Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-to-Turn-an-Industry-on-Its-Head--Become-Masters-at-Delivering-On-Big-Promises.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-to-Turn-an-Industry-on-Its-Head--Become-Masters-at-Delivering-On-Big-Promises.html Marketing and advertising work best when you speak to the customer’s biggest need or pain and show them how your products or services can give them what they want. In many cases, companies struggle with the effectiveness of their marketing because they talk about things that don’t get the attention of their potential customers. Some companies are marketing masters and have a different challenge: they are not able to live up to the expectations they set to lure the customers in the door in the first place. Often, those customer ends up disappointed of feel like they were oversold or misled. Mastery of marketing is not only promising to fulfill the core needs and desires of your potential customers, but having the whole business built to consistently deliver on those promises – every person and process in the company. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Optimizing-Email-Stay-Productive-Not-Busy.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Optimizing-Email-Stay-Productive-Not-Busy.html Does email boost or hinder your performance? It all depends on how you use it. Email offers us countless ways to save time and be more productive, but when we go on “email autopilot” – checking the inbox repeatedly, typing out messages that should be discussed, copying people who are only peripherally involved, and other bad habits we’ve picked up along the way – email can make us more busy than productive. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Finding-the-Flow.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Finding-the-Flow.html Racing cars has long been a passion of mine. I love high-performance cars like I love high performance people – riding the edge, where life is focused, energized and precise. Over the years, I’ve realized that days at the race track can be perfect opportunities to discover fundamental rules of high personal performance, in any realm. A few months back, I had a really rough day on the track. I was fighting the car and making a lot of mistakes. Instead of feeling inspired and skilled, I went home tired and frustrated. What was going on? Had I lost my passion? Was it time to get my thrills another way? I gave it serious consideration, feeling a lot like my clients who had lost the passion for their business. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Slash-the-Knot-How-to-Uncover-and-Overcome-Your-Biggest-Obstacles.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Slash-the-Knot-How-to-Uncover-and-Overcome-Your-Biggest-Obstacles.html What does Alexander the Great have in common with Richard Branson, Michael Dell and Jim Pattison? Alexander the Great lived only 33 years – from 356 to 323 B.C. But in that short time, Alexander forged the greatest contiguous empire the world has ever known, stretching from south-eastern Europe to Egypt, and east as far as India. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/The-Leaders-Edge--How-to-Transform-a-Company-by-Unlocking-the-Leader.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/The-Leaders-Edge--How-to-Transform-a-Company-by-Unlocking-the-Leader.html If you take a close look at most entrepreneurs in their first year of business, you’d find an impressive level of passion, commitment and vision. They know what they want and they’re ready to take on the world to get it. A few years later, that fire often begins to wane, and beyond that many entrepreneurs are on a steady path to overwhelm, exhaustion and burnout. If they aren’t being crushed by the demands of the business, they’re struggling to keep up with the brisk level of business and opportunity they’ve created. Although there are those rare few who thrive under this kind of pressure, most business leaders gradually lose their original excitement and momentum. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/The-Most-Important--and-Overlooked--Measure-of-Return-on-Investment.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/The-Most-Important--and-Overlooked--Measure-of-Return-on-Investment.html When ambitious entrepreneurs set their minds to accomplish something, they can summon a tremendous amount of drive, tenacity and commitment to make their vision a reality. And what a vision it is… a luxurious home, expensive cars, fine dining and more. Ah, the trappings of success! But while that internal drive to succeed is crucial to professional success, it can also be an entrepreneur’s downfall. They get so focused on the traditional picture of “success” – the dollar signs – that they forget what really matters. And when that happens, no paycheck is big enough. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Top-12-Ways-You-Can-OverDeliver-Value-To-Your-Clients.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Top-12-Ways-You-Can-OverDeliver-Value-To-Your-Clients.html In our business, we're often asked the question: "How can I over-deliver and, thereby, ensure high levels of customer retention and referrals?" Here's our answer, in the form of a "Top 12 Ways You Can Over-Deliver Value To Your Clients" list: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-To-Profit-From-Customer-Complaints.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-To-Profit-From-Customer-Complaints.html Complaining customers are a scary proposition for many professionals, but the complaint situation represents an opportunity, not a problem, in most cases. If you deal with a person's concerns respectfully and helpfully, your effort and consideration will almost always be appreciated, and former complainers will walk away feeling happy and valued. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Calculate-the-True-Value-of-Your-Customers.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/Calculate-the-True-Value-of-Your-Customers.html The value of a customer cannot be overrated, and you shall soon understand why. The following story proves that the true value of a customer can barely ever be measured; it is always potentially huge. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-to-Build-Your-Business-with-Referrals--Repeat-Business.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/155/How-to-Build-Your-Business-with-Referrals--Repeat-Business.html Your business is a lot like a big wooden barrel in an old farmyard full of other barrels. Your barrel holds all of your customers. The other barrels belong to your competition. When a customer leaves, for whatever reason, think of this as your barrel of business leaking - part of its content is being drained. What's important to understand, if you want to build and sustain your business, is how you can prevent this from occurring. Why spend countless hours of time, heaps of money and plenty of precious energy marketing your business, if new clients just slip out through holes after you siphon them into your barrel?