When to say no? I don’t know about you, but I’m having a pretty busy 1Q so far – lots of meetings and a number of opportunities for both my staffing and consulting businesses. With the downturn in the economy (and subsequent downturn in the bottom line), my instincts are to say yes to every opportunity.

Because you never know what doors a “yes” will open up. But my people sometimes think differently – they want to say yes to the right opportunity. We’ve had a number of discussions about this as an organization – when to say yes and when to say no.

Here’s an example – As an operations-based consultant, I’m known for holding my clients accountable. After all, what is the value of a plan of attack that’s not executed? My end goal is to make sure my client is successful – their success adds to my bottom line.

I’m not in the business of pipe dreams – I’m in the business of progress. And progress is only the result of

effort. But what if, for whatever reason, a client doesn’t want to put in the effort?

As a consultant, I’m here to serve my client. I have no problems rolling up my sleeves and helping out to make sure things get done when needed. But sometimes that crosses the line from consulting into actually running their business. Which is fine until I’m spending all my time running their business instead of running my own. At what point do you say enough is enough? When is your time better spent elsewhere?

This is what I’ve been discussing internally in my own organization. We only have so much time and so many resources – how do we make the best use of them? How do we qualify an opportunity? When do we fire clients?

So what do you think – when do you say no?

Listen and learn. It’s one of those things that people preach but most don’t practice. Yet it’s one of the simplest and most effective sales techniques out there.

Think about the last call you received from a telemarketer. I bet the other person on the line waited for you to say that yes, you were the person in charge and then they were off and running. Because telemarketers know that as soon as they give you time to respond, you’ll have time to say “No.”

Don’t you just hate that? Yet so many of us in sales and business act the exact same way in a face to face meeting.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career as an entrepreneur and small business consultant, it’s that all too often no one listens in meetings. People just wait silently until it’s their turn to speak.

How many of you go out to meet a new prospect and just listen? I mean, really listen. As in, focus totally on what the other person is saying – not just with their words but with their body language, the pitch of their voice – and try to understand what’s important to them.

Are they having a bad day? Maybe you should ask how things are and empathize a little. They’ll remember that you cared. Are they fidgeting? Maybe they have a tight schedule and need to be somewhere else, or maybe they’re just bored. Wrap things up and don’t waste their time.

No one wants to buy from a telemarketer because they’re not offering anything we’re interested in. And we’re not interested because they don’t know what’s important to us – they haven’t listened.

Here are 3 good questions to ask yourself to make sure you’re actually listening -

1. Talk less than the person you’re talking to.
2. Ask more questions.
3. Talk less than the person you’re talking to. (It bears repeating.)

Bottom line – listening is key to establishing a good relationship with a (potential) client. So shut up already.

Like many small businesses that have survived the economic crisis of the last 2 years, we’re concentrating heavily on sales in the beginning part of 2010, particularly in my staffing firm, Macula Group.

There are plenty of books, blogs, and experts out there giving advice on selling so I’ll let you decide what works for you. My attitude is to just do it.

There’s no magic. There’s no method. Pick up the phone and make a call. Go out and meet someone. Just do it.

And follow up. If there is any magic in selling, it’s all in the follow up. Being persistent. The best salesperson is not a smooth-talking schmoozer – it’s the person who doesn’t give up. The person who knocks on the next door even though the last one got slammed on his face.

You don’t need to get a win every time. You just need to keep running until you do.

My name is Michael DeCarlo and I am addicted to Twitter. There, I admit. It blows my mind that a year ago this time, I had no idea what a tweet was or why I needed to do it.

I have a Twitter account for my work as a business consultant (@businessmike) and one for my personal training business (@maxpowernow). It’s allowed me to connect with others inside and outside of my local community, and I’ve gotten a number of leads and business opportunities from it.

However, I am not on Facebook. (Max Power has a fan page but it’s updated periodically by my team, who have their own personal accounts.) A lot of people in my various networking groups tell me I should be on Facebook but so far I’ve resisted.

But it’s free! And Facebook’s fastest growing demographics are the 35+ crowd! You’re missing out on key target markets! they tell me.

But it doesn’t work for me. I simply don’t have time for it. And as a small business owner and entrepreneur, time is

my most precious commodity. Yes, social media is a rapidly growing field. There’s a great deal of untapped opportunity there.

But it’s not the end-all be-all. Someday soon, a corporate Twitter account will probably be a must-have, like corporate Web sites are now. But you shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that setting up an account with the social media flavor of the month will automatically increase your market share, generate leads, bring in sales, and solve all your problems.

Just like a Web site is only one component of your marketing, social media is only a tool. In order for it to pave the way for your success, you must know how to use it and be able to use it well. And you have to know if it’s even the proper tool to use in the first place.

Should you be on Twitter and Facebook? Only you can decide that for yourself and your business.

There’s a lot that goes on with starting a business. Deciding how you want to structure it (the eternal question – to incorporate or to not incorporate). Picking a name for your new venture. Finding an office space to call your own. Writing up a business plan to secure a bank loan.

But perhaps the most important piece of starting up is figuring out why you’re in business. What you stand for. In essence, your brand.

Most of us who are bootstrapping it think we can just pull up some clip art and find a font we like in MS Word and bam, we’ve got a logo. Or maybe we run down to Staples and have them whip up something to throw on a business card and letterhead. Get a neighborhood kid you know to make a website for you and you’re done, you have a brand, right?

