• 25% of respondents believe companies take their business for granted, while 10% think companies don't care about their business - a result that has more than doubled from a year ago.
• 73% of consumers are willing to spend more money with a company they believe provides excellent service.
• For those businesses that do deliver great service, consumers are willing to pay an average of 12% more, up from 8% last year.

1. How can I serve my clients better?
2. What do I need to do to provide extraordinary client satisfaction?
3. Do I really know what experience my clients receive when they decide to purchase from me?

“It’s just too expensive!”  What’s your response when you hear this from a customer? 

Do you back pedal and try to justify your price?  Do you immediately offer a discount? Or do you realise that you’ve obviously not explained the true value of your service or product? 

Yes, there are always those customers who for them, price is an issue and no matter what, they are looking for the cheapest cost for the service they need.  That’s okay, and it's a normal part of doing business. Let these clients go through to the keeper, don’t try and convert them, because ultimately it is not worth your time.  It will just be their loss in the long run.

But there are a majority of customers where price isn’t their deciding factor, value is!

So the next time a customer says that you are too expensive, consider the following.  Have you explained to them the real value of your service and/or product? Have you taken the time to speak to them about the benefits and results you deliver, or have you simply provided them with only  the price of your services?

There are many motivators that make people buy, and the main four include, making more money, saving money, saving time, and avoiding effort.  It’s important that as part of your process of educating your customers about the value of your service and products, that you are clear as to which of these motivators fit within your results. 

Here are some strategies you can put in place to further explain your value:

• Put together a sales process for all new potential customers.  This doesn’t need to be a ‘hard’ sales process, it needs to a system that works for you and your business model.
• Provide them with more than just a price.  Firstly, take the time to find out about their struggles, their concerns and their business. Understand what is happening for them by asking open-ended questions and then listen!  Listen to the words they are saying as well as the tonality of their voice.
• Speak about the value you provide.  Don’t rush this process!  This really needs to be about them buying your services rather than you selling.  Take the time to demonstrate either through examples of what you have achieved with past customers, or by linking their current challenges back to the solutions you provide. 

When you take time to find out more about what is happening for your customers, and speak directly about the value you add, you remove the price point.  Without knowing it, you begin at this point to increase the trust factor,  strengthen the relationship and customers will choose to work with you. 

Is there something specific you do to demonstrate the value your services or products add - if so, share with us here.

We’re currently two-thirds of our way through our 90 Days - Get More Clients Coaching Program.

This program has specifically provided participants with a step-by-step framework to allow them to grow their business. Over the next few weeks, participants will be stepping up to the plate and presenting their business to other members of the group. 

Who’s Wayne Bennett?  Okay, so stay with me here as I give a little background for all of you who may not be aware of our National Rugby League (football), here in Australia.  Wayne Bennett is the current rubgy league coach of the St George Dragons.  He has set coaching records for the most grand final wins, and has been coaching professionally since 1988.  This year he is off contract with the Dragons, and there has been a frenzy amongst clubs to secure his services.

Why bring up a football coach and business?

It began when reading an article about Wayne Bennett last week, you see, he seems to have this unwavering commitment from his players to be the best they can be.  And it had me wondering what we could learn from his style…

1.  He believes in himself; and you need to believe in your abilities and yourself when in business.  One of your most valuable assets is your mind and what you think.

As we know, being a business owner can at times be solitary work.  You’re in your office working on creating a new product, writing an article or finishing off some client work, when the self-doubt begins.  It draws you away from your current activity and threatens to derail you. 

Yet, when you come from a position of strength, and that strength being the belief in your abilities, then any negative enhancing thoughts (NETs) or self-doubt is removed fairly quickly. 

You are on purpose with the goals you have set and know what needs to be done to achieve them – this is why having belief in yourself is so important to you as a business owner.

Each day is about being the best you can be in that very moment.

As Steve Waugh (Past Australian cricket captain) said:  “If you want to be mentally tough, do as Wayne Bennett says: follow your beliefs and don't give in to yourself.”

2.  He believes in his players; and you need to believe in your products and services.  Because if you don’t, then how can you expect your clients to believe in them? 

Imagine walking into a sales meeting with a potential client, and ‘sorta’ mentioning that you think your current product could provide a solution to their challenges.  You may get the sale, but my bet is that you probably won’t!

If you don’t come from that place of pure conviction that your product is the best fit for their current challenge, then the person sitting opposite you definitely won’t see you as their solution provider. 

You’ve got the results and you know what solutions you provide – your role is to communicate this effectively to your ideal clients, so that they know you are the person to call when they need your service. 

3.  He keeps the process of playing football simple, and he gets out of the way. 

Don’t look for complicated business models to grow your business – look for practical, simple models that you can implement effectively and derive results from. 

