Everyone’s revved up for business success in 2020.
You’re excited too, for sure, but also a bit nervous.
The world of entrepreneurship is now super competitive.
You see, it’s easier than ever to start a business. Overcrowding!
Millions of entrepreneurs are hawking goods and services across all platforms. So, it’s harder to get noticed. That puts you in a tight spot.
Make people interested in what you do.
The market is only going to become more fiercely competitive in 2020 and beyond. There is something, though, you can do to stand out, attract attention and get real results for your business.
What treatment do you want more than anything else? Hopefully the answer is to make a contribution, to make a difference. If we take that statement as true, then what is the greatest contribution can you possibly make?”
The answer: “The greatest contribution one can possibly make is to
acknowledge and appreciate others.”
Those who truly understand this and do implement it, have success, fulfillment and happiness beyond their wildest dreams.
Perhaps the best name for this law is “The Law of Appreciation”
So if you would want your contributions to be recognized, acknowledged, validated and appreciated, then you need to recognize, acknowledge, validate and appreciate others.
Recently an Authority Consultant I receive periodic emails from, shared a story that caught my attention. He noticed he was getting fewer and fewer birthday cards in the mail from people he knew very well, and more and more electronic “happy birthdays” via email, Linkedin, FB, etc…. from people he didn’t know well.
Not sure if you’ve noticed the slow decline in the “human touch” as he has over the years, but his past birthday, he really felt how stark it has become.
He got one card in the mail, and the rest were e-communications, data passing through the internet to arrive in his “e-mail box” or other “e-devices”
His belief is that the new number one principle in creating trust is the human touch. The more you move away from connecting with time tested methods of creating the human touch, the less you can create trust with people you want to get to know.
This is why he constantly shares with his private clients: “Use the least amount of e-communication that you can, and use more real communication, that everyone else has left behind, that will differentiate you”. Some high-volume, low-margin, business-to-consumer business, have no choice but to keep an electronic distance between them and their customers.
So I believe there are 3 essential areas that help grow businesses more than anything you do to market yourself.
♦First are your present clients. Repeat customers are the foundation to a profitable, long lasting and fulfilling business. How can you show appreciation to them? You can make a difference with more care, appreciation and respect.
Perhaps start with a Results Review – Every business should build some sort of review process that ensures a customer is achieving the value promised. So often a product or service is sold and delivered just as expected, but for a variety of reasons, the client does not experience the full value. By creating a routine to check for and communicate the value delivered, you can uncover great success stories, correct under performing experiences and further develop opportunities for deeper engagement.
What else can you send them to put you back at the top of their mind? What do you do now?
♦ Referral Follow-Up: When you get referred to a prospect, be sure to “close the loop” by capturing how they found out about your business. Consider adding a message to your voicemail system asking callers to leave the name of the person who referred them and include a “Referred By” field on your website’s lead forms.
Then, follow up with referring sources be they customers or strategic partners to thank them soon after the referred client contacts you. This will remind both sources that referrals are valued and keep the referral program top of mind. It also lets new customers know that a high level of service will be delivered so that they will want to refer other prospects in the future. It’s a great way to pave the way for new customers. Referral marketing can be a powerful tool for your business.
Also identify a referral follow-up strategy – to bring your referral system full circle you need to devise two follow-up steps. 1) a way to continue to market to your referral leads that don’t immediately turn into clients and 2) a way to systematically communicate the progress of a referral back to your referral sources to keep them motivated. I find that often it makes sense to create several ways to reward those referral sources.
Here’s what that consultant suggests you think about on a weekly basis to be sure you’re using time-tested authentic communication to create a deeper connection within your inner circle and clients:
– Who can you hand-write and send a thank you card to?
– Who is a new potential client or past client that needs to hear from you, via the mail, so you don’t appear to be chasing them?
– What “trust-assets” can you send them to put you back at the top of their mind?
– Is there an event you can give them tickets for, where they can see and meet you?
– Is there a book you can mail them that they would resonate with, triggering a new conversation between you?
Are you thinking about these questions?
If not, please make this a priority, because in this day and age of intense commoditization, the only thing you have left to stand out from your competition, is mastering the art of authentic trust.
Referral marketing can be a powerful tool for your business. Acknowledging people in some way as they refer leads and then again, in a more significant way, as a lead becomes a client. This way you consistently communicate how much you appreciate their support on your behalf.
♦Then there is you. When you achieve something you have set as a goal or objective, have you acknowledged consciously to yourself that it has been completed? Often we achieve things which we have been desiring and visualizing, and then forget to even notice that we have succeeded. As small business owners there are limited ways to get acknowledged, so, give yourself some appreciation today, not just a pat on the back. What successes will help you build a stronger foundation for your business and personal goals? Go as far back in your history as you can.
Leverage your past Achievements, Accomplishments, Victories, Completions they are the foundation to take on new and bigger challenges.
Also a big part of creating more success in life is rewarding yourself when you succeed. So, it’s important to reward your inner child as well. Every time you work hard to meet a goal, the part of you that just wants to have fun has to sit still and be good. However, just like any kid, if it knows it will be rewarded later with a treat, it will hang in there with you.
How can you reward your inner child?
The Challenge: What does your Personal Branding marketing Plan incorporate? Remember to incorporate the “Law of Appreciation” for clients, referrals partners and yourself in that plan consistently.
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Started the Year Celebrating
At the end of each year I like to recognize Mind Masters members with Achievement Certificates for their accomplishments. But there are always a few I have selected to recognize for their persistence and focus to the goals they set out and accomplished.
- Chris Hallisey of Balboa Design Group is our Bronze Achiever Winner for 2019
- Dave Fowlie, Cruise Planners American Express is our Silver Achiever Winner for 2019
- Mary Stockton, CFP. Stockton Financial Services is our Gold Achiever Winner for 2019
I am pleased to award the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year Award to
Dr. Evelyn Ascough, DDS.
It is with great appreciation for being an inspiration personally as well as for other members that I presented The 2019 Mind Masters Founders Award to
Michael Mance, of Mance Creative.