 x 2 hours of block time calling to invite people to the next workshop, "The 90 Day Challenge"

Overall, I believe I have a process and a system that is starting to work.

"Groundhog Day", What are you going to do about? Get support now!

    I find in my business, I meet many business owners who experience what I called the "Groundhog Day". Check out this video from the movie, "Groundhog Day". Are you experiencing a "Groundhog Day"

    If you are, ask yourself this question? What are you going to do about it? Most business owners experience multiple "Groundhog Days" during the lifetime of owning a business. Very few of them are able to be like Bill Murray. He was able to develop the skills and the mindset not only change his short-term outcome and have a tremendously impact on his future. He is an exception to the rule to have done it by himself. Remember, this is a movie.

    I believe business owners need some type of paid support to prevent them from the "Groundhog Days" ever happening again. Support can be in a form of business coaches, business advisors, business consultants, mastermind or peer groups, and/or training programs. Any support is better than no support. Remember, if you are experiencing a "Groundhog Day" or multiple "Groundhog Days", go and seek support. Do not let yourself live the same day over and over again expecting a different result. 

Want more sales; you must know your personality type!

   

  About a few months ago, I was given a book, "The Art of Speeding Reading - How to Size People Up and Speak their Language by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger" by one of my friends and client, Jan Solock, the owner of The Closing Table. I was not excited about reading a book about personality types and traits. I could not figure out why Jan gave me this book.  How was this going to help me and my business?  After reading the book, I realized that it was long overdue. I was able to determine my personality type and determine how it helps and does not help me in business, especially in business development. 

    For example, my personality type is "INTP" which stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving. About 3 to 4 percent of the American population is INTP.  INTP personality types are intensely logical, analytical people. They possess an inner confidence knowing that they can tackle any problem by logically working their way through it. In a crisis, they are calm and unperturbed. They do not pay specific attention to mundane facts and details.They see possibilities where others cannot. They are eager learners in effort to become competent. One area of weakness is being competent in the area of interpersonal relationships. They are not good communicators. They are good at seeing flaws in ideas and generating innovative solutions. They are better at starting projects versus finishing them.

    How does my personality type "INTP" affect me in my business in regarding business development? Let me share some observations that I have seen in myself that did not serve me in my business. The observations are: 1) I am an Introvert (An Introvert is energized by being by themselves), therefore I prefer not to go to networking events because they can be exhausting and not energizing, 2) I am Intuitive (Intuitive take information through my sixth sense), so I usually am drawn to what is new and different, 3) I am a Thinker (Thinker makes decisions logically) and so I make decisions after careful review of all the information- listing out the pros and cons before implementing an idea and 4) I am a Perceiver (Perceiver tends to wing it) resulting in unprepared presentations = less closed sales.

    Knowing some of these observations based on my "INTP" personality type and how it was not serving me, I was able to make  minor adjustments in my business immediately. Let me share those adjustments: 1) Since, I am an introvert, I had to change to make sure that I was well rested before attending an event with many people, had the correct mindset, and executed my game plan, 2) Since I am an intuitive, I have to change to make sure that I do not get stuck on implementing new ideas and concepts all the time; I must work on the strategies I committed to and follow through on each of them, 3) since I am a Thinker, I had to change the mindset to "Implement now and perfect along the way", and 4) since I am a Perceiver, I had to change by preparing for my all presentations by writing out scripts to use as guides during the presentation. 

  Knowing what my personality type is, I was able to determine what was not serving me; therefore, I was able to make some adjustments along the way.  As a result, I was able to significantly increase my revenue by 30% over the last 4 months. I want to thank Jan Solock, the owner of The Closing Table for being who she is and always having the spirit of helping. So let my ask you a question. Do you want a 30% or more increase in your sales for your business? If you do, find out your personality type and be willing to make adjustments today.  

The 90 Day Challenge Report

 This is "The 90 Day Challenge Report" for the week of 1/10/2010 to 1/16/2010:

1) I had 4 serving conversations (serving conversation is my term for sales appointment) with potential clients.

2) As a result of the 4 serving conversations, I picked up two new clients. The other serving conversations should lead to potential two new clients in February 2010.

3) I picked up a new client as result of "The 90 Day Challenge" workshop last week without having a serving conservation.

4) I met at least 2 new business people and saw at least 4 business people I knew early in the week at a meeting; I will be calling each of them to setup an initial meeting (A total of 6 business people needs follow up).

5) I had one 1st meeting scheduled this week resulting in a "No Show". The person forgot to cancel my meeting. Lastly, I had one new client postpone but will start "The 90 Day Challenge" in February 2010

 3 new clients + 3 potential clients for February 2010 and 6 new business people to follow up with. It was a great week. 

    Looking forward to the week of 1/17/2010 to 1/22/2010 coming up:

1) 3 serving conversations scheduled the early part of the week

2) "The 90 Day Challenge" Workshop with at least 12-15 expected to attend

3) Three events where I can meet at least 2-4 business people that I can follow up 

4) At least 2 x 2 hours of block time calling to invite people to my workshop this week and the next one in February 2010.

