This question is usually from a prospect that has commitment issues. It’s not always their fault.
Sometimes you haven’t done enough on your website, LinkedIn profile and messaging platform to give them the warm fuzzies about becoming a client. Sometimes they just haven’t been in your atmosphere for enough time. They need to talk to you or get your emails for a few months. But, most of the time, they are just tire kickers…endless tire kickers that wonder why they attract the same negative behavior from their own prospects. For example, after talking to a guy, on 2 separate occasions last week, who clearly needs my services and admits that it’s a good fit, asks… Can you send me the emails of referrals I can contact? My answer is essentially…No, my clients are busy people. Check out my website or LinkedIn profile for testimonials. And sometimes that’s enough for someone to come to their senses. When they become my client or someone else’s, they won’t want to take 1 second of their day to convince someone to become a client of someone else. It’s dumb! And if not…if more questions or objections…move on fast and swiftly. This is not a client you want and if you bend and coddle, you will have to keep that up throughout the engagement. Fair warning on this beautiful Monday. And, if you see my testimonials on LinkedIn or floating around on the web, and realize that...it’s real people…getting real results…come get you some here. My bride and I had date night last night. We prioritize doing this once a week and hadn’t been to a movie in a while. We wanted to catch Jumanji (because it looks hilarious) but no showings last night, so we went to Black Panther instead. Good movie!
Anyway, my wife likes Skittles at the show and she always eats the perfect bite. 1 purple, 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 orange, 1 red (the picture helped me figure this out :) Let’s bring it back around to business. What’s the perfect bite in your business? It’s probably not 5 sweet treats. In fact, it should probably be the 1 or 2 services that are the most enjoyable for you and the most profitable. I mention this again because I continue to run into people who think they should list every service they could possibly do. Like…they do web design, SEO, pay per click, graphic design, copywriting, logos, and they’ll walk your cat. Or…they coach executives, leaders, teams, groups, divorcees, kids, the unemployed, and dogs that aren’t getting as many walks. (Note: I did run across an animal therapist recently…so it’s a thing.) You get the point…trying to be everything to everyone is not the perfect bite. The perfect bite for you is the 1 or 2 things you are the best at. Be the perfect bite. If you’re running a little late this year on getting something for your spouse or significant other…good news!
It’s not too late. And, after you’re all set…you can grab this t-shirt for yourself. (with 7 kids…this one speaks to me) So, here’s the fix. Head over to MassageEnvy.com and grab them an annual subscription. If they don’t have one near you, see if your local spa has a subscription service. It costs less than you think and you’ll also get to check out the inner workings of an industry disrupter. They’ve used a subscription model to take something usually seen as a once a year luxury and told a different story. A story about the benefits of stress relief and regularly taking care of your body. It’s working because they are the largest chain of franchised massage spas in the United States. (can we say niche leader!) Yeah, you should definitely grab one for yourself too…for research! I did this for my wife and I and it’s a winning move. As a business owner, you carry the weight of everything on your shoulders. And your spouse carries it too because you’re in this together. For more business and life guidance, get in on my Inner Circle. On our quest for a better business…one that is more fulfilling and profitable, it pays a big dividend to do what you love.
And likely, we don’t love every aspect of our work week…but we should be doing more and more of the few things that energize us. Things we enjoy. I like coaching business owners…so I’m structuring my business this year around making even bigger impacts and going deeper with a smaller number of people one-on-one. (The finishing touches are happening as we speak…so look out for the announcement later this week.) My wife has always liked yoga and recently signed up for a 30 day trial at a local studio. She used to try to get me to do it with her. She’d either wake up early or pop in a DVD after the kids went to bed. I tried it a few times. It’s not very relaxing for me because concentrating on doing a move AND breathing at the same time are challenging. It’s the same problem I have with dancing. Anyway, she rediscovered her love for it by joining the studio. Oh yeah, and it’s Hot Yoga…which sounds wrong…but really just means they pump up the heat so you sweat 100% more. The first couple of days she was rediscovering some moves she’s done before. Downward dog…child’s pose…etc. After a few weeks…she’s doing more advanced moves…crane…pelican…lions roar (obviously I know nothing about yoga or the names of things…but it’s lots of animals, and I can’t get into these positions!) She’s remarkably better after 30 days! And, even more importantly, she leaves feeling great. (Yep...she should keep doing it!) The same thing happened to me last year when I started writing daily emails. The beginning was scary (what will people think), it took too long, and I generally felt like I sucked at it. However, I knew it was a core process that I wanted in my business, so I needed to dive in. The result was remarkably better material after 30 days and an ease of execution that I would not have believed beforehand. These are just a few examples, but the stunningly simple answer to being remarkablly better at anything is to… Get started and do it regularly. Daily if possible. Take a look at your core business processes, and decide which part would make the biggest impact if you did more of it. If that’s something in your wheelhouse, do it daily for 30 days and be ready for big improvements! That famous groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter. If you’re like me in the south, it’s not that bad. It even snowed 2 days, which the kids loved.
But, if you’re up north, I’m sure you’re ready for it to be over. And, since it’s Groundhog Day, it’s always a reminder to me to make sure I’m not stuck in a Bill Murray loop with my business. This is where 2018 feels just like 2017 which feels just like 2016 etc. If your business seems to be on repeat or you’ve lost the love and passion for what you do every day, it’s time for a reset. And YOU alone have the power! You can decide right now to do something different. You can decide to invest in yourself and your happiness. It can be a small change or could mean quitting your job tomorrow. A small change could be NOT looking at the news on your phone tomorrow. It does nothing but put you in a state of depression. Instead, replace it with something that gives you energy and life. Maybe a 10-minute walk around the block. Maybe some journaling of YOUR ideas. I’ve taken to writing in a Journible every morning (available on Amazon) and highly recommend it. Do a little daydreaming about what would give you a shot of business energy... And DO IT! |
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