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Business Coaching for Success

I am finding that a lot of my meetings with potential new clients are ending in the “not right now” scenario. Yes they love the concept, yes they realise they must do something different to change and improve things, but they want to wait and see what happens over the next couple of months before they actually do anything.

Now of course this is largely my fault that I can’t get them to see that they are just making excuses for themselves, but tough and uncertain financial times can have a very unsettling and unnerving effect on people, and they opt for what they may view as the safest option. But is it really?

The thing is, the doing nothing different, waiting to see what will happen option, is far more likely to lead to a bad outcome. If you realise that things are not going well as it stands, why would you keep on doing the same things? So change of some sort is likely to be beneficial, but why wait to do so. The longer you wait the worse things are likely to get.

Some people simply find the fear of spending any money takes over, and they find themselves almost like the rabbit in the headlights, terrified of what is coming, but unable to move. Naturally it is unwise to spend money you don’t have, but if at all possible, if investment is needed to make changes, or generate leads, then it is essential to do just that.

The businesses that adapt and move, are always the ones that survive, and eventually come out on top. If you look around you and see who is doing what for their business, inevitably the ones who being most innovative, finding newer and better ways of doing things, and investing in change, are the ones who are doing the best.

So are you one of the leaders, making changes, or are you still waiting for the right time?

Are you charging enough for your product or service? When was the last time you raised your prices? Do you worry too much about what others are charging or what people might think of you if you charge high rates? The difference between confidence and arrogance, and not charging enough and charging too much may be minimal, but if you get it wrong it can make a huge difference to your turnover, and more importantly, your profitability.

Often when I meet business owners, they ask me what I am charging. They then start working out my hourly rate, and complaining if they feel it is high. This immediately tells me that they worry about their image when it comes to hourly rates, and generally I can guess that they are under-charging. They give me excuses that they are not greedy (perhaps inferring that I am), and they are not that interested in money, but in reality they are trying to justify to themselves why they keep their prices down. In fact they do not have enough confidence in themselves or their product to raise their prices, because either they are not clear what differentiates them (their USP) or they listen to other people who hold them back and talk them down.

So what should you be doing? Clearly you can’t price yourself out of the market, but forget about your hourly rate and get your clients to focus on the benefits to them, and the value they will derive from your product or service.

Even in tight financial times, have confidence in what you can do for your clients, and therefore be certain that you can easily justify your prices, because (as a well known ad. points out) “you’re worth it”!

Last week was a pretty slow week for me. Nobody seemed to be contactable, a lot were still on holiday, and with all the news in the media promising a double dip recession, I have to confess that my initial enthusiasm for 2012 was rather dampened.

However, a new week quickly brings new opportunities, and I am never one to be down in the dumps for long. Meeting with my clients always gives me a boost, when I see how well they are doing, and how much they have progressed since we started. In fact last year was the best year ever for 3 of my clients, and I met a new client yesterday, who also said that he had had his most successful year. In fact over the last two days I have had numerous very positive communications, and I expect January and February soon to be filled with plenty of new business. As always positive thoughts attract further positive results, and it is no surprise that things have quickly turned around.

Of course there will still be plenty of trials and tribulations ahead, but we never allow ourselves to wallow in self pity as this will always keep us bumping along the bottom.

In talking with numerous different business owners, most of them still feel fairly upbeat about the future, but all complain that the media seem determined to talk things down (as ever this can become self fulfilling).

So let’s stop these doom and gloom merchants from bringing us all down, simply because it is good for their news. The more of us that keep positive, continually talk things up, and keep encouraging each other, then we are more likely to create more business, and ensure that 2012 is a really good year.

So Christmas is over, and I hope you all had a wonderful time with your friends and families. I always find it very hard to get started again after a nice long break, especially when I have really relaxed and enjoyed myself so much. Nevertheless, as for all of us, we need to hit the ground running in the New Year, and possibly more so than ever this January.

So how can we ensure that it is a “happy” new year, and indeed a good one throughout the year? Not easy bearing in mind the economic forecast, and the doom and gloom that the papers and television seem determined to spread about as much as they can. So it is all about believing in ourselves and our businesses, setting ourselves clear and specific targets, and knowing what we must do on a daily and weekly basis to achieve our goals.

It is no good keeping your head down and waiting for it all to go away. If you take that road, by the time you put your head back up again, there is every chance you will no longer have a business. For those of you regularly read my blog you will no doubt have written your goals (financial and otherwise) for the year, and will therefore now be in a position to plan how you are going to reach them. Redouble your efforts this year, not necessarily by working harder, but certainly by working smarter. Set yourself mini-goals (little stops) to achieve your end goals. For example I have determined to improve my conversion rate by 15% this year, so now I must plan the best way(s) to make that happen.

So make sure you do lots and lots of little things, take plenty of actions, and you are far more likely to reach your goals, and indeed have a Happy New Year.

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