Simply Business Coaching

Small Business Marketing - Standing Out from the Crowd

Do you know how to find the hidden difference that makes you stand out from the crowd?

Not everyone wins awards, has appeared on television or is a published author.  Fortunately, there are other ways of standing out in your industry.  Perhaps you have developed a new, or different, system, process or method that helps people to learn what you teach.  How did you come to be doing what you do - what's your personal story? (I think everyone's a bit fed up with the extreme rags to riches bit now, so no need to go overboard) but if you did overcome some particular obstacles on your journey - be sure and include them in your story. After all, YOU are the unique part of your business.

What I suggest you do is ask 2 or 3 people who know you quite well (colleagues, fellow networkers, or clients) for some input.  Ask what words they would use to describe you, and what strengths they observe in you.  The results are often illuminating.  Another good tip is to have a look at testimonials you've received - and I mean really look at what's been said.  You may well find, as I did, the same phrases cropping up again and again - showing you just what makes you stand out from the crowd.

I'd love to hear how you found your hidden difference.  And if you enjoyed reading this post, please re-tweet so others can read it too!

When You're Really Busy - Stop!

It's early Monday morning and I've got a very busy week ahead - client appointments every day and, just to make things really interesting, a few project deadlines too.  Please understand that I'm not complaining, just setting the scene.

When I first saw was was in store for me in the diary, I thought the best plan would be to spend most of the weekend working to get ahead - but then realised what I really needed to do was take both days off!  Here's what led me to that conclusion:

• Whenever I work through the weekend, I feel shattered on Monday morning.  Not a good start to any week, let alone a busy one.
• Any progress made on projects would most likely be countered by sluggish productivity over the rest of the week.
• Work has a strange habit of expanding to fill available time, so would I really be getting ahead or get caught up in 'busy' work?
• It goes against everything I tell my clients to do!!

So I didn't even turn the computer on until this morning.  I spent the weekend relaxing, read a couple of paperbacks, and even had a couple of afternoon naps!

I know there will be other occasions when I do choose to work over the weekend - but only if it feels right.

As a result of switching off for a couple of days, my mind is actually clearer (even though I was totally overwhelmed last week), I feel rested and alert and excited to tackle the week ahead.

Best get on then....

What works best for you? If you enjoyed reading today's post, a retweet would be appreciated!

Well, what do you expect?

Earlier this week I was invited to attend a Business Link event as a 'local expert' (their term, not mine!) in social media marketing. It was an interesting format, there were 6 large round tables, each with their own 'expert host' in a different marketing area (PR, Customer Relationship Marketing, Word of Mouth Marketing, Pricing for Profit, Online Marketing as well as Social Media Marketing). 

I remained (thankfully) seated at 'my' table and was joined by 8-10 business owners for 30 minutes, followed by a 10 minute break.  Then everyone moved around to the next table & topic of their choice - this took place 4 times in all.   I was gratified the seats at my table quickly filled up each time :)

Basically, I was there to provide tips and suggestions to the many small business owners who are unsure how to make all the social media goodies work for them - or so I thought.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised when the Business Link Advisor who sat beside me the whole time to 'facilitate' the discussions, was only asking if they used Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.  From other local networking events I've attended lately, I know business owners who understand how to use the online networks for business are the exception rather than the rule (unless they're involved with the internet as part of their own business).

When I suggested that online networking was just one part of many social media marketing possibilities, most of the faces around the table unfortunately went from curious to blank, as I tried to describe the wonderfully numerous and diverse ways the internet can literally transform small businesses.

That was when I realised that there are those of us who have embraced the internet and are busy finding ways to integrate it into our marketing and using it to help design brand new business models - and then there are the many other business owners who haven't even considered that path yet.  I really didn't expect to find such a huge gap still existed between the two groups.

Overall, it was an enjoyable if quite tiring experience.  It was definitely thought-provoking and has taught me a valuable lesson about expectations!

Please share your experience of how many business owners you know 'get' or don't get, using the internet in the comments below.  And if you enjoyed reading this post, I'd appreciate a retweet too!

