Lots of good things seem to be happening at the moment, and I don’t mean just for me. Looking around at my clients, business acquaintances and the economy generally, I see positives everywhere.

Predictions for growth in the U.K. have gone up to 2.9% from 2.3%, inflation is negligible (and could even become deflation) and business for most people I speak to is flourishing. As usual the BBC want to make deflation a negative, but for the majority it is a good thing, after all the main things it is affecting are food prices and fuel costs, both of which are necessities which we will all buy as and when we need it. Anyway who actually waits to buy things until the price “may” yet go down. For example with electrical goods, TV’s, fridges, ovens or computers, most people will buy them now even though they can be pretty certain they will be cheaper in 6 months or a years time.

In all the networking meetings I go to, there are invariable positive things being said, with some people even saying that they are no longer looking for referrals as they are already at capacity for the foreseeable future. Catering companies and venues are getting bookings two years ahead, and construction seems to be on the increase everywhere.

From a personal point of view, with spring just around the corner, I am delighted to say all my clients are growing in confidence, and are all setting increased targets for next year, and many of them are already in the process of, or at least planning to take on new staff this coming year.

So all in all, many reasons to think that 2015 is going to be a great year. I am getting new enquiries, leads and referrals on a regular basis, so I too am anticipating a year of growth.

An interesting situation arose the other morning during one of my coaching sessions. We were looking through their cash flow for the coming year, in a growing business, but one where they are having to be very careful with their costs. A tricky balance trying to increase sales without increasing costs proportionately. They also had outstanding debts and loans which need to be paid off over the next few months, so they had to make provision for these as well.

The problem was that they had set the budget to lose money over the year. Small amounts admittedly for most months, and overall not a huge loss, but enough to make them worse off than they were at the start of the year, especially as this was going to mean that they would not have been able to pay off their debts and loans, and therefore would potentially send the business bust. They said that they were being cautious and on the downside of realistic so that they didn’t make it over optimistic, but I pointed out that there was little point in budgeting for this because it could result in having to close the business.

After much discussion we then looked at ways of raising sales, and if possible reducing costs, or at worst at least holding them constant. We looked at short term reducing their drawings, and went through all the options they could work on. The key thing was that because we had all the figures available, we could do several “what if…..” scenarios on the cash flow template, and see what had to be done to make it work.

So once again it re-stressed the importance of knowing your numbers, and facing up to them, good and bad. Equally well, it showed that if things are looking bad there is no point in budgeting to make things worse. You simply have to work out the best way to make things better.

Do you always do what you say you are going to do? And do you always look at ways to make the best out of a bad situation. In other words do you face up to your problems, take responsibility for them, and then deal with them?

Behaving in this way in business (and in life generally) can help you to gain trust and respect, which in the long term is far more likely to bring you loyal customers and repeat business. Doing what you say you will do is essential, because whilst you may get away with it on the odd occasion, generally speaking it leaves people feeling frustrated and dissatisfied if you renege on your word. There may be a good reason, but it is always best to contact people before you let them down to tell them you cannot honour your commitment. Be it a delivery, a payment, an email or anything else large or small, if you find you are no longer in a position to do what you said you were going to do, face up to it and speak to your client to explain why not. Although they may be a little annoyed initially, 99 times out of 100 they would rather know that you are letting them down, as long as they know they can trust you in the long run.

That is why we always talk about “under-promising” and “over-delivering.” Don’t build up people’s expectations if you know you will struggle to fulfil them. It is far better to make things sound less good initially, and then do something which surprises them in a positive way.

I have always found that keeping communication going with people is the best way forward, however tricky the situation may be. Don’t stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away, as it never does, and problems tend to just keep building up. Face up to the issue, discuss solutions, and find a way that keeps both parties happy. It is amazing what you can achieve by doing things this way. Trusting and contented customers, and sometimes friends for life.

Recently I have been spending a fair amount of time with a number of my clients on their sales, and perhaps more importantly, their sales process. Systems and processes are essential for any business in which the business owner wants to gradually let go, delegate and finally sell their business, but one process which is often neglected is that of sales.

