Process Prodigy – Work Less, Make More Money & Create Outrageously Effective Systems for Your Business

Our Thank You Sale!

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

As a special “Thank You”, until midnight on January 29, 2010 you can get my very successful program, Your Business Machine Basics for 30% OFF.

I’ve got big plans for this year, including expanding and changing our product line. After a long debate with my team, I’ve made the hard decision to take this successful program off the market. It’s great information, but it doesn’t quite flow with the new programs and products you’ll see us rolling out over the next year.

My decision is your reward. We have a limited number of copies left, so hurry and get your copy for 30% off – you MUST enter coupon code gift to receive the discount: http://www.processprodigy.com/shopping/business_machine_basics.html

This special is my way of saying thank you for being a member of the Process Prodigy community and helping you launch your new year with success.

Grab your copy and save 30% with code gift: http://www.processprodigy.com/shopping/business_machine_basics.html

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This is your LAST CHANCE to get Your Business Machine Basics before it goes into the Process Prodigy vault!
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If the 30% discount isn’t enough to have you clicking to my site, what’s included with the program will surely do the trick:

ü Two full hours of step-by-step audio training that will show you how to set up systems to work less and get more done

ü Complete program transcripts that make it easy to refer back to key points – like how to delegate tasks effectively

ü 40+ Page Workbook that makes it easy to prioritize and figure out what you should work on first to make the biggest impact. . .fast

ü Sample Flowcharts that you can implement immediately

ü 30 Days of free email support! ($300 value) Got questions, no problem, we’ve got answers

WHEW!
That’s a lot of goodies …and you get it all with Your Business Machine Basics for 30% off (use code gift).

Go here right now and claim your copy before they’re all gone! http://www.processprodigy.com/shopping/business_machine_basics.html

This is the LAST CHANCE you will have to buy this revolutionary system that so many savvy small business owners are raving about. It has been one of our most popular and longest running products – and we know you will love it. At a $450 value, you will get this package for only $137.90! This special 30% off sale ends at midnight on Friday, January 29, 2010.

Go here now with coupon code gift: http://www.processprodigy.com/shopping/business_machine_basics.html

Take Care,

Beth

Categories : Bottom Line, Business, Coaching, Communication

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When Mistakes Happen

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Happy New Year! I hope you took some time off to celebrate, relax and rejuvenate. I sure did. I high tailed it out of town and spent a long weekend with some good friends in northern California. It was a blast.

I came home just in time to co-host the first call in our new program Outrageously Profitable Systems. It’s always exciting to watch something you’ve created come to life.

When all of the holiday hubbub is in full swing, it’s easy for companies to get overwhelmed and over burdened. When this happens it’s easy to find yourself on the receiving end of a mistake. Everyone knows that accidents happen, but it’s how a company handles the mistake that ultimately matters. We’re kicking off the year, with a new article about how to keep customers happy when the worst happens.

Enjoy,
Beth

HappyNewYear

Here I am bringing in the new year with my good friends Tracy and Pat Monteforte, Todd and Carla Falcone and their kids Gianni and Joey. Tracy and Pat had a great party, then toured us around their town. It was a fantastic trip.

Break Glass in Case of Emergency

By Beth Schneider

What’s that saying? “Stuff” happens? In a world where no one is perfect, we know mistakes will be made and accidents will happen. We do our best to avoid them, but the harsh reality is that at some point “stuff” is going to happen.
Knowing that a mistake is inevitable it makes sense to put policies and systems in place to be prepared for these accidents. What you put in place for your company really depends on your individual situation. But, no matter what you do, remember people typically want to feel heard and taken care of.

I recently experienced a few “stuff” happens moments. Some handled very well, others not so much. Here are 3 examples of how handling or not handling your clients experiences can affect your business.

The A+ Experience Before I headed up north to my a holiday party I decided to treat myself so I ran off to the local Ritz Carlton for a manicure, pedicure and a professional make-up application. When I booked the appointment, I told them time was an issue as I was catching a plane. I arrived on time, my manicurist was not so punctual. I waited for 15 minutes when the spa manager came in to talk to me. She explained what was going on, what was going to happen and offered to get me something to eat or drink.

By the time we got started, I’d been waiting for 30 minutes and quite frankly, I wasn’t so pleased. A couple hours later, I was polished, concealed and running a good 35 minutes behind schedule. As I was thinking, “I probably won’t come here again”, I was told that because of my wait the fee for my manicure and pedicure ($65 each, which is a hefty fee for some nail polish) were waived. It was completely unexpected and that one grand gesture has made me a raving fan. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back because I know that my time and feelings are considered and taken care of.

