Complacency can be a major problem for any business, and I see it creep into many of my clients, in particular once they start to turn things around, and feel the benefits of the coaching.

It can happen to anyone, and recently I have even been guilty of this in my business. Things are going well, with a good base of repeat custom, and plenty of promise for the future. However, it only takes a few to say that they don’t want to do anything over the summer, or that they won’t start until later in the year, or not at all, and before you know it, suddenly things are not as rosy as you think. Hence the need to constantly work on lead generation even when you think you have finally cracked it.

I see it time and time again, even with some of my most successful clients. They think they can sit back and wait for the business to simply roll in, and suddenly they are faced with one or two rather thin months, and cash flow is looking dodgy.

Normally we are able to nip the downward trend in the bud, providing we address the marketing strategy as soon as possible. However, occasionally it takes a real crisis to occur to convince them that a radical change and increase in marketing activity is needed to set things in the right direction once more.

We spent a very productive morning addressing all our marketing activity earlier this week, and have subsequently put new plans into action, which will no doubt soon bring in more leads.

So if you are finding things have gone off the boil a bit, why not get someone to help you redress the situation soon, before it becomes too late.

I have recently been going to a chiropractor as I have been suffering from neck and shoulder pains. The person I have been seeing says it is probably down to a pinched nerve, or old sports injuries, but he has also found that this has resulted in my left shoulder being higher than my right, and apparently my left leg appearing shorter than my left. I know this makes me sound a bit like Quasimodo, but I think these differences are tiny, and probably only visible to a professional like him.

However, the outcome of this gradual change (I’m told it may also have something to do with getting old) is that more and more aches and pains are materialising in my leg, my foot and my lower back. Essentially something needs to be done to stop me falling apart completely!!

So what, you may ask, has this got to do with business coaching? Well as my chiropractor said, many people like me are aware of the aches and pains gradually getting worse, but time and the ability to “soldier on” stop people from doing anything about it. Eventually this can lead to serious problems, and ultimately, as in one case he mentioned, could even lead to hospitalisation to operate on the problems. In other words there we all are, knowing that we have all sorts of issues and problems, but because of time, money, ignorance or even stubbornness or fear we do nothing about it until it is too late!!

Now look at your business. Are there issues and problems? Are they getting better or worse? Perhaps now is the time to stop sticking your head in the sand trying to ignore them, and perhaps you should find a coach to help you make things better.

I spent a very constructive and interesting afternoon last week with one of my clients talking about why people should chose them and not any of their competition. Essentially we were working on their Unique Selling Point (USP) which, as I always tell my clients, is seldom one part of their service or one product, but almost always a combination of several good points. Some of your competition may be providing some of the things you do. And some may be providing others, but your uniqueness comes from the sum of all the things you do being better and greater than any of them.

Time spent on things like this, is never time wasted, because it makes you take a good hard look at yourself, and see what the client or potential client is seeing. If it is not as good as the competition, or is perhaps focussing on things which your target market might consider less important to them, then you will need to address this as quickly as possible.

Everything you think of which you consider part of your uniqueness must also be of benefit to your clients, not just something which you think looks or sounds good. A tip I was given to check that something is a benefit or not, is to put the words “which means that” after each point. If you can’t think of anything good to add after those words, then it probably isn’t a benefit (e.g. we get it to you faster “which means that” you wont have so much down time, is a clear benefit, but if getting it to them faster only means it arrives with them quicker, then it is not).

Of course USP’s are vital for everyone, because it allows you to add value and charge more. If you can’t define your USP, then you are probably just another “me too”, and you will end up fighting for new clients on price alone!

I went to a seminar today. I haven’t been to one for a while, but as ever I learnt several new things, and have come back to the office full of new ideas as to what we could use to improve what we do. Making a commitment to taking action from what I have learned is essential, or else I would just be wasting my time listening to people, thinking “that’s a good idea” and doing nothing about it.

But perhaps most importantly it came home to me how much more sensible it is to use people from outside the business who specialise in certain areas, rather than try to do it all ourselves. Naturally I would always encourage any clients to save money where reasonably and sensibly possible, but if the discipline they are trying to do is not something they know much about, then it is almost certainly going to waste both their time and their money.

