Jackie Nagel, Synnovatia 
If you’ve flown on a commercial airline, you’ve heard the flight attendants provide the safety instructions. Although most airline passengers zone out during this time, the airlines have it right when they tell you to “put your own mask on first before assisting others”.
Acquiring clients is job #1 for any small business. And, with so many strategies available both online and offline, the real challenge is knowing where to start. Here are 6 steps to help you develop the steady volume of clients you want.
For many small business owners, trying to please everyone is a recipe for disaster. As Bill Cosby said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
People pleasing, also called “over-responding,” is easily confused with customer service. In some situations, over-responding is a required action to remedy a client situation. For most circumstances, however, it’s a knee jerk reaction – a compulsive response – that puts the needs of others before your own.
A “Yes” Waiting to Happen
My very first coach made a keen observation of my behavior early in our coaching relationship. As she put it, I was “a ‘yes’ waiting to happen.” She was right. I was in a continual state of pleasing others. I put the needs of others before my own. And, in my role as a strategic business coach, I’m not alone. People pleasing is a common reality, especially among women business owners.
The benefits of business coaching are well known. Small business owners, for example, report an increase in productivity, profitability, and performance (to name a few) when they consistently work with a business coach.
Over the years many business owners have asked me how I built my company. My answer always includes at least three things: dedication, support from clients and colleagues, and business coaching (and a little luck).
Sales are the life blood of any business. Yet, sales is one of the most underdeveloped area of a small business. A lack of sales maturity – in part, caused by missing information or knowledge – can create extensive swings in sales. The sales surges can be fun, however, the sales slumps are stressful. Plus, a sales slump of any size in a small business can be catastrophic!
Although essential for business growth, an overarching 3 — 5 year strategic plan for your small business can be cumbersome. As entrepreneurs performing in a “distraction economy,” it’s easy to lose focus of what needs to be accomplished “now” to reach the strategic milestones of the long-range strategic plan. That’s why small business planning conducted quarterly is essential to keep you focused and on track.
Someone once said, “People don’t plan to fail—they fail to plan.” Undoubtedly, none of us plan to fail. Still, without an ongoing business planning process in position, we certainly are planning to be overwhelmed, distracted, and pulled off course on a regular basis.