The C+ Experience I booked a hotel room for an upcoming business trip. It was a slightly complicated reservation, a night under a group rate, a couple of nights with points and a night with a reduced rate if I pre-paid. I agreed to pre-pay the night, got my confirmation and went on my way.

A couple of weeks later I notice the charge on my card was 4 times what it should have been so I called to clear it up. The first person I talked to said she couldn’t help me and passed me to another. The second person said I needed to call someone else. When I sighed and expressed my frustration with having to tell the story a third time, she called the third person and said it was taken care of.

Further follow-up showed that the problem had NOT been cleared up so I eventually had to make that third phone call and explain…again…and be irritated…again. It was finally cleared up, they acknowledged their mistake, the manager apologized profusely, but it still cost me more time than it should have. Still, this will be one of those experiences I don’t remember in a month.

The F Experience One of my vendors made an error. They apparently lost an order. Again, mistakes happen, we simply let them know a mistake had been made and we needed it fixed. Instead of an apology, we got a huffy attitude and an excuse about how they were so busy with other clients. The same thing happened again about two weeks after the first incident. They’ve made it pretty clear that they are not inerested in our business so we’re looking for a replacement. I’ll keep you posted.

So ask yourself, what grade does your company get for handling errors? Setting policies and systems around handling errors can make or break the way your clients see you

© 2010 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc.

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Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following:

Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.

Categories : Bottom Line, Business, Communication, Customers, Follow-Up, Planning

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Eliminate and Delegate

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

As you read this I’m in Las Vegas for Ali Brown’s Shine event. I’m not much of a gambler, but I do love Vegas shows. I usually catch a Cirque du Soleil, a concert or a comedy show so I’m hoping to see something new this time around.

Have you grabbed your spot yet? Come join me in on November 11 for my brand new webinar, Double Your Profits, Double Your Time Off: The Simple Formula to the Find the Money, Results and Fun Hiding in Your Business. This is content I’ve never shared before and I’ll be sharing how you can close the gap between what you have now and what you want to have. Just go to www.processprodigy.com/theformula.

As the year starts to wind down, now is a great time to look at what you can remove from your plate, either by eliminating it all together or delegating it to someone on your team. This week’s article comes from our Systems Coach, Sandye Linnetz who shares some ways to eliminate and delegate.

Take care,
Beth

Roxy

Hey, it’s me Roxy the Mouseketeer. Hope you had a great Halloween. I really hate it when my mom puts these hats on me. Good thing I have a system to quickly shake it off. You see I’ve figured out what I need to do to go from where I am to where I want to be (that would be hat free in case you were wondering). I thought you might like to find out my system so join my mom on Wednesday, November 11 www.processprodigy.com/theformula.

Eliminate and Delegate

Thoughts from Sandye Linnetz, Systems Coach, Process ProdigyToo much to do and not enough hours to do it?

Perhaps it’s time to eliminate and delegate. The most effective systems we can put into place involve the elimination of unnecessary or duplicated tasks and the delegation to others of those tasks that don’t really merit our personal time and attention. So often we take the attitude that “WE” have to do it ourselves; that we have to be in every information loop. Well, time to rethink.

The all to frequent concern; that it is too expensive to delegate, is about to be wiped off the map of success. First of all, what is your goal? Is it just about making money? Or, is the money your means to an end – having the resources to live the life of your dreams?

Assuming that the goal for most – if not all of us – is to live the “good life”, consider what your time and peace of mind is worth to you. How much would you pay to be stress free and actually enjoy what you are doing? Deferred-life, i.e. retirement and the good life we long for, should not be something we put off for the future – BE THERE NOW!

In his book, “The 4-Hour Work Week”, Timothy Ferris writes about giving up the old rules of what he describes as SLAVE to SAVE to RETIRE. He says that you can have it all RIGHT NOW by shifting your thinking to the way the “new rich” (the NR, as he refers to them) think, and by doing what they do. It’s all about elimination, delegation and outsourcing your business and your life. He actually gives us a “blue- print” with step-by-step details and sources. Amazing, truly amazing, and so possible.

Ferris recommends the “low-information” diet (to eliminate unnecessary extra “noise” and distraction) and suggests that we cultivate selective ignorance rather than selective listening. He also favors mega outsourcing – for your business and your personal life. He really got my attention with this idea. Ferris concludes that if you figure out the value of your time and factor in the freedom you gain, it is almost always better to outsource. And, he shows you how – even includes specific referrals!

