How can it be the middle of September already? Summer is well and truly behind us and after a pretty insane start to the month with a new Prime Minister and new King, things are just starting to return to ‘normal’. Queen Elizabeth served us well for so long and it feels like a bit of a shock to lose her constant presence. No wonder some of us have been struggling to get back into a routine! It’s almost as if our time management muscle has lost its tone, making it a struggle to get our structure and focus back.

That said, this isn’t the only time people need help with their time management.

Curious to find out just how much of a problem time management is for business owners, I recently ran a LinkedIn poll. The results showed that 48% of people said time management was the biggest thing holding them back! What’s more, a survey I ran part-way through last year revealed that time management and focus was an ongoing problem for many respondents with nearly 35% of respondents saying they need help with both topics.

Sadly, none of us are born with time management skills. If only we were! You might be one of the lucky few who had time management training with a previous employer. Or maybe you’ve read up on time management in one of the many self-help books written on the subject.

However, if you’ve not had training or the opportunity to read up on time management, you’ve probably just had to find your way and learn from experience. Just think of those students pulling all-nighters in the days before their dissertations are due. Perhaps you were one of them!?

Time management tools for everyone

Because time management is such an evergreen topic, I have lots of tools and tips that I use with my clients and their teams time and time again. Here are my favourites. Use them and I PROMISE you’ll find it easier to manage your time and find a better work life balance.

1. Start productivity tracking to identify when you are at your most effective

When it comes to effective time management you need to start with the foundations, just as you would if building a house. By this, I mean that understanding when you’re at your most productive can help you plan your workload more effectively. It will also help you avoid falling foul of energy and motivation slumps. Here’s how you do it…

At the end of each day, make a note of your motivation levels, what you have achieved and how effective you have been together with any comments about things that may have influenced your productivity. For example, did you have a broken night’s sleep or a couple of G&Ts the night before celebrating your friend’s birthday? Or maybe you fitted in some exercise before starting work? What did you eat or drink in the day? If you have a team, it can be a really useful exercise to do together.

Do this and you will start to see trends that show when you are at your most and least productive. Perhaps you’ll confirm a lifelong belief that you are a morning person and do your best work before lunch. Or maybe you’ll discover that by Thursday afternoon your productivity takes a nosedive.

With this knowledge, you can start to plan your time and work when you are your most effective for each task. For example, use your most efficient and creative time to tackle the tasks that need a lot of focus. In contrast, use the times where you are easily distracted to book in client calls or attend networking sessions. And of course, recognise where you need a break to chill out or exercise. Life is about balance, after all!

2. Use your calendar (for everything!)

A calendar can be your business’s secret time management weapon if you change the way you use it. No doubt you and your team use your online calendar for meetings, phone calls and the odd personal appointment. The old-school among us may keep things separate with a paper diary for personal items and an online diary for work. But I’d like to encourage you to keep everything in one place!

With your new-found understanding of your productivity (see point 1), use your calendar to schedule everything that happens during your working day, whether it’s work related or not. Try block booking your diary to include:

• admin time
• client work
• time to work on projects for your own business
• client and supplier calls
• your lunch break
• personal appointments
• time for exercise
• domestic chores and errands
• time with family and friends

By doing this, you can start to plan your time more effectively. You’ll also quickly understand if you’re allowing yourself enough time or overcommitting yourself. For instance, is one hour a week enough for your work admin or should you allocate more time? Are your client calls really taking one hour, or do they drift into one and a half hours?

3. Keep focused

Using your calendar as a time management tool has another pleasing side effect. It helps reduce the chances of procrastination and cuts the risk of distraction. Seeing your working day planned out in plain sight makes it easier to assess whether distractions such as wandering into your garden for a bit of weeding or popping to get a coffee with the team are really appropriate. It also helps you identify whether or not you have capacity for new projects or clients that you’d otherwise feel pressured into accepting.

4. Start the night before

This tip might sound counterintuitive at first. How does focusing on something a day ahead of time improve time management?

The answer? It’s all about helping your brain focus.

At the end of each working day, write down three important things to complete first thing in the morning. It’s a good idea to include tasks you typically procrastinate on, normally the ones that you don’t enjoy. Naturally, you’ll need to create a block of time in your calendar for these tasks.

You’ll find that writing down this list takes the weight off your subconscious. This helps your brain relax a little more during the evening so you’re in a better place the next day. It also makes things easier when you start work. Instead of going into autopilot, or wasting time wondering what to do first, you’ve already decided to focus on a set priority. And that leads me nicely onto the next point…

5. Eat frogs for breakfast (figuratively, of course!)

What’s the first thing you do when you start work in the morning?

I find many people open their laptop and then start working through their emails. All well and good you might say, but the problem with this is that it can quickly drain your time (and energy), especially if you’re responding to them as and when they come through. So, how about doing things differently?

Brain Tracy is a self-development expert who popularised the idea of ‘eating your frog’. He was inspired by Mark Twain, who famously said ‘If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.’

With this in mind, instead of going straight to your emails, schedule two blocks of time each day for this purpose (as per point 2). You can then start your day by eating those frogs, which ideally you will have identified and written down at the end of the previous day (see point 4).

Remember, your frogs will be your worst tasks and should always be done first thing in the morning.

This works in two ways:

1. It helps focus your mind in the morning so you’re immediately productive.
2. Because you’re doing the toughest (mentally), most important thing first, the rest of the day feels easy in comparison.

This time management technique works for most things. One of the examples I often share is that of mopping my kitchen floor. It’s the job I hate almost more than anything. So, I now do it every other Monday morning at 7.30am. This means it’s out of the way allowing me to concentrate on everything else I need to do. Even better, by the time the caffeine from my morning tea has kicked in, the job is finished!

Will improving your time management skills make you more effective?

Have a go at these time management techniques and I can almost guarantee you’ll start achieving more. With the right support you can find enough time in the day to do almost anything. As Miles Davis once said, ‘Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.’

Could you and your team do with improving time management and focus? Then get in touch with me to book a free 30-minute call. I can help you increase your productivity with 121 coaching and individual or group training that’s tailored to your specific requirements.

 

Have a think… What three things would you really like to achieve but feel are out of reach?

If thinking about something in your business is challenging, how about your personal life? Perhaps you want to get fitter and be able to easily run 5k or get down to your ideal weight. It could be that you want to be able to present your business without a gut-wrenching fear of public speaking or maybe you want to scale your business to earn the income you desire.

Now, ask yourself why these things are out of reach? Is it a lack of time, knowledge, motivation?

You’re not alone.

Although these things do affect our ability to increase sales, it’s normally the fear of leaving our comfort zone that stops us moving forward.

Perhaps you feel awkward and anxious. Maybe you make excuses and get affected by other people’s opinions. Or do you procrastinate to avoid feeling uncomfortable?

Now stop to think why you feel this way. Is it because of what someone has told you? Probably not! It’s more likely to be that self-doubting mental chatter in your head.

And that’s the comfort zone kicking in! 

What’s stopping you?

As much as humans love to learn and want to succeed, we often feel afraid of taking action. Think about the dieticians, physiotherapists and coaches who try to get their patients and clients to do things that would be good for them!

What is the comfort zone?

Judith Bardwick defines the comfort zone as “a behavioral state where a person operates in an anxiety-neutral position, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance.”.

However, as nice as it may feel, the comfort zone can be a scary place for anyone who wants to succeed. Although there are low levels of anxiety and stress, you will only ever achieve a steady level of performance. The comfort zone stops you from living life to the full and reaching your potential. 

I often relate to this state when someone can carry out their job with their eyes shut (not literally, but you get my drift). In fact, they may find it so easy that they get bored and lose motivation.  Hence the importance of businesses developing their teams to ensure they are motivated and working as efficiently and happily as they can.

In order for us to learn and grow as individuals we need to take on and acquire new tasks.  However, when we do this, it spurs the fight and flight reaction.  A mild state of stress is fine but for some people this is so overwhelming that they will revert back to their comfort zone to avoid feeling discomfort.

