Guerrilla Marketing Workshop | Laser Focus on Growing Your Business

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Doug Christy

I’m excited to be the trainer/coach for the upcoming Guerrilla Marketing workshop.   As my team understands, I have a passion for training, coaching and facilitating groups.  And the topic of this workshop (marketing) has been critical to the success of well over 95% of my clients during the past 5 years of coaching.

I’ve taken over 50 individual clients through this marketing process, along with multiple independent groups, along with employees of my owner clients.  It’s hard to find a business owner, or anyone involved in the revenue side of a business, where getting additional business isn’t near the top of their list.  The registrants will benefit from the collective wisdom, and absolute “pushing the envelope” creativity, from dozens of weapons (strategies) from past clients that have yielded incredible results – many at no cost.

So if you are someone who is interested in more business, then read on.  If not, then check out our website for a Pro/Vision Coaching Academy offering that may fit your specific business need.

I like to begin with the end in mind.  So, the “end” for a registrant in this workshop will be their own customized marketing campaign.  In a short 4 weeks, you’ll have sessions on creating a powerful message wrapped around a specific target, weapons (strategies) that directly hit that target with your message, and a system to actually implement and measure bottom line dollar weapon effectiveness.  Ever spend a couple thousand bucks on advertising and direct mail and not be able to attribute one piece of business to it?  I have in the past.  Not anymore.  The last thing we want at Pro/Vision Coaching is to leave you with a nice plan that sits on your bookshelf to be looked at when the spirit moves you.  You WILL take action, implement and get the results you need to grow your business to the levels you predetermine.  Nothing needs to be by chance/fate in the world of business.  You will learn how to be intentional.  Laser focused on your target.  Laser focused on bottom line results.

To be certain of this, as part of the workshop, I will personally meet with each individual registrant to review, and eliminate, any shades of gray in their target or message and ensure that their campaign is properly set up and ready to execute.  We need you to get results.  Results are good for you, good for your company, good for our local economy, and good for us.

So if you are interested in a customized, executable marketing campaign that drives bottom line profit, sign up.  Oh, and by the way, we have a bit of fun during these sessions! Please call us at 425-516-7478 or contact us here with questions or to register.

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Pro/Vision Coaching Announces Recycling Program for Bellevue Headquarters

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Aliceann Christy

Pro/Vision Coaching is much more than a place for our clients to come to do good work with great coaches. It is an environment where clients come to feel relaxed and refreshed while embracing the changes that are needed in the way they do life and business.

In our efforts to provide the best environment for our clients, we are initiating a recycling program. So, now if your refreshment comes in a can, cup or bottle you can be assured that it is meeting all of our goals to keep our environment sustainable, balanced and harmonious.

Are the goals for your life and business sustainable? Are you experiencing the blessings of balance and harmony? Or is it time for some recycling? I invite you to stop in, check out our place, relax, refresh and plan a time to meet with one of us to review your life/business goals. The Pro/Vision Coaching team is here to serve you.

If you would like to talk with someone about making your office, or your life, more green friendly, contact Aliceann Christy through the contact us page.

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Pro/Vision Coaching COO Paul Hajek Earns Family Business Advisor Certification from Galliard Group | Exit Planning Specialist

Posted on January 24, 2012 by PhilStalnaker

Paul Hajek of Pro/Vision Coaching, Inc. successfully completed the comprehensive Galliard Group Family Business Advisor Level One training program. Completion of the certification equips Paul with comprehensive tools to assist family-owned and closely-held businesses.

“Family Business Advisor training enables professionals in the network to take clients through a solid process to assess the business and best determine the steps to move forward to meet needs for growth and the future,” said Lise Stewart, founder of Galliard Group.

The philosophy behind the Galliard Group Family Business Advisor program is to allow transition of the business with dignity intact. The advisors work to help the business create an exit strategy and succession plan not only as a means to transition the business in the future, but also to help create a clear roadmap of how the business will operate to reach its goals. This is a great value for Pro/Vision, as stated by Doug Christy, owner. “When we help our clients set their vision, Paul’s expertise will be invaluable in assisting them navigate the complexities of their exit strategy.”