Get the book
Create the system
Eliminate Delegate and RETIRE now.

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Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following:
Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.

Categories : Bottom Line, Business, Uncategorized

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The Essential Business Lessons I Learned From Eating Ice Cream

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The count down is on. Only two days until my birthday. It’s an exciting birthday this year because my cousin, Dani is getting married on my birthday. It’s going to be some party.

I’ve been on the road again. I’m just back from speaking to a group of lawyers in San Antonio. I’d never been to San Antonio, the riverwalk or the Alamo before so I got a little exploring in while I was there. Well, actually I almost fell into the river. I was watching some ducks swim by. My heel caught in a crack in the ground and I almost went it. Good thing I have pretty good balance. I was able to right myself before I ended up going for a swim.

Part of the reason that I can escape the office on such a frequent basis is because my team has been properly trained to run the systems we’ve put in place. This essential step is something I often see overlooked. I got a great reminder of this the other day while eating an ice cream cone. Yes, I know, I manage to find inspiration in really unusual places. Enjoy this week’s article, The Essential Business Lessons I Learned From Eating Ice Cream.

Take care,
Beth

Beth Alamo

Here I am in San Antonio remembering the Alamo. I love it when I get the opportunity to play tourist while I’m visiting a city on business.

The Essential Business Lessons I Learned From Eating Ice Cream

By Beth Schneider

As I sat enjoying my unexpectedly tasty quesadilla in the Phoenix airport I was silently negotiating with myself. In front of me was the Carvel Ice cream store and I was deciding if I wanted the extra calories, when suddenly this magic voice from behind the counter says, “who wants some ice cream?”

Next thing I know the manager is bringing me a cone. As I was thinking, “Wow, I just wished myself a cone,” he explained they were training the staff to make the perfect swirl and I just happened to be the recipient of that training. Now that’s my kind of training.

See the great thing about having a great swirl system, or any system for that matter is that it’s repeatable, delegatable and multiple people can learn HOW to get something done. But here’s the catch. You actually have to train people to understand and use your systems.

I often see small business owners bring on a new team member and then expect the new team member to magically figure out what needs to be done and the system for doing it. Most don’t take the time to explain and train and then wonder why they can’t ever get anyone to stay.

Think of my ice cream experience. If they’d just hired someone and said, “hey welcome to the ice cream team. Now go make some treats.” They probably would waste a lot of time, energy and money. The new person would have no idea how big should cones be, how to make the perfect swirl, if they need gloves after touching the cash register, etc.

These imperfections are the variables that make small business owners think they should just do everything on their own. The missing piece here is training!

Here are some tips to get your team members creating the perfect swirl.

1. Lay out the system. You’ve heard me say this before. Layout step-by-step what you want your team member to do and how they need to do it.

2. Create a training agenda. Create a list of everything that you want to cover, so you don’t accidentally leave anything off.

3. Don’t just throw the systems at them. Take the time to explain the steps and walk them through what they need to do. It’s kind of like giving them a tour of everything. Let them take notes and soak it all in.

4. Let them show you they understand. Once you’ve shown them what to do, then ask them to demo it back to you. Having them actually perform the system will show you where they need further training.

5. Support them as they learn and get used to everything. Even the most experienced team member has to get used to a new environment. Support them by setting regular check-in dates and times so there is plenty of time for them to answer questions and provide further training.

Does this take some time? Yes, but you’ll be surprised at what a difference a little training will make. Your team will be more effective, faster which will quickly add to your bottom line.

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© 2009 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc.

Categories : Bottom Line, Business, Coaching, Uncategorized

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3 Reasons Marketing to the Affluent will Increase Profitability

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Hope things have been going well for you. Some of my out of town friends were in Los Angeles for Ali Brown’s Diamond Mastermind meeting so I got to spend some time catching up with Michele Dekinder-Smith of http://www.janeoutofthebox.com/ and Kendall Summerhawk of http://www.kendallsummerhawk.com/. It’s safe to say that I am definitely a people person. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks speaking at events and I’ve made some new friends and amazing connections. I’ll be speaking at Kelly O’Neil’s Marketing to Millionaires Retreat happening here in LA at the end of October. I’d love to meet and spend some time with you! Kelly is actually hosting a Q&A call TONIGHT (Thursday, October 1 at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern). If you have any questions about how to attract affluent clients (AKA the people who can afford your products and services) then I recommend you take a look http://marketingtomillionairesretreat.com/QA/. In the mean time check out this weeks article about increasing your profitability. Enjoy,