The Funny Thing about Free Training

Following on from my post earlier this week on what I thought about free consultations, I thought I'd share a conversation I had with a client recently about how funny (peculiar) people can be when they book onto free training events.  Here are some of our shared musings:

• They book quickly to reserve a place, even if they have no intention of coming along.
• They don't read the emails which ask what they most want to learn (and then say the training didn't meet expectations on the feedback form)
• They attend 'advanced' workshops and expect to be taught the basics (and then say the training didn't meet expectations on the feedback form)
• They complain about the strangest things - parking facilities, other delegates, the room temperature, the refreshments ..... (and then say the training didn't meet expectations on the feedback form)
• If it's raining/snowing/sunny on the day, they decide not to turn up (and then ask when you're running the next one!)

I wonder how these same delegates would behave if they were required to pay to attend....

What's your experience of offering free training events?  Please share by commenting below, and if you enjoyed reading this post, a re-tweet would be lovely!

Business Coaching: Are Free Consultations Worth Doing?

Last month I ran a special offer to my newsletter subscribers for a 'Marketing Spring Clean'.  It was the first time in quite a while I'd offered a free consultation, and was partly prompted by a fellow Masterminder who observed that I might be missing opportunities to attract clients by not doing so.

Initially I was pleased at the interest generated and duly set up the telephone appointments (using my superb online scheduler Tungle).  And then things started to go awry.....

Here's what I learned:

• Some people will apply for anything that's free, even if they don't qualify.  They don't read past the word 'free'.
• Others will want you to bend over backwards to accommodate their diary (never mind about the 20 possible alternatives you offer, they expect a weekend appointment or evenings) and then they cancel.
• Then there are the pedants who quibble at having to pay £2.50 for a phone call when you're giving them nearly an hour of your expertise - "But it isn't really free if I have to pay for the call, is it?"

Thankfully, 80% of the free consultations went ahead OK (although I'm still waiting to find out how much actual business they bring), but the whole experience has served to remind me how many people really don't value something they haven't had to pay for.

What's your experience of offering free consultations?  Please share by commenting below, and if you enjoyed reading this post, I'd appreciate a re-tweet!

Quiet please ...... I'm thinking

As a coaching tool, silence often yields the greatest insights for the client.  Used as part of the sales process, it can mean the difference between closing a sale or walking away empty handed.

Waiting in silence can feel uncomfortable, but you need to resist the urge to be the first to speak.  Keep waiting.  It usually isn't for nearly as long as it seems.

Silence means the other person is thinking about what you have just said.  Whether they're considering an answer to a question you asked, or thinking about  information you've shared, it's important to give them enough time and space to finish processing.

When I work with business owners on their selling technique, I find they often come close to 'talking themselves out of the sale' because they don't feel comfortable with the silence while waiting for the prospect to consider the deal.  This is especially true just after saying the price - they almost feel compelled to justify or excuse it in some way!

The best piece of advice I've heard is to :  "Say the price and then shut up!"

Another occasion when silence is a good tool to use is when faced with an angry customer (or anyone angry really!).  They need to get the stuff that's making them angry off their chest so allow them to say everything they need to, and then remain silent for a further, slow, count of 5.  This pause will enable the other person to add anything else, in case they hadn't completely finished.  It will also show them that you have listened and are thinking about what they said.

I'd love to hear if you've found using silence to be powerful in your business.  And if you enjoyed reading this post, be sure to re-tweet it so others can read it too!

Taking a few detours

On Wednesday I drove to a meeting and got a bit lost!  While I love and use lots of new technology and tools to make life easier, I'm still resisting getting a SatNav system - mainly because I don't believe I make enough journeys to get good use from one.

So before setting off, I looked up the route on the internet and in a trusty old-fashioned map book to get a clear 'picture' in my mind of how to reach my destination.

Everything went swimmingly until about the last 5 miles (as often happens!) when I departed from the chosen route somehow.  After pulling over and consulting the map again, I could see the road I was now on would rejoin my route a bit further on, so thankfully there was no need to turn around.

Admittedly my heart did sink a little as I drove along busy streets looking out for road names and landmarks, but I didn't panic because I knew I'd reach my destination in the end.

I lost count of the total number of involuntary detours, but eventually I arrived safely - and even 10 minutes early for the meeting.

In business we need to have a clear vision and defined goals to aim for too.  Mapping out how we're going to achieve those goals provides the direction and action steps to take.  But when life leads us to take a few detours along the way, as it surely will, that doesn't mean giving up on the end goals. 

Being on the right road all the time isn't as important as reaching the destination safely, especially if there is great scenery to admire and lessons to learn from the detours.

And yes .... I got lost again on the way home too!