Time and time again, my clients will tell me that they will try “doing it first” before they call on outside help, and time and time again I advise them against it. Writing their own contracts, building their own websites, doing their own book-keeping are all great examples of a business owner wasting their time, if this is not their strength. Worse than that, it can actually turn out to be detrimental to the business. Taking the examples above, there are so many different types of contract, you are almost certain to make mistakes and potentially end up with a big cost, or your website may end up looking cheap and unprofessional, or the books/tax returns are not done properly, or late, and again you end up with a fine.

So remember, as a business owner, you are highly unlikely to be good at everything, so consider outside help before you commit lots of time and money to a lost cause. Perhaps you should even consider a Business Coach.

People frequently ask me how often do I need to meet with my clients to coach them effectively. The answer is that it is never the same for everyone, as each person is different, and I have realised that not all my clients respond to being pushed in the same way.

Of course it is all about personalities, and I pride myself on being able to understand people well, and therefore how they are best likely to respond to my coaching. Some, perhaps the most driven entrepreneurs, like to be pushed hard and like to meet every 3 weeks or so. Others like to think about things over quite a period of time, and actually push me away if I push too hard. Then there are the rest on a steady sliding scale between those two extremes.

The thing is, the general consensus (or common wisdom) is that a good coach is one that pushes hard and doesn’t allow their clients to get away with not carrying out agreed actions, or to have excuses. However, I do not hold with this opinion, as I firmly believe that the coaching regime needs to be tailored to my clients’ wishes. After all coaching should never be about the coach, but always about what the clients’ goals are. So whilst I will hold them accountable, and drive them ever onwards to those stated goals, it needs to be done at their speed, to suit their lifestyle and the best way they find to get results.

As I often say, this means that I establish strong relationships with my clients, and they trust and understand that I want what is best for them and their business, not just something that makes me feel good. This approach seems to work very well, and I am happy to say that my clients are all reaping the benefits.

One of the joys of working for yourself is the ability to work when you want to or need to, but also to be able to take time off when there are things that you want to do. Last week my son came home from his travels in Australia, where he had been for the last 8 months, and it has been really great to be able to spend some time with him, and to catch up with some quality family time, without having to worry about work.

But this isn’t the case for many business owners I meet, or those I work with (when we first start). Because they are so tied into the day to day tasks, if they take any time off, they either cause problems because there is no-one to cover for them, or people, customers or their staff are constantly contacting them to ask for advice, or to have general queries answered. In either case it means that neither you, nor the people you are trying to spend leisure time with can ever be relaxed.

Freedom of choice and flexibility are the two most cited reasons I am given for starting up your own business. However, unless you create a structure with clear roles and responsibilities, and unless you put systems, procedures and monetary controls in place, and are then prepared to delegate and let go, you will always be the one that people turn to when problems arise.

Inherently, business owners know this to be the case, but finding the right way to do it, and knowing what needs to be done in which order, is a very different matter. Therefore, taking on an experienced coach, with tried and tested processes, and a record of happy and contented business owners behind him may be the answer for you. Why not get in touch to have a chat, and see if I can help you find the freedom you always dreamed of.

How often have I said it, and how often does it prove to be true? The power of coaching is not necessarily about teaching people how or telling them what to do, but it is without doubt about holding the business owner accountable. It is also about making sure that they keep doing the things they know they should be doing, to keep the business moving towards its goals, and to keep things under control.

On occasions where for one reason or another there has been a break of 2 months or more in the coaching programme, I invariably find that things have drifted a little, and that key things have been left undone. One of my clients, who felt a little too comfortable, stopped making the regular marketing actions and stopped making sales visits – hence a drop in turnover. Another client stopped doing their cash flows, and failed, therefore, to spot that sales figures had dropped, not because the sales were not happening, but because the invoicing wasn’t being done.

The thing is, once the coaching programme has been going for a while, and the business owner sees and feels improvements, there is often a risk of losing the intensity and drive, and indeed the urgency. This can mean that they no longer feel they need to keep doing the new things which had helped them make the changes, and think they don’t need to see me so often. Because things are going well, they don’t notice the slip in standards unless they keep their checks in place, and before long the old problems start to creep back in.

