What is Holding you Back?
If I was to ask you today, if you have done everything possible to grow and promote your business, if you were 100% honest, you would answer no. This can be a challenging concept, as alot of business owners out there, believe that they are doing everything they can, to promote the business. I believe that there is always something more you can do. For those of you that the answer 'no' came easily to - my 2nd question is why?
Why haven't you done, everything humanly possible to grow your business?
The excuses range from time to money, to nothing works or we are in a down turn. These are just excuses.
The real answers, the challenging ones, can be quite in depth.
Maybe you think your business isn't good enough to promote. Maybe you think you have a big enough share of the market.
Maybe you are (to get a bit psychological) afraid of success? With success comes great responsibility.
Maybe you are afraid of failure? What if you really do try everything, and nothing works?
Maybe you think your business is doing so much on the high end (TV advertising, radio etc) that you don't think it necessary to continue the promotion at the base level (word of mouth, networking, referral).
Once you have the answer - then you can correct the mindset, and continue the climb to success for you business.
Once you establish in your mind, that you do want success (and you need to have a clear definition of what success means to you), you will be more open to the opportunities that come your way, and more importantly creating the opportunities that will allow your business to grow.
What are you doing this week to grow and promote your business? How many business cards have you handed out?
Did you like this post - register for my regular chilli news - www.chilliconsulting.com.au
Heres to a great week in business,
Tanja
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Are you instilling confidence in your clients?
Confidence is a key factor in your clients decision making process. Deciding to stay with you, or deciding to become your client in the first place starts with their confidence that you can provide the service that they are after. Once confidence has been established, the relationship continues to go 1 of 2 ways - it either builds, and they begin to trust you, and eventually trust you and begin to recommend you to their friends and relatives. The opposite direction is the relationship does not build, it even declines, the client starts to question the initial confidence they had in you, in the first place.
How to we give the clients the confidence that they need?
Knowledge + Honesty = Confidence which builds to Trust.
Knowledge. You must be the dictionary of your field. The encyclopedia that is referred to by your client for answers. If you are a Real Estate Agent - you must know (not only your own properties) What is on the market, what has sold recently, what developments are happening soon, where it flooded, where it didn't, where all the major "landmarks" are. If you are a personal trainer - you need to know about nutrition, carbs, sugars, low fat, no fat, gluten free, all the different 'pop culture' diets around, if your client is injured in an area - how do you still workout with that injury. If you sell widgets - you need to know what widgets are on the market, what the old widgets did, what the new widgets do & what your competition is selling widgets for.
It doesn't stop there, go the extra mile for your clients and look after them. Is there a new book out on real estate, nutrition or widgets? Recommend it (after you read it!) to your clients. This is showing your client that you care about their needs and think about them even after hours.
A note here - It is ok to say that you do not know something, and that you will find it out, and get back to the client - this displays honesty (NEVER LIE!).
Do a quick self assessment - what questions could your clients ask that you can't answer today? Take the time to do some research!
Want more? Register for your free Chilli News - a weekly newsletter full of tips to improve your business! www.chilliconsulting.com.au
How to we give the clients the confidence that they need?
Knowledge + Honesty = Confidence which builds to Trust.
Knowledge. You must be the dictionary of your field. The encyclopedia that is referred to by your client for answers. If you are a Real Estate Agent - you must know (not only your own properties) What is on the market, what has sold recently, what developments are happening soon, where it flooded, where it didn't, where all the major "landmarks" are. If you are a personal trainer - you need to know about nutrition, carbs, sugars, low fat, no fat, gluten free, all the different 'pop culture' diets around, if your client is injured in an area - how do you still workout with that injury. If you sell widgets - you need to know what widgets are on the market, what the old widgets did, what the new widgets do & what your competition is selling widgets for.
It doesn't stop there, go the extra mile for your clients and look after them. Is there a new book out on real estate, nutrition or widgets? Recommend it (after you read it!) to your clients. This is showing your client that you care about their needs and think about them even after hours.
