Simply Business Coaching

Have your prospects gone quiet?

You’ve probably been here before – a prospective client seems very promising, they’re interested in what you’re offering, they may even have asked for a proposal to be submitted urgently. You dropped everything else to get it to them on time and then … it all goes quiet. They promised they’d get back to you by the end of the week – but didn’t. You then leave phone messages, and send emails – and still hear nothing. So frustrating, but what else can you do?

If you’re in this situation, you could try leaving a message on their voicemail that makes them curious enough to want to call back. Say you’ve got some information that you know will be of interest or of value to them. And make sure you have!

Whether you have a relevant article, or some great results one of your other clients is getting, you must have a good reason to get them to call you back. Avoid the ‘courtesy call’ or ‘just checking how things are going’ approach – that can be irritating to a busy prospect and won’t compel them to ring back.

Of course, if you can, it’s even better to prevent this situation from happening in the first place. Don’t let a meeting or phone call end with a vague "I’ll give you a call at the end of the week, we should have a decision by then....”  Pin them down to a specific day and time for the next contact.

Acknowledge that they’re busy “I know how full your diary is, let’s put a time down now, so we don’t end up playing telephone tag. Will 11 o’clock on Friday be OK for you?” And if, when you make the call, the decision hasn’t been made, repeat the process.

This approach isn't being pushy. It keeps you more in control of the situation and saves you precious time following up.

Networking for Results: Building Relationships

If you network regularly and visit the same groups, you’ll probably see the same people quite often. Not only is this a good opportunity to build on relationships, but you can expand on your original introduction.

Talking about success stories or projects you’re currently involved in may bring to mind people they know who could be facing similar challenges.

If you go to ‘Speed Networking’ events, you often get 2 or 3 minutes to talk about your business, so it’s worth using a few case studies to reinforce your message.

But these conversations aren’t just about you. Encourage the people you speak with to tell you more about what they do. Have some questions prepared – ask them how they’ve been getting on since you last met and think about who you know who may be a good contact for them.

Do you ever think yourself out of picking up the phone?

The other day I called a prospect who had been referred to me. The call went well and I have an appointment to meet with them soon. However, it took me over a week to pick up the phone. Why?

I made so many excuses to myself, like “It’s too early/too late in the day, he’s probably not in.” “I’ll just make a cup of tea first.” (and then do something else). “It’s Monday/Friday, he’s probably really busy.” The fact is I didn’t have a single valid reason not to call, I could only come up with pathetic excuses – and I know I’m not alone in doing this.

When we feel uncomfortable about picking the phone up (either for cold calling or following up) it could be because we:

• Lack in confidence
• Have already decided that the call isn’t going to go well
• Remember that last time we spoke to that person, it went badly

One technique to use is to visualise the call going well - this will help get you into a more confident frame of mind. Also, think back to past achievements and how good you felt when you succeeded at something difficult. You can do this :)

Just as it’s possible to think yourself out of picking up the phone, now you know you can think yourself into it!  Let me know how you get on.

Call yourself an expert?

I was speaking with a colleague about all the experience and knowledge she had gained in her field during several years of being in business.  Yet when I suggested she could capitalise on them by using the term 'expert' in her marketing materials, she quickly and firmly said 'Oh no, I couldn't do that - it wouldn't feel right."

It got me thinking about what an expert is and when exactly do you become one?  I mean, if you call yourself an expert, is that enough to make you one?  There certainly seem to be a lot of people in the social media field doing just that right now.  Or do you become an expert when other people give you the label?

Whenever the media want to add a bit of gravitas to an article or news item, they invariably wheel out an expert - in whatever field is appropriate. And because of their superior knowledge, we assume what they say is factual.  But why are they considered experts in the first place?  It's usually because they have spent many years studying the subject in question, and earned the right to the title of expert (10,000 hours being 'the magic number for true expertise', according to Malcolm Gladwell in his book 'Outliers').

Especially on the internet, the term is bandied about by so many people wanting you to believe they know more than the average bear - and of course expecting you to pay for whatever product or service they're offering, based on their hard won expertise.  Unfortunately, underneath the gloss of the shiny new website or squeeze page is .... nothing.  The most basic research reveals some of them are more likely to have spent around 10 hours studying their subject; a far cry from 10,000.

So who do we turn to when we want to learn about something new?  Of course we search out the experts .... but how do we know if they really are?

(In case you were wondering, my colleague preferred the term 'Specialist')

Working together could be to your advantage

I was at a networking meeting recently, chatting with a book-keeper and a virtual assistant.  I suggested to them that they consider doing some joint marketing as they have the same target market but are in non-competing businesses.  I left them talking together as ideas started coming thick & fast!

Working as part of a ‘Strategic Alliance’ has always been a great way for small businesses to get extra income.  The trouble is that when you’re already busy on your own behalf, looking for partners to work with is just another thing you don’t seem to get around to!

