Random Thoughts on Business

Sometimes the best solution to business problems is to brainstorm ways to fix them.

In that vein, here are some tips that I think you’ll enjoy and get some value from.

• You get paid for done.
• Handling adversity often is the difference between success and failure. You will get knocked down. You will get humbled. What you do after that happens will determine how high you climb.
• An idea by itself is almost always worthless. It’s how you execute the idea that matters. Focus on execution.
• Sell people what they want. Then give them what they need.
• Use surveys to learn who your clients and prospects really are and what they really want.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Have more than one lead source.
• Best beats first. You may not have been the first in your market but it doesn’t matter as long as you commit to being the best.
• Success without work is a lie and doesn’t happen EVER. If you’re starting out, assume that the path to beating the competition requires you to work harder and be better if you want to win.
• Define your goals. Be clear on what you want. From big picture goals like earning $250,000 per year to daily goals like getting two new leads or one new client – the more specific, the better.
• If it’s important, track it: leads, FEOs, closed sales, retention. If you don’t track it, you can’t improve it.
• I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve gotten a follow-up letter or card or call from anybody I’ve spent money with over the past year. It just never happens. And this was the best kind: thank you + sales pitch. There’s a very simple formula for you. Send thank you cards and make an offer or ask for a referral.
• Know who you are and who you’re really trying to serve.
• You want better clients that refer more? Educate them. The ones who “buy in” will become your biggest advocates.
• If I were starting out, I’d be sure to narrow what I’m known for It’s the easiest way to become a market leader.
• Time is life. We all have less of it today that we did yesterday. So quit wasting days doing things that aren’t getting you closer to where you want to be. Otherwise, you’ll look up and a decade will have passed, making it even harder to make big changes.
• At least weekly I get asked variations of this question: “How do I get more clients?” The answer is this: “Get one today. Get another tomorrow. Get another the day after that.” That is the best answer no one wants to hear. They’d rather spend the next 3 months looking for a magic way to get 100 clients than simply get one a day for those same 3 months. Which do you think will work better?
• On that same note: You have two jobs and two jobs only: 1. Deliver a GREAT experience. 2. Make sure that EVERY DAY more people try your experience. Do those 2 things daily and you’ll be all set.
• One of the biggest reasons people fail is poor follow-through. They don’t get things done. It doesn’t take much to be an idea guy or start something.  But only what you finish matters.
• Don’t worry about the market being saturated. There is always room for someone to come in and be great, but the market never needs more average providers.
• Along those same lines, I only had a couple great college professors, and one of them really stood out. He told me that you can become a millionaire by doing anything, as long as you’re willing to be better than everyone else at it. I agree 100%, but most people won’t do what it takes to be better than everyone else. That’s your opportunity.
• Set deadlines for everything. If you treat every work day like you’re going on vacation tomorrow, imagine how productive you’d be.
• You should always remember: You are not just getting paid for the workout you provide. You are getting paid for the relationship the client has with you or feels they have with you and your business. Of course, with that relationship comes responsibility. You need to remember who’s signing your paycheck, and what they are really paying you for.
• Success isn’t hard; you just have to find ways to organize, discipline, and motivate yourself to get more done, faster – not more started, more done.
• Remember this Dan Kennedy phrase: “Why should your prospect choose to do business with you vs. any and every other option available to them?”
• Break out of the industry norms – the majority is almost always wrong and is always behind.
• Recycle what you do. Deliver the same content in different formats.
• Small hinges swing big doors. A few small but strategic changes can make big differences to the bottom line.
• A different way to look at your market is to find price gaps instead of pricing the way everyone else does.
• If you have no money, knock on doors, hustle, network, and make something happen every day. Roll up your sleeves and go to work. You can overcome a lack of money with an abundance of hustle in most areas.
• Successful people have a sense of urgency. Procrastination is not acceptable.
• If you accept mediocrity you will get more of it. Mediocrity only exists if you tolerate it.
• People struggle with strategic alliances and referrals by not making it easy for others to help us. Help them help you. Do as much as possible of the work for them and you’ll get 10X the results.
• Are you the first person in your market that people think of when it comes to what you do? If not, get better, re-define what you do, or tighten down your niche.
• The quickest way to make more money is to sell more to your current clients.

Hopefully you got a couple valuable takeaways there.

And as with anything…it’s not what you know, it’s what you do…so put what you did pick up into action.