Business Coaching Tips To Help You Grow Your Business
Last week, I had the pleasure and privilege to attend the 2011 Australian Open Tennis Championship. In one of the semi-final matches, Novak Djokovic was playing the legendary Roger Federer and at one point had “vision problems”… Due to dry contact lenses.
So you’d think he would have eye drops in his bag…. Nope!
Can you believe that?!?!?
A multi-millionaire tennis player who wears contact lenses doesn’t have eye drops in his bag.
DUHHHH!!!!
But it gets WORSE.
I recently came across this great list of articles. The reason they stood out is because they had great headlines.
Killer Kopywriting™ is a skill I teach my clients. One of the foundational principles of great copywriting is to assemble great examples, I call them Killer Kopywriting Kases™, many copywriters call them swipe files.
When you review this list, you’ll learn some of the tips, tricks and techniques of writing a great headline:
Sometimes I wonder if some entrepreneurs know what business they’re in… This image made me laugh because it reminded me of so many business owners who don’t know who their clients are and what they should be doing for them.
I know it seems like an obvious question, but trust me, it’s not. Read More »»
One of the many questions I get when I introduce myself as The Exponential Growth Strategist is “So does that mean you’re a motivational speaker or guru?”
That’s when I realise a lot of people don’t know the difference between what I am, a mentor versus a motivator.
As a reader or subscriber to this blog, you’re well aware of the Exponential Strategies I teach my clients. One of the foundational principles is to create value and the leverage will come, on its own, as if by magic. I have several award-winning clients, but one sticks out right now well above the others BECAUSE Ray Keefe is the first one to fully leverage the value of the many awards he has recently won…PLUS…
He’s taken it one step further to include me in his exponential approach.
You can read all about it in the article “Mentor engineers success” in this month’s edition of the Business South East Magazine.
As you read through the brief article, you’ll recognise this as FREE ADVERTISING for both Successful Endeavours and Exponential Programs.
It’s a win-win-win situation.
We both win and YOU win.
You win because you get undeniable proof what I teach works. You get someone else’s perspective on what it means to be mentored by a business coach, straight from a client, in a completely different setting and context.
You can’t buy that kind of advertising.
So there you have it, one MORE REASON to contact us about our business mentoring services – by the way, when you qualify, our Platinum Program comes with a 300% Results-Based Guarantee!
Today’s blog post is an extension of one of my most popular products called Squash Lessons For Marketing. As a business coach, I mentor business people who are very ambitious and think their #1 goal is to beat their competitors. Using the squash analogy of dominating the T instead of your competitor is the difference between a good player and a top grade “champion”. When you dominate the T in squash, you’ll win the game regardless of the competitor. It’s that simple.
In business it’s the same thing – by dominating the T, it doesn’t matter WHO you’re up against, you will win. That is much better than having tricks up your sleeve to beat ONE opponent because you know his/her weaknesses. That doesn’t help you one bit when you come up to the next competitor!
Think about it.
That’s what this blog is all about – getting you to THINK about what you’re doing and not doing. If you’d like me to become your business mentor, contact me at your convenience and we’ll see if you’re up to joining my team of Platinum Program members – we/they play like champions by focusing on IMPROVEMENT rather than just winning.
I was recently working with a client, Bree Robbins of Paddington Pups in Brisbane. As her business coach and mentor, we were discussing how she can differentiate herself within her existing product and service offering.
I’m not advocating this is the primary theme, but rather a secondary or additional Pathway to Profit™.
When a dog attends a doggy day care it’s not just about having someone else bear the burden of keeping it for you. There are many socialisation skills your dog will benefit from.
For Bree to become an expert, she needs to start documenting what she already knows about dog socialisation skills. For example:
By documenting her expertise, Bree is able to demonstrate her level of skill and mastery across multiple media, including her blog, direct mail, classes and of course YouTube.
One of the reasons I like to blog is to find and then share stuff you otherwise would never come across on your own. I got this request by email and thought it was a great idea. Sometimes you have to get our of your box and try something new to get a different result.
If you want to grow your sales, you need to improve and enhance the clarity of your communications. One quick and easy way is to define what you mean when you use terms and definitions. For example, I explain all my exponential syntax, vocabulary and business definitions on a special page on this blog. I am constantly updating and revising it. If anyone needs clarification, I can cut and paste the URL in an email and instantly everything makes sense.
http://www.exponentialprograms.com/business/blog/definitions/
If something is still unclear, I can revise and update that particular definition, quickly and easily. Of course this has substantial SEO value, but that is a topic for my Internet Mastery Blog!
By having this tool, I can choose to use it whenever there is doubt or the need to reinforce a point of distinction.