The thing is, a good sales funnel should capture plenty of leads in the wide top part, and they should then fall smoothly down the sides, and fall out of the bottom as customers. However, if you do not have a slick and carefully analysed system, there can be any number of bottlenecks in your process, where prospects can easily escape. In other words, you end up “burning” what should be good leads.

So you need to analyse and write down your process(es), from your pre-sales first contact, through the face to face meting, right through to the after sales follow up. You need to write out scripts which work, you need to examine what you need to take your meeting, you need to consider what you wear, and you need to plan and prepare meticulously. A lot of the sales process can actually be achieved before you even meet, so that when you do see them your job is that much easier. Be consistent, and don’t surprise them with things they weren’t expecting, and always go with a view to signing people up first time, because that is when they should be most excited by what you are saying.

The value of having a sales system which works well is enormous, so take some time to analyse it, write it down, and then ensure you carry it out time after time. After all, at some point you will need others to do the selling for you, so if you have a system which works, why not pass it on to them.

I am pleased to say last year was a much better year than the previous two, and I hope the same could be said for most of you who read my blogs. The economy certainly seems to be on the mend, and I am delighted to say that many of my clients had excellent results, with all but a few increasing their turnover and profits significantly. A lot of them took on new staff, and I have no doubt that things will be even better for them and for me this coming year.

Of course there will be further setbacks along the way, the election may well be one of them, and with all the recent news, who is to say whether terrorist attacks will have an effect on the economy. However, with oil prices looking like they will remain at their recent low, and with inflation sinking below 1%, we all feel a little more confident that we will have a bit more spending money. If we have more spending money, then let’s hope more people start spending it, which will all help to contribute to further recovery (who knows there may be any number of pensioners rushing out and spending their pensions from April onwards!!).

The point is no-one can be quite sure what the year ahead will bring, good or bad, but if you haven’t done so already, set your budgets for the coming year optimistically. Go for growth, raise your prices, and commit to doing the things you know will make a significant difference to your business and your life.

There is no time like the present to go for it. You only get one chance at this, so make it count!

The longer I go on coaching, it never ceases to amaze me how little people know about their numbers, or indeed the importance they put on them. To a certain degree this is because most business owners simply don’t understand them, but also they don’t know how to analyse and use their figures to their advantage.

I can’t count the numbers of times I have said to my clients “Time spent on your figures is not wasted, in fact it is every bit as important as spending time on your sales, or having a key meeting with a new lead.” The reason I say this, is because time and time again when I sit with my clients to analyse their figures we find interesting facts, either to do with their break-even, their change in gross and net margins, or abnormal costs which have suddenly spring from nowhere. The thing is once we have seen the problem then we can put a strategy in place to change it.

For example in one instance we found that one of my clients was struggling to break-even, so we raised prices, and dropped the non-profitable market segments. In another example we found the margins being squeezed because too many discounts were being implemented, and at the same time supplier costs were rising, which once again was quickly rectified by raising prices and dropping discounts.

These are just two examples, but the point is, if the business owners had not been able to spend the time looking at their numbers, they would have kept going, getting busier and busier, but not necessarily making any more money. By analysing things and making good managerial decisions they were quickly able to increase their profits and margins, but without having to do any more (in fact in some instances the work load decreases).

So next time you make an excuse to avoid your figures, think again, it will probably be the best and most profitable way to spend an hour or two.

We’re getting to that tricky time of year again, whereby salesmen come up against the “well I think it is really interesting, but I’ve got a lot going on in the run up to Christmas, so I’ll leave it until the New Year.” Isn’t it frustrating? We all know now it is just an excuse, after all it is still 6 weeks until Christmas. Essentially they have written off nearly 15% of the year (including the 2 weeks after Christmas “until we get back into our stride”) to benefit from whatever it is you are selling.

So you need to come up with a strategy to counteract this stalling tactic, otherwise you could be destined for lean times in the next two months. Selling coaching is a tricky enough thing at the best times (intangibles always are) but at this time year it can be harder than ever. So in my case I explain that despite their busy schedule, it is surely worth getting the goals set before the oncoming year, so that we can get started on the actions to achieve those goals (both short and long term) from the beginning of the New Year. The key thing is, that this is not just a sales tactic, because it genuinely makes sense to take this course of action, and my potential clients can see that too, and will often go ahead as a result.