The reality is, branding is so much more than just the visuals. Your brand communicates who you are, what you do, and what consumers can expect from your company and your products or services. And if you want to be on

the same page with your customers, you better understand who you are and what you stand for.

And I don’t mean writing up some incomprehensible mission statement or set of core values that promises commitment to empowering customer-centered initiatives or the usual corporate jargon. I mean an actual mission – the reason that gets you up every morning and underlines your day with purpose. For example –

“To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

How’s that for a reason to get out of bed and get things done every day?

Bottom line – you have to know where you stand before you can start reaching for the stars. Instead of hiring some high school kid to communicate your business proposition to the world, hire a team of professionals that will work to present you and what you stand for in the best possible light. I know it’s helped me.

Last week I wrote about the desire to work for yourself and how starting your own business requires faith. But in helping my consulting clients through that transition, I’ve found that it’s not always the fear of falling that holds us back from making that leap – sometimes it’s the fear of jumping.

Let’s take Bob, for instance. He’s middle-aged and has worked his way up a few firms, building up a sizable client list each time (because of non-competes). He’s paid his dues and now he’s thinking it’s time to start calling his own shots. He wants to take his part of the business and branch off, but his boss, the business owner, won’t sell. Most owners probably wouldn’t. Bob can leave but he’d probably have to sign another noncompete and build his clientele from scratch again. Is it worth it to strike out on his own or should he just stay put?

Or Jill, a Gen Y-er who has a few years experience and a fancy degree from a brand name university. She doesn’t know what she wants to do but she knows it’s not what she’s doing now. But she’s also thinking it might be time to buy a house and also wanting to help out her parents when they retire in a few years. Should she think about the future or find her passion now?

How about Carl, who hates his 9 to 5 office gig but loves his side job as a personal trainer. He wants to train clients full time doesn’t know if giving up a good salary when

there’s a recession is a smart move. He’s also his family’s primary breadwinner. Should he do what he loves or shut up and put up to keep his family fed?

Can you guess what all three of these people have in common? Yes, they all have what it takes to be an entrepreneur – all smart, capable, and not afraid of a little hard work. And yes, they all know it. They also know that failure is a distinct (and likely) possibility. They all want to succeed. They are fully aware of the risks involved. But they’re afraid to jump. Afraid to take that leap of faith.

It’s not the fear of falling, of failure. It’s not the risks. The reasons holding them back are not insurmountable. It’s making that jump, taking that first step and knowing you can’t turn back.

Each of the people described above could bootstrap a business and make it work. Each could be successful. Each could fail. But they’ll never know until they decide to take that leap of faith.

The bottom line is, that first step is the hardest. You have to determine for yourself whether that first step is worth it.

You’re fed up. You’ve been putting in the hard work and the long hours and making money. But it’s not yours. All your efforts go towards building someone else’s business. And you’re tired of it.

At some point in our working lives, we wake up and wonder why. Why we’re running ourselves ragged for someone else. Whether we’re appreciated for our efforts or not, whether we’re adequately compensated or not, we realize that we don’t want to work for The (Wo)Man any more. That we want to be The (Wo)Man.

Sound familiar?

I’ve consulted several clients who have been in this position. People who are ready to move on, who want to strike out on their own. Who are confident that some day they will own their own business and be their own boss.

Just not today. Or tomorrow. But someday, somehow.

But you can’t just wait for “someday” to come. You have to make it happen. You can’t wait around for the right opportunity – you have to make the most of the ones that you have. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to step out of your comfort zone.

Starting a business is inherently a risky endeavor. It takes faith. Faith in yourself and your ability to get things done. Faith in your ability to success and your ability to get back up after you fall.

Next week: A case study in taking the leap.

Just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success. His basic premise is that success is a result of opportunity (a combination of lucky breaks) as much as it is hard work and passion. For example, being born in the right time span is key for hockey players and current computer moguls. Ever notice that Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Steve Jobs were all born within a couple years of each other? Turns out that it’s not just a coincidence – Gladwell claims that it has had a major impact on their current success.

This doesn’t mean that you should just give up if you weren’t born at the right time of year. Bill Gates would have been just as smart as he is today if he had been born ten years earlier – he just might not have had the opportunities to become an expert programmer. You need to keep your eyes open for opportunities and make the most of the ones that are presented to you.

To sum up: Success = Passion / Talent + Hard Work + Opportunity. What opportunities can you seize today?

Let’s see…your sales are down, you’re thinking about letting some people go (or already have), and things aren’t looking any better for next year. So what risks are you taking to turn things around?

I know, I know…risk. Leaves a bad taste in your mouth, am I right? We’re in a recession and you’re grateful to hang on to whatever you have left. Here’s the bottom line – if you keep doing the same thing or offering the same old product or service, you’re just going to get the same result. You”ll keep losing ground.

The Chinese use the same word for crisis and opportunity for a reason. You can see a bad economy as a crisis and try to hang on to what you have by doing what you’ve always done. Or you can use this time as an opportunity to do something different, to take a risk. Let’s face it, you’re already losing ground – instead of just defending what you have, why not try to stand out from the crowd and get ahead?

What have you got left to lose?

You can’t make things happen from behind your desk. The value of face-to-face meetings and networking cannot be underestimated, especially in the middle of a recession. A lot of small business owners I know are facing bleak times, making it all the more important for them to get in front of people and make connections.

Now is the time to be planting seeds. You can’t reap what you haven’t sown. Get in people’s faces. Make time to make the networking rounds. Scroll through your contacts and schedule coffee with as many people as you can.