FrontLine Results : Business Coaching

Do you have the attention span of a butterfly?

LouiseBJ — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:10:00 +0000

Just as butterflies in nature flit from flower to flower, landing briefly and then moving on, butterfly business owners can’t seem to stay focused on any one topic long enough to make significant changes.

Yes, it’s the sign of a true entrepreneur to have lots of new ideas and want to pursue them. But, if those new ideas are stopping you from actually making progress – and more importantly - money in your business, because you aren’t seeing projects through to completion (or moving quickly enough), then something needs to change.

Let’s take a look at some ways you can be more focused:

Use a timer and work in short bursts of 15 or 20 minutes. During that time focus on just one task and get as much done as you can. When the buzzer goes, take a short break. Repeat as often as necessary. You’ll amaze yourself at how much you get done.

Keep a little notebook handy at all times. Use it to jot down ideas as they occur to you and capture them before they escape! One reason for a butterfly attention span is carrying too many ideas around in your head. Writing them down will free you up to concentrate on the job in hand.

If your project hasn’t got a deadline, set one anyway. Without deadlines, you’ll find yourself starting lots of projects and then letting them drift as something more urgent comes along.

Break big projects down into small action steps. It can be hard to stay focused when the overall project is too big. Work out a timeline for each step that needs to be done.

Only work on 3 projects at a time. Spreading your attention too thinly between a myriad of projects will mean that none get finished quickly. Focus on just 3 at any one time and you’ll build up an unstoppable head of steam! And, as soon as one project is complete, you can take another from your list to replace it.

The beauty of staying focused is that you will get more done in your business and make progress faster. So work with full concentration on the projects that count - and leave the butterflies to nature.

When everything seems equally important

LouiseBJ — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:09:03 +0000

I’ve found asking myself the following questions to be a good way to help with prioritising when everything seems to be equally important.

Question 1 – Do all my projects fall into one of the following categories?

Work for current clients
Marketing for new clients
Moving the business forward

Only projects that do should be considered a priority. The others can wait a while.

Question 2 – Is what I’m doing right now the best use of time?

This is a great question to ask periodically during the day. One side effect of having many projects and not being sure what to do first is that you can end up doing ‘busy work’ that doesn’t actually move anything forward. If your answer to this question is ‘no’, then stop doing whatever you’re doing and do something that is the best use of your time.

Question 3 – Is what I’m doing right now making me money or going to make me money soon?

An even better reality check question that should really help you prioritise your projects. If you’re ever unsure what you should work on next, check how quickly you’ll get a return on the time you spend :)

What questions do you ask to help you prioritise?

What Should You Charge?

LouiseBJ — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:35:00 +0000

I was looking through my newsletter archives at the weekend and came across this article from 2005! The topic is just as valid today - and I think the tips are too... let me know what you think

What Should You Charge?
The answer to that question is simple – you should charge what you’re worth! The explanation will take a little longer....

Many businesses bump along the break-even line because they don’t charge enough and unfortunately many go out of business for the same reason.

Whether you’re selling products or services, you have to believe in what you have to offer – or you’ll have an uphill struggle expecting people to buy. If your prices are too low, the perception of your products/services is that they are inferior in quality and durability to those with a higher price tag. In other words, cheap.

If you’re tired of customers trying to beat you down in price or saying you’re too expensive, try something radical – raise your prices! Let me explain a bit more ….

What sort of customers do you want? Those who are just looking for the best price deal or those who appreciate the quality you can offer?

Something most of us forget when setting prices is how much studying, research & development, expertise and experience has gone into our products and services. They need to be factored in, they cost you time and money to acquire. Be proud of what you have to offer, you’ve worked hard for it.

Be First Class
If you’re going to raise your prices, you’re going to have to deliver the goods. Make sure that you give a first class service to each and every one of your customers, for each and every purchase they make. Go further and delight them with great follow up and add value wherever you can – you can afford to as this is now included in your higher price.

I recently bought a new car. The young salesman was very eager to please and personally made sure all my requests (including enough petrol to get home!) were carried out. As I drove away, I thought that was the last I’d hear from him....

However the next day, he called to make sure everything was OK and said to be sure to call him if I had any problems. He called again after a week and yet again after 4 weeks – just to check that I was still completely happy with the car. Now I know I paid for this service in the price of the car but how often do you actually get it? I was and still am a delighted customer.

Two Quick Coaching Questions
What can you do to delight your customers? And when are you going to raise your prices to reflect what you’re worth?

Are you Confusing your Prospective Clients?

LouiseBJ — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:04:00 +0000

If you are, you’ll soon find out that confused prospects don’t order!

With all the effort you put into marketing your business - networking online & offline, maintaining a website and/or writing a blog to name but a few - it's such a shame when your results don't reflect that effort. Often those results arise because you've confused your prospective customers and they don't understand what you do or if it's right for them.

There are several ways that you can confuse your prospects.

1. Use jargon or talk about technology in anything but plain language.

2. Don’t tell them what they can achieve by buying from you.

3. Say you’ll send an email or some literature and then don’t

4. Ring and leave the same message that you left 2 days ago, even though you’ve had a conversation in the meantime.

None of the above are going to give a very good impression of your business and professionalism. So, if you don’t want to confuse your prospects (and literally throw money away), keep things simple and:

1. Make sure you keep records of whom you’ve phoned and the result of the call (so you don’t forget and repeat yourself a week later!).

2. If you say you’re going to send something, make sure you do (you never know, you might just get an order).

3. Always give a very clear reason why talking to you will be of value to the person you’re calling (don’t give them a reason to hang up).

I know these tips aren't rocket science, but they will make your follow-up calls much more productive!

Have you been confused by a marketing message recently? Please share your experience in the comments below ...

5 ways to handle objections to sales!

LouiseBJ — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:03:42 +0000

When you hear objections from prospective clients, take heart because it's actually a good sign! It means that, although they could be interested, they still have some unanswered questions. The problem is that they sometimes don’t know what those questions are! So they say things like “You’re too expensive”, “I already have a supplier”, “Send me something in the post and I’ll think about it”, or even “I need to ask my boss”.

I’ve seen many business owners stopped in their tracks because they thought they were sure to get the order. They didn’t see the objection coming and now need to scramble to retrieve the situation.

If this has happened to you when you’ve got as far as meeting up with your prospect, you'll know it can be very frustrating. It also means that you’ve missed out a vital part of the preparation you should have done before the meeting.

You may not always encounter objections but you do need to be ready for them – just in case. Here are a few ideas to help you do this:

1. What are the most common objections you’ve come across so far in your business? Write them down. What other concerns might your prospective clients have? Write them down too.

2. Now note down your answers to each one, based on the benefits your products or services provide. Every business owner or sales person needs to do this exercise before they start making appointments to call. Keep your notes for future reference.

3. You can minimise objections and concerns by raising them yourself. For example, you can include your answers in your marketing materials and on your website.

4. During your initial conversations with a prospect, ask questions to find out what their concerns are, so you can address them straight away.

5. Check if anyone else needs to be part of the buying decision so they can be included from the beginning, and you can prepare answers to their questions too.

Don’t be caught out by objections, be ready for them! What tips would you add?