The best way to find new clients is to build business trust. How, exactly, do you do that? Is there a magic bullet to build business trust? Yes. And no.
Because trust is at the core of any successful business relationship here are three ways I have found are ideal for both building initial trust and rebuilding trust if you’ve lost it.
Stay authentic and be ethical in all of your dealings. Whether you’re in a networking meeting or on the telephone with someone or have been asked your opinion on a different colleague, stay professional and positive in all of your dealings.
Deliver on your customer promises. You’ve probably heard of under-promise/over-deliver. Don’t promise more than you can deliver, but deliver more than you promise. Surprise and delight your clients. If you tell a client you will get back to him in 24 hours, do just that. If you’ve told a client he or she will have an answer to an email with in 48 hours, respond on or before that time frame. Keep your clients in the loop of what is happening, especially if you are onboarding a new client or are making major changes in the work flow with another.
Don’t share the “secrets” of others. Whatever a client tells you, consider that it was told to you in confidence. A client shouldn’t have to say, “Now don’t tell anyone.” It should be a given that the information shared with you, stays with you.
Maintaining a level of trust from the beginning of a relationship — from that very first handshake, email or phone call sets the tone for the rest of your relationship. It is difficult, if not impossible, to regain trust once it’s been broken — it can be done — but it’s best to not have to rebuild.
If you’re like many of my coaching clients, you use your Friday as a “catch up” day. Is that a wise use of your time? What are you letting fall through the cracks if you’re catching up on Friday? Are your Fridays productive? If they aren’t you should work to make them more productive.
Here are some ways to regain control of your Friday and sail into your weekend with your work behind you!
Get out of the office and attend a networking event.
Sign up for a class or attend a conference at which you can enhance your business acumen.
Take an online course and set aside time on Friday to delve in and get the work done.
Block out a couple of hours to read through trade magazines, enewsletters you’ve signed up for or newspapers or other printed matter that you don’t get through during the week.
Plan for the next week.
Look back on your successes of the week that’s wrapping up.
Make phone calls to potential clients.
Make phone calls to colleagues just to catch up.
Clear our your email inbox so it’s bare bones when you get back to the office on Monday.
If you have a daily to do list and are diligent with your marketing and getting your tasks done during the week Friday can be a day when you may deem it a “catch up day” but you’re also being productive and learning or attending networking events at which you can grow your potential client base. Getting out of the office is also a great way to practice your elevator pitch on the colleagues with whom you’re networking and you can also see who the competition is and what skills they may possess that you’re lacking. It’s a great learning experience and a great way to continue to grow yourself and market your business.
Is there a magic formula for helping your business soar? Accountability = Productivity + Profitability could be just the formula you’re looking for. I find that many of the solopreneurs that I work with aren’t truly accountable to anyone so their productivity and their profitability sometimes suffers. You’re certainly accountable to producing results for your customers,but it is sometimes difficult to toil alone every day and feel an accountability.
One way to amp up accountability is by working with a business coach. A business coach will push you to higher levels of productivity and will hold you accountable for milestones you want to reach. Did you know why some people don’t achieve their goals? Here are a few:
They set unrealistic expectations
They didn’t understand the scope of the project
Priorities and timelines weren’t clearly defined
You, or those involved in the project, don’t have the skills necessary
There is no follow up or milestones to mark progress or tell whether the project will be a success
Here are ways in which you can be accountable to yourself, others and your business.
Your employees need to be held accountable by you for the tasks with which they are charged. You also need to be accountable to your employees and give them the tools they need to succeed and the assistance they need to follow through on their own projects and tasks.
Your company co-leaders. If you run your business as a partnership or have more than one person involved you need to hold each other accountable. If you have specific skill sets that complement your business partner’s you need to allow each other to work on your core competencies but you need to come together to assure you’re both shooting for the same mark on the target.
You need to be accountable to yourself. If you’re not motivating yourself and pushing yourself, your efforts will be for naught. Business owners are usually very good at moving forward and overcoming obstacles that may present themselves.
Do you have an accountability process in place for productivity and profitability?
I pride myself on being punctual — actually I pride myself on being ahead of schedule when I am meeting with clients or attending a meeting. Are you always late? Are you on time? If you’re always late you are, in effect, disrespecting the person with whom you’re meeting, the other attendees at a meeting you’re attending and it is, frankly, in bad form.
Why are you always late? Does time truly get away from you? Do you forget to write appointments down in your virtual or paper calendar? Do you need to set a timer or alarm in order to get yourself to meetings on time? Do you have an assistant who could be called upon to remind you of pending meetings and to get you out the door in time?
It’s thought that people who are always late are “creative and/or artistic types.” Even if you work in a creative field, being late is disrespectful to the person with whom you’re meeting. Don’t fall into the cliche of the “absent minded professor.” Don’t become known as, “John, he’s always late.”
Set a timer on your computer, your smart phone or use an actual timer for 15 minutes before you have to leave for a meeting. Give yourself that 15-minute window to wrap up the task you’re working on and get out the door.
Set another alarm to remind you to get out the door.
If you know you have a meeting coming up in an hour, don’t get involved in a time consuming task that will be hard to break away from.
Give yourself breathing room in your schedule. Build in a buffer for calls that take longer than you planned for, projects that were more time consuming than you’d imagined.
Enlist someone in your office to remind you of your appointments and get you out the door in time.
Are you always late? What is your reason for being late? Can you determine what it is? If you can pinpoint it, you can work to address it in the future.
We’re a week into 2017. While many of your colleagues are forward facing, it makes sense to look back to move business forward. Before you move forward you need to know what worked, and what didn’t, in 2017. How will you know whether what you’re doing is working if you don’t take time to reflect?
Answer those questions, then look forward by asking yourself:
What leaders inspire and motivate me?
What do I want to do more of in 2017?
What do I want to do less of?
Who can I partner with to grow my business?
What channels on social media do I want to have a bigger presence on?
Who do I want to serve this year?
What volunteer activities can I get involved in?
What do I want clients and potential clients to say about me when they speak of me?
What steps can I take right now to gain traction on my 2017 goals?
What will I use as metrics for my success?
The year is still young. Take time today to answer these questions then go forth and conquer 2017! If you have “explore coaching” on your list, send me a message — let’s talk! Many business owners find that working with a coach helps them better navigate a path toward business growth because they’re working with someone outside of their business niche.
When you’re entrepreneur, you can’t operate with a “do as I say, not as I do” mindset. You must be as accountable to yourself, your business and your employees as they are to you. Leaders must be accountable in order to demand that from staff, vendors and others with whom they interact.
How can you lead with accountability?
Think about whether you have been clear in actions and deeds.
Are the deliverables you promised being delivered on time and in the state in which you promised them?
Have you clearly stated to the principles involved what the business impact or consequence of actions will be — whether good or bad.
Do you follow up and follow through?
Do you apologize when you’ve been in the wrong?
Today, employees and vendors have myriad choices of business owners with whom to work and interact. Make certain you are that employer or vendor or service or product provider of choice. Be accountable. Be authentic in all of your dealings. Watch your business soar when you are an “open book.”
We know, though, there is a delicate balance a leader walks between being a leader and being just one of the guys. It’s important for you to set the tone of the office and business environment. Balance your approach of being a strategic leader and being an approachable manager and your employees, staff and vendors will see that you are accountable and someone in whom they can place their trust.
Do you find yourself in a struggle with being a leader and being a manager? They are two very different styles of being a business owner. If you’re looking to grow your business in 2017, drop me an email and let’s schedule a time to talk about how coaching might help your business move to the next level of success.
