10 things I wish I hadn't done ( again) in 2015

Time is precious. It is the one thing you can’t give back. The one thing that you and your project, always want more of.

Here are ten things I wish I hadn't done this year, which wasted my time, time I will not get back. Things which I know I did last year and that I will probably do again next year unless I remind myself to read this again, in time.

1. Wasted my time … advertising.

If people always hear FROM me instead of ABOUT me, I’m doing something wrong.

2. Wasted my time … trying, in general.

If someone uses the word ‘trying’ a lot, they probably aren't.

3. Wasting my time … trying to prove myself.

If I know you’re good enough, that’s enough.

4. Wasting my time … trying to convince people.

If they don’t ‘get it’ right away, they probably never will.

Remember ‘If you can’t explain it in 8 words or less, it’s not a good idea.’ Seth Godin

5. Wasted my time … trying to be better than the competition.

If I position my value to my client correctly, I won’t HAVE any competition.

6. Wasted my time … dealing with people who can’t sign the order and pay the invoice.

If they’re not the economic buyer, I need to save my breath and move on.

7. Wasted my time … selling to people who just aren’t going to buy.

If they’re just there to kick tyres, that’s great. Greet them warmly and move on to someone else. They’ll come when they’re ready.

8. Wasted my time… selling to people who don’t know how to value me yet.

If they’re not ready for me, they don’t deserve me.

 Remember …Saying NO to the wrong person leads to saying YES to the right person.

9. Wasted my time… following up with people who never, ever call you back.

If they wanted you, they would have hired you already. You can only call so many times.

10. Wasted my time… making people happy who aren’t in your target market.

If they’re not your ideal customer, who cares if they don’t like me?

11. Wasted my time… sending prospects my hideous brochures and literature.

If they get it, they will immediately store it in the circular file cabinet.

I’ve just put them all in the log burner.

Small Business or big business Sanity checker Part 2

Following on from yesterdays 10 questions 'you may like ask yourself about your company' as you take your annual mental audit of where you actually are and where you would like to be heading and the stories you need to be telling your staff and your customers.

Here are another 10 for you to think about over the mince pies, bubble and squeak and queues at the Boxing Day sales checkout.

They hopefully won't overwork your brain too much but they may, just, help you think a little differently, to place yourself in the helicopter view rather than the mole's eye.

11.  Are you growing?

12. Are you helping your clients in more than one way?

13 Are you in it for the long haul?

14. Are you productive or just active?

15. Are you seeking influence or affluence?

16. Are you still adding value others can’t?

17. Are you submersed or immersed?

18. Are you the arrow or the bullseye?

19. Are you the one with the most information?

20. Are you tooting or blowing your own horn?

and probably the most important one…. and be honest when you answer this

21. Are you pressing the 'off 'button enough

If you have any more you can think of and you would like to share... you know the drill.

50 Questions to help you fall back in love with your business

It is that time of the year again. A time to sit down review, reflect and re-energise, yeah, right.! Would that we actually had the time to do that. 

Why we do this at the end of the year is seen as that specific time to attempt this I’m not sure but, if you haven’t had time during the last year, maybe now is the time to make some time for you in the Twixtmas greyness. Something to help you avoid the sales, the traffic jams getting in and out of the retail parks, and the mud.

So..get a paper and pencil, a glass of your favourite tipple and dispatch the kids to the outlaws. Sit somewhere comfortable and breath.

One of the things I try to influence/persuade/cajole/beat into… my Free on Friday clients to do, which I believe is actually the most crucially important task you have in running your business, is to make some head space, create some time to stand back and look.…

In the moments you might grab between the chaos you do need to ask yourself some questions. Over next few days I’m going to suggest a few you may like to think about. Asking beautiful questions is the secret to the art of problem solving, innovation and creativity and your business should be an outlet for your creative self if nothing else. It simply just brings the fun back into it. It renews your enthusiasm and sets you up for the ups and inevitable downs of what is likely to await you in the coming months.

Here they are:

1. Are you accepting the same type of tasks, projects and fees as you were two years ago?

2. Are you a company that your competitors envy?

3. Are you a profession or a business?

4. Are you abandoning buyers?

5. Are customers asking to buy products and services you don’t offer?

6. Are you an advisor or just a seller?

7. Are you charging enough for your ideas?

8. Are you competing or comparing?

9.  Are you counting traffic or transactions?

10. Are you doing anything that is no longer important?

Email me for the other 40… or stop by over the next few days in you want to rekindle and fall back in love with your business….. 