Having completed Family Business Advisor training and becoming a member of the Galliard Family Business Advisor Network, Paul Hajek will be further engaging in assisting family owned and closely-held businesses in developing transition plans and creating the strategy unique to each company to achieve the desired outcome.

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Pro/Vision Coaching Relocates Headquarters to Bellevue, WA and Adds Second Location

Posted on January 18, 2012 by PhilStalnaker

Pro/Vision Coaching, Inc. is proud to announce that the expansion efforts into the Seattle Metropolitan area have been a huge success and by design has become the main office location for the coaching leadership team.

Part of the original vision for the company, this has been a dream of 25+ years for the owning couple, the Christys. “It has always been a goal of ours to live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest”, comments Doug Christy. Aliceann adds on. “This is, in our opinion, the most scenic place in the entire country and we are incredibly blessed to have a home in Washington”.

Although the company leadership and headquarters have relocated from the Omaha Metro area, Pro/Vision Coaching is still actively pursuing growth there. “We remain focused on the Omaha market and have a strong team of coaches and trainers in place to best serve our customers,” says Philip Stalnaker, Pro/Vision’s VP of Business Development.

This news is coupled with a second announcement, and that being Pro/Vision’s second office in the Seattle Metro. “We will be opening an office in Redmond in the next few weeks”, said Doug Christy. “Stay tuned to find out more details”.

The Seattle Space Needle

The Seattle Space Needle

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Business Coaching | Why it Works

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Doug Christy

We would like to thank a good friend of ours, Danielle Kleber of Athlete’s Training Center in Omaha, Nebraska for sharing this story with us. We are not aware of the origin of this story, but believe that it tells a great story that explains the importance of coaching.

Have you ever experienced this kind of situation in your company?

A story for engineers – American Ingenuity

A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Small variations in the environment (which can’t be controlled in a cost-effective fashion) mean you must have quality assurance checks smartly distributed across the line so that customers all the way down to the supermarket don’t get upset and buy someone else’s product instead.

Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort.

The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP, third-parties selected, and six months (and $8 million) later they had a fantastic solution — on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time. They solved the problem by using some high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box weighing less than it should was detected. The line would stop, and someone had to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done to resume the line.

A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI of the project: amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. There were very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. “That’s some money well spent!” he said, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.

It turns out that the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0 after three weeks of production use. It should’ve been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report.  He requested an explanation, and after some investigation, the engineers come back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren’t picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.

Puzzled, the CEO went down to the factory, and walked up to the part of the line where the precision scales were installed. A few feet before it there was a $20 desk fan blowing the empty boxes off the belt and into a bin. “Oh, that — one of the guys put it there ’cause he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang”, said one of the workers.

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Strategic Planning | Why?

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Paul Hajek

Strategic planning in an organization is a process of capturing the values, vision, and direction of a group of committed stakeholders and developing a planned process for putting these elements into action.

As the old saying goes: “If you don’t know where you going, you may never get there.”  At Pro/Vision Coaching, we usually start our business coaching engagements with a clearly stated roadmap to what our clients consider to be their “success”.  This planning process may take few sessions or few months but the results are always the same: our clients know where they are going and how they are going to get there.

The following are questions simply to give you the opportunity for personal reflection and generate very open and honest discussions in the initial stages of Strategic Planning:

Take a moment to write down what your company will look and feel like in 3 to 5 years.  Be as descriptive as possible. 