So if you find that you are one of those people that find it really hard to focus on the management and controls of the business, consider getting your self a business coach. You should be prepared to let them hold you accountable, and expect to be around for at least a year. That way you know you will have a coach who is interested in ensuring you and your business make successful and lasting changes.

I spent last Saturday having a fabulous afternoon and evening watching some brilliant rugby. Tries galore, and excitement and uncertainty as to who would lift the trophy down to the last minute of the last match.

Fantastic.

Whilst I was disappointed that England failed to clinch the trophy, I was nevertheless left elated by the theatre of the entire event. However, I suppose the overall feeling I had was that despite a seemingly impossible mountain to climb, in the end England could and should have won it.

The thing is there were masses of positives to take from the match. A huge amount of creativity, lots of effort, determination from all, and a clear desire never to give up. But, there was also a lot of the “headless chicken” approach, which meant that time and time again it was two steps forward and one step back every time the French scored.

The point is that this is something which can easily be applied to many businesses I work with. Working incredibly hard, lots of determination and effort to grow the business, but in their efforts to bring in new business, they forget to look after the clients they already have. In other words as fast as they bring in new business, there is a constant leakage of old, presumably loyal customers, who feel neglected and let down.

As we all know, getting a new customer is hard work. It takes a lot of time, money and perseverance, so once we have them on board; it is a huge mistake to lose any of our established customers. A short term gain can easily lead to a longer term loss, resulting in masses of effort with very little to show for it in the end.

Coming second is seldom worthwhile. So make sure you have all the right structure, staff and systems in place before you start to grow your business significantly. In that way you will be rewarded with new business as well as the steady repeat business of your loyal and happy customers.

When is it the right time to make changes? I know I have often blogged about this in one way or another, but it was brought to my attention recently by a “lead” who I have been following up for the past few months.

When I first contacted them last November, and had a very positive meeting, they seemed very keen to work with me on the coaching programme, but they couldn’t commit at that time, because they were on the run up to Christmas, and so didn’t have the time. However, they told me to call back in January so we could book in a start date. So I called in January, and this time they had a health issue, and therefore could I call back again in early March, which of course I did. Yet again it turned out that they could not commit to starting because this time they had just lost a staff member, and would therefore be far too busy until after Easter, and then it would be a good time to call. Then came the moment of realisation, because before I could say anything else, they then said “but of course there will be something else to stop me then, won’t there!”

And of course this is exactly what would have happened had they finally not realised themselves what they are doing. Essentially I believe they genuinely want me to coach them to make permanent and meaningful changes, because they can see that they can only keep going the way they are for so long. If they ever want things to change for the better they know that I can help them to do that, but it is the fear of what it will take, and the knowledge that they will be out of their comfort zone, which is still stopping them from taking the first exciting step into the unknown.

So I will call them after Easter, and this time I believe they will make the commitment to start, because if not this time, it is never going to happen.

Last week I was in a coaching session with one of my clients, when I was reminded of how important coaching can be, and how it works in so many different ways.

In this particular instance, the business is going well. Turnover and profits are far higher than when we started (up 100%), controls are in place, systems are being written and staff gradually taken on to help take away the day to day tasks from the business owner. In fact things are generally looking pretty good. However, there is a very real risk of everything becoming a little too comfortable, and focus being lost, and ultimately the end goals set not being reached (and of course the long term financial goals were set for clear reasons).

This is when as a coach I can’t let my client off the hook. Lots of praise of course for what he has achieved, but now comes the really hard bit where I have to remind him, and push him to take the extra him to take the steps needed to build things to the level where he is no longer integral to the business i.e. the business enterprise which can work without him, which after all is what he says he wants.

So I have to set him tougher targets, mostly now on the sales and marketing front, so he can bring in the next level of business which will allow him to employ the key person to run the business for him. This in turn frees up more time to target more key businesses, and gives him the flexibility and freedom that he is looking for.

To get him to do this I have asked him to monitor all his numbers, calls made, visits made, meetings held, and new customers taken on, so I can challenge him if he does not do enough in between each of our sessions to hit his targets.

So if you have goals which always seem to just out of reach, ask yourself “am I getting too comfortable, and no longer pushing hard enough?” If the answer is yes, but you still can’t motivate yourself to go the extra mile, perhaps you should think about taking on a coach.