It’s sometimes hard to get motivated especially in the triple digit heat of an Arizona summer. Keep in mind though that chances are your competition isn’t taking the summer off. They are moving forward with business plans and business growth.
If summer has traditionally been a time for you where you kick back and take time off, I urge you to at least do undertake these five summer business strategies:
Make certain your website is mobile friendly. Having a mobile friendly website is critical to business success and that isn’t something you want to let go until autumn arrives.
Make note of your top prospects and then reach out and contact them. If you’re in a lull — whether self imposed or actual — they may be as well and might welcome a call from you.
Look at your marketing materials and start now to think about what you might offer or change up for the upcoming holidays. If you need new peripheral materials, now is the time to look at that so you can get the designing and printing underway before the rush of the season is upon you.
Update and review your business plan. We’re now more than through the half way point of the year and you should be making certain you’re on target with the goals you set at the beginning of the year.
Take on a project you’ve been dreading. We all have them and they aren’t going to miraculously go away. Work on it in bite sized chunks and get it taken care of this summer.
Procrastination is the killer of productivity. That makes sense, right? Did you realize though that over the past 30 years the number of self-proclaimed procrastinators has quadrupled? Procrastination, in so many ways, can drain your energy and can also assist you in sabotaging your entrepreneurial success.
Can you obliterate procrastination from your business and personal life? I believe you can. I also believe it will take effort and it’s not something you can put off any longer! Here are some steps you can take, beginning today, to give procrastination the boot:
Hone your to-do list down to no more than five items a day. If you get through those, fantastic! Add on a few more.
If an item on your to-do list is involved (building a new website, writing a book, etc.) then break that item down into smaller increments. Scale the mountain one step at a time!
Get better at your self knowledge and pay attention to those times and those tasks that put you into procrastination mode. If you can uncover what pushes that button you may be able to find ways to overcome it.
Acknowledge that procrastination is present in your life and then give yourself a pat on the back when you make it through your list
Reward yourself for making it through your list. Reward yourself for a job well done. Don’t beat yourself up when you procrastinate, instead look for the root cause.
If you find yourself being overwhelmed by activities, to-dos and by a general feeling of “I don’t know where to start.” Give us a call or leave a comment because our business coaching service could help you get past that and moving forward on your entrepreneurial path.
As entrepreneurs, regardless of our niche area, we are all sales people. It’s true. Without making a sale how would you be in business? Whether you’re a dog groomer, pool service contractor, blogger, or an accountant you need to sell to remain in business.
Here are my tips for using your personality to make that sale:
Be who you are. Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to close a deal. Being authentic is critical in today’s competitive business environment.
Be happy. If you love what you do, this will shine through in your interactions with clients and potential clients.
Encourage others. When you’re making a sale the product or service you’re offering will in some way enhance the client’s life or business, right? Use that as a way to encourage them to reach higher levels of success.
There are myriad other items that go into being a stellar salesperson and I’d be happy to talk with you about this and about ways you can grow your business through your sales processes. Give me a shout if you’d like to learn more!
Do you ever cringe when you get ready to open your email inbox in the morning? I know sometimes I do. Why? First of all because so many emails came in, second because some of them ramble and third because the subject lines have nothing to do with the content.
Here are my tips for upping the chances that your email messages (whether a standard email or an e-newsletter) get read:
Be clear. Are you asking for help? Do you need a response? Are you simply sharing information? Make that clear in the message so the recipient knows how, or even if they have to, respond.
One issue per message. Don’t have a subject line that mentions, “XYZ Project” but then go into the “ABC” and the “LMNO” projects. One subject per email and the subject needs to relate to your subject line.
Be brief. If you can’t wrap up your email in a hundred words or fewer (unless the recipient was anticipating a wordy response) then you might want to pick up the phone. There are times, though when a detailed email response is a great reference for the future, but you need to know when this is the case.
Make sure your grammar and spelling are impeccable. Grammatical errors will make your reader subconsciously doubt the rest of your words.
Steer clear of industry jargon and acronyms unless you are certain your recipient will immediately understand them.
The written word, in some cases, is being mangled by the average user. Why? In part, I believe because of the proliferation of text messaging. When it comes to text messages, many people use short cuts rather than writing complete sentences or even complete words for that matter.
When you’re corresponding with business colleagues, your business grammar matters. Why? You could be the most well-versed expert in your niche, but when you send an email full of spelling and grammar mistakes, the recipient may subconsciously doubt all of your words and facts.
How can you make certain your email messages and business correspondence are top notch? Here are a few ways:
Be clear and stick to one topic. Veering off topic is disconcerting at best and dilutes the message at worst. If the topic of the email is technical or involved, it’s likely best to pick up the telephone or have a face-to-face.
Be brief but be friendly. Correspondence without body language can “sound” curt and abrupt. While you don’t need flowery prose, you do need to be cognizant of the recipient’s time while still being personable.
Check your spelling and grammar before you hit send. If you’re hesitant on a word or a phrase or the use of particular punctuation, ask someone for advice or Google it.
BONUS tip: Don’t throw around your industry acronyms unless you’re certain the recipient will immediately understand your meaning.
