The Freestyle Entrepreneur

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Fifty years ago, it was a man’s world.  The majority of women who were in business were secretaries and personal assistants.  Women rarely ran the show.  That has since changed … a lot.  In fact, the very nature of business has been overhauled and re-invented since women began to move [...]

A Lesson in Customer Service: SMALL STONES TO THE REAR! by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Can one foolish statement make or break your business?  Well, this is a story I heard at least 45 years ago from a man, a friend and mentor, who experienced it at least 20 years before that.  It was one [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur As a hands-on manager-owner, your most important business-building tool is your attitude.  I saw a great example of how this works a few months ago when meeting with two fast-food restaurant managers, both affiliated with the same chain.  The stores were almost identical in terms of demographics, and both relied [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur It’s that time … time to set goals.  Start thinking about where you want to be by the end of 2012.   Are goals important?  In business, they’re everything.  If you don’t know where you want to go, you’ll never get there … or, well, you get the picture.  More to [...]

Biz Humor … DEFINITION OF A SALES PROFESSIONAL by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur The sales professional makes the difference when it comes to both making the sale and maximizing the sale. This is perhaps best illustrated in an anecdote told by an associate years ago.  When asked, “What’s a salesperson?” he replied:  “Let me tell [...]

Tales from the Trenches … by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur [If you have a story of business success or failure – how you did something amazing right or downright stupidly wrong, and would care to share it – send me an email with as much detail as possible.  If your tale is chosen, I will [...]

      TO SURVIVE THE RECESSION, DITCH THE HUNKER-IN-THE-BUNKER MENTALITY by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur I can pick winners and losers.  As the Great Recession continues to stumble along, more and more businesses are finding that there is just no more fat to be cut.  Many have pared back, cut down, reduced expenses to [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Pain or gain?  That is why people buy – always!  As Entrepreneur Dan Paulson points out in his book, Apples to Apples: How to Stand out From Your Competition, “every purchase is an emotional purchase.” Your product or service either takes away the pain (I need a car or else [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Want to build a loyal clientele?  Then sell “membership” in your special club.  No, you do not need an online enrollment (though airlines and hotel chains find this effective).  Nothing formal like that.  Just do like Starbucks does:  Make customers feel that, when they do business there, they are part [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur “Thankls yo for your ordr.  We will skip it iwtnng two wbusi9ness days.”  Ever get an email, letter or memo like that?  Sure, that may be an extreme example.  However, we all see messages like this way more often than we should.  (And, yes, I admit, typos get by me [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur As a small business owner, you’re used to clocking long hours.  That goes with the territory. However, if you’re logging more than your share of 10, 12, 15-hour days (while your employees waltz out the door at quitting time) something’s wrong.  Sure, it’s nice to know that your company couldn’t [...]

Below is a guest column from Jerry Baltus, a friend and professional coach.  For more great tips from Jerry, visit his site on Facebook, or contact him at jkbaltusgroup@wi.rr.com.  Enjoy.  JRI The Biggest Loser  Business coaching has often been compared to athletic coaching, and I’ve used this analogy many times to help others understand what we [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Yes, we are awallow in The Great Recession.  So, take a few minutes to snivel, whine, complain … and then get over it.  If your biz is in the tank, stop blaming the recession.  And definitely stop sitting around hoping and waiting for it to end.  Do something about it! [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur I was in a serious buying situation at a used car dealership several months ago.  One thing above all else killed the deal:  The salesman kept telling me I was wrong.  He may have read, Winning by Intimidation.  However, to the best of my knowledge, there is no book titled, [...]

By John R. Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Here’s a hot-flash business rule:  People find a way to afford what they want.  Don’t think so?  Well, think again.  That’s why you can walk into young couple’s flea-bag apartment and see  second-hand furniture, empty frig, no frills; they’re barely getting by, making minimum credit card payments.  BUT, [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Looking for a way to accelerate your business success?   Find someone who is already in the winner’s circle and hire that person to be your coach. I’ve been in training, marketing and sales for four decades.  However, I still bump into things I do not know.  Rather than try to bull [...]

[The following is an excerpt from John Ingrisano’s The Back to Basics Book of Selling: A Guide to a Successful Sales Career.]  Some folks actually believe that selling is rather like the old misconception about teaching: people go into it because they are not capable of doing anything else. Wrong on both counts. Still, some [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur  Knowledge and skill-building are crucial to continued business success.  We constantly watch our markets, look for ways to cut expenses, boost profits, better manage our inventory and personnel.  Plus, we update our websites, adjust our marketing materials, and look for new ways to do business.       What about our verbal [...]

By John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Too often, in business, we’re afraid to ask for the money.  Here are two examples – one how to do it right; the other how to waste time and money doing it wrong. Example # 1:  I’ve had the same veterinarian for my dogs for about 10 years.  In [...]

by John R. Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur  Fred Pryor/Career Track, the seminar people, have become one of my key clients.  I get to travel around the country and do business workshops.  Pretty neat.  Check them out at www.pryor.com.  One of their policies is to encourage their contractors to analyze the events of the day, to [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur John Newton became captain of his own ship at age 25.  He was offered the job a year earlier, but begged off, asking instead to be made first mate, so he could gain more experience.  In the end, it made him a better leader.  (For those of you who do [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Whether you’re just chatting about your business to a stranger in an elevator or summarizing your company’s key features and benefits to a make-your-day prospect, do not just wing it!  Ad libbing is for amateurs.  Instead, actually write down and learn these following sales tools: 1.  Your company’s elevator [...]

by John Ingrisano The Freestyle Entrepreneur Are we there yet?  That’s the kids’ mantra from the backseat.  It can also be our whine when we wonder about when it’s ever going to get easier in our business.  Well, when it comes to you and your business success,  the answer should be:  Not yet!  The fact is, [...]

[The following is a guest column written by Dr. Robert C. Snyder, musician, businessman and keen-eyed observer of life.  Enjoy. JRI]  In the late 1940s I became aware of customer loyalty. I noticed that Millard, my dad, always bought his gas at the same Texaco station near our house in Topeka, Kansas. Millard never let the [...]

HOW TO BEAT BUSINESS BURNOUT The Freestyle Entrepreneur is pleased to announce the first program in the TFE Business Presentation Series:  How to Beat Burnout!  This program, presented by entrepreneur John Ingrisano, can be tailored for your individual for business, entrepreneur, executive or inventor group. The premise:  Burnout and boredom are among the top reasons [...]