Overall, my activity is up with serving conservations and meeting new business people to follow up with. This is going to be a great week.  

Desire is not enough!

    Recently someone asked me,"Is 'desire' enough for a person wanting to double their income in 90 Days?". From my experience of being the lead insultant for the series, "The 90 Day Challenge", DESIRE is not enough. Let me explain what is needed beside desire.

    I have a workshop that I conduct freely at least once a month for the last 6 months. The workshop is "The 90 Day Challenge - Double your income in 90 Days". From my records, I have had at least 100 people attend the workshop. About 95% of the people tell me, "Yes, I want to double my income. I accept the challenge", but only 20% of them actually commit to participate in the series. It shocks me that 95% say yes but only 20% of those people actually do go forward and go for it.

    In order to "Double your income in 90 Days" besides desire, I believe that you need these three things in place in your business and life to go forward.The three things are:

1) No other options - I have found business owners who love what they do, and they refuse to go back to  where they were. Their backs are against the wall. They run out of options and they have to fight but do not know how.

2) Willing heart - I have found that business owners who have a willing heart are teachable. They are willing to take feedback from people, learn new skills, get out their comfort zone, and implement. 

3) No ego - Business owners who have "no ego" do what needs to be done for their business. With support, they become shameless, fearless, and urgent.  They are not concerned about how other people feel about them; they are more concerned getting results to change their business.

   Desire is not enough to "Double your income in 90 Days". Desire plus "No other options available", a willing heart", and "No ego" are all needed in order for you to "Double your income in 90 Days".

    

I am Insultant!

 Many have asked, "What is an insultant?"  An "Insultant" is a term that comes from the book, "The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers" by Keith McFarland.

I was doing some research on the web and I found this blog - Leading Blog: Building a Community of Leaders (www.LedershipNow.com). The title of the article is "Insultants Wanted" and it explains that insultants are needed in order for companies to breakthrough. Take a moment and check out the website and the article. I will share a brief description and my thoughts.

From the book, insultants are "inside consultants". The author of book describes them as those people “willing to ask the tough questions that cause a company to think critically about its fundamental assumptions. The value of insultants is that they will go to great lengths to get their companies to reevaluate a position or adapt to a changing environment.” 

I believe that in order to assist you to advance to the next level in your business, it is crucial that I always ask the tough questions.  For example, "Why do you do it that way?" or "Is there a better way?" I am always looking for ways for my clients to be more effective versus efficient. It is my role to push them to go out of their comfort zone so we can get the results they want.

I tell my clients to build their business based on their strengths, passions, and talents. One core belief of an insultant that I live by is that I will tell them the truth even if it means my client will be offended and/or I will lose them as a client. I see myself as Pinocchio's trusted advisor, Jiminy Cricket.  Not only do I tell you the truth, I encourage you and recognize what you do well.  

I believe insultants are needed if you are a small business owner with revenues under $1,000,000 and especially if your revenue is under $500,000. From my experience working with business owners and being a business owner myself, we are our worst enemy. Secondly, no one is willing to tell us the truth about our business and how we operate in our business. This why 48% of small businesses fail the 1st year in business, and 80% of them fail in five years.

I am always excited to recieved comments. Please leave me a comment below and let me know what you are thinking and how you feel about this post. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog. 

My 1st Post

I am Arnel Tanyag and I am co-owner of  Drescher & Tanyag with my partner, Eddie Drescher, for over four years. Drescher & Tanyag is a business advisory and insulting services firm located in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  I focus on working with businesses with revenues under $750,000. I am the lead Insultant for the series, “The 90 Day Challenge – Double your income”.

My vision for this blog is that this is the resource of choice for small business owners, sales professionals, and people who want to start a business or take their business to a higher level.  I have three reasons for this blog: 1) To gain visibility and creditability in the business community of Hampton Roads , 2) To be a resource or the “Go to Guy/Expert” for business owners and business people in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and 3) To gain clients and raving fans for my business.

I am going to provide at least three written posts and at least 2 video posts a week. I am going to have at least two guest authors share their experience and their knowledge in helping business owners succeed on a monthly basis.

I am going to be transparent and share the truth in all my posts. I hope that business people and business owners will follow me just because I am sharing what I have to offer and what I am going to learn on my journey to get my business to a Stage 7 (this stage is where I can sell my business or only give vision with full time management, but not be in the day to day operation of the business) while helping other business owners get there too.

Some of the areas that I will be blogging about are the workshops and the series “The 90 Day Challenge – Double your Income”, business development processes 7 elements of a business, 7 stages of business, strategic plan, the challenges of running a business, lessons from the field, and many more areas. This blog will be a running journal of what to do, what not to do, what resources are needed or not needed, or any subject that I believe will be helpful to my audience. I describe it as “Life/Business Journal of a Business Owner”.

Once you finish reading any post on my blog, always leave me feedback through the comments section. I want to know what you are thinking. If you have a question, an idea, or want to share resources, either e-mail or call me. Lastly, do not forget to subscribe to my blog, so I can keep you updated on up and coming posts. You will not be disappointed.