This brings me onto the Yerkes-Dodson Law, first described back in 1908. This law suggests that there is a relationship between our motivation levels and what they term ‘arousal’ (we would call it stress). Yerkes and Dodson found that mild electrical shocks could be used to motivate rats to complete a maze. However, when the electrical shocks became too strong, the rats would scurry around in random directions to escape.

It’s easy to relate this to our own lives. For example, how often have you heard people say that the nerves you feel before speaking in public are a ‘good thing’?

Understanding the Comfort Zone in more detail

We now understand that the comfort zone is a psychological state where things feel familiar and safe. So, how do we get out of it?

There are 4 stages to leaving the comfort zone. The comfort zone itself, the fear zone, learning zone and growth zone.

What is the fear zone?

We all know the fear zone. It’s where we feel anxious and overwhelmed because we’re wary of the unknown. This fear triggers a flight or fight response – we subconsciously try to stay safe by finding excuses to avoid the thing that’s triggering that fear.

But feeling fear is normal. If we accept this and learn to expect a feeling of fear, we can master it. In fact, we – and our businesses – will only grow when we are willing to try something new and feel uncomfortable.

Introducing the learning zone

The learning zone is where the magic starts to happen. It’s where we develop new skills, expand our mind and overcome challenges.

We enter the learning zone when we carry out a task that we were fearful of, such as public speaking. Being in the learning zone can feel stressful, however it should also be satisfying and stimulating.

Arriving in the growth zone

The growth zone is the holy grail of personal development. Here, we have overcome our fear, learnt new skills and are now achieving the goals we set out to achieve.

But just because someone is in the growth zone in one aspect of their life or business, doesn’t mean they have nothing left to work on. And remember there’s a chance that the things that once scared us become so commonplace that they get absorbed into our comfort zone.

I hate to say this, but the fear will not go away until we carry out what we are scared of.  If we want to continue to grow, fear will be a permanent feature of our lives.

We will just have that feeling towards different tasks.

Trust the process and know that if you deal with your fear head-on, your life will be more fulfilling, and you will achieve more than you ever thought possible.  

How to move out of your comfort zone

Ready to move out of that ever-so-safe yet restrictive comfort zone? Here’s what you need to do…

Start by identifying the things in your business that you see as ‘comfortable’ and those that feel out of reach – your areas of development.

Now, draw your own comfort zone / growth zone and then plot out the thing you’d like to achieve on it. Then, identify one thing from your list that you want to change. By starting with a single step, you’re more likely to succeed.

Now it’s time to:

1 – Make a list of the best and worst things that could happen if you take action. Be honest, is the worst outcome simply that your business ends up in the same situation as today?

Think about it in a sales context. If you follow up on that proposal, what is the worst that can happen? 

I always liken sales to customer services and would expect someone to call me back. If someone does not show good customer service skills and efficiency from the start, you have to wonder what they will be like when you are working with them!

2 – Commit to take on a small task.

Making a commitment is a huge step out of your comfort zone – and will give you a mental boost when you’ve done it.

3 – Act and then reward yourself.

Giving yourself a reward after carrying out a new task will create a psychological reminder of why you are doing it and encourage you to keep going.

Think about this…

• Awareness of your fears is the first step.
• We will always feel fear if we want to continue to grow.
• If we have a certain fear, such as public speaking, the fear will not go until we have carried out the very thing that is scaring us.
• The greater your skills, the more fulfilled you will feel.

Keep on moving

Making these changes may feel scary. However, as you challenge yourself you will start feeling at ease with the new tasks and will grow your comfort zone.  You’ll start living life to the full and reach your professional and personal potential.

The fear that stops us moving forward can often be related to the emotion we hold against the fear, which is a subject for another day…

So, for now I will also leave with the fact that 85-92% of what we worry about never happens!

If you feel stuck in your comfort zone and want support and accountability to expand your horizons, get in touch by booking a free 30-minute discovery call.

Just as we thought we had got over the worst of the pandemic, we’re faced with the horror of the conflict in Ukraine. My heart goes out to all of those affected, in whatever way. These are difficult times indeed.

As a sales focused coach and consultant I am always amazed at how differently people react to uncertainty, and the overwhelm of Covid is a great example. What’s especially interesting is how their individual resilience affects their whole demeanour.

From my experience, it pays to build our personal resilience in and out of work. If you can overcome challenges in your personal life, it will help you at work. The opposite is also true.

My recent experience

My husband James, age 44, was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer last September after only being unwell for a couple of months.

To say I felt like I had been hit by a bus is an understatement, especially as James is regularly screened due to a genetic condition – Lynch Syndrome.

His treatment has been the less-than-delicious chemo sandwich. That comprises of three months of chemo, major surgery (with no visitors allowed – thanks Covid!) followed by a further cycle of chemo.

To say my resilience was tested during this time would be an understatement. The initial shock of the diagnosis meant my mind was racing (the first time I have ever experienced this). The following week I had 3 days booked to work on an exhibition stand at the Chelsea Flower show for Carrie Anne Funnell. Given my circumstances, I could easily have cancelled it. However, this booking was exactly what I needed; it gave me a distraction, a focus and I loved every minute of it.

With this in mind, I thought I would share what it was that got me through this time by building on my resilience in my own workplace.

What is resilience?

According to the American Psychology Association, resilience is ‘the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress’. A simpler way of looking at it is to say that resilience is about bending like a bamboo when under stress – not snapping like a twig.

I’d take it one step further and say also it’s about being able to pull on the resources you have when you need to – a bit like a complex corporate sale if you know what I mean!

There are five pillars behind resilience. These are self-care, self-awareness, mindfulness, purpose and positive relationships. With this in mind, here are some of the things I learnt about supporting and building both personal resilience, and resilience in the workplace.

1. Self-care – look after your physical health

Self-care is about knowing what you need to function effectively while meeting the demands you are facing. Importantly, our self-care is up to us – don’t deprioritise your health!

Get in the habit of treating yourself like a prized racehorse and prioritise your physical health – practice good self-care! That means drinking 2 litres of water a day, getting enough sleep, eating well and prioritising exercise. It also means learning to relax and making time to do so.

In my instance, I religiously carried on exercising 3 times a week as from my experience exercise is an excellent coping mechanism for me in times of stress. I also booked a lovely relaxing Reiki treatment with Caroline Snowdon which definitely helped calm my mind.

Think about this…

What does self-care mean to you? Whether it’s a vigorous workout or making sure you meditate every morning, prioritise your self-care and you’ll reap the benefits in your personal and professional life.

2. Self-awareness – be realistic with yourself

Self-awareness is about having a clear image of who you are – your strengths, weaknesses, beliefs and motivations. It’s also about knowing what you’re capable of. So don’t create unrealistic expectations. Break goals and tasks into achievable chunks and decide what you can realistically achieve without jeopardising your health. Caution! This means getting really, really hot on prioritisation and making tough decisions!

In my case, I decided to put my Simplified Sales Course on hold. It was due to launch in October, but I felt that it may have been too much given the amount of time I needed to take out to support James. Once I’d made this decision, I was able to relax a little, knowing I could handle everything else.

Think about this…

Taking the pressure off isn’t about giving up. It’s about ensuring you can continue to deliver good work and please your clients. Good self-awareness is an essential element of building resilience in the workplace.

3. Mindfulness – take things day by day

Mindfulness focuses on living in the moment. Don’t let time pass you by, worrying about what might happen. After all, various research proves 85-92% of the things we worry about never happen! If times are tough, you need to save your energy for the things that count. So, focus your energy on what you can control.

Those of you that have supported someone through chemo will know that one minute, things are fine and the next you could be on the way to A&E because the patient has a temperature. Therefore, I really learnt to take one step at a time.

Think about this…

It feels challenging, but during the most difficult times, you have to trust the system and put your faith in the experts.

4. Purpose – identify what makes you tick (and embrace it)

Our purpose is the recognition that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We need to identify our purpose in order to maintain a strong sense of resilience in the workplace and in our everyday lives. For me, part of my purpose was (and still is) helping my clients grow their businesses. So, to make sure I could still show up with confidence, I kept to my morning routine of showering first thing, putting make up on and wearing bright clothes. As I’m fond of saying, you attract what you radiate!

