Focus | The Barefoot Spirit

5 Reasons to say Thank You and Get More of What You Want

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 04:00:07 +0000

Sometimes we get so busy, we forget to say thank you to acknowledge a great referral or appreciate a job well done. We tend to get overwhelmed by today’s news and financial pressures. Rather than appreciating what’s going right, we tend to focus on what’s going wrong. We are challenged to meet our deadlines, show a profit, and put out the fires. We wish there was a way to make things a little easier.

There is. Say thank you more often.

Do it with intention. Don’t just say thanks and move on. Get specific and say what you are grateful for in detail. Personalize it. For example, we recently got thanked by a client for an introduction we made on her behalf. She sent us a note that said, “I want to thank you guys so much for putting me together with Peter. He introduced me to Mary and now I am doing more business as a result.” Our reaction? Send her more introductions, of course!

We have found that the best way to get out of a slump is to take inventory of what you do have and thank the folks who helped you get it. Several beneficial things start to happen:

Improve Your Focus. When you take the time to identify the things you are thankful for, you are less likely to overlook those same kinds of things when they come around. Tune up your focus and dial in on what you want, instead of what you don’t.
Improved Your Attitude. When you focus on what’s wrong it’s easy to get nervous, pressured, and downright depressed. The sore thumb is only one out of nine fingers. Let the other nine “stick out” occasionally and you will realize that you already have a lot going for you. That should raise your spirits. And people want to do more business with someone who is happy and positive – rather than haggard, hurried and hassled. You will be more effective in all your relationships.
Get More of the Same. By acknowledging the folks who have helped you and thanking them in specific terms, they will be more likely to do more for you. We all like to be appreciated; it’s part of our human nature. So, acknowledge others for what they have done and see if you don’t get more of the same. Friends, employees, vendors, suppliers, customers, and your network of associates all want to be valued and will be even more helpful if they know you appreciate them.
Be Aware of the Process. When you thank someone sincerely and specifically, you see their reaction and renewed efforts on your behalf, you notice more opportunities that you may have overlooked, and you improve your own productivity by being more agreeable, happy, and friendly to others. You become aware that the process itself of giving thanks, showing appreciation, and giving acknowledgement actually helps get you more!
Demonstrate Your Thoughtfulness. Giving thanks shows folks that you didn’t just take their efforts on your behalf for granted. You actually took the time to send a short email, or even better, a hand-written card.

It’s appropriate that “The Holidays” start out with Thanksgiving. It reminds us that the best gift we can give each other on every card and memo we write is a sincere and specific “Thank You!”

We want to thank all of you for reading our articles and sincerely thank YOU for all your help with connections, introductions and suggestions to help us better serve other entrepreneurs. Happy Holidays!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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World’s Best Sale Pitch: “My Product will help you Increase Sales”

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:50:23 +0000

We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.”

There are many books written on the subject of sales, sale techniques, and best closing strategies. We’ve often said the best sales person is the “Assistant Buyer”. The key to sales success is simply to sincerely have the buyer’s best interest at heart.

When you produce a product that goes through distribution channels, or when you offer a service business to business, the funds your buyer has to buy from you came from the sale of their product or service. If you are selling direct to the consumer, you still have to recognize that they have to work for the income, one way or another, that enables them to buy your product.

Everybody who sells products or services wants to sell more. The ultimate question from your prospect is: “How does your product or service help me sell my product or service?” or “How can you help me make more money?” That’s why positioning your sales pitch as enhancing theirs is so effective.

Here are some ways your product or service can help your customer’s bottom line:

1. Reduce his overhead cost per unit sold. He has to pay rent, lights, power, insurance, staff, cleaning, etc., whether he sells your product quickly or slowly. If it’s a fast seller, his cost per sale is reduced. He improves his ROI on his capital investment, maintenance, advertising, and staffing.

2. Increase his profits with lower acquisition costs and, consequently, higher profit margins on your product. Give him a volume purchase program that enables a lower retail price and increased volume resulting in higher profits per month.

3. Make his retail environment more attractive with seasonal point of sale materials and promotional programs geared to the theme of the given holiday. Make your displays festive decorations to his retail space.

