Business

Leveraging Relationships To Grow Your Business, With Signature Lacrosse Founder, Dan Soviero

Published

3 weeks ago

February 16, 2021

Relationships are the foundation of many of the best business transactions. It goes without saying that most people prefer to do business with those that they like, know and trust. Having a great relationship with one’s partners, clients and peers are one of the best ways to get ahead in business. However, this is often easier said than done. According to Dan Soviero, founder of Signature Lacrosse, “Many entrepreneurs are so eager to land their next client that they fail to build the relationship first.” This oversight can be detrimental to the long-term relationship between a business owner and their client.

When Dan first came up with the idea for the Signature Premium Lacrosse ball, he began by leveraging his relationships. He acquired invaluable from the coaches and players in his immediate circle and began sharing his concept with local teams. He gained the trust of those around him and then scaled that upward and outward to eventually become the preferred Lacrosse ball of the NCAA, the Official Ball of Professional Lacrosse, and the Federation of International Lacrosse, and the trusted ball for more than 300 college teams around the nation. Today, Dan runs a 7 figure business and has changed the game of lacrosse forever, and it all started with building solid relationships.

Dan shares his top 3 tips for establishing trust and building great relationships with clients.

Be yourself. While it is important to be professional in your client interactions, don’t be afraid to be yourself and engage with your clients the same way you would your friends and family. If you are warm and at ease with clients, they will be more likely to reciprocate that. Dan recommends building this initial rapport by establishing shared interests or values. He speaks with prospective clients about hobbies, personal growth, and his family. “I want my clients to understand that I’m a real person,” Day explains. In doing so, Dan breaks the ice, and more often than not, the client opens up in return.

Really listen to your clients. Dan follows Dale Carnegie’s principles from his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Throughout the book, Carnegie continually returns to the importance of listening more than speaking and asking questions as a means of building trust. Approach each client interaction eager to learn, the sale will come later after the relationship is formed.

Be selective with the clients you pursue. In the same way that not every person is a good friendship or relationship match, not every client will be the right fit either. Pursuing the wrong types of clients can be a costly mistake. Before pursuing a client, make sure that their values align with your own and that you are capable of meeting their needs. This confidence will help you stand out in the industry and build the right client’s trust.

To learn more about Dan Soviero, visit www.signaturelacrosse.com.

Business

Why CEN Standardization is Good for Big Tech and Small Businesses

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2021

Matthew Wiles

CEN is the European Committee for Standardization and works to create standards for 34 European countries in the European Union and European Economic Area. CEN standards, which you can access on iTeh Standards, are used to establish industry standards and technical documents for a variety of industries including:

Construction
Consumer products
Chemicals
Air and space
Energy and environment
Food for human consumption
Food for animal consumption
Health and safety
Defense and security
Machinery
Pressure equipment
Smart living
Transport and packaging
And more

Why standardization is essential

Standardization in any industry automatically increases important processes’ efficiency and makes it easier and cheaper to do business. Less time is wasted, less materials are wasted, and standards are continually revised to reflect the most efficient processes.

When small businesses and large corporations adopt industry standards, it strengthens the market competition, which supports economic growth. According to CENELEC, an organization that works jointly with CEN, standards “facilitate innovation and promote the adoption of new technologies.”

What’s so special about CEN standardization?

CEN standards are special because they apply to entire industries across the EU.

Any company can create their own standards in business, but they may not have all the information required to know if their standards are actually best for the industry and customers. When businesses in the same industry create their own standards, they’re not operating at their highest potential. They’re also operating in conflict with one another, which can sometimes make it hard to switch manufacturers and suppliers.

Having CEN standards relieves businesses from having to figure out their own standards at a fundamental level. They can still create their own standards for how they wish to do business, but the base level industry standards will be covered.

Having CEN standards also forces manufacturers and suppliers to conform to a set of industry standards, which helps them stay competitive in the market. When manufacturers and suppliers are required to meet the same standards businesses are accountable for, businesses can order raw materials and products from certified sources.

Standardization enhances the customer experience

No matter what gets standardized, it all leads to a better customer experience by creating consistency. In the end, every bump you can smooth out and every wasted second of time you can eliminate leads to a productive work environment. When teams are productive and things are running smoothly from top to bottom, customers are happier.

Likewise, standards also work to maintain safety, which also enhances the customer experience. For example, health departments set standards for handling and storing food to keep it safe, and machine shop workers follow standards for wearing protective gear and clothing to prevent injury.

You can standardize just about anything in a business, including job activities, rules, procedures, technology, services, behaviors, and measurements.

CEN standards are well-tested and documented

The advantage of CEN standards is they’re well-tested and documented. They weren’t just arbitrarily thrown together by collecting theoretical information across industries. CEN standards are created by studying and testing to see what works, what’s most effective, eliminating what doesn’t work, and establishing a set of rules that can be universally applied across the industry.

On the other hand, when organizations come up with de facto standards, they’re often illogical, ineffective, and counterproductive. De facto standards become a big problem when they’ve remained unchallenged for a long period of time. People want to do things the way they’ve always done them, and introducing standards can be off-putting to many.

Many businesses may not even be aware that their standards are actually inefficient methods like workarounds that have simply been in place for a long time.

There’s always room for more standardization

Standardizing industries is a big task – one that is infinite in scope and duration. There will never be an end to standardization. As technology evolves, standards must evolve alongside whatever tech is being brought to the industry.

While the world’s technology evolves, CEN will continue to work hard to create and develop standards for industries. Hopefully, more businesses will embrace these standards and see them as a support system for their business rather than an inconvenient hurdle.