Think about this…

Your purpose doesn’t need to relate solely to your business. Your family, hobbies and even networks that you belong to will be a strong part of your purpose.

5. Positive relationships – reach out and stay connected

The importance of positive relationships in building resilience is to ensure we feel supported and connected. This is something that’s especially important in times of trouble.

Make people aware of your situation and they will show you very quickly if they genuinely understand.  Don’t think this is limited to your friends and family; building resilience in the workplace means confiding in your clients, suppliers and immediate team too. They are human after all and will do what they can to support you. I have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity and the surprise gifts and friendly messages helped buoy me along when times felt difficult.

Think about this…

Who are the people in your life that lift you up? Stay connected with these people and give them as much as they give you. A supportive and genuine network is crucial throughout our lives.

Stay positive and grow your resilience outside of and in the workplace!

James is approaching the final part of his treatment – a huge reason to feel positive while acknowledging the rollercoaster we’ve been on over the past few months. I know that without a conscious focus on protecting myself, things would have felt far more challenging.

I will also be exhibiting once more at Chelsea Flower Show in May. If you are attending, please do pop over to see Carrie Ann Funnell’s work and to say “hi!”.  By then, we’ll be on the other side of all of this, and very pleased about it too.

So, I leave you with this – look after yourself and those you love. You only get one life – make sure you live it well!

Want to learn more?

If you want to learn more about resilience and the power of our emotions, I’d really recommend you listen to this Steven Bartlett podcast about Sir David Brailsford. It’s incredibly enlightening.

Sales conversion is a tricky topic and I’m often asked how to convert marketing leads into sales, as well as how to establish see if enquiries are serious. It’s this that has spurred me on to write this blog.

Establishing marketing ROI can feel a bit like a minefield. Without hard facts, how can a business owner truly say that their marketing spend resulted in clients? There are so many options available, and it can be increasingly difficult to link your marketing spend to sales (unless you are looking at paid adverts which link straight to your sales page). As a business coach and sales consultant, I know many small businesses deprioritise marketing activity in favour of sales investment, simply because it’s easier to quantify. Yet for the longer-term success of your business, a well-executed marketing strategy is essential. The key is sales conversion – establishing how to turn your marketing leads into clients.

What is the difference between sales and marketing?

The Cambridge Dictionary puts the definitions of sales and marketing in simple terms:

With these two definitions in place, it’s already easier to see how they work together. Marketing entices your prospect, whereas the sales function converts them into a client.

And here’s the crucial detail, your marketing must be integrated with your sales strategy for it to be successful. Marketing gently warms up your prospects from cold and will generally drive them to a click, like, comment or other expression of interest. 

Sales is the second part of story – it’s the act of progressing these prospects into opportunities. This includes nurturing them and ascertaining what they need. You can then see if there is a match for the products or services that you offer.   

Be realistic. What can marketing actually do for you?

They used to say it took seven touches of marketing to create a sale. But realistically, it can be anything upwards of this number. If you’re using telemarketing or social media, you should allow for seven touches at the bare minimum.  

Marketing should feature in your strategy, but you can’t rely on it as a single source of new clients. 

From my experience, marketing falls into four broad categories:

• Awareness driving – this includes activities such as PR, social media and advertising. These methods are notoriously difficult to evaluate with a direct ROI. 
• Engagement – this can relate to employees, clients or suppliers. Ultimately, the closer you are to your target recipient then the better and longer lasting that relationship will be.
• Channel marketing – this is model primarily used for industries who sell through the channel via partners such as IT and manufacturing. Other examples include network marketing.
• Lead Generation – here, you perform an activity purely to generate leads. The best way to do this is to integrate your offline and online efforts so everything leads to a direct touch point. This is a common approach in corporate marketing. The majority of my corporate roles came with a sales pipeline and converted revenue target – yes even from marketing spend!

But, I hear you ask – how do I turn my marketing investment into sales? My answer as a sales-focused business coach is almost predictable – by having a focus, processes and discipline in your business!

Five ways to turn your marketing leads into sales

1. Identify your most profitable clients

If you’ve run your business for a while, you will have a bank of clients you’ve worked with. This will be the case whether you are a solo business owner or run an SME.

Spend some time analysing your data and you’ll be able to establish the trends to identify your ideal and most profitable clients. You will also be able to identify those who are not ideal clients. Criteria might include their industry, the work you do for them, their company size and even the age of your primary contact and personality traits. 

With this work in mind, you will be able to find ways to replicate these ideal client types and focus your marketing activities towards them.

Think about this…

What is it that makes a client ideal for you? Work out a way to measure this based on face and not feeling.

2. Use sales best practice for fastest growth

People often come to me because they want to increase their revenues and the first thing they think of is sourcing new clients. However, the best way to benefit from shorter sales cycles with the highest chance of a successful sales conversion is to approach people who already know like and trust you. That means focusing on your existing clients with your existing products.  

The longest sales cycles with the highest risk on winning clients (or to look at it another way, the hardest approach) is to try to sell your services to people that have never heard of your company. 

But guess what? There is a lot of opportunity that sits in the middle of this. People that target the same clients are you, your former clients, not to mention the personal and private networks you have.

This is not to say you shouldn’t do any marketing to attract new clients but instead ensure you are aware of this model, so you can maximise it within your business.

Think about this…

How many of your existing clients use just one of your services? Could you provide other services to them as well?

3. Do your clients know everything you do?  

Nothing like preconceived ideas, hey?

Do you really know what your clients buy from you?  More importantly how do they know what all your services are? We assume our clients know everything we sell but I can assure you that the more you offer, the higher the chance that your clients don’t know your full offering.

A little reminder! Although it might be easier for you to email your clients, this is rarely the best approach in this instance. Spam filters may block your email, busy inboxes mean your email may be lost and your client might not be an “email person”. Just because email is your preferred method, the chances are it may not be theirs.

Think about this…

How could you contact your clients to see what they think you offer?

4. Be strategic, however small your business is

What do you want to achieve from your marketing activity?  

Many people feel pressure to be doing marketing, specifically social media, without thinking about the bigger picture.

Planning your marketing is really no different from a business plan; as Simon Sinek would say, start with the end in mind. Then you can work out what you want to achieve, define realistic measurements and finally, decide what activities would be best suited.  

Think about this…

Set goals and then plan your sales and marketing activity to deliver these goals. 

5. Ensure you set up qualification measures

Whether you are following up a website enquiry from people who entered their details on your website or from people who visited your stand at an exhibition, qualification is key when it comes to sales conversion.   

A marketing lead, otherwise known as an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), is generally an open expression of interest.  In comparison, an SQL (Sales Qualified lead) is defined at the stage of qualification. 

I believe people struggle with sales conversion because they don’t set up qualification measures. Without qualification measures, you or your sales team could be wasting time following up with people who are not real prospects.  

To turn your marketing leads into sales leads, you need to establish some basic facts – by using qualification measures. 

These include

• Defining their budget – what have they decided they can invest in your goods or services?
• That you are speaking to the decision maker – are they authorised to purchase or sign off a purchase or do they have influence in the process? 
• Understanding their requirements – then you can ascertain if they are a good match for what you offer
• Understanding when they are likely to purchase – can you serve them on a mutually agreeable timeframe?

With this detail in place (qualification part 1 ?), you will now know whether your lead has moved to a genuine potential client. Without this information, creating a proposal will be a waste of your and your team’s time.

Think about this…

Create a template that lists out your basic qualification measures. This will help you and your team consistently qualify marketing leads before investing further time in them.

Want to improve your sales conversion? Sales and marketing must work together

Sales and marketing will work their hardest for your business when they are aligned and there are clear expectations of what each must deliver. It’s not an easy balancing act and there’s no silver bullet for driving exponential growth.

Do you need some help aligning your sales and marketing or establishing qualification measures? After all, you probably didn’t start your company to be a sales or marketing person. Book in a free discovery call to see how I can increase your sales conversion figures and grow your business.

One of the most cost-effective ways to grow your business is through your existing clients so it makes sense to focus on customer retention. Having already proven your credentials to existing clients, it’s easier and faster for you to sell more to them again instead of finding new ones.