I often get asked which of our business coaching systems is appropriate for you. It actually depends on who you are and where you’re at in business. I’ve summarised the various options here for you.
The Silver Business Mastery Massive Momentum Membership™ combines all the necessary elements you need to get your business going and growing. Delivered electronically, each element has been specifically chosen to get your business on the fast track to profits as economically as possible.
This is for you if you…
The Gold Business Mastery Massive Momentum Membership™ has been designed and compiled for demanding and ambitious business owners like you who not only want to get on the fast track to profits, but want to take the Next Best Step™ laying the foundation for business growth using exponential strategies that explode your income, increase your pay cheque consistently and turn your hidden assets into cold, hard cash!
This is for you if you…
The VIP Business Mastery Massive Momentum Membership™ includes most of the components of the results-based Platinum Program™ to accommodate business people who don’t live in or can’t commute to Sydney or Melbourne but want the very best exponential marketing strategies on a high-intensity basis to keep themselves accountable to the highest standards of excellence and performance in their business and career.
This is for you if you…
The Business Mastery Platinum Program™ – the Unique 12-Month MasterMind Experience that will Unleash Exponential Growth and Profitability in your Business or Professional Practice, by Leveraging the World’s Best Exponential Marketing, Sales, Lead Generation Systemisation and Peak Performance Strategies, with an Unheard-of Money-Back Result Guarantee of a Minimum 300% Return on your program investment.
This is for you if you…
In my Killer Kopywriting System, I explain the interaction of emotional versus logical content needs to be addressed to move people to action. The diagram below illustrates that as the volume of content increases, the time in the conversation also increases and if you are going to move people to take action, you must transform your syntax and vocabulary to a more emotive tone, focusing more on benefits than features.
Easier said than done if you’re not a gifted wordsmith!
That’s why I’ve designed a multi-step copywriting system, not to turn you into a copywriter (that’s not going to happen AND it’s a career, not a task!) but to make you aware of the importance of establishing your voice and persona within your various conversations. Have a look at the site that explains the complete course curriculum – it’s all included in our Platinum Program.
Killer Kopywriting To Konvert More Klients
This is a great idea to raise funds for charity. I share ideas like this with you to show you that when you adopt Exponential Mindset Thinking™ you can and will become more creative and innovative. Exposure to new and different ideas stimulates your Reticular Activation System (RAS) so it gets easier and easier with time. Like a muscle, your brain can be trained to seek out new ideas. Enjoy this video and let me know which one you think won the race.
Every once in a while someone needs to get fired. It’s distasteful, but it’s necessary. If you are grappling with an under-performing employee, contractor or supplier, you need to fire them as soon as you’ve given them all the chances and opportunities to change.
Oprah said it best when she said “When someone shows you who they are…. Listen.”
Simply put, if you’ve had enough – MAKE THE DECISION and move on.
Pulling the plug is never easy, I know. I am not one to jump to conclusions, but EVERY TIME, with hindsight – you ALWAYS wish you had done it sooner.
Napoleon wisely said “95% of problems solve themselves. The other 5% need QUICK attention because they are costing you a fortune.”
A recent study of Family Businesses revealed that Australia’s ageing family business owners have a big problem. According to new research on the family business sector, 45% are actively planning to sell their businesses and 61.3% would seriously consider selling now. On top of this, 25.2% of family firms say they have been approached regarding a sale in the last 12 months. There is just one problem – these business owners, who control a large chunk of Australia’s $1.6 trillion family business sector, are simply unlikely to get enough from the sale to fund their retirement. To read more about this, please go to the original article “No exit for family business” that was sent to me by electronics expert Ray Keefe of Successful Endeavours in Melbourne.
Monica and I were in Perth recently for an event we staged for engineers, called Slide Rule Thinking In The Internet Age. We had difficult getting a taxi and walked over to a hotel lobby and asked the concierge to call us a taxi. That’s when limousine driver/owner Graeme Main showed up offering a free ride to the event venue. Of course we accepted. He explained he does this to promote his service to a discerning clientele, with no strings attached.
I was blown away by his sincerity and authenticity which is why I wanted to blog about it. If you’re in Perth and need a hire car or limousine, Graeme’s your man. He can be reached on his mobile on 0414 392 226.
Moral of this story – “pay it forward” and you’ll be amazed what people will do to reward you!
Thanks Graeme!
I’ve had a supplier for several years (identity hidden because I didn’t like them and this is not about bashing someone’s product or reputation) and recently needed a new service. We went out looking for the new service, selected it and a week AFTER the purchase was made, my existing supplier (of another service) sent me an email and BURIED in it was the mention that they offered the service I just bought and I had NO IDEA WHATSOEVER that they offered it. Not only was I not a happy client, I wasn’t even a suspect or prospect for their other service. I never even considered it!
