When is the last time you celebrated a small milestone in your business? Many people feel they can only “celebrate” when they close that BIG deal, or when they lose 10 pounds or when they finish writing their book or business plan. Why not celebrate when you close ONE deal or lose two pounds or write a chapter in your book? Marking the progress you make along the way goes a long way in helping you meet those larger goals.
There are coaching clients with whom I work that sometimes suffer analysis paralysis — that need to know each and every single possible outcome of whatever project is on their plate before they can move forward. It is a state that leads to almost nothing getting done and that stymies their overall business growth.
What can you to do celebrate small milestones and why should you? Here are some options:
Not celebrating small projects completed negates their importance. Take a 15 minute trip away from your desk and do something you enjoy as a way to treat yourself for a job well done.
Tell a colleague or share with your coach a milestone. If you work with a coach or an accountability partner and you achieve something he or she had talked with you about, you should pick up the phone an make note of that — after all that is the benefit of having an accountability partner or coach.
Celebrate every new customer! Why? Every customer you bring in is entrusting him- or herself to the services you provide and that means you should celebrate them! How? Note it on your social media pages. Pick up the phone and say a heartfelt “thank you for being part of our client family.
What will you do to celebrate your next milestone?
When is the last time you updated, or even looked at, your professional online bios? If you’re like most people, you set up your online profiles. I know in the rush of take care of my coaching clients and building my business, I don’t always think to go into my online profiles and update them when I have learned a new skill, or start offering a new service or even begin a new endeavor. It’s not always top of mind, but updating our online professional bios should be part of our business strategy.
Take time today to look at your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and your business page. Here are some items to pay attention to:
If a potential client was seeking you out, does your current bio speak to your unique skills and to the audience you’re reaching out for? Make sure there are key words and searchable terms in your bio that a potential client would use to search you for.
List your top three qualifications and highlight them on your profiles and in the headlines on your social media pages.
Readers have short attention spans. With this in mind, put your most important information at the top of your bio and keep it short. Use bullet points to break up text and focus on your most relevant information.
After you’ve updated your online professional profiles, share that information with clients and potential clients, you can say, “I’ve recently updated my profile to better show the world who I am!” You can even ask, “do you agree?” and solicit insight from your followers — they may have information or a word you can use in your bio that you never thought of.
Being productive is something that an entrepreneur simply must be. Why? As a business owner there are so many tasks pulling you in different directions and you need to know when to say yes, when to work on your most pressing tasks and when to kick back and work on those “mindless” items on your to-do list that have to get done, but don’t take a lot of brain power.
I uncovered these interesting productivity tips:
The most productive day of the week? Tuesday. Schedule your most pressing tasks for that day.
The most productive time of the day? 10:26 am.
The least productive time of the day? 2:55 pm.
The least productive day of the week? Friday. Are you surprised at that? Use Friday as a “catch up” day or a day to call potential clients or to return phone calls. Use it to prepare your to-do list for the upcoming week so you’re ready to jump right in on Monday.
Additional thought from me: When you leave the office on Friday — or any day of the week, actually — leave priority tasks front and center on your desk.
Know your own personally productive times of the day and week and utilize those to your best advantage.
When I am working with coaching clients, one of the questions I hear most often is, “How can I bring in more clients?” or “How can I close more sales?” One item I tell my clients to do is to ask for referrals from current satisfied clients and to ask for testimonials from chose clients — having a current client recommend you is the best way to bring in new business.
If your client-closure rates aren’t what you hoped they’d be, here are some tips for closing that sale:
Make sure you understand their pain points.
Don’t try to be everything to everyone — make sure the products and services you’re offering are a good fit for that client.
Build relationships by taking more time to listen than you do talking. Listen to what a potential client is telling you because their pain point might be different than what you imagined it was.
What tried and true tactics do you have to bring in new clients? Take time today to ask a current client for a referral.
Have you ever been told, “You can’t be all things to all people?” As a business owner, I know it’s sometimes difficult to not say “yes” to every project a client or potential client throws at you. I also know that when you’re just starting out you are looking at your business’s bottom line and the urge is there to say yes, simply to keep your bank account in the black.
I can tell you though, that if you choose a niche or specialize your bank account will remain in the black and your business will thrive.
In what way will being a specialist help you to be more profitable? Here are a few:
You will be better able to focus your marketing efforts
Being a specialist — regardless of the field — gives you immediate credibility
You may attract higher-paying clients. (Professionals would rather work with someone who truly “gets” what they do)
Choosing a niche aka area of specialization will set you apart from your competitors. Your clients and potential clients will appreciate working with a professional who truly understands the subtle nuances of their industry. Are you focused on a particular niche?