But just like the course of true love, customer retention efforts don’t always run smoothly. As February is the month of all things relationship based, I thought I’d share ten of the best ways to keep your clients coming back for more. And guess what, there’s not a red rose or champagne bottle in sight!

1. Be clear on expectations

Have you heard this before? ‘Lack of boundaries invites lack of respect’. This really resonated with me because of the importance of boundaries in any healthy relationship. And guess what? That includes your business.

It’s for this reason I always advise my clients to have terms and conditions in place because ultimately, it protects you as a business. Not only that, but it helps your clients, suppliers and partners understand their obligations, rights, roles and responsibilities.

The kind of thing to include in your terms and conditions include:

• What services or products will be provided and in what timeframe?
• The payment terms, and penalties you will apply if these are not met
• Any guarantees or warranties
• Details of the notice period to end the agreement by either party
• Complaints process and what to do if services are not being provided correctly
• Any specific industry legislation

Think about this…

However small your business, don’t overlook the importance of terms & conditions and their role in customer retention. Without these, you put yourself and your company at risk of uncertainty and misunderstandings.

2. Underpromise & overdeliver

Let’s head back to the theme of love and romance for a moment. Most of us have worked out that dating profiles include a few elaborations of the truth in the form of fibs! Studies found that people are typically 20% less wealthy (I’m surprised it’s not more) than they claim and shorter in height as well! But to what end? When you end up meeting your online date and they’re not at all what you expected, would you really give them a second chance?

It’s similar in business so give your clients realistic expectations. Use the idea of ‘underpromising and overdelivering’ to delight your clients and make them feel like they’re always getting superior customer service. That might be a deadline for a report or the date their service will be delivered to them. Whatever it is, manage their expectations and in doing so you’ll make them happier with your work.

Think about this…

Be clear about what expectations you have for your delivery and always underpromise and under deliver as opposed to the other way round. Make sure you communicate this with your team too. Good time management and scheduling are an essential skill to ensure deadlines are achieved ahead of time.

3. Train your team in customer service

As a successful business owner, you no doubt go out of your way to give your clients great customer service.

You’ve probably hired people because of their experience and knowledge, but this doesn’t mean that providing an exceptional customer service is second nature to them.

Use training and mentoring to make sure your team know your expectations of customer service and their obligations in line with them. Some of your team members will be more introverted than others and may shy away from dealing with clients. But that doesn’t mean they should get away with poor customer service.

Good customer service covers a full range of elements such as delivery, phone etiquette and even email response times. By being clear about your expectations and training your team in how to provide good customer service you’ll start seeing a difference in client satisfaction levels.

This about this…

Clarify processes such as complaints procedures or refunds. Needless to say, these should reflect your terms and conditions . And, building on from point two, communicate and document what you expect your team to deliver in terms of turnaround times and processes to ensure slick customer service.

Make sure the correct level of staff deals with any disgruntled clients. Dealing with someone who has the authority and experience to put things right will pay dividends in customer retention.

4. Establish who your ideal clients are

Just like with friendships and romantic attachments, if you form a relationship with someone you have nothing in common with, things won’t go well.

That’s why taking the time to establish who your ideal clients are and where they present themselves is such a critical step in ensuring good customer retention. Generally, if clients are a bad fit for your business, it will hinder what you are trying to achieve for the clients who are more ideal in nature.

Clients who are a good fit for your business:

• Are aligned with your values
• Are looking for what you provide
• Have the budget to use your services
• Recognise the value you offer
• Are committed to help you deliver your service (for example you don’t have to chase them for briefs or relevant information)

If a potential client doesn’t tick these boxes, it’s unlikely they’ll appreciate the work you do. You’ll spend more time firefighting the issues they create than delighting them and your other clients.

Think about this…

Not only will clients who are a poor fit inevitably be unhappy with your work or the way you work, but they also distract you from your other clients. This can snowball into poor customer service for your core clients and damage existing relationships and broader customer retention.

5. Treat your clients as individuals

It’s an undeniable fact that no two humans are the same. We have our own personalities and different preferences. So why would you offer your clients a one size fits all approach?

Yes, you may prefer to email your clients when communicating with them. But is that the way they like to work?

So, here’s an idea… why not ask them about their preferences?

Treating your clients as individuals is a key element of customer retention and is where personality profiling really comes into its own. If you can recognise different personality traits in your clients and prospects, you can tweak your communications to suit them. It’s a small change but can make a big difference in how much they enjoy working with you.

Think about this…

Get to know your own personality type using a recognised profiling tool. Once you’ve done that, read up on how to identify the traits of your clients and prospects so you can communicate to them in their preferred style. If you have a team, I would recommend you provide training to them on this also. 

6. Build relationships at a deeper level

Just as long-lasting friendships are built on more than occasional conversations, you need to create a more meaningful relationship to improve your customer retention and build up that client ‘love’. So yes, you absolutely should be following your clients on social media so you can see what they are sharing, but don’t leave it there.

Social media does not replace a good old-fashioned conversation so take the time to book in a catch-up on the phone, Zoom or even face to face. Talk about work of course, but also use your time to understand what is important your clients outside of their work. Learning about their interests and what they spend their weekends doing helps you create a deeper personal bond with them, and it’s that bond which helps cement a longer lasting client relationship.

Think about this…

Consider booking in a quick catch-up call to see how things are going. Not only is it a great way to get impromptu feedback and make sure projects are running to time, but it’s also a powerful way to deepen the bond you have with your clients.

7. Ask for feedback

None of us are born with innate knowledge about our future clients. We have to ask questions to find out what they really want. In my Simplified Sales System methodology one of the things I ask my clients to do is to perform market research into their existing clients.

By formulating a list of questions to take to your ideal clients, you will glean their views on your service, both good and bad! You will also learn about where to focus your marketing to present yourself to find other like-minded clients. Maybe they could even help you formulate a referral programme – well that’s a thought!

This about this…

Remember the old saying about the word ‘assume’; it makes an ass out of you and me!

Do not assume you know what your clients are looking for, what you are doing well and what you are not doing well. Build feedback opportunities into your customer’s journey with you so you can continue to learn about what they want and how you are performing for them.

8. Stay in touch

‘Keep in touch, consistently, personally and systematically’. This advice from author Tim Templeton hits the nail on the head when it comes to my eighth customer retention tip. Whether you’re thinking about an existing or former client, supplier or introducer, it’s essential that you have ways to keep in contact with them.

Just because your client may have stopped working with you does not mean that they won’t be back. Staying in touch helps show others that you’re still there for them and reminds them of how you could help.

Think about this…

Have various methods to stay in touch with your contacts and remember to check in with suppliers and introducers as well as clients. Social media is an easy option most to use, but don’t rely on the occasional ‘like’ to work hard for you. Consider options such as email newsletters, check-in calls, and even Christmas and / or birthday cards as a way of staying in touch.

9. Treat all scenarios as an opportunity

Here’s a story for you. Some time ago, I worked for a marketing agency and won a corporate client that the business had been after for years. The work was handed over to the operations team but for various reasons, the campaign didn’t deliver. Surprise, surprise the client complained to me!

When listening to the client, it was clear that he didn’t want to stop using us, but that we hadn’t given him what he was expecting. By switching from the person who had won the business (me) to the team who delivered the project, the client was getting something different to what he expected. After chatting things through with him and listening to his concerns, I was able to understand the problem and get him to agree to do more work with us – on the very same call!

Think about this…

Never go into a situation with preconceived ideas. For example, if you convince yourself that a client won’t want your services, you may well end up subconsciously pushing the conversation down that route. However, if you go into a situation without any preconceived ideas, you can identify potential opportunity more easily.

10. Don’t get complacent

When things are going well it can be easy to get a little complacent. Think of it as the business relationship equivalent of getting into a rut with your partner. In long- term romantic relationships, you have to work at things to keep the spark alive. It’s the same with customer retention.

Take the time to review your customer retention figures and make sure you’re continuing to check in with your clients to get their feedback and find out how happy they are.

You might also want to consider broadening your offering to existing clients as a way of keeping them on your books. Clients don’t buy just one service, they’ll be looking for a whole suite of offerings. By expanding your range of services, you may be able to improve customer retention.