One of the problems faced by many small business owners is the sense of isolation and, if you’re feeling a bit nervous about the future in today’s climate, (let’s be honest, who isn’t?) then perhaps the time has come for you to work with another business owner, or at least to do some joint promotions.  Some of the advantages of this approach could include:

• Sharing the workload or cost of promotion
• Having someone to exchange ideas with
• Being able to tackle projects that are too big for one person
• Increasing the number of people you have to market to
• Having an accountability ‘buddy’ (this was an unexpected bonus for me!)

How could you find a Strategic Alliance for your business?  Start by going through your list of contacts, or business card file and ask yourself these questions:

• Who do you know who shares your target market, but doesn’t directly compete with you?
• Do you get on well enough with them to work together?
• Do they have complementary strengths or skills to you?
• What shared areas of interest or expertise do you have?

Obviously the next step is to contact them, find out if they’re open to the idea of working together, meet for a coffee, and see what ideas you both come up with.  I’m not suggesting that you share everything about your business with each other, but if you take it project by project, working together can be very rewarding.

Have you worked with a Strategic Partner?  What results did you experience? 

Important Phone Calls

People spend ages crafting the perfect letter, email, proposal or web page to get it just right.  But when it comes to telephone calls, they often seem to just dial and hope for the best! 

Whether making calls to follow up with leads and prospective clients, or to try and get an appointment with bigger company decision-makers, or even catching up with existing and past clients, important phone calls deserve special treatment.

Here are some suggestions to help get the best response:

• Have a goal for the call
• Write down all the points you want to include
• Don't make your most important call first
• Warm up your vocal cords before picking up the phone
• Make the calls from a corded landline for best reception
• Smile and sit up straight (or even stand up)
• Be prepared for different situations (voicemail, gatekeeper, and especially the person you really want to speak to!)

What telephone tips have you found most helpful?

Are you Avoiding Success?

As a business owner or manager, I’ll bet you’re really busy all the time and that there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

I expect some of what you do every day is routine, such as opening the post; reading emails and checking your diary.  You do these almost without thinking.

But what about those activities you absolutely must do to bring in more business?  Like prospecting for new clients; following up with existing contacts; planning and goal setting for growth?

If you’ve ever spent your day doing such tasks as responding to emails; helping other people; working on making your marketing materials absolutely ‘perfect’; doing paperwork or tidying your office – you already know deep down these are comfort activities which will keep you stuck and your business exactly where it is now. 

The hard truth is:  you’re avoiding doing the less comfortable activities which will really move your business forward and generate more sales.  The ‘busy’ work will create the illusion you’re working hard, simply because you feel busy.  Your avoidance tactics will enable you to do everything but the activities needed to dramatically speed up your business success.

Do you get to the end of the day and say to yourself “It’s OK, I was really busy today, I’ll do that tomorrow.” Or “I just couldn’t find the time today to make those follow-up calls.”?

You know what?  If you’re waiting to find time, it will never happen!  There will always be other avoidance tactics and ‘busy work’ to fill your available time.

What avoidance tactics are you using?  Once you uncover them and the reasons why you are using them, then you can decide if they are really the best use of your time.

(If you need a bit of help with this, get in touch)

Apples and Oranges

Have you noticed that certain UK insurance companies are proudly announcing that 'you won't find us on any price comparison websites' as a benefit to doing business with them?

Surely the whole point of being able to do a comparison of all the available offerings is to find the deal that best suits your purpose?  What better way than having all the details together thus only needing to visit one website?

Now you and I both know that buying decisions often aren't made based on price alone.  If that was the case no-one would spend their hard-earned money on luxury holidays, expensive cars or big houses.

On the other hand, by excluding prospects who are price driven (apple buyers), it becomes possible to offer premium priced products to a smaller, more targeted audience (orange buyers).  People who expect superior service and are prepared to pay more to get it.

So, as long as those insurance companies who opt out of the price comparison websites are indeed offering superior services and lots of extras, both apple buyers and orange buyers will be happy.

But .... perhaps there's another reason why not every insurance policy wants their prices to be scrutinised.

Recently I cancelled a long-standing policy from one of the 'opt-out' insurance companies.  They offered me a £50 reduction if I stayed with them - for exactly the same policy.  I'm still fuming that customer loyalty seems to be penalised rather than rewarded.

New Economy - What's that all about?

I don't recall which pundit first talked about our 'New Economy' but those two words have been warmly embraced and are now uttered more and more often.

Personally, I don't understand what's really new about it - unless it's simply an attempt to distance ourselves from the 'old' economy which got broken.

The term 'New' (along with its close cousin 'Improved') has been used by advertisers to persuade us to buy, almost since the beginning of time.  And after we have bought, all too often we're left wondering what's different from the original item that this 'new' version has replaced.

When we welcome in a New Year, it could be partly because we don't have any choice in the matter; January 1st is going to arrive whether we like it or not.  Perhaps what we really welcome is the possibility that the new year will be better than the previous 12 months - and it's a good excuse for a party!

Talking about a new economy certainly sounds rather brave and hopeful doesn't it?  Especially after living for so long with the dreaded 'r' word.

Here are some of my thoughts about the changes I believe small businesses need to make so that a new economy will work for them: