Few things are more important to growing your business than follow-up. It demonstrates that you do what you say you will do, and it keeps you focused on growing your business.
Whether it’s sending a thank you note, returning a phone call (even when you don’t know why), sending an article, passing along a referral, or dropping a birthday card in the mail, following-up differentiates you. It builds your reputation and tells people who you are and what you stand for; and that quickly leads to more business, more referrals, and more impact.
The simple reality is this: Most people don’t follow-up, but those who do see amazing results that dwarf what others are doing. Think about that and take action to follow-up with someone today (and tomorrow, and the next day and the next…).
Plan it, do it, and track the results…you’ll be amazed!
We’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it.”
It’s a comment usually shared by someone with whom we have a close relationship where something we have said has had a negative impact. Often that impact was created by the tone we used, but it is almost always (at least partially) attributable to the words we used.
And therein lies an important lesson–the words we use have impacts we may not always intend or realize.
That’s important for business leaders because we often find ourselves in situations where our words are being carefully monitored by others for various reasons. But even more important, our words are being heard by us and we are reacting to them at the subconscious level–allowing them to shape our perspective on the situation.
Here are three powerful phrases you should consider inserting into your everyday conversations to increase your impact:
- When discussing opportunities, use the format “I wish ___” for the input you (and others) share. Because this phrasing forces everyone to think about the impact that will be realized, it changes the context in an important way–people focus on how to achieve the outcome instead of on whether the idea is good or bad. That leads to more creative thinking and better solutions.
- When discussing problems, use the format “How can we ____” for the input you (and others). This changes the focus from defining the problem to defining the solution. Most people have some idea of what things would look like if the problem didn’t exist, but discussions tend to focus on the problem, the symptoms, and the impact. Changing the dialogue to focus on how to address it, overcome it, or solve it, leads to better outcomes more quickly.
- When a discussion stalls, use the format “What if ___” to push the discussion into a new area. There is a certain magic in the words “what if.” They free the mind to consider possibilities, they invite new ideas, insights, and questions, and they reduce the natural fear about saying the wrong thing. By encouraging people to think about what might be instead of worrying about what is, you’ll get more input and it will lead you more quickly to the answers you need.
Take action today by putting these phrases to work with your team, then come back and share your experiences by posting a comment to this post!
Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals often thrive in situations that would be challenging for others. They take pride in their ability to respond to the unexpected. They seem to live for the opportunity to do what others say cannot be done.
But there is a serious downside to this character trait: The avoidance of routines.
The simple reality is that running a small business requires the doing of many things the same way every day. Whether its serving customers, selling your products, responding to problems, dealing with suppliers, or interacting with competitors, your business needs clearly defined routines for action that can be consistently used by every member of your team.
Take action today to identify the routines your business needs. Define them, teach them to everyone, test and tweak to improve your results, and use them to increase your success!
A conversation with a fellow business growth coach the other day surfaced this comment: It never ceases to amaze me how many seemingly intelligent people cannot draw what appear to be logical inferences from the information they receive.
It got my attention, because it is a common experience when working with small business leaders–they have the data and it would seem that when you combine that with their experience and ability, they should be able to solve the problem they are facing.
But often they can’t, for a number of reasons: Continue reading →
If the title of this post caught your attention, then chances are you are a small business owner who is familiar with the subject we are going to talk about–the inherent tendency of human beings to make things more difficult than they actually are.
Small business leaders often feel they are supposed to know the answers. They pride themselves on their ability to recognize the potential pitfalls and obstacles that lay in the road ahead, and they seek to avoid problems before they happen.
But because they see problems before others do, they can tend to over-think things and bog down in debate and analysis that gets in the way of action and results.
The quick tip for avoiding this problem is to always ask: Is there a simpler way to do this?
Remember: There’s a lot of value in trial and error, improvement, and relaunching!
No matter what business you are in, when you are in charge, there are a lot of things for you to do. The inherent challenge is figuring out which ones need to be done by you, and which ones need to be done at all.
Here’s a way to dramatically improve your personal effectiveness:
- Create a Master List…write down everything that you are doing in your business;
- Perform a Critical Review…examine your list and identify things that no longer need to be done by you (or by anyone else); and
- Take Immediate Action…stop doing the things you identified that don’t need to be done at all and reassign tasks that others can do.
Repeat this exercise for your business and your team. You’ll be surprised at the things that you can STOP DOING to free up time for the things you should START DOING.
Chances are that you’ve heard of the Pareto Principle, also referred to as the 80/20 rule: For many situations, about 80% of the impacts are attributable to about 20% of the causes.
Here’s how you can put the 80/20 rule to work in your business:
- The 80/20 Rule of Leadership…Identify the 20% of your efforts that are producing 80% of your results, then focus on doing those things better; Give yourself (and your team) permission to stop doing things that aren’t creating results.
- The 80/20 Rule of Customer Relations…Devote 80% of your efforts to serving the 20% of your customers who produce 80% of your revenues. Identify them, create a special preferred customer program for them, and deepen your relationships with them.
- The 80/20 Rule of Sales…Recognize that 80% of your sales are coming from 20% of the customers and prospects you touch. Focus your efforts on increasing sales with customers and prospects who fit the profile of the 20%.
If you asked a group of small business owners about business planning, chances are you would get a wide range of responses. Some would attribute all of their success to having a solid business plan, others would admit they never even created one, and a few would suggest the process of creating a business plan is a waste of time.
But if you dug a bit deeper you would learn that they all tend to focus their efforts on action plans that support the pursuit of their vision for their business.
Here’s a simple way to improve your action planning:
- Break the year into 30-day action blocks.
- Block out 1/2 day every 30-days for planning where you:
- Plan the next 30-day block in detail, and
- Plan the remaining 11 blocks in general.
- Execute the 30-day plan you define without deviation.
- Repeat the process every 30-days.
- Celebrate your success.
One of the best ways to grow your business is to work your network . Just like it’s easier to sell something to someone who has already bought from you, it’s easier to work your network by starting with those who are already in it.
Here’s your 4-step action plan for working your network:
- Update your contact database…put everything in one place where you can access it, update it, and use it.
- Contact (at least) one person a week…reach out to one person on your list each week; send them a personal note, call them, or pass along something they might find interesting.
- Share one referral each week…link people you know with others who can help them or benefit from what they offer.
- Ask for one referral each week…ask a customer, colleague, or friend to share the name of someone who can benefit from what you do.
Today is one of the truly unique days of the year for each of us. It’s the day when we say goodbye to the year that we have just lived, and the day when we say hello to a year that is about to unfold.
There is a newness in the air on this day that reminds me of early morning after a fresh snowfall–opportunity in every direction, each step creating its own path, undeniable freshness in the air, a palpable sense of clarity and excitement in every breath.
Today is also a day when most of us ponder what we will do with the opportunity we are about to receive. It’s a chance to begin again, to cast aside disappointments and start anew, to decide what we want to achieve and what we are willing to do to make it happen. And therein lies an incredibly valuable opportunity for every entrepreneur, small business owner, and independent professional. Continue reading →
Tagged authentic business, authenticity, Chris Brogan, Crush It!, David Meerman Scott, Gary Vaynerchuk, genuine business, growing your business, New Year's Resolutions, Real Time Marketing & PR, Resolutions, Trust Agents