Think about this…

Keep the magic alive by being attentive to your clients and their needs. Asking them for feedback and suggesting other ways to support them are two ways of ensuring a strong ongoing relationship.

Let me help you with your customer retention!

Looking for help in understanding and improving your customer retention? Let me help you with a practical, hands-on approach. I show you how to do the things you know you should be doing.

Book your free 30-minute call today!

Blimey, what a year! This time 12 months ago we all hoped to be waving goodbye to Covid – sadly not! Needless to say, this year has provided businesses up and down the country with opportunities and challenges and we’ve all had to evolve. Working as a sales coach and business development consultant has been just the same.

If you know me, you’ll know I’m direct, I wear my heart on my sleeve and don’t shy away from sharing my learnings or mistakes. We’re all human after all! So, what better way to sum up 2021 than with a blog about the things I’ve learnt.

It has to be said that I couldn’t do what I do without the support of a lot of people. That’s why I’ve included a few mentions and notes of thanks at the end of this blog.

Five things I’ve learnt as a sales coach and business development consultant in 2021

1. Work out how you want your business to evolve each year

If your year was anything like mine, you’d be looking at broadening your offerings. That’s why, after customer research, I’m extending what I call my ‘Free to VIP’. This involves offering a range of services from free resources to my 121 bespoke sales focused business coaching and business development consultancy.

Have you ever asked your clients what they would really like from you? After all the best people to tell you what they need are your clients and prospects themselves.

This is one of the key elements many people miss in their sales and marketing strategy, as we make assumptions and spend time marketing in places where we believe our clients are and on what we think our clients need.

My latest research proved that service-based coaches, consultants and business owners just like you, are looking for insight to improve their working practices in online workshops and courses as well as 121 coaching.

Taking this approach will also help me reach more people and give more people access to my services at a range of budgets.

Think about this…

• Try to avoid preconceived ideas! It’s one of the key sales rules my clients take onboard when working with me.
• Carry out market research with your ideal audience before you decide where and what marketing you will do.

2. Stepping outside your comfort zone is the best way to grow

Admit it, staying in your comfort zone is nice isn’t it? In fact, more than half of us will never even leave our comfort zone because the fear and discomfort of doing so is just too much. But being comfortable doesn’t lead to success! There have been many times this year that I’ve really had to embrace the fear factor.

One such time came after analysing the feedback from my research. It was clear that creating a sales course was the right thing to do so I signed up to Susanna Reay’s Signature Offer System to create a 12-week course.

However, before making the payment, I felt physically sick. It was the largest single commitment I’ve made since being self-employed – both financially and in terms of time. Fortunately, I recognised that this feeling of fear was normal as I had uncomfortably left my familiar comfort zone and entered my ‘fear zone’.

Another example is that since becoming a self-employed sales coach and business development consultant, I developed a bit of a mindset gremlin and lost a lot of my confidence in doing presentations. Presenting is such an important way of engaging with new audiences and I wanted to do something about it!

I started working with Dawn Gregory who is a confidence coach. She helped me realise I was being far too hard on myself; I needed to sign up for more speaking opportunities and put myself out there! 

Having done this, I can really see the benefit. So much so that I’m already booked for seven talks next year!

Think about this…

• Set goals and establish what you need to do to scale and grow your business. If it scares you, you’re heading in the right direction!
• If we know feeling fear is normal, we can recognise the need to push on through to grow.

3. Constantly improve your business foundations

Many people had been trying to get me to buy into the CRM platforms they use. However, I resisted, to ensure that the platform I chose would integrate with the other systems I was planning. This would avoid me duplicating my efforts.

My contacts are now neatly housed within my chosen CRM system instead of Outlook. This means email sequencing and tagging can be set up based on people’s behaviour. This important aspect of my business’s foundations will make my future email marketing as a sales coach and small business consultant far more effective. The good work of Alison Pollecut has really helped me with the technical side of things here.

Creating thorough Terms and Conditions is another example of improving your business’s foundations. With proper T&Cs, we set boundaries for our clients – essential for healthy business relationships. I called on Anne Phillips of Barkley Legal to help me with creating mine; she was incredibly knowledgeable and great to work with.

Think about this…

• Ensure you keep your wider goals in mind to avoid getting distracted and losing focus.
• Keep an eye on the ‘foundations’ of your business. Small things such as T&Cs can cause big problems if you don’t pay them enough attention.

4. Be visible in the RIGHT places

My previous marketing roles focused on client acquisition. Every pound invested had to show a demonstrable return on investment (ROI) or a valid reason why it didn’t.

You would probably have heard me say something like ‘that looks amazing but… What are you looking to achieve? How are you measuring success? And how is that performing?’ A very different way of thinking.

Working as a self-employed sales coach and business development consultant meant learning new tricks!

In my early days of self-employment, I felt peer pressure to be on all social media platforms. However, I deliberately held off. I wanted to be sure I was focusing my efforts in the places my ideal clients ‘hang out’.

After all, until you have set the foundations and carried out your market research, how do you really know where your clients present themselves? Think about building a house; you start by ensuring the foundations are firmly set before laying any bricks. Running a business is no different.

Working with Lisa Vassallo from Onetothree has transformed this part of my business.

Think about this…

• Identify where you are stuck and call in the experts.

5. Personal or business; break challenges down into bite size chunks

In September I learnt some devasting news regarding a family member. After the initial shock, I decided to put my course on hold to give me time to absorb the implications of this news.

There were 2 options: to feel sorry for myself and get swallowed up by the depths of sadness and negativity, or to be positive and take each day as it comes. I opted for the latter.

Being a positive person, I have religiously gone out for my daily walk, kept my 3 times a week exercise regime at the gym, continued to drink a minimum of 1.5 litres of water a day and have got back into yoga. I also thoroughly enjoyed a Reiki treatment thanks to Caroline Snowdon.

During this especially difficult time, an analogy that Irina Nailer once shared with me has really helped. As small business owners, we should prize our health and wellbeing in the same way as we would with a racehorse which provided us with our sole source of income. If we cannot work, we’re unable to earn. And if we’re feeling under the weather, our productivity and creativity suffers. Stay healthy and we’re on our way to success!

Think about this…

• Our personal lives are no different to our businesses in the sense that when we have something big to get through, it’s always more manageable if we break that ‘thing’ down into sizeable chunks.
• We need to make a conscious decision to care for ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually (if this is your thing). As small or solo business owners, we are the racehorse.
• By taking care of ourselves, we’re in a better place to support the people who need us.

And finally…

Here’s a little bonus for you and it’s more of a reminder than a learning. I remember meeting Amanda Jones at a networking event who has experienced a situation similar to mine.

With this in mind I reached out to her. She not only understands what I’m going through, but has been able to shed light on the right questions to ask the medical teams specifically around new and advanced treatments that are not widely available.

Without getting in touch, I wouldn’t have had the deep insight from the start which has been a massive support. I’m extremely grateful to Amanda and pleased to have someone to reach out to.

Think about this…

Don’t be afraid to ask for help personally or professionally – no man (or woman) is an island! Keep in mind that one day you will be able to return the favour and help someone else – karma works in wonderful ways.

2021, what a year!

2021 has been quite the year with plenty of ups and many downs. So, I will leave you with one of my sayings – you attract what you radiate. For me wearing bright colours and giving out positive vibes is the way I roll. So that pink bit at the front of my hair is there to stay for as long as I think I can get away with it!

I think that’s nearly it. Except to say that I wish you and your families a fantastic Christmas and happy, healthy and wealthy 2022!

If you’re ready to step outside your comfort zone and grow your business, then let’s book in a discovery call! I’d love to hear about what you do and explore how we could grow your business together.

I have some big thank yous for the past year. They go out to…

All my clients! Without you, I would have no business, and I’m grateful for your continued support.

Amanda Jones VA/PA – For your recent emotional support and medical insight.

Andrea Haas – Inner Strength – Your hypnosis and EFT has worked wonders on areas of my business.

Alex Grist – ExceptionalCX – For your help in creating my PowerPoint, Excel and Word templates to show a consistent brand. They look amazing and I’ve had so many compliments from them.

