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!
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.
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?
Whether verbal or non verbal, everything in business and life is about communication. From sending emails to making phone calls to having face-to-face meetings, communication matters.
Want to improve your communication skills? Here are a few tips:
Speak in short sentences without a lot of industry jargon. You don’t need to be terse, just clear. If you’re sending an email, it’s important to be clear — perhaps even more so. If you have to deliver “bad news,” it’s best to do that in person or via telephone, not via email.
Give your full attention to the person in front of you –whether on the phone, in person or when you’re composing an email. It’s easy to get distracted and not give your full attention. Don’t let a caller or client feel they are not important enough for you to stop what you’re doing to pay attention to his or her concerns.
What you do is as important as what you say you will do. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Are you an effective communicator? What can you do to be even more so?
As the owner of Peak Dynamics and a couple of other ventures, I work with several staff and contractors and they are scattered across the United States and the globe. Because of that I need to not only trust that I have the right team in place and I also need to trust that they will do the tasks assigned them.
Believe me there have been a few missteps, but for the most part I have found the ideal candidates to fill the necessary niches within my business. Once I have them in place and they are trained (hint, hire people who have the skills sets that you seek and you can train them to do the nitty-gritty that is unique to your organization), but you need to learn to trust your employees. Here are my tips for doing just that:
Offer them the training they need to do the job to the best of their abilities.
Set specific expectations and reasonable goals.
Make certain the employee knows they can come to you if they need assistance — rather than attempting to figure something out on their own to a greater detriment. That being said…
Look for employees who show initiative.
Make sure they know you appreciate what they do and have frequent check ins. This is especially true with a remote workforce — keep in touch.
