Business Coach John Layzell's Blog

14 Steps to Live Positively

By John Layzell | Published: May 14, 2012

It is proven that positivity does more than just reflect a successful and happy life, making an effort to be positive produces success and happiness. Positivity includes emotions like love, joy, amusement, gratitude, serenity, interest, inspiration, awe, and connection.  It gives you the attitudes that lead to open minds, open hearts, and relaxation. Below are 14 small, simple things you can do to live more positively.

  1.  Practice Gratitude – It is impossible to feel stressed and thankful at the same time. Gratitude is like muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it gets. So, take 10 minutes each day to make a list for whom and what you are thankful. You will fill your body and brain with costless and priceless anti-depressants.
  2.  Take a Walk of Gratitude – Do this each morning and you’ll feel good all day long.
  3.  Turn off the News – most of it is bad, so why surround yourself with negative images?
  4.  Smile More – It uplifts you, and those around you. Remember, it’s easier to smile than to frown. A smile uses 17 muscles, a frown, 43.
  5.  Focus on Get to vs Have to – “I get to take out the trash” vs. “I have to take out the trash.”
  6.  Read uplifting books or stories
  7.  Get together with a positive, uplifting person.
  8.  Reach Out - Call or visit someone who has made a difference in your life and thank them (research shows this is a huge happiness booster)
  9.  Write a few Thank You Notes Today – When you thank others you feed them and yourself.
  10. Watch a funny movie that makes you belly laugh.
  11.  Work on your I.V.V.M – Idealize, Visualize, Verbalize, Materialize – create a big-picture vision for your future and dream about the life you want to create. Today dream about your future and it will feed you with positivity now.
  12.   Be a Coach – Coaches bring out the best in others. The best coaches mentor, encourage, praise, inspire, and lead with optimism and positivity. Today, feed others and yourself with positivity by being a coach.
  13.  Start a Success and Gratitude Journal – Write down the one great thing about your day. The more you look for success, and are grateful for it, the more you will find it.
  14. Decide to Make a Difference – When you help other people with their problems you forget about your own.

If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog give me a call at 305-899-9963 or email me at johnlayzell@actioncoach.com and we’ll make it happen.

Coach John

“Living beyond the ordinary”

Posted in Personal Growth, Time Management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Making the Best First Impression

By John Layzell | Published: May 11, 2012

You never get a second chance to make a first impression; that’s a fact. The first few moments of meeting a person are critical. In such a short amount of time, how can you be sure others are leaving with the correct assessment of you? How can you improve your chances of making a great first impression?

Well, let’s consider: What influences your opinion of a person when you first meet them? Appearance is the first thing that comes to mind, but how often do you meet a person, make a judgment, then your feelings change after you get to know them?

It’s clear when we have an initial connection with some people and not with others. This is because a person feels better when surrounded by others similar to them. The more familiar, the more secure and comfortable you feel.

Communication with people extends beyond words. The tone of your voice and your body language can be significantly more important than the words you use.   If a person you meet is sociable, cheerful, and lively, then you need to be equally as friendly and animated.  In contrast, a person who is soft spoken and calm feels more comfortable if you are more reserved. It’s important to “match & mirror” and understand the difference between this and “mimicking”, which can be offensive.

Body language can create either a feeling of security or suspicion. Body language 101 teaches us to always smile when appropriate and maintain a comfortable level of eye contact. By looking into another person’s eyes, you are conveying honesty. When a person refuses to look at you, it portrays the idea that they have something to hide. Awareness of personal space is another important way to communicate effectively. You want to be close enough to show that you are engaged, yet not so close to create discomfort. It is important to communicate with people using more than words. Your voice, your expression, your enthusiasm all make a difference in how you communicate. Remember, the closer you are to another person’s behavior, the more comfortable they will feel.

Self confidence is another over-looked idea in effective communication. One way to increase self confidence is to develop a short personal story that tells others who you are. Writing out your one to two minute biography may be helpful as well.  When you are confident, the people around you will be much more relaxed around you and therefore you will have enhanced connections.

Lastly, a great way to make a first impression is to focus on the person with whom you are communicating. People love to talk about themselves! Asking questions and engaging the person with positive affirmations will help form the bond you desire.

In all facets of life, it is crucial to know how to make a good impression. By making others feel comfortable, you are thought of by others in a positive way.