Too often, we see business owners looking at trying to overcomplicate your processes, when in fact if you followed the KISS principle you would have much greater success.  By keeping it simple, you are more likely to take action because you know that step by step the results will occur. 

When you overcomplicate the process, in most cases, you stop yourself from achieving because it becomes too hard.

If you look at the St George Dragons – they play a pretty boring game of football, because their coach, Wayne Bennett has kept the plays simple.  Last year, in his first year as their coach, he led them to win the Grand Finals.  His process is a simple step by step system – don’t overcomplicate the play, and each player knows exactly what they’re required to do.  They need to turn up each weekend and be the best they can on that day. Simple!

So if you feel you are constantly pushing uphill, stop and add the Wayne Bennett factor to your business.  Believe in yourself; believe in your products and services, and go back to the KISS business model. 

But most importantly take action to implement your ideas…

“That’s not how I see myself!”

Is the usual response that I get from clients when I ask them, “Do you see yourself as a leader?” 

Then the conversation invariably turns into a discussion about how leaders are usually men and women who, in moments of crisis, stand up and make a great difference to a course of events.  Unfortunately, this image creates a belief that you can’t be a leader unless there is some type of crisis and through this you have the ability to inspire thousands.

But really, the definition of leadership is simply ‘the ability to guide, direct, or influence people’.  And the reality is, YOU lead every day!

Let’s remember:  Mothers and fathers lead, little children lead and as a business owner, you lead.

So tell me?  “How do you see yourself as leader?”

Still not sure how this fits into your circumstances?  Think about a time recently when you’ve influenced another by the decisions you made, or when a conversation you had affected someone else’s decisions.  You may want to consider when you’ve chosen to spend time focusing on the growth of your business rather than getting caught in putting out the day to day fires…..

This is leadership, it’s your own personal leadership and guess what – you are upfront leading…..

Now that doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes and you don’t always get everything 100% correct, and that the wheels won’t come off on the odd occasion.  They probably will! 

But when you make the choice to see yourself as a leader, you know what value you bring to your business, to your clients and to yourself. 

You understand that at these times you still have to put out some fires, deal with the day to day events, as well as all that other *fun* stuff. But you know when you’re in this frame of mind, your focus is about managing and management, and you don’t stay there very long. 

And the reason you don’t stay there for very long is because you’ve made the decision to lead your life rather than manage it.

To lead your life - over the next few days, take some time and list all the roles you play in your business.  Identify where these roles fit – are they “Leadership” or are they “Management”?  Look at where you are spending most of your time. 

If you are spending more of your time managing, ask yourself:

“What impact does this have on my business and my life?” 

“What do I get from managing rather than leading my life?”

“What needs to change, so that I can spend more time leading?” 

“What is one action I can do today, that will move me from managing my life into leading my life?”

When you’ve answered these questions, take that one action step and do it, then tomorrow take one more action, keep this going until you are spending most of your time leading. 

Take a moment to comment below and let me know how it feels to lead rather than manage….

Oh, if you want to find out more about how you can lead rather than manage, then click here....

I always find the time immediately after a holiday, as an exciting time in business.  Your thinking is clearer and more creative, and you are open to possibilities that you may not have been just prior to your break.  I know this has been the case for my VIP mentor clients and myself!  There is a buzz in the air around business, and it’s as if everyone has their mojo back!  Do you feel the same?

If so, you’re ready to do things differently……

You want to know what are the core foundations you have to put in place for your success in 2011.  You know that 2010 doesn’t count anymore, as this is the New Year!

So, here are two key foundations that you will want to put in place for your success in 2011… 

1.  Taking action, without any excuses!

Taking action and being persistent is the difference between the successful and the not so successful.  It’s something that I learnt many years ago in my very first business!  After studying successful business people and then being mentored by some of these individuals, I realised that the difference between them and myself, was that they took action.  They made their decisions and acted upon them almost immediately!  They believed in themselves and they trusted the vision they held for themselves. 

Unlike myself, who at that time, would…make a decision, think about it, research it a little more, maybe do a course about it, think about it a little more, second guess myself…. (I know, you get the drift here now)…and then wonder why I was still running around chasing my tail while making limited profits!  Sound familiar?

It wasn’t until one of these mentors stopped me in my tracks one day, and said: “Deb, it’s time for you to stop thinking about it, stop learning about it, and just start doing it.  You spend too much time ruminating and not enough time taking action.  It’s time for you to take action, especially if you want to be a successful entrepreneur!  Otherwise you might as well close shop and go home.” 

Ouch!!!! Closing shop and going home, just wasn’t an option, so it was time to take action and be persistent.  It was time to stop thinking and start doing.  Time to believe in the vision that I held for myself and my business.

I want you to ask yourself:  “What do I need to do today?”  Once you are clear on the exact tasks you need to do, make a commitment to do them!

