What a great weekend. Wasn’t it lovely to get up each morning to a beautiful sunny day, knowing that it was going to last all day long. Enough to raise everyone’s spirits, and for once to plan a bar-b-q, a trip to the coast, cycle rides, cricket, or what ever else you like to do.

For me, I was able to get on with my garden. Tidying up the worst areas, weeding and most importantly planting out the vegetable patch. Now my knowledge of gardening is generally at best pretty sketchy, but over the years I seem to be getting a little better at it and a little more adventurous. This year in particular I was given a plastic greenhouse, so I have tried to germinate a whole different lot of seeds. Some of them have worked, others have not, but the excitement of trying something new, and to see what I really can achieve is always a thrill.

The old adage of not having 20 years experience, but one years experience repeated 20 times comes to mind. It is tempting to stick with the same old things, and continue to get the same old results, but why not take a few risks and experiment a bit. Last year I was persuaded to give parsnips a go. And they turned out to be the success of the season. Granted, planting new things in a vegetable patch, or new shrubs or flowers in other beds is hardly high risk itself, whilst investing in new ideas or people in a business is a far more daunting prospect. However, if you want to keep on learning, improving yourself, your business and create opportunities for your staff to grow as well, then why not take some calculated risks. Try something new, you never know, the outcome might be the best thing you have ever achieved.

We are always told to make a good first impression when we meet people, many of us from a very early age. First with friends of your parents, then perhaps with distant relatives, school teachers and colleagues and so on through life. But why is it so important, surely it can’t make that much difference in life.

However, in my experience, from what I have heard, read, and seen for myself, first impressions can determine the way things go in many walks of life. People are very quick to judge and make assumptions. If they don’t like what they see or hear, they may quickly form an adverse opinion of you, from which there may never be a way back. Conversely, if people take an immediate liking to you, then you have to do something pretty bad to lose their friendship and trust.

The reason I bring this up today, is because in a time where getting business is vital to all of us, don’t blow an opportunity by failing to plan things properly. Be professional, look good, plan how the meeting should go, and research your leads thoroughly before you meet them. Where possible “pre-sell” to them before going to see them, so you have a feel for what they may be like and what they will want from you.

Remember, as you walk through the door, they will be forming a near instant opinion of you. So prepare well and make a great first impression.

I seem to be finding that what with the rising price of petrol and other commodities, and a general feeling of uncertainty in the air, that the “marketplace” is a fickle mistress at the moment, and is likely to be for some time to come. Consequently, despite my overall optimism that things are getting better (borne out by a good first quarter for me and the majority of my clients), I am not completely relaxed about the situation, as I know circumstances can change very quickly. So now is not a time to sit back and await developments. Now is the time to think again – look at the possible scenarios ahead, and plan.

Never has the old adage “If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you always got” been truer. So if you’re finding that your leads are reducing, that the incoming calls are dropping, your staff are underemployed, and the business seems to be in decline – do something fast. What can you change? Where else can you look for leads and more business? What other services or products could you add to your portfolio? If you sit waiting for the market to pick up, for the calls to increase, for things to get better, and wonder why nothing is happening, your business is in danger of gradually shrinking and ultimately dying.

Keep ahead of the game. Don’t sit wondering if one bad month was just a blip, and blame it on something out of your control. Assume the worst, and work out how you will stay afloat and beat the competition. That way when we do finally come out of this financial downturn, you will be ready to prosper and flourish.