  • What will the physical building look like? 
  • Who will be working there – how many people? 
  • What would you produce? 
  • What would be the overall immediate impression that a newcomer would get when he or she arrived on the premises? 
  • Who would be “running” the company? 
  • What would the management structure look like? 
  • Who would be the customers? 
  • What reputation would the company have – in the immediate vicinity, in the state, in the country, internationally? 
  • What would the employees say about working for this company? 
  • Why would an employee want to be part of your team? 
  • How would you fit into this company?
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To Sell Like Cole, or to Sell Like a Business Owner | Business Sales Techniques

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Doug Christy

How about a show of hands?  How many of you have an advance degree in sales?  Bachelors?  Associate?  High School training?  How about training from your dad to make the below You Tube video?  Watch the cute kid (Cole) get a $20 bill from his prospect (Dad).

Pretty cute, wasn’t it?  Dad taught (and if you watch the end of the video you see dad and relatives coaching) Cole what we would call “traditional sales techniques” to get in the door, stay in the door, handle objections, refuse to leave or chase forever to “hopefully” come away with a twenty dollar bill.  The one major liberty taken with this video was that traditional sales techniques such as Cole’s usually end up in a prolonged, exhausting “chase” with quick closes the exception rather than the norm.  Sound familiar?  It doesn’t have too.

At Pro/Vision Coaching, we coach the business owner.  The overwhelming majority have little or no sales training or experience.  Instead, they are experts (technicians/professionals) at what they do.  Their belief is if they do it well, word of mouth raving fans will be enough to sustain them.  Word of mouth raving fans may work for a while – just better keep performing at excellent standards to keep them referring.  And better not have an economic downturn, or better not lose a key employee, or…………you get the picture.

How about a simpler solution that could help take your business to the next level?  Don’t want the next level, then how about getting a bit more time off for you/your family?  The equation is simple:  closing more prospects results in increased raving fans = business growth = you fill in the blank as to what it means to you personally.  The solution is this: stop trying to sell like Cole.  You likely aren’t that cute and all your prospects won’t be family.

Sales is an important part of one of the dozen or so processes we take our clients through.  We have special certification and licensing in a best practice sales and prospecting system called Client Builder.  It was developed by Larry Lewis taking the past several decades of best practice sales systems, coupling it with human behavior psychology, resulting in a system that is more like a conversation than a sales call.  I call it the “anti-sales system”.  Our business owners embrace it.  They don’t have to feel the need to use Cole’s techniques when they get in front of a prospect.

It has yielded incredible results with our clients and helps rid the stigma of the “traditional sales guy” and replaces it with a professional conversation centered on either we have a fit, or we don’t.  To learn more, visit the rest of our website or contact us on our webform to learn more about upcoming workshops or coaching services that can help you be less like Cole.

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Is Greed Good? | A Look at Business Vision and Profit

Posted on November 23, 2011 by PhilStalnaker

As our friend Gordon Gekko once pointed out, “Greed is good.” It is the oil that keeps the economic machine running, the grease that lubricates our free market, and the sludge that is produced from our toxic waste sites. I contend to you, how good is greed?

Our free market economic system relies on one very simple premise: supply vs. demand. Without demand, there would be no reason for supply. Without supply, demand would rise so high that even reasonable adults would transform into raving lunatics running on pure bloodlust for the next Tickle-Me-Elmo. Welcome to the holidays.

“After Target decreed that Black Friday would start at midnight Thanksgiving night and that employees must report to work at 11 p.m., an Omaha worker, Anthony Hardwick, posted a petition at Change.org asking the company to move the official start of Christmas shopping back to 5 a.m. Friday. Response from workers and others has been stellar: 192,000 signatures by Monday.” CNN.com

Each year we have watched these stores open earlier and earlier, tempting shoppers with great deals at horrible hours. It’s simple (and good business): this time of year there is an inherent rise in demand for the holidays. Because of that rise in demand, supply becomes in danger. Small stores cannot keep supply on the shelves and the wholesale market caters to those who can continue to keep demand on the rise. Big-box stores such as Target and Walmart have the infrastructure to handle holiday demand, keeping a relatively decent supply of products on their shelves for the shoppers. Obviously they want to sell more than other stores, so they compete with each other; if Target opens at 4am, Best Buy will open at 3.

