Dare to Dream Big!
The last Quarter of 2005 has come up quickly. Are you holding fast to the dreams and goals you set out for yourself this year? When we get caught up in the doing it is sometimes hard to remember why we are doing the “do”. Keeping the imagination stimulated can be the key to achievement.
Dare to Dream – one of the most powerful facets of our mind is our ability to imagine things – used creatively, the imagination can change our lives. What we are today and what you have in our life today, is the result of what we have imaged in the past. If we want to change the results we are getting we must begin to decide consciously and creatively what we are going to image.
A Goal that is implanted and visualized time after time will get the action, but we must let each phase of the mind do its job. Our conscious mind chooses the goal or goals, holds to the goal consciously and the subconscious provides the “how to” and leads us into the experiences needful to attain the goal. This is our Creative responsibility!!! Let’s take time now to revisit those dreams and goals!
Delegation Opens Doors to Growth
Last week I was in a dilemma about delegation. What I realized was how delegation allows me to focus more on my clients. As the saying goes, service sells, so keeping the clients you do have is one of the major ways to keep a business growing. What do you think is the number one reason people stop doing business with you?
Perceived indifference is why; it makes up 68% makes them stop. So focusing on the things that help to maintain that customer relationship becomes a number one priority. Here are some things I have learned, that could help,
· Establish a data base where you can keep track of both prospects and clients and stay in touch with them on a regular basis.
What do you do now to keep in touch with clients?
· Create &/or acquire new products or services for your clients. They can be yours or someone else’s.
What have you offered new in the last few years?
· Use a newsletter, e-mail newsletters that convey information and your expertise to your clients. Remember today’s buyer is hungry for information, make it easy for them to be educated and the more they will seek you out.
When you are going it alone, time is of the essence. Delegation gives you the time to focus on the high priority, high payoff areas of your business.
To understand more about making the customer service experience something that happens on purpose, there is a great little book on service, by Jim Williamson that will help you craft one. Check it out at http://www.lizardbrain-monkeymind.com/sales_and_marketing.htm.
Mind Masters
Fall and winter is on us I have been without an assistant/bookkeeper since early summer. My dilemma, should I find someone new, continue to handle it all myself or find a couple of people who I can cross train, so I don’t have to go through this again, and again? Over the years I have recognized that of all the things you can do to make your business a success, perhaps the most important is to stop trying to do everything yourself. If you are not delegating, you may destroy your business in the long term. Yes, it's true. Your hard work, the long hours you put in, and your personal attention to every detail may be hurting—not helping—your business.
Almost inevitably when I have seen a business fail, or a business owner just give up, a major (or at least contributing) cause was the inability or unwillingness of the owner to delegate. Tragically, many of these businesses were just at the point where they were really taking off. Business was good. Customers were lined up at the door. But the owner tried to do everything. Why did they through in the towel? Because there was just too much work for one person.
I had a friend once who used this statement to define what she needed to do in her business “Do what you do best, and hire out the rest”. As we move toward the middle of the year, do what you do best, then look and see what you can delegate.
