Being patient and persistent is a very important part of making a success of your sales and marketing campaigns. I have been working with a couple of my clients on these fronts quite recently, and I have had to impress this on them because they seem all too willing to give up far too quickly.

If you have decided to do a telemarketing campaign, and after 20 or 30 calls or even 50 have yet to get a qualified lead, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t work. You need to keep on at it, modifying the way you say things, or changing your questioning process, until you find the best way to get meetings. It is no good doing a few calls and then get dispirited and give up.

Of course as a business coach it is a big part of my role to keep people going, and to ensure that they do the things they least like doing. With a number of my clients, until they know me, they will act like the child, starting on something, giving up and then hoping I will do it for them. But I am not going to let them get away with this, and I will always throw it back at them to have another go. Sometimes it is cash flows, sometimes business structure, sometimes marketing plans, and whilst I will help them to take the right course, and ask the right questions to lead them to their desired outcome, ultimately it should be up to them to do it.

So “tough love” is the best way forward. If I take it off their hands they will never learn, and will always be dependent on me. However, ultimately if they want a business that can work without them, and the only way for that to happen is to keep on at it until they have learnt what it takes, and they have taught their team the same lessons.

The last week or so has been rather frustrating for me, as I have had a number of meetings cancelled or postponed. The reasons have been varied, but mostly because the sort of businesses I deal with are often family run, and of course at this time of year a lot of people find that family holidays and other commitments tend to take over. Also, the employees of these businesses take holidays as well, and as a result late postponements of meetings can easily occur.

Naturally I am aware of this possibility, but nevertheless it can be a little annoying, and if several people cancel in a row, it can be a little dispiriting as well. However, for those of you who regularly read my blog will know, I am not one for dwelling on the negatives for long, as I know that things will soon improve. In fact last week when I was having a little moan to my team, I quickly realised that not only was this going to drag my employees down too, it also meant that I was far more likely to attract further negative events. Consequently I snapped out of this attitude, and said that I was certain that bad things never continued for long, and that no doubt I would soon be feeling completely different. Within an hour or so of this statement, I received a call from a great new lead and booked a meeting which I am certain will result in more new business. Positive thoughts attracting positive things.

So if you find yourself feeling that the world is against you, don’t dwell on this for long, as it won’t help you to turn things around. If you find it difficult to think positive on your own, call me, because I feel certain that I can help you.

Now it is holiday time of year, do you think about whether you will leave your mobile phone behind, or do you automatically take it with you? In other words are you confident enough to leave your team to run the business without you while you are away, knowing that on your return everything will be just as it should be?

The thing is holidays should be a time to recharge your batteries. A time to de-stress, a time to relax, and a time to give your entire attention to your friends and family. If you have your phone with you there is always a chance that someone will feel they need to contact you, either someone from your business who wants to pass responsibility for a decision on to you, or possibly one of your clients wanting to ask a question or even moan about something. Every time you get a call, although it may be easy to deal with, or it many only take a few minutes, it breaks into your relaxation and there is bound to be a period while you still have the conversation on your mind, and you may worry about the consequences or outcomes of what you discussed. Of course there is also always the temptation to call the office yourself to check all is O.K. from time to time.

However if you create a business with a clear structure and a team who are prepared to take responsibility, then there should be no reason to take your phone, and as a result you can go away with a clear mind and you can properly unwind for the full week or two you are away. It is better for you, better for your family, and even better for your team, who understand that you are happy to let them run the business without you.

So if you like the sound of this, and would like to know how to achieve it, come and speak to me, because I practice what I preach.

Are you ever guilty of not taking things as far as you should or can? In other words do you allow yourself excuses for not finishing things because you are able to blame others for not doing what they should be doing?

