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ISCOVER
Your business grows just a little bit or dies just a little bit every single day. That's right – every day. It's never standing still.
Today, it is just a little bit stronger or a little bit weaker than it was yesterday. This is something not a lot of business owners think about as they get caught up in the day-to-day craziness of just trying to keep work and money coming in the door. So is your business growing or dying?
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To make sure you are not going backwards each day, you have to find out where your weaknesses are, because these are the areas that are holding you back. I'm often asked for my top three tips for people who are feeling frustrated and are just about to throw in the towel.
I always take one step back and ask these three questions:
1) Is your tree growing or dying?
2) Are you in growth or maintenance mode?
3) What is your value proposition?
Turning your business around starts with you. I can give you every strategy or formula that I know works, but if you haven't truly committed to making a change then they won't help you. It's as simple as that.
There's a formula that will help you discover what it takes to make this leap. It's called the formula for transformation:
(Frustrations × Desired outcomes) + Clarity > Resistance to transform
Identifying your frustrations will start to bring clarity. Then you can shape your desired outcomes for your business and life.
So having checked that the business owner is truly committed to making a breakthrough, I then ask: 'Is it time, team or money that's causing you sleepless nights?'
More often than not it's money, or cash flow – or rather lack thereof. One very important thing to remember is that sales is the only activity that actually puts money into your business. Everything else takes it out. It is fundamentally important to grow sales within your ideal target market. But how do you do that?
Go back through your prospects and pick your 'low hanging fruit' – who have you spoken to in the last 90 days that for whatever reason hasn't said yes yet? Why haven't they said yes? Have you asked for the sale? Do you have a call to action? Are you making it easy for them to buy from you?
Often we get so wrapped up in the process that we actually forget that our customers may not understand our process and we may not have given them an opportunity to say yes... yet!
My last tip is to complete what I call the value proposition exercise. First, write down the five urgent needs of your target market. Ask yourself what problems your clients must solve immediately. Identify the five solutions you can provide and the number one big outcome you can provide. Make a note of what kind of return on investment your clients will get from working with you. Finally, write an 11-point list of why they should buy from you.
Once you have all this information, I want you to look back over the past 60 or so days and select your top five customers that experienced this outcome and ask them to buy from you again (repeat business), or introduce you to someone they know that has the same urgent need (referral). Once you have perfected your sales process, repeat the experience with your five top prospects. Once you've identified your value proposition, build your sales process around this.
So how do you get back on track? Look at yourself, your business and your life like a tree that's growing and needs constant nurturing. If you see branches that are starting to whither that's a sign of trouble and you have to act now. The survival of your business may depend on it.
How's your tree going?
Stefan Kazakis
Stefan Kazakis is a business strategist, sought-after presenter and speaker and author of the new book, From Deadwood to Diamonds (Major Street Publishing, $29.95). He is a futurist and an inspiring communicator with the voice of experience. For more information please visit www.stefankazakis.com or email
