Rich Allen Speaks

I read a good book over the holiday titled “Why Leaders Fail”. It was a short book, but covered the 7 primary reasons that most leaders fail. I thought I would focus on and share the #1 reason with you today. Here it is – pay close attention!

As we start this new year, it is important to get off to a fast start and set the tone for our new year ahead. On this episode I want to inspire you with a powerful quote and ask you a very important and powerful centering question. Are you ready to ride hard? Let’s go!

It’s near the end of another year. While I know we want to “finish strong” we also want to finish on a “high note”! And no better way to do that than to take time to celebrate your wins this year with your team! Don’t overlook this important activity. It matters to those who have worked hard all year long to make you successful. Here are a few ideas.

Far too many business owners NEVER get their plan out of their head and on to paper! But statistics show that 85% of the worlds wealth resides with those who have written plans. So let’s not try to beat the odds. Let’s get on the bandwagon and get our plan out of our head and on to paper! This week’s episode is designed to help you do just that!

The biggest and best breakthroughs in business come when you take time to get away from the day to day of your business to think deeply about new ideas and new strategies for improvement. That’s what this week’s episode is all about – thinking about what is possible if you thought differently about your customer experience. It’s time to transform how you think about your customers. Dive in – your business will never be the same!

Far too many business owners burn too much time and too many calories talking about, worrying about and complaining about their poorest performing team members. But what if you used that time to focus on the big challenges you are facing in your business that could truly make your business significantly bigger, better and more profitable? This episode is designed to encourage you to do just that!

We’ve covered 40 weeks of specific topics to improve your business. We’ve address each component of your bike (of your business) over these past 40 weeks. So what have you done with this? Have you made any changes? What If you took this seriously and made the changes you KNOW you need to make in your business? This week, I am challenging you to do just that!

The icing on the cake in this section of Financials and Metrics is the creation of a Business Dashboard. Having a visible dashboard to display the trends in your financial metrics and your KPI’s is critical to growing fast in business today. Without ready access to the data, graphs and trends, it is difficult to make good decisions. This episode focuses on how to create a business dashboard that allows you to go FAST!

If you’re running a business, it’s important to know what measures will help you predict future success. Most financial metrics are like looking in the rear view mirror. They show you what has happened in the past. But you need to look FORWARD using Key Performance Indicators. This episode focuses on the 4 critical areas of your business that must have KPI’s.

The idea of measurement can be overwhelming. Unless you take time to FOCUS your measurements on the things that matter most! This week’s episode is all about determining the specific financial metrics that you should focus your measurement efforts on. Get these right, and your business will be financially successful.

Far too often business owners are running their business without access to the brakes necessary to control the speed of the wheels. The brakes of a business are the financial controls. Without them, a business can roll out of control and may crash. We don’t want that to happen, so this week’s episode is all about helping you gain control by using your financial controls, your brakes.

Keeping score in business is not only powerful, but they are essential if you want and expect to WIN! But many business owners seem to avoid using their business financials and business metrics to make critical decisions. This week, we are introducing this new topic for discussion and we will be diving in over the next few weeks. Here we go!

It is far easier to KEEP a customer than it is to FIND and new one! We need to remember that and make sure we are doing everything possible to show our current customers how much we appreciate them. This week’s episode will give you some ideas you can use to make sure they know you love them!

Businesses that excel in the area of customer service and customer engagement have done it by setting clear and deliberate STANDARDS on how their team members will engage with their customers. That’s what we want to address today. This episode is focused on helping you think through the critical questions related to setting our Customer Relationship Standards.

Customer feedback is critical for businesses today. Obviously, we all want glowing feedback from our customers, and we want to avoid negative feedback, but far too many times, there is NO feedback from customers – which makes your prospects wonder how good your products or services really are. In this episode we are going to discuss ways for you to engage and get solid, helpful feedback from your customers on a regular basis.

Today we move to a new topic – your Race Fans. In business, we call these our Customers or Clients. But they are truly our race fans – those who cheer us on as we race to win in business. In this episode I will challenge you to think differently and deeply about the relationship you have with your customers. THIS is a game-changer!

If you want to truly drive your team engagement higher, you need to intentionally become the “chief enthusiasm officer” of your business. This week’s episode is all about helping you systematically recognize great performance and regularly celebrate with your team.

Performance Feedback

Team Engagement is arguably the most pressing and urgent issue facing business owners today. Without a high level of team engagement, a business owner will be frustrated, exhausted and ready to throw in the towel! Don’t let that happen to you! This week’s episode will inspire you to take action now to get your team fully engaged!

Many suggest that compensation and benefits do not lead to employee satisfaction – and I would agree with that. But these decisions DO have a significant impact on the culture and motivation of your team. This is a tricky area and as a small business owner, it is important to get it right! This week we will cover some ideas worth considering.

Most everything in your business hinges on your ability to hire and train the right people for your business. It’s a critical competency for any business, especially a small business. This episode addresses the challenges with the typical approach to hiring and lays out a better way to think about and execute your hiring process.

Many experts would suggest that the most important aspect of any business is the Culture they expect, demand and protect. It is the culture that can most easily set your business apart form your competition and position your business to deliver exceptional service and support to your customers. This week’s episode is all about defining and protecting your purposeful culture.

Over the next several weeks we’re going to talk about the fundamental elements of building a Winning Team. This is critically important for the success of your business. Today we’re going to give you the overview, then we will dive into the individual elements starting next week.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, you should ALWAYS be getting better at serving your customers. So how will you know that you are improving in this area unless you are regularly and consistently MEASURING your results? This week’s episode is focused on helping you define and construct your method for measuring your results.

