Are you going slow enough?

Are you going slow enough?

It goes against our natures as business owners and entrepreneurs; we want to be all go, all the time – after all, isn’t that how we get things done? There’s a whole different line of thinking taking hold in businesses today – mindfulness. It’s not a new idea but it’s one that might not be such a bad idea when it comes to being more productive and focused in your business.

The idea of slowing down in your business is similar to the idea of slowing down when you’re driving in the car – slowing down makes it easier to drive safely and efficiently. It’s easy to want to speed – it’ll get you there quicker – but if you’re speeding up by cutting corners, ignoring warning signs and not following proper procedures, you could end up driving yourself into some nasty terrain!

What can you achieve when you slow down?

  • Focus and Perspective; taking the time to stop and absorb your surroundings means that you can focus on what’s important and concentrate all your energy on that.
  • Insight; slowing down means you can see what’s coming up and you can prepare yourself better for it, instead of waiting until the last minute.
  • Well-thought out conversations; whether you’re conversing in person, online or through your marketing materials, taking the time to think about what you’re going to say before you say it can result in more effective conversations.
  • Reflection; slowing down can give you more time to revisit your goals, assess your progress and readjust.
  • Enjoyment; instead of rushing so fast that you can’t enjoy what you’re creating and achieving, there’s something in stopping to smell the roses and enjoy what you’re doing!
  • Rest and rejuvenation; everything listed above is fantastic, but it might not ever get done if you don’t take a break to make sure you’re well rested so you can get things done.

A study of 343 businesses has found that the companies who were focused on always pushing forward and moving at a fast pace to gain an edge over their competitors were actually more likely to have lower sales figures and operating profits. Those who took time at important moments in their business life were more likely to stay on track and meet targets, showing us that slowing down doesn’t mean that productivity suffers as a result.

It might be easy to talk about slowing down, but how can you actually start to practice ‘being slow’ in your day-to-day business life? Yet another study tells us that 46.9% of the time, we’re thinking about something other than the task we’re involved in, how do we get our mind to focus?

  • Concentrate on one task at a time. Things might get done a little slower, but you’ll be getting the tasks done at a high standard every time.
  • Eat slowly and away from your desk. It might sound a little pointless, but eating slowly means that you enjoy your food, you focus on your senses, you get a little me-time and you fill up from less food, meaning less food breaks later in the day, keeping you efficient.
  • Get moving. A  5-minute walk in-between tasks allows you to clear your head, spend time enjoying the fresh air and ready yourself for the rest of the day.

Even though it goes against everything we’re told to do, taking that time to slow things down and think things through could do wonders for your personal sanity, as well as your business’ growth.

Do you find slowing down difficult or struggle with getting organised and focused so you can be productive? We’d love to speak about how we could help your business to improve its performance. Call Bx on 1300 068 229, or find out more about what we do here http://www.businessforlife.com.au/ProgramFindOutMore

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Do people skills matter in business?

Do people skills matter in business?

In days gone by, technological expertise was more highly regarded than people skills. It was all about what you could do, not necessarily how you interacted with others while you did it. Now, that attitude has shifted quite dramatically. With technological advances, more and more jobs that involve manual labour are being replaced by automation and machines. People skills are more important than ever!

What are people skills?

Whether they’re referred to as social skills, people skills and interpersonal skills, they are essentially all the same; someone’s ability to communicate and interact with others in a positive way.

Those with people skills often exhibit:

  • Behaviour that builds trust easily
  • A reluctance to involve themselves in drama, power grabbing schemes or gossip
  • Respectful behaviour towards the people around them.
  • Great communication skills when it comes to explaining what they want
  • Tact when it comes to delivering bad or inconvenient news
  • Fantastic listening skills
  • A willingness to participate

Fortunately, artificial intelligence hasn’t grasped the concept of emotional intelligence just yet, so now is the chance to be developing our people skills in our businesses and making our businesses known for their exceptional interpersonal skills.

Not only do social skills really improve the relationship between owners and employees or amongst the employees themselves, these skills can also help when it comes to customer interactions or networking with fellow business owners.

How can we develop people skills?

Consciously considering what you’re good at when it comes to interacting with others in your day-to-day business life can be a great place to start developing those people skills. Awareness might be the first step but there is a multitude of different practical ways to be better at interacting with people:

  • Stand out! Are you prone to lurking in the corners at networking events or letting all your customers deal with an online feedback form rather than being accessible? Get out there and make yourself known to other people – just by taking the step towards being accessible is an improvement.
  • Ask personal questions. These shouldn’t be so personal that they make the other person feel uncomfortable. Simply asking what they’re passionate about or what they would do if they won the lottery could open them up and build trust between you.
  • Accept offers. Have you ever been at someone’s house or office when they’ve offered you a glass of water or a snack? How often do you say yes? Saying yes puts your host at ease, makes them feel like they’re being useful and it breaks the ice ever so slightly – if you’re not already in the habit of saying yes, now is the time to start.
  • Listen. It seems simple enough, but it’s one of the hardest things to do. Next time you’re in conversation with someone, listen intently, make eye contact, don’t interrupt and think about what has been said to you before you speak.
  • Ask for feedback. Not only does this give the other person a chance to talk, it shows that you’re willing to improve and it’s another way to build trust in business relationships – you care about what they have to say, and they’ll care about what you’re providing.

People skills are more important than ever – challenge yourself to start trying some of these ways to improve your own interpersonal skills and see how your business benefits from the stronger relationships you form.