 If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog give me a call at 305-899-9963 or email me at johnlayzell@actioncoach.com and we’ll make it happen.

Coach John
“Living beyond the ordinary”

Posted in Customer Service, Growing Your Business, Personal Growth | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Do You Go About Buying Customers?

By John Layzell | Published: May 7, 2012

Ludicrous! Buying customers?! Absolutely absurd!  Begging for customers, pleading potential clients, trying to lead unsuspecting customers in the door… How do you bring new customers into your business?

Have you ever just published an ad? On the radio, on TV, in a newspaper or a flyer, hoping that somehow it would magically bring new customers in? It is okay if you answered yes. As a matter of fact, give yourself a round of applause for being like 95% of business owners I speak with about marketing. Fortunately, the following information provides you with the tools to get better customers and get them at a discount!

A client recently asked, “I can’t just go out and buy a customer, they have to come to me. Don’t they?” What a great question. When I speak with business owners, the idea of investing in stock is common. When we discuss marketing investments, we buy new customers. The next question is how much do new customers cost?

To figure this out, let’s take an example. You put $1000 into an ad campaign. As a result, 100 people call you. Let’s say that 1 out of 5 of these ‘Leads’ actually comes in and buys from you. Working out the numbers it cost you $10 to get each Lead. It cost you $50(5X$10) for a sale. In this example, a new customer cost you $50. This is your ‘Customer Acquisition Cost’.

Now it gets exciting. Now you know your specific marketing campaign is going to cost you $50 for every new customer it brings in, and that every new customer eventually spends $500 with you, of which $100 is profit. How many times would you invest that $50 to buy more customers? Let’s see… spend $50 make $100, spend $50 make another $100 and so on… Clearly, it makes sense to repeat that as much and as quickly as possible.

Does it seem too good to be true? Because it really is that simple. When you discover how much it costs to buy a customer you are able to see a change in profits, as long as you are making more per customer than your Customer Acquisition Cost. To know your true acquisition cost, test and measure every marketing campaign. Give me a call at 305-899-9963 and I’ll show you how.

Once you understand that your whole business is a marketing unit, you begin to see why the amount you pay to buy a customer is your biggest expense.

Eventually, you discover ways to earn more on your first sale than you spend on advertising. That first sale could come days after your new marketing. You could put in place low-cost strategies to get the same customers coming back over and over while buying even more per visit from you.

That is when you really start moving forward, when there is an ever increasing stream of revenue. Use this small step to increase your earnings significantly!

If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog give me a call at 305-899-9963 or email me at johnlayzell@actioncoach.com and we’ll make it happen.

Coach John
“Living beyond the ordinary”

Posted in Growing Your Business, Money & Finances | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Top Tips to Improve Your Networking

By John Layzell | Published: May 3, 2012

Many business owners I meet complain that, although they attend networking events, they don’t actually get any business through them and ask if it’s still worth doing, considering there are lots of other things they could be spending their time on instead.

Clearly, networking isn’t an appropriate marketing tool for all businesses, but for many indeed it is. After all, if you needed a competent professional, wouldn’t you prefer to deal with somebody you have already met rather than somebody you didn’t know at all?

If you are going to use networking as a marketing tool for your business, as with any marketing  idea you use, you first need a clear strategy in order to make it work well for you. Here are my ‘top ten tips’ on effective networking to help you.

  1. Choose the networking groups you attend wisely – you need groups of proactive business owners, not ones that just meet to chat and discuss sports scores!
  2. Go to the meetings with a clear goal of the number of people you want to meet, and arrange to have a follow up call within 48 hours.
  3. Be clear on the type of business you are looking for – think about the size, type and location of companies you want to meet.
  4. Make it easy for people to refer work to you by having a clear and concise offer.
  5. Ask the people you meet about them and their businesses – remember that people buy from others they know, like, and trust, and by showing interest in what others do helps build that relationship.
  6. Have a great story to tell and be enthusiastic – have people interested in who you are and what you do, never try to just sell.
  7. Remember to take enough business cards with you, although collecting business cards is far more important!
  8. Always follow up with the people you have met after the event – keep in mind, networking is the start of the sales process, not the end.
  9. Most importantly, remember to have fun!
  10. Finally, make sure you measure the results of your efforts – it is NetWORKING, after all!

So now you have a guide to effective networking, get out there, take action and make it work for you and your business!