The people that stand to be hurt are the employees, all of whom have significant gripes against their big-box employer (see americanrightsatwork.org to see examples of offenses). Not only do people have to be there during open hours, but stocking, delivery, preparation and clean-up work are needed also. Can you imagine shopping in a Target ravished by holiday shoppers with no clean-up? Not fun. Truth be told, though, in this instance, the stores are only responding to the public. If no one shows up to go shopping at 2am, do you think Target would remain open at that hour? No.

Thus, the question remains. Who is to blame? Is it the big-box stores? Is it ourselves? Is it a flawed economic system? Is it Cap’n Crunch’s? Gordon Gekko was right. Greed IS good – at least to a point. Greed is the emotion that pushes us to be the best doctors, inventors, teachers, producers, etc… in a free market economy. This is based on the simple principle of competition. I want a better life and to reach it must do better than others. Good business coaching focuses on this – VISION. This can be a good thing, because in order to reach that, we need the help and cooperation of other people. Thus, the “if you profit, then I can profit” ideal was born. As communal greed grows, life grows. It builds cities, national parks and green energy.

This philosophy fails when restraint dies, giving us no control over our material desires. Greed without restraint pushes us to dangerous ends that destroy others and search for our good at the cost of others as opposed to the good of all. It is this mentality that leads to corruption and is the cause of many of the symptoms our economy currently faces. When we look to help ourselves with the point of doing it at someone else’s expense, we cross the line. That greed does not rebuild our economy.

Maybe the best lesson this holiday season is a classic proverb that can help us look at things from a different approach. “It is better to give than to receive.” If we all give, then we all will receive; if you profit, then I can profit. After all, I would want my children to receive the best education possible so they have the opportunity to reach their potential. If I keep cutting the wages of our teachers, then I am not promoting good greed that grows a community (and my children’s future), I am just being selfish.

Selfishness is not vision. Vision for a better life for yourself and others is a great thing and the ultimate description of profit.

Captain Crunch

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Philip Stalnaker Interviewed about Marketing on Chat With Women Network

Posted on October 13, 2011 by PhilStalnaker

In case you were not able to listen to the radio show live, it is available online at the following link:

http://www.chatwithwomen.com/media.php?do=details&mid=364

Thanks again to Jen Westby and Julie Wells for having me on the show – I hope that I was able to provide some insight and support to all the listeners out there!

Tha Motivational Happy Hour can be found online on Facebook!

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Pro/Vision Coaching Seattle Office Reaches Profitability Ahead of Schedule

Posted on October 11, 2011 by PhilStalnaker

Pro/Vision Coaching, Inc. is proud to announce that the expansion efforts into the Seattle Metropolitan area have been a huge success and the company has reached profitability, thus successfully completing the expansion portion of their Seattle growth plan a whole quarter ahead of schedule.

Despite the current economic troubles of the nation, Pro/Vision was able to start from scratch and get their expansion office to a sustainable, profitable office a whole three months ahead of their plan. “Our goal was to reach profitability by the end of 2011,” stated owner Doug Christy. “The fact that we reached it a quarter ahead of time shows that the Seattle market is ready for our services and that we are providing a solution that works.”

The success has been in part due to the launch of the Pro/Vision Academy, a series of groups, workshops, and courses that expanded the company’s reach from solely business owners to include business professionals as well. “We knew that we had to reach people where they are,” commented VP of Business Development Philip Stalnaker, “And when we saw an opportunity to change our price points and allow for both easier entrance into our firm and higher profit margins, we simply saw a win-win for everyone.”

Now that the Seattle Metro office is fully profitable, Pro/Vision Coaching is able to increase the value of their already high-level customer service and provide greater insight to their clients, part of which is shown by how quickly they were able to reach their goals. For additional information about Pro/Vision Coaching or to inquire about their full list of services, call 425-516-7478 (Seattle Metro) or 402-301-6987 (Omaha Metro).

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