Recently I had a very interesting coaching session with one of my clients who was extremely frustrated because he couldn’t seem to move things forward to where he wanted them to be. So first of all we needed to identify what it was that was stopping him from delegating more, and thereby freeing up time to achieve his targets. It quickly became evident that there were three key things which had to be sorted out, and the rest would then fall into place. One was to chase up on an outstanding debt, second was to employ an extra person in his workforce, and the third was to automate a system which would speed up invoicing and free up time. In each case he had initiated actions, but none of them had been properly pursued to their conclusion, and as a result they were all constantly on his mind, and that was stopping him from fully concentrating on anything else. The trouble is, when you have key things like this hanging over you, you tend to flit from one thing to the next, not completing anything, and gradually becoming more and more frustrated.

So the key is to take these big issues to a conclusion or, at the very least, as far as you can, and make sure you have done everything possible to sort them out. Don’t just send an email or make a call and wait for something to happen, allowing the fact that they didn’t reply to be an excuse for you not to take things further. Keep on calling, keep emailing, look into other options ,and ensure that you leave nothing undone which could be done. That way, at least you can rest assured, that whatever the outcome, you have covered every aspect you could to achieve your aims.

As I said to my client, when I next call you, ask yourself if you can honestly tell me if there is anything more you could have done. If the answer is yes, do it and you will feel a lot happier.

Meeting with one of my more established customers earlier this week, it came home to me yet again how important it is to deal with the “rotten apple” in your team.

In this example the person concerned was very good at disguising his disruptive influence. In fact so much so, that the business owner actually thought that it was another member of staff who was causing the problems. These sort of people are always making snide remarks behind people’s backs, they criticise their bosses (but only very subtly), and they manipulate their colleagues into saying things about each other, resulting in a generally unhappy and discontented office environment.

Fortunately in this case, this individual was pulled up for not following procedures, and believing he was better than that, he decided to leave the company, telling everyone that he was going to a fair superior business where he would be paid a lot more. His parting shot to the business owner was “You do know that nobody is very happy in this business, and that you are not a good boss, don’t you!” Naturally enough my client was quite upset by this, but subsequently he now realises that this was all a front.

The result of this self proclaimed star leaving, is that everyone is now far happier, systems are being adhered to, productivity levels have increased, and the atmosphere in the office is completely different now. It is now quite clear what a negative effect the “rotten apple” was having, and evident how important it is to weed them out of your business as soon as possible.

Approximately once every quarter I run a “Business Boost” seminar. It lasts around 1½ hours, and it takes people through the sort of process which I use to help business owners create a business which can work without them. I understand that most business owners know what they should be doing, or indeed what they are avoiding, but I take them through the outline of the step by step process which will ensure their business becomes the enterprise which will allow them to achieve their goals and dreams.

As such this is a seminar which is relevant to all business owners. The start up owners, so they can learn what pitfalls to avoid, and what they need to work on and put in place first and foremost to ensure they have the structure and systems in place to support their growth. The business which has been going for a few years, but has now stalled, and needs to re-group and re-invigorate, so the drive and enthusiasm comes back. Or the long term business, where the business owner can’t ever see the end of working, and is needing to learn how they can create a structure and team which can run the business without the constant attention of the owner themselves.

In every instance it starts by understanding clearly what the end point of the business is, and why. This allows clarity of how big the business needs to become to allow it to provide the financial outcomes to support the personal goals of the business owners. Once that is established it is so much easier to create a structure, systems and turnover targets which can be broken down into step by step actions.

So if you are a business owner either starting out or having lost your way, why not come along on Wednesday 9th July and find out how I can help you to create the business you have always dreamt of.

Self confidence is a wonderful thing. Some seem to have it naturally oozing out of them, others need to be consistently re-assured to give them self-confidence, and others never seem to have any at all. The thing is, having self-confidence allows you to do things and achieve things which others can’t. You only need to look at top sportsman, or great public speakers to know that they are certain of their abilities, and as a result not only convince themselves of success, but others around them also believe in them and what they can and will achieve.

However, for many of us, perhaps it isn’t quite that black and white. Confidence seems to come and go, depending on your frame of mind and what is going on, in your life. Sometimes I feel absolutely certain that I will make a sale, or hit a good shot on a golf course, whereas at other times I’m not so sure. So it is all about ensuring that you are in the right place as much as possible to ensure you do achieve the good things you believe you can.

