In the past I had seasons where I’ve tried to reinvent my business or myself. I kept trying something new but it all boiled down to the same basic foundations.
I’ve have a business coach that supported me in playing bigger, bolder and had me question the unknown. The unknown of my business, the unknown of my limitations and the concept that as your business grows you can either fail by growing too slow and growing too fast. This might just be a reminder to some and a kick in the pants for others.
Buddha said, “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one that endures that the final victory comes.”
The basics in business are like food groups to our physical well-being. The question I have for you is, are you doing everything possible for team members to succeed? Are you giving them the tools and the resources to WIN? If you’re like me, I had to answer honestly and say no. I had to reprioritize my time and my roles and responsibilities to accommodate my team so that they can produce a result!
These foundations drive our business! These foundations create extraordinary companies!
Accountability
Do you have accountability structures in place for your team, leadership and yourself? What are the measurements for your success and your teams’ success? Do they know what they are supposed to accomplish and by when they need to accomplish it? Part of our accountability is team accountability every Wednesday. We have a team meeting and we set our intentions for the week. These intentions lay out specifically what we will produce for the following week! So what can you do? Ask each person in each department what they are committed to producing this coming week and what do they need to produce that?
Training
Are you investing enough time and energy in training your team? Training isn’t a cost — it is an investment in the future. The more we learn the more we earn! I realize that you may not have a budget for training but you need to decide if you have given your staff all the resources they need to accomplish their commitments. If you want to sell more retail you need to give them webinars, books and tapes on selling! In your local book store there are many resources for you to support your team!
Last week, I gave my Customer Service manager homework. I requested she read the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard. Training can look many different ways. You have to look at what resources you have available. Research through your chamber of commerce, or your local community college for classes on management and leadership to support you in your growth and development! The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang. If you’re not learning how do you expect them to?
What gifts and talents do you have that can support the business to grow?
Planning
Spend the time each day, week, month and year to plan what is next. It is amazing to me how many people jump into their day without looking at what result they need to produce TODAY! What result does your team need to produce TODAY? And prioritize accordingly.
Do you know what your breakeven has to be? Do you know how many clients, events or services each team member needs to do to be profitable? Notice, I said profitable!
I was at the store buying a birthday card for my daughter and found just a basic card was $3.25. For a card! It got me thinking, some clients charge $200 for their online one-on-one coaching course and I am buying a card for $3.25. My question is, who doesn’t value themselves and their services? It sure isn’t Hallmark! Now there is nothing wrong with a $200 coaching session but do we want to work hard or smart? Everything is relative to what our needs and wants are. Your plan gives you the clarity on why you are doing what your doing. When in sales, let’s face it, without services sold we would have no business. The same is true for each team member.
Managing & Motivating
As much as I resist this one, it does persist! I just want people to get it! But that isn’t how it works. I just want people to do their job, but that’s not the case. Management can be simple to do and simple not to do. The philosophy that follows is from the One Minute Manager. The philosophy is simple. Do one-minute praising, one-minute reprimands and set one-minute goals — daily.
One-minute praising:
- Praise the behavior
- Do it as soon as possible
- Be specific
- Tell the person what they did right
- And how you felt about it
- Encourage the person
- Shake hands or hug
One- minute reprimands
- Reprimand the behavior
- Do it soon
- Be specific
- Tell the person what they did wrong
- And how you felt about it
- Encourage the person
- Shake hands or hug
It’s not rocket science.
It’s consistency that at the end of the day is going to have your business succeed. My recommendation is utilize the foundational resources we have put in place for you. From our coaches, to our events and products, it is all designed to serve YOU!
If you’d like to apply for a FREE 1-hour Strategy Session with me, I would love to walk you through some great systems and strategies. Click here to apply.
If you are more of a self-starter and just need the material to mull over please check out all the free resources that myself and Motivating the Masses has on our websites. You can access those by clicking here.
Your Partner in Prosperity,