Sounds straightforward? That is until the self-sabotaging behaviours begin to rear their ugly heads, which leads nicely into the next foundation for your success…

2.  Removing Those Limiting Beliefs that are Holding You Back.

These are the stories that you tell, to keep yourself ‘safe’, to keep yourself where you are currently.  To stop you from focusing on the real action you need to take.

Removing your limiting beliefs, can be as difficult as culling your wardrobe!  You know you should get rid of some of your things, but even through much of it is totally out of fashion, not very flattering and you’ve not worn it for years, you insist on hanging on to it all.  Every time you open the wardrobe, staring back at you, is that white jacket with gold buttons and big shoulder pads!  It gets in the way of all the other great clothes that you could be wearing, if only you could see them.

We do the same with our beliefs:  we keep them when we don’t need them any more, when we have outgrown them.  Some of them have been with us for years.  Despite the fact they’re not really relevant anymore, we find them comfortable and familiar and insist on keeping them.  It’s worth acknowledging that limiting beliefs sometimes hold us back as a form of protection against the very success we are striving for.  So if you want success rather than to be a wannabe, you’ve got to get rid of these beliefs.  Make room for something new.  If they won’t go, change them so that they work for you more positively.

It’s time to put away those beliefs that are holding you back, away once and for all!  Take a moment to think about what your future will be like, what it will feel like with your old beliefs put away where they belong.  Notice again how this looks, feels and sounds for you. 

So, here are two key foundation pieces that you will want to put in place for 2011 - TAKING ACTION and removing your LIMITING BELIEFS.  If you have been thinking about doing something different, now is the time for you ACTUALLY do something different.  Step out of the sea of sameness and make it happen in 2011.

I can’t wait to support you further and hear about what you are doing different in 2011.  If you have your 'must-does', why not take a moment and share them with us here.

We're all on the same playing field....right?

If that’s so, then what makes one business owner more successful than another? I was thinking about this today,  after speaking with one of my mentor clients – let's call her Liz.  During our call today, she was reflecting on the difference that our work together had made on her business the past three months.  For me, it was very humbling to be there on the other end of the phone, listening to her reflect on what our working relationship meant to her.

Liz had asked me to work with her at a time when her sense of hope was failing.  Her business had hit rock bottom, she had sold her family home, and taken on two more jobs to pay back creditors, just so she could keep her family fed.

After listening to her story, I agreed to work with her.  At our first face-to-face meeting, we spoke about how we would work together, and established our guidelines for success. Our expectations were that she would do everything she committed to in our calls, and I would do everything I could to support her. We agreed that if nothing had changed by the end of 2010, she would close the doors and walk away. Liz left that meeting with the first of her action steps….

I remember going home that night and sitting at my desk thinking:  “Can this turn-around happen?”.  “By agreeing to work with her, am I giving her false hope?".  There have been times previously, when after having my first meeting with new clients, I have decided not to move ahead and work with them.

However, there was something about Liz that made me believe she could turn her business around. 

Was it tenacity, was it belief, or was it a desire to succeed, and change the tide?  I think it was all of these things and more, but I also think it was having someone who believed in her and the legacy she wanted to create. Someone who would hold the space for her, and give her honest feedback in the process.

Liz was the one who took the very first step to change and grow her business by engaging a mentor.  After each call, she walked away with, and committed to her action list.  Step by step, things began to change. 

Some of the areas that we focused on included re-establishing monthly financial targets for the business to meet, identifying referral partners, and organising one-on-one meetings. A step-by-step marketing plan was developed that included both on-line and off-line strategies.  A communication plan was developed and implemented.  Everything was tracked and if something wasn’t working, then changes were made.

Liz was totally committed, and put everything into making sure that the turnaround occurred.  Everything we spoke about was implemented, and action was taken straight away.  At times there was a sense of being overwhelmed, there was exhaustion, but still there was hope.  As each call progressed, I began to hear the difference in her voice, her language had changed and a lightness began to appear.  Things were beginning to turnaround.

As things stand now, Liz is not out of the woods completely, but three months on, she is now working in her business.  She’s paid off all outstanding debts, and has started taking a wage from her business again.  She’s there in the morning to get her kids ready for school, and in the evenings to have dinner with them all. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m going to let you in on a secret:  What we did wasn’t rocket science; in fact it was an easy, step-by-step, practical, results driven process.  It’s what we all need to do to have successful businesses.  I often hear other business owners who aren’t running successful businesses say, “Yeah, I know this stuff already.".

But do you want to know the difference between them and my mentor client?

She implemented it all, she took action and she believed in what she was doing.  She didn't sit back and say, "I know this stuff already.". Liz took it all on board and now has a proven process that she can continue to use.  2011 is going to be her year for building a stronger, more successful business - mark my word on this!