Alison Pollecutt – Let Me Wear Your Hat – for your key support in the tech side of my course, my CRM. The more you help me in my Excel the more I see how you can help me elsewhere.

Anne Phillips – Barkley Legal – For providing me with GDPR guidance, writing my Privacy Notice and creating my more formal Terms and Conditions.

Ben Fielding & Stuart Elsdon – Blucando – I cannot live without my IT support. Blucando migrated me onto Microsoft 365 in my early days of self-employment and advised on best practice for security and password management. I cannot recommend them enough.

Caroline Snowdon – for the very relaxing Reiki treatment, I am already looking forward to my next one in the new year.

Dawn Gregory – Confidence Coach – for making me listen to you and making me do things that I needed to do but didn’t really want to do. Our sessions have been transformational for me – thank you so much.

Irina Nailer – Health Coach – for your inspiring Racehorse analogy and for the time when you have come up with supplements to enhance my health.

Jason Lawes – Redsentence – Jason and his team are the people responsible for my branding and website which I am absolutely thrilled with. I receive so many compliments on it and am often told how it really reflects my personality. I’m so looking forward to them helping me with the next phase of my website but keeping the same look and feel.

Jo Cooke – Jo Cooke VA – for your support in helping me structure some of my systems. I will definitely be coming back to you.

Laura Sands Copywriting – for your editing, web copy and giving me the inspiration for my content. Not to mention how you have helped me become more confident in my writing in terms of its content and structure.

Linda Sujeewon – House of Colour – who has shed light on why I struggle to find clothes to suit my personality in the summer. Our session was truly enlightening.

Lisa Vassallo – OnetoThree – for all your training and support in my social media content strategy and getting me up to speed where knowledge was missing. I am thrilled with how much you have taught me!

Nicole Martin – Pinpoint Marketing – for your bird’s eye view of my business from a marketing standpoint.

Susanna Reay –You’ve given me direction to build my Selective Sales System online course for service-based coaches, consultants and small business owners. For anyone looking to build your online course – this is your lady. I’m excited to see how you help me integrate the technology with my course platform. This will be the big moment!

Tina Cleary – for how you have captured the true me in my two photo shoots, they are amazing!

If I told you I could help you learn to love selling almost anything, you might think I was exaggerating. Perhaps it seems like a promise too far. After all, selling seems to strike fear into the heart of many an otherwise confident business owner.

However, I know that if they change their approach, most business owners can learn to love selling.

What’s the problem with selling?

My work has shown me that there are many different reasons for business owners disliking sales. Some feel completely overwhelmed by the thought of selling, often because they lack the basic processes within their business that could help them get to grips with sales more easily.

Others are afraid of coming across as ‘salesy’. This might be because they have their own preconceived ideas of salespeople and so retreat from selling themselves, hoping the other things they do will be enough to convince potential prospects.

And then there are the business owners who just don’t know where to start with sales. They spend huge amounts of time (and money) on marketing but can’t quite get those marketing leads to convert into sales. (I wrote a blog about this topic if you would like to read more, 5 Ways to Convert Marketing Leads into Sales).

It’s time to stop letting your perceptions of salespeople get in the way and time to start loving sales instead.  Afterall, selling and negotiation are around us everywhere from new houses, home furnishings and even when we go to the dentist as anyone who’s been asked ‘have you considered tooth whitening?’ will attest to!

Successful selling is not about being salesy or pushy and it’s certainly not a dark art. It’s about processes and structures, the way you treat your clients and the relationships you build with them. I’m certain that with the right support and knowledge, you can learn to love selling too.

Do I really need to conquer selling to be successful?

In short, yes! And I’m not saying that because I’m a sales-focused business coach, but instead because I know that successful business-owners take control of their destiny. Learning to love selling will help you:

• Identify and work with your ideal clients. Knowing these means you will optimise your time focusing on working with clients that suit you and your business. That means saying ‘goodbye!’ to those clients that were more trouble than they were worth.
• Make more money. By improving your selling skills, you’ll sell at the price that your goods or services are worth to the people that value them the most (back to my last point, your ideal client).
• Understand where your prospect is in the buying cycle thanks to the qualification process you put in place. This will also mean it’s easier for you to convert your marketing leads into sales as you will identify when prospects are ready to buy from you.
• Avoid demanding out of scope requests. Business owners often forget that a crucial element of selling is setting boundaries. Perfect your approach to sales and you’ll set boundaries which reduce the chances of being asked to do ‘just one more thing’ or being asked for free advice and support.
• Improve client satisfaction. The selling process is intrinsically linked to client service. By understanding what your clients are expecting (for example, what means of communication they prefer), you’ll help manage expectations and build a better relationship – both essential elements in improving client satisfaction.
• Enjoy your working life. Increased visibility of income and forecasting, fewer out of scope demands, nicer, happier clients all mean one thing – a far more enjoyable working life. Who wouldn’t want that?

But I really hate selling, are you sure I can’t avoid it?

Of course you can avoid selling. But there’s no silver bullet. Without actively owning your approach to sales, you put yourself in a position where your clients call the shots, not you. From what I’ve seen, it’s an exhausting, unpredictable and unprofitable way to run a small business.

Three easy ways to learn to love selling

Ready to take control of your sales? Here’s how you can learn to love selling and develop a sales-confident approach to running your business.

1. Focus on relationships

I say this a lot, I know, but it’s so important to remember that sales is intrinsically linked to client service and relationships. Focus on getting these right and you’re on your way to taking control of your sales. Here are some of the best reasons for nurturing the relationships you have with current and potential clients:

• A pre-existing relationship puts you at an advantage if those clients need the services or products you offer in the future. Just think, if you had the choice of buying from someone you knew, or someone you’d never met, who would you opt for? (Hopefully you’re thinking the person you know!)
• Open communication leads to even stronger relationships which allow you to judge what your clients want and how they might react to certain situations
• A good relationship improves the chances of you turning a one-off project into an ongoing client relationship
• Happy existing clients should lead to increased referrals
• Good relationships create better client satisfaction. And even better, client satisfaction builds stronger relationships. It’s the best kind of virtuous circle.
• It transforms ‘selling’ into a series of simple conversations – it’s certainly not salesy, daunting or complex.

2. Establish who your ideal clients are and who they are not

Taking the time to establish who your ideal clients are makes the job of selling far easier. After all, if you’ve identified the profile of clients who are more likely to buy from you and who you’re more likely to enjoy working with, you can use this information in the way you market your business. With this understanding, everything – from the exhibitions you go to, to the subjects you blog about – is easier to plan. Because after all, you now know exactly who you are aiming your business at, this is where you should be spending your time.

3. Understand what people want

Taking away the guesswork involved in trying to please potential clients will make selling far easier. Luckily, you don’t need to develop physic powers, there are several ways you get improve your understanding of what potential clients need.

These can include:

• Conducting market research into your ideal audience
• Categorising clients and analysing the trends you see
• Using qualification measures
• Establishing your clients’ needs in terms and communication style as an example via your onboarding process
• Obtaining client feedback in person, over Zoom or through surveys.

By understanding what it is your clients want, you can adapt your offering to suit them. And this makes it even easier to appeal to them and convince them to buy from you.

Think you might learn to love selling?

Ultimately, the secret to integrating sales into your business is to turn it into something you do everyday. Chatting to your clients, asking simple questions and focusing on what your clients actually want can easily become part and parcel of your everyday working life. It’s easier, far less overwhelming and not salesy in the slightest.

Think you’d like more help? Book a discovery call to find out how I can help you learn to love selling.

If you enjoyed this blog you might like my blog on how to improve your customer service which will naturally increase your sales.

Believe it or not I never planned on becoming self-employed, let alone a sales-focused business coach. This is probably something to do with a seeing my Dad deal with the stress of running his 3 very successful hairdressing salons with around 30 employees.

And yes, I can hear you saying, ‘so now I know why she has pink in her hair!’

