The  “GIVING A START” Competition 2011 is aimed at encouraging potential entrepreneurs to follow their dream and to start their own business.

The judging panel will include Bobby Kerr CEO of Insomnia and of “Dragons Den”, Paula Fitzsimons, of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, and Terry Clune of Taxback.com.

The winner‟s prize is valued at €25,000.

This prize will be made up as follows:

-Office, business support, conference and meeting rooms in 11 Patrick Street

-Accommodation and events in The adjoining Pembroke Hotel

Support and consultancy from businesses in 11 Patrick Street to the value of €3,000.00 per business.
-Paschal Bergin Accountants & Tax Consultants
-MD Media PR Consultants
-Brian Dunlop Architects
-Optimize Recruitment
-Real Solutions, Staff training and coaching
-Fitzwilliam Partnership, Strategic and Financial Management

-Support from the Invest Kilkenny Business Support Unit and seed money of €1,000

-A strong PR campaign behind the competition locally and nationally aimed at giving profile to the winner and finalists.

For full competition entry details go to

http://www.elevenpatrickstreet.com/givingastart

If you have a particular objective to achieve in speaking to someone are you ready for that conversation? So whether you are going to a network event or talking to one of your customers, suppliers here are some of my tips on getting the most out of those conversations:

- Always have your research done on the person, company you are going to approach. Look at their website, talk to others in same industry, similar role.  Find out about the industry, whats driving the industry, whats changing the industry. Who are their competitors, what are they doing.

- Listen out for tones in the voice of the person you are speaking to. Are they interested, busy, bored, engaged? React to their tone . For instance if they sound busy then ask them is there a better time to talk? If they sound bored then you need to engage them more. Ask more questions about themselves & their business & the challenges they face.

- Check your own tone of voice, is it energetic, interested, happy?

- Use same language as they are using , use their speak. If you do not understand the words they are using then ask what that word means e.g. “It was interesting”  Question back “What specifically was interesting about it?”  “Why was that interesting for you”? This helos you better understand specifically what was interesting for them.

- Check who is doing the most talking. If you are doing most of it then how does other person feel & if you are trying to find out information about them why are you doing the most talking?

- Empathise where appropriate. If a person is telling you something negative about their business then symapathise, share a similar story with them, showing them that you understand.

- Summarise back to the person to ensure you understand. “Just to clarify my understanding………is that correct”.

- Gain agreement from the other person on your understanding being correct plus on the next actions.

If you do all this then conversations for you & your customers will become more meaningful. It was also enable you to move closer to that person & build stronger relationships. Remember if you are really listening to what they are saying you will follow up on the actions that have come out from that conversation.

When I think back on all the bosses I have had or reflect on the many conversations with clients – the more successful ones demonstrated some of the attributes in the below article.  We cannot be everything for our team or business , we have got to use the resources available to us & around us.  So letting go some of the reins will empower you to be more & enable you to achieve more. The difficult part is to understand what to let go & to whom?

Once you have figured that out you yourself will not only feel empowered but your team around you will feel empowered. This has a rippling effect that should benefit everybody.

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/lessons-in-leadership-susan-sobbott

For as long as anyone could remember, the current owner and previous generations of owners were extremely positive happy people.

Most folk assumed it was because they ran a successful business.

In fact it was the other way around…

A tradition in the business was that the owner always wore a big lapel badge, saying Business Is Great!

The business was indeed generally great, although it went through tough times like any other. What never changed however was the owner’s attitude, and the badge saying Business Is Great!

Everyone who saw the badge for the first time invariably asked, “What’s so great about business?” Sometimes people would also comment that their own business was miserable, or even that they personally were miserable or stressed.

Anyhow, the Business Is Great! badge always tended to start a conversation, which typically involved the owner talking about lots of positive aspects of business and work, for example:

• the pleasure of meeting and talking with different people every day
• the reward that comes from helping staff take on new challenges and experiences
• the fun and laughter in a relaxed and healthy work environment
• the fascination in the work itself, and in the other people’s work and businesses
• the great feeling when you finish a job and do it to the best of your capabilities
• the new things you learn every day – even without looking to do so
• and the thought that everyone in business is blessed – because there are many millions of people who would swap their own situation to have the same opportunities of doing a productive meaningful job, in a civilized well-fed country, where we have no real worries.

And so the list went on. And no matter how miserable a person was, they’d usually end up feeling a lot happier after just a couple of minutes listening to all this infectious enthusiasm and positivity.

It is impossible to quantify or measure attitude like this, but to one extent or another it’s probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, on which point, if asked about the badge in a quiet moment, the business owner would confide:

“The badge came first. The great business followed.”

Our discussion led to developing partnerships with companies,  people who have a similar view to quality, how they sell themselves , how they treat their customers.  Should you compromise yourself  & your product/service to get it to market as quickly as possible or to get that extra margin?.  What are your values as a salesperson, manager, company owner? How do you like to do business?   Will having a clear defined set of values reap you business in the future? Here is an article from an entrepreneur who has something to say on this subject.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/15684/

For me one of the first indicators of someone really listening & interested in finding out what are your needs , is whether they ask you questions.  I wasn’t asked one question of what I was looking for, did I have children,  a dog, or why did I need a large booth? He did ask me one question about my current mileage.  I am interested in a diesel car (as my travelling is increasing) but he tried to persuade me that I didn’t need a diesel car.  I am actively searching & open to other models but the sales person did not take advantage of that at all.  He focused on the one car that I enquired about on walking into forecourt. He assumed alot.

For me, listening is actively engaging with the customer to hear what s/he is saying & asking relevant questions to find out what they are not saying. Next time you think you are listening, check if you really are listening to what the other person is saying  or are you just waiting for your turn to talk.

I came across this clip in relation to this subject & thought it was worthwhile sharing with you. Magic of storytelling in business.

We need to figure out this path when dealing with our customers or engaging with someone whom we are trying to influence. To ask the customer outright for the order without having done some form of warming up or relationship building is very likely to lead to failure for now & for the future. Don’t know about you, but when someones asks me for my order , straight out, without having checked with me what it is that I  really need, I get all annoyed with them.

Think about what are your tactics to find paths of least resistance with your customers or your boss? How do you find their path of least resistance?

Before I began the study of human relations, I would have told this man that if he refused to give the bank this information , we would have to refuse to accept this account. I resolved this morning to use a bit of sense. I resolved not to talk about what the bank wanted but about whathe,  the customer wanted. And above all else I was determined to get him saying ‘yes, yes’ from the very start. So I agreed with him. I told him the information he refused to give was not absolutely necessary. “However”, I said,  “suppose you have money in this bank at your death.  Wouldn’t you like to have the bank transfer it to your next of kin?”

“Yes, of course” he replied. “Don’t you think”, I continued, “that it would be a good idea to give us the name of your next of kin so that , in the event of your death we could carry out your wishes without delay?” Again he said  “yes”.

“The young man’s attitude softened & changed when he realised that we weren’t asking for this information for our sake but for his sake. Before leaving the bank, this young man not only gave me complete information about himself but he opened, at my suggestion, a trust account , naming his mother as the beneficiary for this account”.

I found that by getting him to “yes, yes” from the outset , he forgot the issue at stake & was more than happy to do all the things I suggested.”