Recently I seem to have come across several clients with similar issues with regards to their sales. Two companies have become incredibly reliant on one big customer, which of course makes them potentially very vulnerable, and another client has a sales team where one of them relies on getting a few very large orders in the year, whilst the other chases repeat business all the time, and again this causes problems for them as individuals and the company as a whole.

The point is, that it clearly shows the importance of spreading the risk and planning on the sort of customers you want to have on board. A few big customers alone can end up dictating the way you run your business, the pricing levels, when they will pay etc etc. Whilst it is nice to have big chunks of income, the people who I meet working like this are invariably being bullied and are constantly worried about losing these key customers. Equally chasing lots and lots of small businesses is incredibly hard work, and can mean that you fail to hit targets or even break-even on occasion.

People often tell me they don’t set budgets because you can never tell what is going to come in, but it is precisely the action of setting budgets which allows you to plan your marketing, and ensure you do hit your goals. In other words you plan the different customers you want to take on monthly and yearly, where they are going to come from, and how and what you intend to sell to them. This should be a combination of some large, some small, some you can sell to lots of times, some may be one offs. However, by having a wide spectrum of target markets and clients, you can ensure that one way or another you always hit your break-even at the very least, and more often than not you do a lot better than that.

The other day one of my clients said something to me, which surprised, but also pleased me. It was something I had never heard or considered before, but essentially she said she always felt very nervous before I came to see her, but really enjoyed the coaching sessions once we got started.

This prompted me to wonder if this is a common theme amongst business owners considering whether coaching is the right way forward for them, and it made me wonder if in fact this was one of the reasons why people do not take it on board.

I have often talked about fear of failure and fear of success being reasons for not making changes, but perhaps fear of the coaching process as a whole may also be stopping people. I suppose for many revealing their weaknesses, and admitting to not being able to deal with different aspects of running their business is a big step to take, and for many it may simply feel like a admission that they made a mistake starting up their own business, and that they are not capable of making it work without outside assistance.

However, allowing people into your business, and allowing people to help you is of course the most sensible way forward, and in fact I would argue that it is the stronger business owners who follow this path, because they don’t feel threatened by others doing things for them, or advising them on ways to improve things.

All the most successful people in the world surround themselves with other successful people, and people who are experts at what they do. So why not let go admit to yourself that you need help, and find a compatible coach who can lead you and your business forward.