Things your customer wish you knew about them

Think you know what makes your customers, staff and colleagues tick? 

What stories will engage them with you and move them to at least recognise that you have your hand up???

What do they really, really, really, need from you? 

Here are 40 plus things they would like you to know about them but don't really want to say out loud.

  

40 plus things you need to know before you even start any conversation with them. Whether it is to try to persuade them that this 'new way' really will be a big help to them. That your new product will make them love you even more, that you are the person or organisation they can trust to solve their problem.

No-one , and I mean no-one, ever changed the way they work or their increased their level of enthusiasm because they read an email from 'on high', read your glossy new brochure or had a beautifully designed newsletter pop into their in-box.

They may, just may, engage with, spare a second to, listen to or even become an ardent fan if you have remember any (or all) of the following, while crafting the story you want to share with them.

1.   I don’t need you to be perfect, but I do need to know I can rely on you.

2.   Telling me what you don’t know makes me trust you.

3.   It means a lot when you take the time to thank me for my idea or input.

4.   You don’t need to do all that much to be a superhero. Just do exactly what you say you will do.

5.   A friendly voice on the other side of the phone means more than you can imagine.

6.   My life is really stressful. If you can reduce that stress, you become immensely valuable to me.

7.   I want to tell you what would make this relationship better for me. Why don’t you ever ask me?

8.   I don’t understand a lot of the messages you send me. Can you make them clearer?

9.   My life is very complicated. If you make it easy for me to do just one task in simple all-in-one package that I can use without learning anything, I’ll take it and be grateful.

10.  I want to trust you, but it’s hard for me to trust anyone.

11. Once you’ve won my trust and loyalty, the truth is you can screw up once in awhile and I will forgive you. If I don’t think you’re taking me for granted, that is.

12.When I refer my colleagues to you and you give them exceptional service, that makes me look and feel smart. I love that.

13. I spend an awful lot of time being scared to death.

14. A lot of the time, I secretly feel like a lost little kid. I don’t admit it, but I want to be taken care of.

15. I’m lousy at admitting I was wrong, but I respect you when you do it.

16.I don’t understand how to use our Web site, but I can’t admit that because it would make me feel dumb.

17.There’s no worse feeling than feeling like I was tricked into trusting you. If I’m screaming at you or one of your other employees, that feeling is probably behind it somewhere.

18.Our relationship isn’t equal and it never will be.

19.I get stupidly jealous if I think you love another customer more than you love me.

20.I don’t have any interest in your excuses. In fact, I usually don’t notice them at all, and if I do, they annoy me.

21.I find myself endlessly fascinating.

22.There’s something in my life I’m afraid of losing. If you can make me feel like you’ve protected it for me, my gratitude will be intense and eternal.

23. I’ll give you anything you ask if you can help me not feel silly.

24. I want you to do the hard work for me. Even better if I can get all the credit.

25. I’d rather do it the convoluted hard way than learn something new.

26. I’d love to know something about our product or service  that I could use to brag at a dinner party.

27. I have the attention span of a goldfish. Go too long without contacting me and I’ll simply forget you exist.

28.What you think you’re good at is not what you’re good at. Ask me, and I’ll tell you what you do better than anyone else.

29.I like it when I feel like you’re talking just to me.

30. It infuriates me when you answer the phone while I’m talking with you face-to-face.

31.Embarrassment scares me more than death.

32.I’m lazier than I would ever admit.

33.I’m more selfish than I would ever admit.

34.I’m more vain than I would ever admit.

35. I’m more insecure than I would ever admit.

36. Despite all that, I secretly think I’m a better person than most people. Help me believe that and I'll follow you.

37. I believe I deserve much more than I’m getting.

38. I want to tell you everything you need to know in order persuade me, but I’m lazy. Make it easy enough and I will. (Especially if you flatter me a little.)

39. I don’t know what I want most of the time. You need to figure it out for me.

40. I mostly daydream about making life better for myself, but I’ll take action to keep from losing what’s mine.

41. I believe that most of what’s wrong in my life is someone else’s fault. Let me keep that cozy illusion and I’ll believe anything you say.

42. It really is all about me.