Anyhow, I found myself out of a job towards the end of 2018 and very quickly realised what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to be involved in travelling to Europe, commuting to London (or anywhere too far from home for that matter). I desired a more fulfilling role where I could implement my ideas and be responsible for my own destiny and earnings. Like so many others, I was at a stage of my life where I needed to find more of a purpose.

Incredibly, it’s now two years since setting myself up as a business development consultant and coach with Nfinite. Which felt like enough of a milestone to take stock of the things I’ve learnt in that time.

7 things I’ve learnt since becoming self-employed

1. Determination and focus are crucial

It’s so important to avoid distraction and keep the dreaded ‘Comparisonitus’ at bay. But how?

• Ensure you have a strategy. Without this you will not know what you need to be doing to achieve your desired outcome. Create a plan around what you are looking to achieve, how you will measure success and the tactics required to deliver against your goals. For example, if one of your goals is to achieve a certain amount of money and you are a service-based business, establish what is realistic in line with 50% utilisation.
• Avoid feeling the pressure to be doing things that other people think you should be doing. For example, I didn’t have a website until I had been in business for around 20 months.  I’m pleased I waited this long otherwise I would have ended up creating everything twice because I was still honing my proposition.

2. Acknowledge that your offering may change

Accept that whatever you offer as a service will probably change as you and your business evolve.  It pays to be flexible and open to offers and ideas rather than having set ways of working.  A good example of this is when someone approached me to help them with some business coaching and training. I didn’t offer it at the time, but it’s now one of my main offerings.

Do some work on your value proposition. For me this was invaluable.  This is where you will identify the pain points of your prospects and clients along with how your service solves their problems.

My recommendation? Value Proposition Design.  This book helped me see things from an outside perspective looking in on my business and enabled me to see things from my clients’ and prospects’ view. 

3. Small business owners need to learn to say no

If you don’t respect your time, no one else will either.

Don’t feel bad for not wanting to conduct meetings in the evenings or the weekends. After all, human nature is that we try have meetings at a time convenient to us. There is a reason that you became self-employed and it’s not normally to be working in the hours you’d be spending with your family, children and pets such as evenings and weekends. Disrespect your time and you will start feeling resentful because you did not speak up. And that that is a drain on your energy, motivation and mindset.

4. Network to find your tribe

Not sure about networking? 

Allow me to convince you. 

• Networking gives you an opportunity to grow your business by expanding your reach and forging new connections. 
• It gives you an opportunity to grow your confidence, learn new skills and find mentors or collaborators.
• It helps reduce the isolation you might feel when you go self-employed, especially if you’re used to working in teams.

At the core of networking is the opportunity to build relationships – get to know people at a deeper level and business will follow naturally.

Try different networking groups and focus on the ones that work for you and what you are looking to achieve. For me, networking gives me opportunities to increase my exposure, to speak at events, and to create collaborations or potential trade-offs.  

Remember that networking can give you opportunities to grow your business by agreeing potential part or full trade off of services. 

5. Feel the pain and do it anyway

I like to compare self-employment to exercise.  

The best thing about working for yourself is working for yourself. It can also be your worst enemy… if you allow it to be, and don’t listen to your body.

Hear me out… The area you feel the most discomfort, whether that’s physically, emotionally or mentally, is probably the area you need to work on the most. Sure, those planks are hideous, but you know they’re only terrible because you need to work on your core! 

Discomfort often indicates a development area. Work on that area and you’ll see the best returns. It all comes down to the good old comfort zone. My tip as a business coach? Do your least favourite activities at the beginning of the day. Then they’re done and you can get on with the rest of your day.

6. Source suppliers carefully

The people you work with are as important as the people you work for. A good supplier can set your offering apart. A bad supplier will cost you dearly. For that reason, I’ve learnt to qualify suppliers in the same way as I’d qualify a prospect. 

Here’s a quick rundown:

• Do you gel with the person?
• What is their working style?
• Do they have processes in place?  Are these processes aligned with yours?
• Are their services in line with your expectations?
• Do they detail their service or offering in a proposal?
• Can they provide you with solid references?

If you’re in any doubt speak to their clients. Most importantly ensure you speak to people that have experienced the service you are considering investing in. This way you can understand what they have achieved for others.

7. Get the basics right

Set up your business as you mean to go on and you’ll save untold hours and heartache down the line. Here are the things I learnt:

• Accounting software is a godsend when it comes to saving time. I pay £9 a month to QuickBooks and it saves me more in time that it costs me. It also means life is far easier when the end of the tax year arrives. 
• Make sure your clients know what your cancellation periods are and create your Terms and Conditions accordingly.  Failure to do this could mean you are subject to meetings being cancelled at the last minute and unable to book other clients in at short notice.
• Get organised. I have got used to putting everything in my diary as I did when I was an employee. I have gone one step further and categorise each meeting with a colour for analysis.
• Create structures, disciplines and templates to avoid duplication. Whether that’s a briefing template or a set approach to onboarding new clients, building structure and discipline into your business will make life easier for you. It will also demonstrate to clients that you have your act together. We 100% attract what we radiate. I believe this isn’t just in our demeanour but also in the way we conduct business. 

I’ve learnt so much but with what I have planned I believe my best is still yet to come!

Ultimately, you need to believe in yourself

Believe in your ability. Setting up your own business takes strength, courage and determination. If you want some extra help or simply feel like you could do with a (gentle) push to grow your business, book a free 30-minute discovery call with me to talk things through. I’d love to hear from you.

A final few words…

No-one is an island, and I couldn’t have got this far as a business development consultant and sales coach without the support of other incredible small business owners. 

They are (in alphabetical order!):

Alex Grist of ExceptionalCX for her buyer journey mapping and persona profiles.
Andrea Haas of Inner Strength for her help with EFT hypnotherapy.
Ben Fielding and his team at Blucando IT for their never-failing IT support.
Carol Patterson at Queen Bee in the Woods for her wonderful products.
Charlotte Emery at Arbonne for her almost magical Fizz Sticks.
Claire Francis at Tropic Skincare for the amazing beauty products.
Dawn Gregory, for her help with communication and presentation speaker coaching.
Ema Doherty, The Hair and Beauty Artist for the lovely make-up (a Zoom call essential!).
Gemma Lane of Hidden Gem VA for her VAPA services.
Gill Siemak of Paper Rock her the branding and design work
Ginny Marsh of Gorgeous You Photography for the incredible photography on my website.
Hilary Cryer from House of Colour for her styling session.|
Irina Nailer of Irina Nailer Health Coaching for her health coaching sessions.
Jane Redhead of KallKwik Printing in Farnham for the high-quality printing and design work.
Janet Alkema, The Time Finder Specialist for her support services.
Jason Lawes of Red Sentence for building this website and supporting with graphic design.
Karen Brooks of Pellings Business Support for her support services.
Kerry Ellis, the image consultant and stylist for her so-helpful wardrobe review.
Laura Sands of Laura Sands Copywriting for helping write my website and edit my blogs.
Linda Huckle of Your Key to LinkedIn for the LinkedIn training she gave me in my early days.
Lisa Cooke of Level Three Creative Limited for her design work.
Lisa Sinfield of Captain Tortue for the amazing clothes.
Lisa Vassallo of Onetothree for the social media marketing help.
Mandi Martin for the amazing vouchers you created for me to give James for our 10^th wedding anniversary.
Mandy Dineley of My Beautiful Pen, writing verses and poems for special occasions.
Pru Gayton of PAC Copywriting for writing the case studies on my website.
Rachel Maunder, the Speaker and Speaker Coach who helped me find my stories.
Sarah Lynn-Hodder of Bettering Youth for the PT sessions to strengthen my knees.
Steve Hall at Health at Hart for his Osteopathic skills.
Tania Fraser of TWIG for her spreadsheet and software magic.
Vicki Kleboe for your financial expertise and advice in relation to my dad.
Wendy Moffat of JRA Chauffeur Drive for the impeccable chauffeur car hire. 

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of January already. Despite sometimes feeling like the longest month ever, the month has flown since getting back to my desk at the start of January.

James, my husband, and I took the strategic decision to finish work from Friday 18^th December. For me, Christmas is and has always been (depending upon your industry) the only time of year you can take time off and pretty much come back to what you left. 