If you would like further information or you have any questions about this blog give me a call at 305-899-9963 or email me at johnlayzell@actioncoach.com and we’ll make it happen.

Coach John
“Living beyond the ordinary”

Posted in Growing Your Business | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Increase Your Sales Conversion

By John Layzell | Published: March 19, 2012

A great way to increase your sales conversion is to find out what is really going on in your business by mystery shopping the business by posing as a potential prospect and then providing a summary of the experience. The object is to portray a reasonable prospect with a real world need.

Given what I have experienced repeatedly, I STRONGLY encourage all business owners and general managers to regularly mystery shop your own business. When a prospect visits or calls, you have already paid for the lead through your advertising and marketing. The cost per lead is the same whether you make the sale or completely turn off the prospect. In any economy we simply cannot afford to waste leads.

Here are the biggest misses I consistently see that can make a HUGE difference in the conversion rate, size of the sale and lifetime value of the client. Bottom line is address these for more profit.

  1. Greeting: Greet the prospect promptly with your name and get their name. Use their name immediately and throughout the conversation. Seems elementary, but this happens less than 50% of the time. The sweetest sound to anyone is the sound of their own name.  Sir and ma’am are much less appealing!
  2. Sequential Sale Process: Have a sequential documented sales process in place including a standard opening question with the greeting to help direct the conversation. Also be sure to have a transition statement along with a series of open ended questions to allow for a targeted recommendation. “I would be happy to assist you with that. May I ask you a few questions so I can suggest the best options for your situation?” Then ask open ended questions to identify the key info you need to narrow the choices. If you don’t have this in writing for your sales team, you can expect a lower conversion rate. A sequential sales process is occurring less than 20% of the time.
  3. USP and Guarantee: Be able to share your unique selling proposition and guarantee. What sets apart your company from your competition? What guarantee do you offer to help the prospect to confidently say yes? If the answer is good service, good selection and competitive prices, you can bet your competitor is saying the same thing so it isn’t unique. A strong USP and Guarantee is happening less than 20% of the time.
  4. Response to Price Question: How many times do we actually make a sale without some type of price question or price objection? Almost never. Have some prepared responses for what your business wants communicated when a price objection occurs. Unless you are happy to just beat or match other prices, there are a great deal of sales and profits flying out the door. An average or good response to price occurs less than 20% of the time.
  5. Capture Their Info: Be sure to capture the contact information from the prospect before they leave. Always ask for the info and be prepared to offer a good reason if you find that people are hesitant. It could be to keep them updated on new items, specials or a sale on the item they liked. Consider your industry and what would be of value. Again this seems very basic, BUT this is almost NEVER happening in my mystery shopping. If you are wondering where the leads are from your marketing, this may be where they are lost. I hear this phrasing consistently. “Here’s my card. Give me a call if you need any additional information or want to look at anything else.” How inspiring is that?

You can’t go about the process of improvement until you actually know what is being said about your business, by your employees. Take some time over the next week to see what is really being said to your prospects and clients.

If you would like me to mystery shop your business, contact me and we’ll see how we can make it happen. I guarantee you will find the information well worth your time!

Coach John

Posted in Customer Service, Growing Your Business, Team Building | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Understanding Break Even Sales

By John Layzell | Published: February 20, 2012

It is essential for you to understand the flow of money in, through, and out of your business.  For some businesses, this can even be a daily issue.  Positive cashflow (more money coming in than going out) is essential to keep the business going.

So how do you keep more money coming in vs. going out?  Obviously, having a good control on your expenses and payables is essential to controlling what is going out.  Timing is crucial in managing cash.  Making sure that you are collecting your receivables in a timely fashion assures that money is coming in.  Another key cashflow issue is maintaining an appropriate level of inventory and supplies.  Again, a good practical rolling cashflow budget will address all of these issues.

Once you are successfully monitoring your cashflow, the next issue to address is profitability.  A great place to start to look at profitability is breakeven.  The definition of breakeven is the point in your business when your gross profit covers all of your fixed costs.  If you go “above” breakeven, then you are profitable.  So here is the formula:

BREAK EVEN SALES = FIXED EXPENSE divided by GROSS PROFIT MARGIN

This answers the question, how much do I need to sell to pay my expenses?  You can calculate break even for a year, or a quarter, or a month, or even a week.  Let’s go through an example in a small business for one year.