A note here - It is ok to say that you do not know something, and that you will find it out, and get back to the client - this displays honesty (NEVER LIE!).
Do a quick self assessment - what questions could your clients ask that you can't answer today? Take the time to do some research!
Want more? Register for your free Chilli News - a weekly newsletter full of tips to improve your business! www.chilliconsulting.com.au
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Who are your clients and who are your customers?
Who are your clients and who are your customers?
In pretty much every business you can differentiate between clients and
customers. For example, in a real estate office - your clients are you
landlords and vendors - they have entrusted you with their asset to manage
or sell. Your customers are your tenants and prospective buyers. In the
retail sector your clients are those loyal ones - the ones that come to you
every time they need an X. In the cafe business, they are the ones that are
there every morning for a coffee, they bring their clients to coffee
meetings at your business. They refer friends and relatives, and they are
happy to see your business flourish. If you are an events coordinator - you
may have entertainers that make up a big part of the show, and you need to
look after them - they are your customers, but your clients are the agents
of the entertainers that are bringing you 'talent' time after time.
Both clients and customers are an integral part of your business. And the
goal is to 'upgrade' everyone to client status. If you own a butcher shop
for example, your clients are the ones who buy all of their meat at your
shop - they don't buy 90% of their meat at the supermarket, and come to you
for a weekend barby. Your weekend barby buyers as customers are still
vitally important, and you want to service them in such a way that they want
to become clients.
We need to be over-servicing our clients so they remain clients, and our
customers so they want to become clients. Take the time to identify the
clients in your business - write them down, so you and your team can make
sure that you do continue to over-service them.
Depending on your business over-servicing can mean many different things.
It can mean giving your client a free cup of coffee when they have forgotten
their wallet, it can mean giving them some movie tickets to say 'thank you',
it means giving them 'a bit extra' here and there. Most of all it means -
putting them first, look after them before anyone else, and make sure you
don't cross them - because a client can grow your business at a rate of
knots by referrals, they can also do damage with complaints.
Take a minute to identify the clients and customers in your business - maybe
its time to 'go the extra mile' for a client or two.
Here's to a great week in business. TK
In pretty much every business you can differentiate between clients and
customers. For example, in a real estate office - your clients are you
landlords and vendors - they have entrusted you with their asset to manage
or sell. Your customers are your tenants and prospective buyers. In the
retail sector your clients are those loyal ones - the ones that come to you
every time they need an X. In the cafe business, they are the ones that are
there every morning for a coffee, they bring their clients to coffee
meetings at your business. They refer friends and relatives, and they are
happy to see your business flourish. If you are an events coordinator - you
may have entertainers that make up a big part of the show, and you need to
look after them - they are your customers, but your clients are the agents
of the entertainers that are bringing you 'talent' time after time.
Both clients and customers are an integral part of your business. And the
goal is to 'upgrade' everyone to client status. If you own a butcher shop
for example, your clients are the ones who buy all of their meat at your
shop - they don't buy 90% of their meat at the supermarket, and come to you
for a weekend barby. Your weekend barby buyers as customers are still
vitally important, and you want to service them in such a way that they want
to become clients.
We need to be over-servicing our clients so they remain clients, and our
customers so they want to become clients. Take the time to identify the
clients in your business - write them down, so you and your team can make
sure that you do continue to over-service them.
Depending on your business over-servicing can mean many different things.
It can mean giving your client a free cup of coffee when they have forgotten
their wallet, it can mean giving them some movie tickets to say 'thank you',
it means giving them 'a bit extra' here and there. Most of all it means -
putting them first, look after them before anyone else, and make sure you
don't cross them - because a client can grow your business at a rate of
knots by referrals, they can also do damage with complaints.
Take a minute to identify the clients and customers in your business - maybe
its time to 'go the extra mile' for a client or two.
Here's to a great week in business. TK
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