4. Increase his business with local promotions and support for neighborhood causes. Use Worthy Cause Marketing to bring in customers who have a social reason to buy your product. Let the membership of the non-profit you support know where your product is for sale in his neighborhood.

5. Sell him a product or service that makes him more attractive and more competitive to his clients or retail customers. Give him the best price in your category, or an area-wide exclusive for an introductory period.

6. Add value to his total sales package. Is there something you can sell him that makes what he’s selling more valuable, adds an extra feature or delivers another benefit – like a guarantee, excellent customer service or loyalty program? Does your product give him “green” bragging rights?

7. Improve his personnel’s efficiency by providing training, benefits or tools his staff can use to increase his sales. Help him find and keep good people.

These are just a few examples of how you can help your buyer increase profits and do his job more efficiently. When you focus on what your buyer is trying to do, you can quickly get a clue as to what you can do to help him increase his sales. Adding value to his sales efforts with your product allows him to say to his customers, “But wait, there’s more!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Gaining Traction in the Marketplace takes Tenacity and Focus

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:56:50 +0000

You may hear about a brand that “just took off.” From our perspective, very few brands just take off. What’s more likely is that they started out small and sometimes took years to gain traction.

As we’ve said many times before, it’s not the quality of the product, the price, or the demand so much as it is mastering the distribution and timing.

They say you can move the Queen Mary if you exert enough pressure over time. You can push with all your might for years and then, at last, slowly, it begins to move! You finally overcame the momentum and you are gaining traction. What if you gave up and stopped pushing after the first year?

We read in Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Inc. magazines about seemingly overnight start-up successes. It almost looks easy. It seems like you can have instant success with just the right product at just the right time. Although there are some examples of that kind of success, it’s the less glamorous, and unheralded, “get rich slow schemes” that are more common, and more dependable.

The number-one ingredient in start-up success is not necessarily the great idea, the great price, or even the great demand. It is tenacity!

Here are 5 Tenets of Tenacity:

1) Deferred Gratification. Sometimes you work 12 hours a day and weekends just to get your idea off the ground. You may even have to forgo vacations in the early stages. Take advantage of pop-up social opportunity? Forget about it.

2) Belief in your Concept. When you are new or different, you’ll be hard pressed to find people in the distribution channels that will give you a shot. You have to hold onto a deep-seated belief in your product and its eventual success. You have to constantly imagine your customer enjoying your product even when others try to discourage you.

3) Focus. Understanding your priorities is job one. As events unfold and the hoops you have to jump through present themselves, it’s easy to get distracted. Keep your eye on your goal and focus on the big picture. The details are tedious, frustrating, and take time, but the realization of your vision is well worth the struggle.

4) Support. Gain encouragement from the ever-increasing number of supporters you attract along the way. Starting out small, the positive feedback you get from even a relatively few happy customers will give you the confidence to press on. The support you get from other businesses that have an interest in your success will validate your concept.

5) Progress. Yes, it may take a lot longer that you thought, but you are making progress albeit ever so humble. Each little victory is one step closer to your goal. There’s nothing like actual sales to demonstrate the viability of your product. And every mistake you make, if treated as a learning experience, will improve your chances of success.

Today, tenacity has many fashionable names, like drive, charge, and the right stuff, but whatever you call it, it’s just plain old stick-to-it-ness. Starting a new business is easy and fun. But once you discover the surprising amount of time, hard work, and sacrifice necessary, it’s your tenacity that will see you through. And when you do succeed, try not to laugh when they say, “Wow! That idea just took off!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Improving Your Productivity can be as Simple as a Walk in the Park

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 20:17:58 +0000

We often take walks in natural environments for more reasons than just the exercise. We’ve found that putting ourselves in nature provides many subtle benefits beyond physical fitness.

Even if you get out for just 45 minutes in the middle of a hectic day, amazing things can happen. For one thing, it’s natural, like we all are. Our bodies were meant to be in a natural environment. We are perfectly designed to walk, rather than sit all day.

Changing our venue from the abstract, man-made world to the natural world can recharge our batteries on many levels and make us more effective when we get back to work. Rather than losing the time it takes to go for a walk, we actually make up time by making better and quicker decisions.

We enjoy increased productivity the rest of the day. Our attitude and the quality of our decisions also improve.