Beth

Beth and Kendall

Here I am with Kendall Summerhawk. Kendall, her husband Richard and I got to spend some time together while she was here is Los Angeles. I’d love to meet and spend some time with you later this month at Kelly O’Neil’s Marketing to Millionaires retreat. She’ll show you step-by-step how to market your business to the affluent – AKA the people who can afford your services. Then I’ll be there to facilitate a bonus day so you can get everything implemented immediately. Can you join us? Check it out http://www.marketingtomillionairesretreat.com/

The Jesse James Strategy: 3 Reasons Marketing to the Affluent Will Increase Profitability in Your Business

Interviewer: Jesse, why do you rob banks?Jesse James: “Because that is where the money is”

By Kelly O’Neil

There are a lot of reasons to own your own business. The freedom it can provide, the ability to do something that you are incredibly passionate about, and the ability to have unlimited income. Unless you are running a non profit, the most important factor of successfully running a small business is to create profitability. While many small businesses simply rely on increasing revenue, more important is increasing your profitability.

Target Marketing is a strategy that involves breaking a market into segments and then concentrating your marketing efforts on one or a few key segments. Target marketing can be the key to a small business’s success. Target marketing provides a focus to all of your marketing activities. The beauty of target marketing is that it makes the promotion, pricing and distribution of your products and/or services easier and more cost-effective. Now you have a choice to make….target people who can easily afford what you are selling….or market to people who can not.

Honestly, it has always made sense for businesses to target affluent clients. However, with the shift in the economy, if you are not targeting affluent clients who have discretionary income to afford your products and services, it is a business killer.

Here are three reasons why employing the Jesse James Strategy and marketing to the affluent will increase profitability in your business:

Profitability Point #1 – They Actually Have Money to Invest In Your Services

If you would like to achieve financial wealth, you need to figure out where a vast majority of the money is and then go there and get it. It reminds me of the great quote by infamous bank robber Jesse James. When asked why he robs banks, he said “because that is where the money is.” I know that seems like a no brainer, but I come across clients every day who are wasting all of their time and money trying to sell their services to people who simply do not have the money to pay for them which is extremely time consuming and costly.

The affluent have money and plenty of it. And they are absolutely willing to invest money in services and products they find valuable. In fact, statistically speaking 22% of U.S. households have over 55% of all earned income. That is more than half of the income is concentrated in one of five households.

Profitability Point #2 – Affluent Clients Shop on Value, Not Price

Affluent clients will pay the asking price even if it’s 100% more expensive than the competition IF they perceive there’s added value what you are offering whether that is one-of-kind exclusivity, proven results or VIP customer service. Higher price points create more wiggle room for higher profitability margins.

Profitability Point #3 – Loyal Customers = Highly Profitable Customers

We know that affluent customers are extraordinarily loyal which brings a bevy of benefits including the fact that most are a pleasure to work with, it will decrease in your marketing costs and ultimate create higher profitability.

As a result of their innate loyalty, affluent clients have a substantially higher customer lifetime value. Customer Lifetime Value is defined as the total value, in monetary terms, of your average customers spanning the entire period that these customers are likely to do business with you. It’s the potential contribution of your customers to your business over a period of time.

When acquired as customers, the affluent customer base could potentially lead to more profit for your business. In my many years in marketing, I’ve met many business owners who don’t understand what Customer Lifetime Value is, much less its importance and the impact it has on their bottom-line. To most of them, what matters most is to increase revenue by continuously acquiring new one-shot customers.

This is one of the fatal mistakes that many business owners make, but it is totally avoidable. Consider this staggering statistic – it’ll cost you 7-10 times more to attract a new customer than it does to bring one of your past customers back to you.

Where do you want to invest your marketing dollars?

If you’re a smart business owner, you’ll understand that every penny you invest in marketing is most likely going towards acquiring new clients. You’ll also realize that once you’ve acquired the clients, you just can’t afford to let them go.

Isn’t it time we all took a lesson from Jesse James?

Kelly K. O’Neil, Chief Strategy Officer, UpLevel Strategies, Inc.

Award Winning Strategic Coach and Marketing to the Affluent Expert Kelly O’Neil publishes the ‘Arrive!’ weekly ezine for small service businesses and information marketers. If you are ready to learn the best strategies to market to the affluent so that you can make more money and have more freedom and fun in your small business, get your FREE CD “7 Surefire Marketing Strategies to Market to Millionaires” at http://www.marketingtomillionairesgift.com/.

NOTE: You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to info@uplevelstrategies.com.

Categories : Bottom Line, Business, Uncategorized

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