So how can you find ways around the “Christmas” excuses. It can’t just be words, there must be a genuine benefit to your client, because then they are far more likely to take advantage of your offer.

Conversely, it may also be worth looking at yourself and asking what are you putting off due to Christmas coming. What changes are you avoiding, what things could you improve, what issues could you confront? Be honest with yourself, have you got genuine reasons for not doing these things, or are they just excuses?

If you have a coach, you wouldn’t be allowed to get away with these things, so why not give yourself an early Christmas present, and arrange a meting with me to see what you could achieve next year if you have your goals clearly set out before you.

Live for today, plan for tomorrow. It is often very hard to get the balance quite right, especially when you are stuck working in your business, desperately trying to make ends meet.

However, it is so important to keep a focus on what is happening right now, because before you know it the time has passed, and an opportunity is missed. How often do you hear people say, once something or some time period is done, that everything will be a lot easier? The specific “obstacle” can be in work or in home life, but the trouble is you can become so focussed on getting past that period, that you miss all the good things that happened or could have happened in that time.

So whilst it is of course essential that you set long term goals and aims, it is vital that while planning for what is yet to come in the months and years to ahead, you do not miss something which could be significant right then, or even potentially life changing for the future. It may even help you to change your mind about future goals.

So, as I have no doubt said before, make sure you enjoy the journey, not just the getting there, because all too often the “pot of gold” is always just out of reach, and there are plenty of gems and good times to be had whilst you are still striving to reach your utopia. Be prepared to be buffeted along the way, and accept a little of what life brings, and then adapt your goals according. Instead of fighting things all the time, perhaps it may be worth embracing life’s events, enjoy what they bring, and be more aware of the now and the fun it can be.

“No” is never “no” until it really is. Perhaps some of you wonder what on earth I mean by that, but it is all to do with not giving up on leads, because time and time again I find that people say “No” for all sorts of reasons, but they don’t always mean no forever, just at that time.

I have always believed in the need to follow up and follow up again, and have been rewarded on many occasions by being persistent. Recently this has happened to me in 3 separate examples. The first had originally said he would work with me, but then was persuaded by a colleague to shelve it as they could change things on their own. When I called 6 months later, as agreed, nothing had changed and he has decided to give it a go. The second has been on the edge of starting for 18 months, but kept finding reasons not to make the final leap of faith. She always was pleased that I had maintained contact over that time, and was in fact impressed that I always called when I said I would. In the end she too has decided to take the plunge and start a programme. The third example was one that I originally met 4 or 5 years ago, and to be honest I hadn’t kept in touch all the time, but fortunately I had obviously left enough of a good impression that when the time came it has been me they turned to.

So whilst some people will take “no” as the final answer, and in fact some don’t even follow up the leads they work so hard to get in the first place, just remember keep going until you are really certain they do not need or want you services. After all you know that your service or product is the best, so why wouldn’t people want to work with you?

The other evening I sat down to watch the film “Saving Mr. Banks” with my wife. We knew it was based on the relationship between Walt Disney and lady who wrote the book of Mary Poppins, but not much beyond that. It turned out to be a remarkably moving film, and perhaps most importantly the relationship or lack of it between father and daughter. Whilst on the face of it Mary Poppins is a light-hearted musical with an American attempting the worst British accent of all time. In reality there is much more to it, including the dark side of the work ethic, and how parents can easily miss their children growing up, and all the fun things that go with that, if they get too embroiled in their job or their own business. The effect this can have on both children and parents alike can be devastating, perhaps more obviously so on children, but in a more suppressed way on the parents as well.

I suppose the point of this is that yet again it brought home to me the importance of why we do things. To have a job or business that prevents you from spending time with your family or from doing the things you really enjoy in life seems to me to be pointless. So clarity of your goals, and the type of lifestyle you want to lead, and indeed what relationships you want with your family and friends are all essential when planning where you want to take your business.

However, although you should be planning for tomorrow, always remember to live for today. Don’t run the risk of waking up one day, only to find you’ve missed it all, because you’ll never get that time back, and you will have a long time to regret it.