That is why it is so important to have systems in place when it comes to selling. You need to replicate all the good things which you know work, and in that way you build up your own self-confidence, so by the time you are face to face with a potential client, you know that your chances of getting their business are high. Conversely if you are sitting in front of a lead, not believing in yourself, they will see it in your eyes, and feel it all around you, and consequently they are far less likely to buy from you.

So if you are struggling with your self-confidence, always remember how you reached your greatest success, and strive to replicate those feelings. If however, you can’t seem to do that on your own, find a coach, like me, who can help you.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my business is re-awakening people’s reasons as to why they are doing what they do. It has the same effect on everyone, whether they are large successful business, or smaller ones struggling for survival, because all too often the people I work with have forgotten or suppressed their “Why”, and they find they are simply going through the motions, no longer getting any pleasure from the work they do. The trouble is, it is all too easy to slip into the routine that ends up with the same old thing year after year, just getting by. However, this never allows the business owner to enjoy the benefits of their hard work, and all they can see is doing the same thing forever, because they have to.

Once I start to ask questions about why they are doing it, and I start to explore what they envisaged when they set up their business, I can start to see the light come back into their eyes, as they start to remember all the lovely things they had envisaged when they began their journey. Sometimes I find that people have never really voiced what they really want in life, and the chance to talk about it, rekindles their desire and enthusiasm, and invariably they find a new purpose in what they are doing.

So if you have lost your way, take time to sit back and remember why you started your business. Think about your goals, envisage all the good things you want, and then decide on the best way to achieve them. Sometimes you can do this yourself, but sometimes it might help to have someone like me to help you.

“Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.” I don’t know who said this, or even that it isn’t just anecdotal, but either way I agree strongly with the sentiment. If everything we do or attempt to do is always easy, then everyone would be doing it, and there would be little to no satisfaction in having completed or achieved the task set. The point is that although many of us may feel at one time or another that we wished something were simpler to achieve, so it could be done in less time or with fewer obstacles to overcome, in reality the knowledge that we have accomplished something through adversity, or simply by hard graft, gives us real pleasure when it is done.

To have to fight for something, to challenge ourselves, and to learn how to do things we never previously thought possible is what separates the leaders from the rest. The business owners and entrepreneurs are the ones who blaze the trail, and generally they have had to do things the hard way. They have to work hard, they have to set rules, they have to make tough decisions, and above all they have to inspire others by leading them towards their vision.

I recently took on a new client who has quite a few challenges. Generally the business is sound, but she recognised that a lot had to be done to get more controls into the business, and then to build it to the end goals she has for it. She said her initial reaction was that in the face of all that had to be done she thought she would simply sell it, but on reflection she realised that it would make a lot more sense to put in the graft and find the ways to make it work. People with that kind of attitude will always achieve good things, and I will be pleased to help her by pointing her in the right direction, and holding her accountable for taking the appropriate actions.

I wonder if as a child you will remember playing the game “Consequences.” Basically each person took it in turns to write a name, and then a place where they met, what they said or did to each other, and then finally “and the consequence was…..” And the point is that for everything said or done there should be a consequence, particularly if the thing done was detrimental to others. Without getting too political, once again we find our MP’s claiming money where they shouldn’t be, and as usual there have been no real consequences, and apart from a less than convincing apology, essentially nothing has changed. As a result of that, I am prepared to bet that it will only be a matter of time before yet another scandal arises, along exactly the same lines.

The same thing applies to business. Staff should understand that should they decide to step outside the business rules, upset customers, break or lose tools, and/or generally flaunt the systems in your business, then there will be consequences. I regularly meet business owners who are pulling their hair out because their staff are continually doing things they shouldn’t be, and as a result they lose money on a job, or potentially even a client. The staff member or members apologise profusely saying it will never happen again, the owner grudgingly accepts this hoping for improvements in their work ethics, and a few months later exactly the same thing happens.

The only way to ensure that things change and improve, is to ensure that there are consequences for the originator of the problem, not just for the business and the business owner. Make it clear what the consequences are, and impose them. I guarantee it won’t be long before you see considerable changes for the better.