Are you harnessing and developing your existing people skills to take your business to the next level? We’d love to speak with you about how we could help your business to improve its performance. Call Bx on 1300 068 229, or find out more about what we do here http://www.businessforlife.com.au/ProgramFindOutMore

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Creating Loyal Customers & Raving Fans

Creating Loyal Customers & Raving Fans

It’s common knowledge that it’s easier to keep existing customers rather than winning over new ones, but this fact can sometimes get lost in amongst the pressure we all feel to be bringing in new customers and growing our business. We get distracted and we start neglecting those customers who have already engaged with us in the past.

Why should you shift your focus to your existing customers?

Have you ever considered how much time and money you spend trying to engage new customers through your marketing? Of course, you have to spend resources in order to make sales, but could some of those resources be better spent looking after your existing customers? Marketing is essential for growing your business, but how much of your marketing is going to people who were once your customers but left for a better solution? Save your time, money and energy by focusing more on your existing customers.

While we’re still talking resources, have you ever considered what will happen when all that marketing pays off? Does your business have all the resources ready to go if, suddenly, a swarm of new customers want to engage? If you become overwhelmed and can’t provide the new customers with the service you promised them or the existing customers with the service they’ve come to love, you could be running the risk of losing everyone all together.

How can you foster loyalty?

You’ve got customers, so how can you make sure they stay with you? It’s less about meeting their expectations and more about going above and beyond!

Be Transparent

Have you ever wanted to buy a product online, only to find they had no clear guide to shipping costs? Maybe it’s an oversight or perhaps it’s a deliberate omission to hide their astronomical prices. Either way, it’s not a good look. Laying everything out clearly for your customer to see is the best way to foster trust.

Be Accessible

Most of the time, it feels like you’re shouting into the void – your email campaigns might show increases in sign ups or sales but it’s less common to have your customers telling you exactly what they think. Provide them with an option to give you feedback and make it front and centre. Not only does it feel less like you’re talking to yourself, but it gives your customers a voice and opens up the communication between you.

Be Knowledgeable

If you were asking someone for directions in a big city, would you trust them if they weren’t even sure where they were or changed their mind constantly? Similarly, in business, it’s important you know where you’ve been, where you are now and where you’re going. Know everything you can about your business so that when, inevitably, a customer asks a question, you can give them a confident answer. How can they trust you if you’re not sure about something you’re supposed to be good at?

Be Consistent

Customers are big fans of consistency. It’s comforting to know that you’ll get the exact same great result every single time and if you are consistent, your customers will become even bigger fans of you. Never sacrifice quality for quantity, no matter how efficient you seem – it will ultimately make your customers lose faith in the service or product you provide.

Be Genuine

You might be selling your product or service but you’re also selling the experience of doing business. Having genuine, honest conversations will keep customers coming back for more and owning up to your mistakes, when you make them, will show your customers you care about the end result. It might seem like a small (and easy) thing, but being genuine could be the reason your customers choose you every time.

Start implementing some of these easy tips today and watch as your customers become raving fans!

 

If you want to find out more about creating Raving Fans or about what we do at Bx, feel free to book a quick 15-20 minute chat with me and we can talk. Book in HERE.

 

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What Makes a Great Mentor? How to Find a Great Mentor.

What Makes a Great Mentor? How to Find a Great Mentor.

Mentoring can be an extremely valuable experience, not only when you’re new to the business world, but right through the life of your business. There is a lot of time and effort involved in creating a successful and effective mentoring relationship and it should never be one-sided. So, what should you expect from your mentor and what should you be doing in return?

Your mentor should:

  • Be a sounding board. Sometimes, you need someone to bounce ideas off and mentors generally have more experience and business knowledge, making them the perfect sounding board for all your ideas, crazy, ambitious or even unrealistic.
  • Give you guidance.  After you’ve thrown ideas at them, you might be expecting your mentor to tell you exactly how you should make those ideas a reality, but unfortunately, that’s not what they’re there for. Rather than give you step-by-step instructions, their role is to offer guidance on what might work – the hard yards are all on you!
  • See the big picture for you. When your head is stuck in your business and deep in paperwork, it can be easy to lose sight of why you’re doing this in the first place. A mentor makes sure you don’t get bogged down or lost amongst all the busyness; your mentor keeps you moving forward, even when you’ve forgotten where you’re going.
  • Set clear boundaries. Are you unsure when the best time is to call your mentor? Do you have a set time to meet every week or month? How long is this mentor/mentee relationship intended to last? If you have a good mentor, you already know the answers to these. Clear boundaries mean that both of you know where you stand and what’s expected of you.

 

Your mentor should not:

  • Run your business for you. A mentor’s job is a little bit like someone helping you to run a marathon. They’re there to prepare you, to give you advice on what it’s like out on the course, but they’re not going to run alongside you every step of the way and make the decisions for you. You can expect them to cheer from the sidelines but expecting them to take up a role in your business is both unrealistic and unreasonable.
  • Tell you what you want to hear. Just like a great friend or a parent, a mentor doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, they tell you what you need to hear. This means that your mentoring journey won’t always be easy, but you can be assured that all of their advice – even if it’s confronting – is for your benefit as well as your business.
  • Be at your beck and call 24/7. The reason you have a mentor is because they know a thing or two about business – this usually means that they have their own, successful business to be running. As a consequence, calling or emailing them several times a day will wear thin very quickly. Respect your mentor’s time and be fully prepared for the designated time you spend together each week or month so you can get the most out of them while you can.

With clear boundaries, mutual respect and an enthusiasm for business, you’ll be on your way to creating a successful business mentoring relationship.

Do you need a mentor? Some coaching? Or just a conversation around getting a mentor?

Feel free to book a quick 15-20 minute chat with me and we can talk. Book in HERE.

 

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