Think Like A Large Company CEO Regardless of the size of your company, thinking like the CEO of a larger company will help you better visualize where you are going and how you’re going to get there. Vicki Antonio is a business consultant and life coach. She started working for startup companies when she was just 13 years old. Her experience with startups taught her the pattern of growing pains which she then used when she fell into the real estate industry. Vicki’s work helped her gain a deeper knowledge of the entrepreneurial spirit and gain a business acumen. At one point, she went into upper management and real estate but when the industry came back, she ended up being a business developer for a global real estate franchise. That work allowed her to manage 30 shops where her main role was to develop the shop, make it brand compliant, and develop partnerships with brokers. She was a business coach for these shops and helped these businesses become profitable. All the skills she learned from working came into play. The experience eventually led Vicki to launch her own coaching business. Top problems faced by small businesses FEAR Small businesses must overcome fear. It comes into play when the business has been built to a certain point and then gets stagnant. It can feel like the same fear that parents get when they take their kids to daycare for the first time. There's an apprehension because of the emotional attachment parents have for their child. When a business has to relinquish what it knows, it’s like turning over the reins to someone else. Instead of trusting the people who’ve come to help, these businesses fear them. Even when it’s just a system they need to engage with, fear can be a major hindrance to advancing. CLARITY Entrepreneurs are self-employed salespeople. There are a lot of things that are in play in order for goals to be met. Oftentimes, entrepreneurs don’t have the clarity about what these things are. Sometimes they don’t have enough components to reach the end. Other times, they have too many components and can become confused about which ones to use. Even the best athletes, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, had coaches. Their coaches gave them a bird’s eye view of the areas that they couldn’t see themselves. Their coaches critiqued them and analyzed what they were doing. They could then help these athletes change little things to help them improve. The same is true in sales. Sales coaches help businesses with the things they need to see. They are the ones who analyze the system they’re currently using, analyze the tools and make sure they are being used correctly. In this stage, it is imperative for the businesses to trust the process. Overcoming fear F.E.A.R. can be seen as an acronym - false evidence appearing real. Sometimes salespeople can get in their own heads. This is the result of not having clarity about the direction they are going or if they are doing things the right way. A lot of times, salespeople are presented and marketed outside of what they know to be right. They are presented with various services that try to rush the process. Trying to rush through, and not developing any real, advancing skill, can keep them from moving forward. Most of Vicki’s clients are already leaders in their fields. They've been accepted by their clients. but they know how difficult the climb has been. It’s when they reach a certain pinnacle that they start to fear: do we trust this new product, this new technique, this new person? Attacking your fear Everyone has a level of fear they aren’t willing to go beyond. There can be a great reward waiting for the risk takers but everyone has to calculate the risk to the place of comfortability and faith. ...

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