The moral of the story is self-evident – if you don’t tell your clients what you have to sell, they won’t buy.
It just amazes me how much effort people put into finding NEW LEADS when all the sales they ever wanted could be right there with their existing clients…
Something to think about!
If you haven’t seen this video, it’s a great metaphor for Exponential Mindset Thinking™, coming up with great solutions to apparently “unsolvable problems”. We have an event coming up called Etch-A-Sketch Thinking In The iPad Age that introduces you to this idea of coming up with fresh new ideas that get you out of trouble quickly and easily!
If you’re not sure business coaching will work for you, the following checklist will provide you with a guide to what is involved in using business coaching as a way of helping you develop a greater understanding of business processes and practices, equip you with the skills to improve your potential and performance so you can grow your business efficiently and effectively. An effective business coach can work with you to expand on these issues to achieve stronger performance in these areas of your business and your life.
Good business coaching begins with separating the behaviour from the person and that in turn means identifying the cause of the problem rather than the effect. It will therefore be necessary for the business coach to listen to you to discover what the obstacles are that prevent you from attaining optimum performance. Ensure you are ready for a collaborative partnership to learn and/or achieve business and personal results. More bluntly, be ready to hear what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. Honesty can be brutally hard to accept.
What I do differently as a business coach: First, I teach you the 4 Keys To Success. They enable you to get absolute clarity on your outcomes and goals. Most of my programs come with a Results-Based Guaranteebusiness coach does not guarantee his or her results – you need to ask yourself “Why not?” which means we are both aiming for the measureable result that gets tracked and monitored. If your
Sometimes problems exist because you may think that your performance is acceptable; with your business coach you’ll be able to get a new perspective on the problems and channel your ideas, goals and challenges to craft cohesive and prioritized strategies that will provide insights which will in turn result in tangible progress that can be tracked with measurable results.
Ask yourself the following questions: How do I get there from here? Where has this worked? What will it cost and what is the return on investment? You can then say to your business coach, “Here’s what I want to do. What do you know about it and how can you help me?”
Develop strategies that will enable you to work smarter rather than harder, with your focus on the issues and actions that matter the most. The use of creative problem-solving tools to inspire new ideas and approaches should be adopted these include MindMapping and leveraging a Mastermind Group.
You can benefit from talking to your business coach about your past experiences, goals, plans and skills as well as his/her own career path to develop useful problem solving strategies. Your business coach will help you discover where you want to go and find effective ways for you to get there by putting in place strategies to achieve both career and life goals.
What I do differently as a business coach: I triangulate, which is a fancy word to say I integrate the strategies of peak performance coach Anthony Robbins, marketing legend Jay Abraham and sales master trainer Brian Tracy. I am the only person I know of that can combine the strategies to Unleash The Exponential Potential™ that is within your business or career with an easy-to-follow process. I also conduct my business coaching creating an Exponential MasterMind Group experience.
A clear plan has to be developed that includes measurable outcomes. You and your coach will agree on the focus and what will change. Set objectives and goals for which your business coachwill provide the necessary support to accomplish; that will include a business plan to ensure that you will be able to maximize sales and profits. Your goals will have to be continually reassessed to make sure that you are achieving the desired results.
The approach to reaching your goal may sometimes be less about self discovery and more of a ‘how-to’ lesson on career development, so discuss ideas that are pertinent to your goals and objectives Create a comprehensive action plan that will assist you in moving forward and achieving your desired outcome(s).
Since business coaching is an ongoing process you need to set a target number of hours to build rapport with your business coach and really engage with him/her. Typically 3 months to 2 years is the period within which to produce tangible results; it’s not a magic bullet or a quick fix, your business coach is there to guide you but you will have to be prepared to fix yourself. The focus of the meetings between you and your business coach will be to solve problems, to develop new skills, or to work on objectives described in the plan for change. Be prepared to take the responsibility for undertaking any agreed strategies and actions.
What I do differently as a business coach: I have created a Business Building Blueprint™ that captures everything you need to do to achieve your goals and outcomes on one single piece of paper.
Your business coach must have the right skills and also know where and how to get relevant information and know-how that will allow you to tap into a range of resources and get access to the available supportive business building networks where you will be able to build solid relationships. These relationships will assist you and your business coach to identify new and exciting opportunities for growing your business.
You will have to implement systems for automating your business processes. This will save you time and money.