Let’s use a coffee shop.  This coffee shop only sells black coffee!  We’ll deal with marketing in another article!!!  The cost to operate this shop is monthly rent (including utilities) of $750/month, salaries of $ 2,000 per month, and other fixed expense of $500 per month.  They also figured out that the cost for coffee and water is $.10 per cup, and they sell a cup of coffee for $1.25.  You now have all you need to calculate break even.

MONTHLY FIXED EXPENSE = ($2000 + $750 + $500) x 12 = $39,000.

GROSS PROFIT PER CUP = $1.25 – $0.10 = $1.15

GROSS PROFIT MARGIN = GROSS PROFIT divided by GROSS SALES =

$1.15/$1.25 = 0.92 (92%).

BREAK EVEN SALES = FIXED EXPENSE divided by GROSS PROFIT MARGIN

BREAK EVEN SALES = $39,000/.92 = $42,391.30

CUPS OF COFFEE SOLD TO BREAK EVEN = $42,391.30/$1.25 = 33,913/year or 652 per week or 93 per day (if you are open 7 days a week 52 weeks per year).

How can you apply this formula in your business?

Posted in Money & Finances | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why to retain Employees – or not?

By John Layzell | Published: February 16, 2012

Many business owners or managers I meet invariably tell me they have challenges retaining their team. They worry about having a high employee turnover rate and all the problems it brings such as constantly training, constant recruitment and constantly supervising the new people.

Let’s see what would happen if you don’t have to do those three activities: constant training, constant recruitment, and constant supervision. Think of the following situation if employees never left your organization:

  1. No upward growth. If all the senior people in the company stay forever, where do the bright up-and comers go?
  2. Your bad apples will rot. The longer you problem employees stay in your business, the more contagious the problem becomes. Raising your standards becomes a bigger challenge.
  3. Slow to change. The longer a group of people stays together, the larger the comfort zone around them will be. How quickly do they embrace change and innovation?
  4. Lack of energy. How enthusiastic are you doing the same things over and over again? How enthusiastic is your team? What’s the level of energy?

Now let’s imagine your business for a second. What would be the effect if NOBODY in your business ever left you? What would your organization look like? What sort of environment would you find yourself in today? How many poor performers would still be in your business? How many people with poor attitudes would still be there?

Let me know in the comments below. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same things and expecting different results”, how about if we use the same employees all the time and then expect different results?

Think of how to apply this in your business!

Posted in Team Building | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Business Finances – Love Your Numbers

By John Layzell | Published: February 15, 2012

In business, and in your personal life for that matter, bottom-line is, you must know your numbers. However, don’t let numbers be scary or repel you. Even though the mindset that many of us grew up with was “numbers are no fun”, “numbers are hard”, “dry”, “not creative” … whatever the misconception you created about numbers when you were young. But quite the opposite is true. Numbers tell a story, numbers help you forecast (your own personal crystal ball), numbers are creative, and when you get right down to it, numbers make up the universe – think music, chemistry, cooking, dance, architecture, and on and on and on.

And the wonderful thing about business math, which is all you need for  general commerce, is that it’s really simple, there’s no rocket science here. You just need basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, with fractions, decimals, and percentages thrown in for better measure.

Another simple truth about your numbers – if you don’t watch them, testing, measuring, and tracking what they’re telling you, then numbers will do very little to help you succeed.

Embrace your numbers, they are your friends!

Maintain these few number tools and you are well on your way to many business successes:

  • Basic Testing & Measuring:
  1. Number of Leads Generated
  2. Conversion Rate of Leads to Buyers
  3. Number of Transactions for each Buyer
  4. Amount of Average Dollar Sale for each Buyer
  5. Profit Margins (both gross and net) on Your Revenue
  • Balance Sheet
  • Break-even
  • Cash Flow
  • Income Statement (P&L)
  • Marketing Campaigns (always testing & measuring)

Ask any business owner, around the globe, and they will all have stories how, over the years, they’ve  spent literally thousands of dollars on ad campaigns, just because that’s what they’d always done (or they saw their competitors doing), when those campaigns were actually costing them money, with no return on investment. Or, those clients who focus their sales efforts on inventory items with the lowest profit margins, while their higher profit items sit languishing on the shelf.  And there are business owners who never increase their prices, as business expenses continually creep up year-over-year, so they end up taking less money home at the end of their efforts each year.

