Working ON Your Business
Do you feel like your business is stalled? Like you are facing a brick wall with no where to go? Stubbornness can kill your business. I know you can be so determined to stay on track that sometimes you can fail to see how twisted the track is that you’re trying to run your business along.
Emotional Intelligence is one of the most important traits that you need to get a handle on.
Your business is your baby, you know it inside out, you created it, nurtured it, love it – even though it’s killing you through exhaustion. Because it has you DNA all through it, you can’t see the havoc – until it’s too late. Your business runs out of steam, it implodes with a shudder or it continues to limp along, surviving on grit and sweat and other manly and overrated attributes.
This sort of emotional attachment can kill your business and, believe me, it is rampant amongst start up businesses. Newbies sees the freedom, the lifestyle, and… the money. All they have to do is share their vision with enough people and they’ll have it all. The free time, no boss and… the money.
When things don’t work out they way they expect they convince themselves that it ‘will take a little time’. So they keep waiting and waiting, thinking that’s the same thing as running a business. What they’re really doing is getting ready to become a statistic.
Tell Me How You Sell It
If you become too attached emotionally to your business you can fail to see what your business is really all about. You can fail to see how others perceive your business. Rather than working in your business you need to start working ON your business.
Put 90% of all business efforts into sales and marketing
This is what strategy is…. sales and marketing. This is what your business needs to be all about.
What’s Your Purpose?
Have a purpose that is bigger than ‘making lots of money’. A vision that inspires people needs more than simply a profit imperative. Every business must make money to stay in business – but the business that has a vision bigger than that, that people can believe in, follow, and invest in, will make you more money.
Promise Big!
What do you promise to do for your customers that make you stand out from the crowd? What can you deliver that sets you apart from the pack, drives prospects to you and gives them a sense of certainty that you are genuine? The Big Promise is EXACTLY what your customer wants.
Find Your Customers…
The most crucial role of any business leader is to generate quality leads for the business. The more leads, the better. A business that has few leads feels constant pressure and ultimately, won’t attract the best people to work for them.
Set Benchmarks Around Sales and Marketing…
By setting 90 day, 1 month and 1 week goals, you and your team know exactly where they are heading, what needs to be achieved, what needs to be prioritised and what’s expected of them.
They Keep Coming Back!
The goal is to make one sale after another to the same person, as often as you can.
Too many business owners think that their goal is to make a sale – it is, and it isn’t. The goal is to make one sale after another to the same person, as often as you can.
Promote Your Customer!
Upgrade your customers to more expensive products or more helpful programs. This is a key element of the best businesses. If your customers get your Purpose, want your Big Promise and have bought from you, the odds are they will buy again… and again.
Reward your customer by promoting them to more expensive programs or products that give them more and more access to you, your services, and more importantly, your culture. People love to belong, and will pay to be part of the ‘in’ crowd. The ‘inner circle’ of the elite can be sold at a premium.
What’s Your Next Action?
If you’ve spent too much time until now organising, designing products and anything else that isn’t sales, it’s not too late – study whoever is focused on sales and marketing and learn – as fast as you can. Be as skilled and excited about sales and marketing as you are about your vision.