What I do differently as a business coach: I will help you find and develop Host-Beneficiary Partnerships to have others help you grow your business for free. They are very complex, but exceptionally potent. Once I’ve shown you how to construct them, you’ll be able to establish your own, multiplying your results geometrically.
business coaching is a very real way to fully leverage learning and change. You need to assess your own capabilities, strengths and weaknesses and work on developing new skills that will improve your self-discipline, self-motivation and self-confidence to propel you to break through any mental barriers you have.
You may choose to set up a Personal Development Plan for yourself to identify new skills that you need to develop.
What I do differently as a business coach: I introduce you to stuff and things you would never find on your own. For example, I have a website devoted to them, called Antimimeticisomorphism with a secret sister site with a growing collection of examples. When you realise this is what I share for FREE with the public, you can imagine what I keep hidden and secret for my clients! I’ve read over 3,000 academic articles and read more than 100 business books a year (yes, I am a speed reader) so you get the advantage of my acquired knowledge and expertise.
business coaching provides a very significant return on investment through improved productivity and clearer communication. For some people success will be measured in financial results, whereas for others it will be about meeting and exceeding their goals, or career success/satisfaction and climbing the corporate ladder.
Setting up systems to measure and report on the indicators that will provide a snapshot of your business health is one way to measure your performance.
What I do differently as a business coach: I provide a RESULTS-BASED GUARANTEE, which means they have to be measured.
Develop goals for balancing life and work, have your business coach become your accountability partner and assist you to develop practical strategies for balancing your life and business commitments, managing overwork and overwhelm, and managing stress.
What I do differently as a business coach: I am a top 20 world-ranked masters squash player who hasn’t had a sick day in 20 years. I practice what I preach. When you select a business coach, you need to pick one that has the principles you want to live by. Success in business should not come at the cost of your personal life or health. In fact, it should enhance and amplify it.
We’ve all heard of the classic money back guarantee, but where else have you heard of someone guaranteeing results? That’s exactly what we’re doing for our next 2 programs – Etch-A-Sketch Thinking In The iPad Age and Become The Next Corporate Rockstar.
Everyone gets to a point where they run out of fresh new ideas. What if there was a way to always have ideas ready to be deployed? What if these strategies were proven to work? How about is they were GUARANTEED to work?
That’s the premise of this unique event. We’re GUARANTEEING that you will produce at least $5,000 in the next 12 months as a result of attending the program. There is no legal fine print, no strings attached.
We can and are putting our money where our mouth is. No hype. No exaggerations. No smoke and mirrors. A simple iron-clad Results-Based Guarantee.
You can click on the image or this hyperlink > Etch-A-Sketch Thinking In The iPad Age. When all is said and done, if we’re willing to GUARANTEE $5,000 in the next 12 months, you can only imagine how much we expect you to make!
With millions of baby boomers nearing retirement, thousands of businesses are about to be put up for sale in the next few years, which could result in an oversupply, forcing the price of businesses down. In a previous post, I discussed the impact on family businesses. The situation could possibly escalate to the point where some businesses end up closing up shop because they are unable to get a good price for their life’s blood, sweat and tears.
Small business owners should start planning at least three years before retirement to get the best possible price for a business. This is to ensure profitability is satisfactory, the risks that can be mitigated are addressed for the future owner and most importantly, the tax implications of a sale are properly considered and planned for.
- Dependence on a few key customers and suppliers,
- Revenue streams not protected by contracts,
- Intellectual property which has not been protected,
- Insufficient diversification of products or services and
- Dependence on key employees who are not locked in.
4. Can the business operate without you? Most small business owners are very hands-on in their business. They hold all the key relationships with customers and suppliers, hire and fire all the staff, control the finances and set strategy. An owner-centric business will not be attractive to a buyer because the risk to future profitability after the owner’s departure is too great. While there is some value and risk reduction in key employees holding some of the key relationships, this is what I call building a business no one wants to buy. With enough time, you can properly structure the business to transfer those key relationships to key employees which brings us to the last point.
5. Consider KEY employees in your exit and sale of the business. Retention of key staff is paramount for a new owner. This reduces the risk and flows on to an increase in the value of the business for obvious reasons. It’s important to communicate any exit or business sale plans with key staff as early as possible to gain their support and avoid any unexpected surprises. Ensuring that staff transferring to the new owner are looked after will assist in any transition and enhance the value of the business. Who knows, existing key staff might be prospective buyers of the business! “People buying a business are looking for traps or hidden risks. The quality of the information you provide to a prospective buyer about your business must be truthful and fully transparent. You have to be able to provide a credible answer as to why you are selling, be prepared to be restrained from acting in competition to the purchaser among several other considerations.
If you get started now, documenting your Management By Metrics™ and Pathways To Profits™, you’ll not only substantially increase the value of your business, you’ll attract more buyers, potentially eliminating the need to deal with an expensive business broker.