There are so many ways money can slip through business owner’s hands. If you just systemize and embrace your numbers, that won’t happen: start tracking and having fun with your numbers today. 

Let me know if you need help with systemizing and tracking your numbers.

Posted in Growing Your Business, Money & Finances | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Creating your Vision Statement

By cl-admin | Published: January 25, 2012

Focus on your Outcome….

Every great leader starts by defining the culture of his or her team. The culture is determined by spending time thinking about the vision, mission, and values of the organization. Every leader must make time to do this! The first step is writing down your vision statement.

The Vision Statement is the “Strategic Intent” of the business owner or senior management – it should be considered the ultimate goal. It captures the essence of success, is stable over time and is deeply motivating to the organization at all levels. It should be over the horizon, and many years out. Your vision statement should have a higher purpose and be a massive challenge

The right Vision and Mission when combined are so powerful that they can literally jumpstart the future of an organization. Creating a laser-like focus and calling forth energies, talents and resources makes great things happen.

But taking your vision and writing it down to create your vision statement is not enough. Now comes your mission statement, or the roadmap that shows how you will achieve your vision. Armed with you vision and mission statements, next you must identify what sets you apart from all others who do what you do. This becomes your unique selling proposition or your articulated sales argument. It defines why your prospects should buy from you, rather than your competitors.

So start with your vision statement now!

To learn more about how to develop your vision statement, achieve greater structure and success in your business and achieve your goals, contact John Layzell Today (Click Here) or call 305-899-9963 for a complimentary coaching session.

“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.”
Bob Nardelli, CEO of Home Depot, FORTUNE MAGAZINE

Nobody gets to the Olympics without a coach!

Posted in Business Planning | Leave a comment

Time: Worst Practice: Management by Crisis

By cl-admin | Published: January 25, 2012

Management by crisis is a phrase used to describe the common problem of allowing unexpected events, interruptions, problems, or emergencies to dictate your priorities and actions.

Effective crisis management is such an important skill to have and of course, use; it is an essential skill of effective time managers because unexpected things do happen in every business, every day. Sometimes we do need to react quickly to a crisis and contain it before it does more damage. The problem comes when crisis management becomes the routine rather than the exception. If you spend more of your time putting out fires than doing your work, you are managing by crisis.

When crisis management becomes the routine, it can easily lead to what Stephen Covey refers to as “Urgency Addiction.” People that are addicted to urgency enjoy putting out fires, they like stepping in and solving problems, and their bosses often reward them for doing so. They have no incentive to avoid or prevent the fires because they get a payoff every time they put one out.

To eliminate the worst practice of management by crisis you need to take two important steps.

  1. First, you must distinguish between a real crisis — which is something important that requires your immediate attention — and other lesser problems, events, or interruptions that do not qualify as a true crisis.
  2. The second key step is to realize that when crisis management becomes the routine rather than the exception, it’s usually pointing to a more fundamental problem that needs to be solved. There is an old Chinese proverb that says: “The superior doctor prevents sickness. The mediocre doctor attends to impending sickness. The inferior doctor treats sickness.” Don’t just treat the symptoms of the latest crisis, cure the underlying disease and prevent it from recurring.

Our clients are constantly amazed at how often a simple awareness of how much time in their day (their life) is being lost to ‘Management by Crisis’ One of the first areas you will work with together with a coach is in taking back control of your time.

Take Time (Author Unknown)

Take time to think – thoughts are the source of power.
Take time to play – play is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read – reading is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to pray – prayer can be a rock of strength in time of trouble.
Take time to love – loving is what makes living worthwhile.
Take time to be friendly – friendships give life a delicious flavor.
Take time to laugh – laughter is the music of the soul.
Take time to give – any day of the year is too short for selfishness.
Take time to dream – dreams show you what is possible.
Take time to work – work is the price of success.
Take time to do your work well – pride in your work, no matter what it is, nourishes the mind and the spirit.
Take time to show appreciation – thanks is the frosting on the cake of life.

To learn more about how a business coach will help you take back control of your time and achieve your goals, contact John Layzell Today (Click Here) or call 305-899-9963 for a complimentary coaching session.

“I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities.” Bob Nardelli, CEO of Home Depot, FORTUNE MAGAZINE -

Nobody gets to the Olympics without a coach!

Posted in Time Management | Leave a comment

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