There’s no need to feel guilty about taking time off; as a small business owner, holiday is important. It means you can come back to work refreshed and reenergised. 

I had a fantastic time off making the most of the weather with country walks, balanced with a few festive drinkies, tasty treats, and workouts in the garage. Not to forget the all-important festive clear out which involves going through every room in the house and segmenting items for charity, eBay and recycling.  I find this very therapeutic indeed!

In my last blog, I talked about the importance of building stronger relationships with your customers and how sales is intrinsically linked to customer services.

Given the start we’ve had to 2021, it feels like a good time to reflect on 2020 and what small business owners can learn from it to help this year.

Five things every small business owner can do this year

These are the five things I would suggest you implement:

1. Create a plan based on objectives, NOT tactics

A new year starts and many small business owners start planning for the year ahead. Many will start thinking about the tactics and activities they would like to put into place. But first, stop!

Before you start planning your tactics and activities, my advice as a business coach would be to implement best practice planning and – as the ever-wise Simon Sinek would say – start with the end in mind.  

Working this way allows you to identify what you would like to achieve in the form of objectives, then decide how you will measure whether you are achieving them or not. Only once you’ve done this, should you outline what your activities and tactics will be.  This need not be complex; a simple spreadsheet will do the job. You just need 3 x headers – Objectives, Measurements, Tactics – use the cells below to show the detail.

Objectives/ Goals	Measurement	Tactics required

Planning this way will ensure your marketing activities are aligned to your sales objectives.

2. Focus on what you can control

Yes, we are in a pandemic, and sadly no single person can change this. Individually we cannot overcome the situation we’ve found ourselves in.

Do what you can about the things you can control within your life. Take a step back and ensure you are looking after yourself. Are you drinking 2 litres of water a day rather than water in the caffeine you are drinking? Are you completing a minimum of 5K steps per day and exercising 3 times a week? And are you prioritising sleep ahead of device time late at night?

3. Know how you compare against your competition

Do you know how your small business fares vs. your competitors? By this I mean, how do you really compare to their offering, prices and more importantly how they differentiate themselves? Knowing all this will help you identify how you may be able to differentiate yourself from them.

Review your packages, pricing and what you include in those prices and packages. If you have seen a decrease in an uptake in a certain product or service, could you offer a scaled down version? It might mean less initial investment but it’s also a way of bringing on new clients, who may continue to work with you on another service in the future.

4. Identify who your best clients really are

Many of us small business owners create an avatar for our ideal clients when we launch a new business, venture or product. But it’s only after having built a history of selling to clients that we are able to work out who our most profitable clients are. Most importantly this is based on logical, pragmatic fact.

There are two ways of looking at this. I’d recommend you analyse what makes someone your ideal client from a revenue and profit perspective. I’d also suggest you identify the trends in who your client is so you can try to replicate more these customers. Doing this exercise will help you work out who your ideal client is and is not.

5. Forget the silver bullet

“Increase your earnings to £10K per month, with little effort”

“Get an abundance of sales-ready leads ready for you to convert!!!”

Sound familiar? 2020 saw many companies increase their online presence. This has meant an abundance of companies selling get rich quick programs like those above.

The reality is that there is no silver bullet.

These types of programs are generally course-based, high level and not tailored to you, your circumstances and your business.  The result? People invest in these programmes and still feel unsure of how to execute against what they need to do in relation to their circumstances and business.

Generally, the common factor on courses that work, and courses that don’t work is the all-important accountability.  What’s more, participants may feel overwhelmed as there is so much for them to do and they’re not sure what to prioritise.

This is the same for companies promoting sales-ready leads, ready for you to convert. THEY DO NOT EXIST.

The truth however, is that there is nothing to make running a small business easy for you other than structure, process, focus and discipline. And that’s where using a sales-focused business coach can help.

Want to know more? Book a free discovery call and let’s talk!

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How can you increase your sales during difficult times? If someone predicted what 2020 would involve, we’d never have believed them. Yet after only a few weeks of slightly relaxed restrictions we find ourselves in lockdown number two. 

Despite this, I strongly believe that whatever industry that you are in, and however your business has been affected by Covid, there are things you can do to reduce the impact of these uncertain times.

Firstly, the obvious solutions being that you can diversify your offering and provide a virtual version of your services. You could start running courses, changing from a 1-to-1 offering to a more profitable 1-to-many offering. You could even create a downloadable course as a form of passive income.

But in this post, I’m focusing on how you can build stronger relationships with your customers and increase your sales. And that’s because sales is intrinsically linked to customer services.

Why are strong client relationships important?

What is really the difference between customer services and sales? 

Many large telecom companies call their customer services department ‘client retention’. Essentially it’s a department focused on increasing the likelihood of you staying with them.

Build a deeper relationship with your clients and ultimately you will be closer to them and create longer term relationships. This comes in the form of repeat business and referrals from those customers. Happy customers become a revenue stream of their own. And that’s without the cost of advertising, cost of sales and the time associated with taking on new clients.

“People will always remember how you made them feel”

Whilst I’m sure Maya Angelou didn’t have business in mind when she said the above quote, it’s something that’s very relevant to selling. How would you feel if a supplier only contacted you over lockdown to try and sell to you? I have actually experienced this and not only did they present me with a service of theirs but one that was not applicable to my business. I was not impressed.

Difficult times are a unique window for you to differentiate yourself with your clients and prospects by building a stronger relationship with them. Regardless of whether or not you do end up working with them, you’ll be remembered for the way you kept a dialogue going.

It can feel a little daunting if speaking to people fills you with nerves and you prefer to communicate by email. Your clients may be a different age, have different interests and may even be in a different country. No matter. These times are challenging for all of us in some shape or form. For instance, I don’t have children to home-school, but my husband and I have elderly parents with varying health issues – and that’s a constant worry for us. Tap into the humanity we share, and you’ll find a common thread on which you can build a relationship.

Pick up the phone

It’s so easy to ping someone an email. But call someone instead and you’ll make a bigger impact – especially if you have a service-based business. So instead of sending emails to check in, give your customers a call. If they can’t speak there and then, just book in a call for a general catch-up. Few people are in business just for the money… connecting on a deeper level is better for our clients and more enjoyable for us as business owners.

Follow up on your enquiries

This sounds so simple, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who don’t follow up on their enquiries, which can help you to increase your sales!

Here’s a real-life example. I wanted to get my garden landscaped and so asked four landscapers to quote for the work.

One didn’t respond and two came back to me with a standard price on an email. But the other called me to arrange a visit so they could better understand my needs.

It turns out that they all quoted a similar price. So who did I choose?

No surprises – I chose the landscaper who visited me. His visit gave me more confidence in his approach and gave me an opportunity to ask questions. He built a rapport with me and a made a fuss about my cats. (Anyone that likes cats is a big tick in my world.) Joking aside, he was also able to reassure me that the work comes with a warranty and tell me that he offers other services (which I end up agreeing to – cleaning my patio and drive). He also partners with a garden designer who can help me choose my plants and teach me how to care for them.

The other two landscapers didn’t even follow up to ask if I had questions about their quotes.

The thing to remember in all this, is that following up on a quote isn’t just about securing a piece of work. It’s also about the impression you give and a chance to be recommended to others. I live in a new build, and several of my neighbours have booked the same landscaper as a result of my recommendation. It’s a goldmine of potential to any landscape gardener!

You attract what you radiate

Positivity is an attractive trait. Along with gratitude and compassion, positivity creates a good energy that others can feel. And if you radiate positivity, you’ll get positivity back. Not convinced? Read more about the principles of attracting good energy  here.

Stay genuine to you and the things you like to do and you’ll emit positivity in abundance. Did you used to meet clients for coffee once a week? You can still do that on Zoom! Did you post social media updates about positive results your clients have seen? Keep at it. People will see your positivity and feel attracted to it. I’ve kept up the things I used to enjoy doing before lockdown such as my Friday G&Ts with clients over Zoom. Not quite the same as meeting in a pub, but something that puts a little more fun into my week and that of my clients.

Want to know more about building relationships with your clients and how to increase your sales? I can help! Book a free discovery call to see how I can help you grow your business.