Just a short walk in nature uses all of our senses. Walking inadvertently requires the use of many human faculties not required in the office. Here are some benefits we have found to taking a walk in the park:

1. Refocus Your Eyes. Take note of the natural surroundings. Looking at flowers, trees, lakes and landscapes takes our vision from the myopic 18-inch focus we need to see our screens, to the depth of field needed just to stay on the path. Changing our focus mentally and physically gives our eyes a chance to do what they were designed to do and helps them relax. When we get back to work, we “see” the difference.

2. Refocus Your Attention. We try to forget the office for the duration of the walk and take note of our natural surroundings. We think about our breathing, balance and posture. We are out of the chair, on our feet and moving. The natural world unfolds before us and passes by as we propel our consciousness down the trail on our own two feet. Giving our attention to our natal relationship with the earth unclutters our minds. We know our concerns will still be there when we get back, but by then we will be better prepared to think clearly.

3. Listen to the Sounds of Nature. Water flowing, birds singing, and wind whispering through the trees are music to ears that have heard only voices, beeping, phones ringing, and road noise all day. Natural sounds are soothing. They help us relax, like we are home, and we are. It’s peaceful and calming. Instead of deliberately shutting out all unwanted sounds to concentrate, we try to make out as many different natural sounds as we can.

4. Clear the Mind. Sometimes we actually prevent solutions and insights from getting through to us because we are focused on our own hypotheses and preconceived ideas. The brain is a marvelous faculty. It is working on our problems even when we apparently are not. Often synergies, elegant solutions and insights pop into our brains suddenly during and right after a nature walk.

Reboot your brain, find solutions, and nurture your health. It’s a simple walk in the park!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Vacations Increase Creativity and Productivity

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:19:23 +0000

Some people have to be forced to take vacation. Some even feel guilty or “irresponsible.” Others rack up unused vacation time for its monetary value. Still others see honor in putting their job ahead of a timely break.

Whatever your reason for not taking regular vacations, it can’t measure up to the benefits you and your job receive when you put business aside and give yourself a rest.

Regular vacations not only give you and your people a healthy recharge, they actually help your business. A good policy is to make vacation mandatory and start with yourself.

Here are some suggestions we’ve discovered to get the most out of your vacation:

1. Take two weeks in a row. Long weekends are great, and they certainly break up the year, but an extended vacation is required to really wind down. After a week, you’re finally relaxed enough to start to really enjoy yourself. So do!

2. Put a buck on it. Plan the trip. Buy a ticket. Make reservations. The minute you do, you’ll know your vacation is going to happen. Even if its 6 months away, you are no longer working “indefinitely!”

3. Count down and prioritize your work. You only have so much time to get your work done before you leave. Decide what needs to be completed before you go and what can wait until you get back.

4. Make an announcement to your coworkers, customers and vendors. You will notice a new sense of urgency on the part of all who depend on you. People will be more willing to make accommodations to help you make your vacation date.

5. Spend a day or two at home. Decompress. Take a breath and realize that you are now going to do something different. It’s not what you leave; it’s what you return to. So straighten out your home office as well. The comfort of knowing you will return to a well-organized home front will be well worth it!

6. Go somewhere and stay put. Many folks like to see how many places they can see in a week or two. You may need a vacation just to recuperate from the wild, whirl wind tour. It not necessarily how much you see, it’s how much you relax.

7. Unplug – literally. Take at least a period of time to be unconnected. Get your eyes off the screen and your mind off work for several consecutive days. Focus on your new surroundings.

8. Watch your diet. Be careful not to over do it with food and drink. Why wake up with a headache and indigestion on your vacation? Give your body a break, too.

9. Get some exercise. Make it a point to walk or even hike if you are in shape. Get around on your feet as much as possible. Remember you are probably sitting most of the time at your job.

10. Read something positive. Try not to keep up with the world. It will go on just fine without you staying up on the latest crisis. You will hear about the really important things anyway.

11. Make a soft landing. Spend your last full day at home. Take some time to unpack and enjoy your pictures. Get caught up at your own pace before you go back to work.

You will increase your objectivity, focus, creativity, and production with a timely break. If you still have a hard time justifying your vacation, do it to benefit your job and your business. You’ll thank yourself for doing it!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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