If you intend to deliver exceptional customer service, then you need to do everything possible to mistake-proof your business processes. This can be easily done by incorporating Scripts and Templates into your delivery processes. This week’s episode will share how you can use Scripts and Templates to drastically improve the consistency of your customer experience.

The mark of a winning business is one that serves their customers using standard, documented, and consistently applied processes. Those who “wing it” are putting their business at risk – hoping that their team embers will do the right thing each and every day. Customers LOVE consistency! This week’s episode will help you deliver a consistent level of service every day!

If you want to stand out and never compete on price alone, you need to find and perfect your unique methodology – or what I call your Secret Sauce. This weeks episode will help you think more deeply about this and find your own uniqueness.

All actions in your business stem from the Standards you set. If the actions are inconsistent, then it is likely that you haven’t set the standards. And when it comes to Serving your Customers well, you MUST set High Standards. This episode is focused on how you can set your Delivery Standards so that everyone on your team will treat your customers as you need, want and expect.

Perhaps the most critical element of a successful business is your ability to successfully deliver on the promises you make during your marketing and sales activities. This week we begin talking about the back wheel of your bike – your processes for Serving Your Customers. Today is all about the overview – getting you prepared to take action!

If you want to “own” your business results, then you need to “own” your unique sales process. Don’t leave this to chance. Don’t allow everyone involved in sales to use their own approach – it NEVER ends with the best results! I want to give you a fresh idea on how to make this happen.

Once you understand the needs of your ideal customers, you need to identify the best way for you to connect with them. This requires you to identify the Marketing Strategies your going to use to get their attention. These are your front wheel Spokes. You need 5-7 solid spokes or marketing strategies to have a steady flow of new leads. I want to give you some ideas on getting started.

Winning New Customers all starts at the Hub of your front wheel – the definition of your Ideal Customer. If you haven’t spent time thinking about this deeply, then you probably won’t be speaking directly to them in a meaningful way. In this episode, I want to give you a way to go deep in your understanding of your ideal customer.

There are only 2 places where the rubber truly meets the road on a bike. Likewise, there are only 2 places where the rubber meets the road in a business. Today we’re talking about the Front Wheel of your bike, which represents your ability to Win New Customers. This is one of the 2 most critical activities in your business. Today we’re going to overview the elements of Winning New Customers so you can be ready to dive deep into the details over the next few weeks.

If you want to out-perform your competition, then you need to embrace the idea of Continuous Improvement – a systematic method of improving every area of your business on a regular basis. This episode will help you get a firm handle on how to implement this into your business structure.

If you want your business to be hugely successful, you’ve got to establish Accountability as a critical aspect of your business structure. This needs to be more than just a passing thought or occasional thing. It must be a well-established process that everyone follows. In this episode we cover a couple of powerful methods you may want to adopt in your business.

A critical part of having a solid frame for your business is having everyone on your team in complete alignment with what you need, want and expect from them. So I want you to consider replacing your Job Descriptions with a new concept called a Position Agreement. This episode will explain exactly how to make this happen.

A well-designed Organization Chart can provide huge benefits to the business owner and your employees. But you’ve got to think of it the right way and use it for the right purposes. This episode will help you think about this differently and make this more powerfully impactful to your business success.

While this is not a “sexy” topic, it is critical that you have your formal business documents in place, complete and up to date. Don’t wait until your business is large and complicated. Do it NOW! You’ll be glad you did.

Most business owners focus their communications on what needs to get done right now, today or this week. They don’t spend much time talking about their longer term vision, goals and strategy. But I think that is a big mistake! Here’s how you can set your self apart and inspire your team along the way.

If you want to provide strong leadership and set your business apart from your competition, you must establish the specific and unique performance standards you will expect and demand from your team.

The most critical element of “steering” your business is to define your Ideal Vision. This is important to keep you on track, to set your RAS and to set your Intention Destination. Take time this week to WRITE THIS DOWN!

As you think about steering your business, you’ve got to get a solid handle on WHY this business must be successful. It will give you the inspiration and motivation to work hard even when you may want to quit.

We’ve got a great platform to make a difference in the lives of many people – our Business! I want you to think about Your Legacy. It’s the ultimate question about our personal goal in life.

As a business owner, you need to surround yourself with a solid Team of Advisors. These need to be professionals who know your industry, understand your challenges and are readily available to help you make your business successful.

I want to share with you the Value Proposition Model I learned from Keith Cunningham. It is a powerful way to look at the critical elements of your business and create alignment, power and focus.

I want to give you 6 practical tips for helping you become a much more productive and successful person this year. If you master your time, you will not only be more productive but you will also find more enjoyment in your business.

As we kick of the New Year, it is critically important that as the business owner you are mentally prepared to WIN!

Gary Paparella, owner of POParella’s Gourmet Popcorn, joins Rich to share his journey from corporate executive to small business owner.

Megan Turner, owner of The Roots Frisco, joins Rich to share her entrepreneurial story that brought her to own a local bar, similar to Cheers in Boston.

Cleve Rasor, owner of Rasor Insurance, joins Rich to share his journey from solo business owner to running a strong team of insurance professionals.

Brian Dick, founder of Ignite, joins Rich to share his exciting story about how he built his business from scratch into a multi-million dollar business he took public.