Are you great at knowing what you want to achieve, but not so good at actually pulling your goals out of your head and writing them down? You sorta know what you want to do, but aren't quite sure how to do it. 

Well I want to share with you a simple process that will make this a little easier for you.

First thing is to get clear on what your objectives are for 2012.  Then begin by making a list of the objectives you want to achieve this year.  Be specific and include time-frames for each one. So an example may be:

   I want to increase my list size by 10,000 and before September 2012.

From here, the second thing you want to do, is ask yourself: 

a)  What are my strategies for achieving these objectives? 

b)  What type of programs/services will I be selling to reach my objectives?

Take time to list all of the different strategies you can take to achieve your objectives.  The clearer you are here, the easier the next step will be.  So an example may be:

   To develop a value add free offer that will capture peoples names and contact addresses.

   To produce high quality content to use in promotional activities

And the final step is to break your strategies down into actionable steps, that you can track.

Your Success Assignment:

Now you know what the steps are to pulling together your Objectives for 2012.  It's up to you to take the time now and write our your objectives (if you haven't done so already).  Make them real for you, and make sure that you feel excited about what you want to achieve. If you don't then you've got the wrong objectives, and I would encourage you to go back through and look at what the best ones are for YOU!

 

I'm looking forward to working with you in 2012.

Yours in success

Deb

Ps.  Go ahead - let's work together in 2012

PPS.  Feel free to forward this email on to others you think might be interested in attending...

What I’ve learnt over the many years of being a business owner is the importance of having a strong team around you.  I've learnt that you don’t have to go it alone; in fact, going alone is taking the long (and risky) road to building a business.  Asking for support is more than okay, and having others who are there to challenge you is a good thing for your business growth and learning.

I was reminded of this earlier in the week, when one of my mentor clients posted a blog in our VIP clients' secret facebook group. Kim Wight and I have been working together for the past 12 months, and she had decided to write about her experience in building a strong support team around her and her business.  I thought I would share her experience with you as follows...

"I have now been in business for eight years, but 12 months ago my business model changed when I split from my business partners and was on my own. I admit that I was a little scared and worried if I could do it by myself.  While I knew I had the expertise in my role as a mortgage broker, I was concerned about how I could grow my business.

But I believe the universe has a way of opening doors for us and it certainly did in my case.   

About the same time as my business changed, I attended a networking event where the keynote speaker was Deb Pilgrim, who described herself as the 'Entrepreneur’s Business Mentor'.  After hearing Deb speak I decided to take up her offer of having her mentor me. I had spoken with other mentors and business coaches in the past but there was something about Deb that made me feel I needed to use her service. Was it business chemistry, or that inner sense that tells you this is the right thing to do?

We talked about my business, my personal life, my fears, and my plans, and together started to chart a course of action. Notice how I've kept saying ‘my’, because with Deb it is about what you want, and about how you will achieve it. It is not about an old business model pulled out for each client regardless of their experience or challengers as many other mentors or coaches do. 

In the beginning there were times when I put up road blocks and thought I would never get to the place I wanted to be. There were tears as I started to underestimate myself, but at all these times Deb was there quietly asking the right questions and giving tremendous insight and guidance to me.

It was during one of these times that Deb introduced me to Joanne Prior of Think Yourself Successful.  Joanne has this amazing ability to focus on your life and make such positive affirmations that you cannot help but be inspired and rejuvenated. I would recommend everyone needs a bit of Joanne in his or her life.

My business is part of a franchise group, but my goal was to develop my own brand of Kim Wight and be known and recognised as an expert in my field.  To do this I had to start promoting myself. I needed to make myself stand out from all the other mortgage brokers.  We worked on my core messages and elevator pitch, so that at networking events I would stand  apart from other brokers who tended to churn out the same old content. I had always wanted to be a keynote speaker, so one thing I began to do was write e-books which I could offer to people after each presentation as an add value.

Then with the support of Deb I launched into social media. I interviewed a number of experts before deciding to work with Tracey Jarvis of Social Media Girl. Tracey had her work cut out as I had dabbled in Facebook, but Twitter and Google were like a foreign language to me. Tracey helped me to further see my Kim Wight brand. She set up my web page and taught me how to not only use social media, but to enjoy it!  I now get such a buzz when people ‘like’ my page, follow me on twitter, and then mention or retweet me –  this is my greatest compliment.

So where has my business gone in the last 12 months? Well, I have had a 50% increase in profit. I am now having my blogs pinged to other sites; I have journalists contacting me for comments on finance, and I am a regular finance commentator on Angela’s Business Mix on 99.7FM.   

I am being asked to present not just on finance matters, but also on networking and the use of social media in small business.

In essence that networking meeting where I meet Deb Pilgrim opened a wonderful new world for me. The value of my time with Deb has far exceeded my expectations, and my goals have not only been met but in fact I feel as though I have been blasted into another universe of opportunity.

So I say “Thank You’’ to my team: Deb Pilgrim for your support, guidance, understanding and enthusiasm for my success, to Joanne Prior who empowers me to be magnificent, to Tracey Jarvis for sharing her expertise of marketing and social media and to Angela Vithoulkas who has been so generous and given me the opportunity to speak with thousands of people through her program Angela’s Business Mix.   Cheers to the team who changed my life.’  Kim Wight

So who is on your team?

Let's continue our conversation, feel free to jump over and leave your comments and ideas around what your offers are on our blog.

When a new client comes on board, one of the areas that we look at fairly early on in the coaching process, is what their offer is to their potential clients, and how can they best position this offer to bring in new clients to their list. 

Let's continue our conversation, feel free to jump over and leave your comments and ideas around what your offers are on our blog.

Jenny Towers from Customer Service Specialist, in her Business Building Block's presentation on "The WOW Factor", provided research results conducted by American Express about customer service.  In the results it showed that Australia had the highest number of respondents who believe companies are 'helpful, but don't do anything extra to keep their business', with 46% believing this is true.

When speaking about client satisfaction, people often remark, that really it's just customer service.  Many people don't see that there is a difference, but I believe the difference between customer service and client satisfaction is all in the terminology. I personally think it is time to move the focus from service into satisfaction.

I recently heard a great distinction between these two terms: customer service is more of a reactive attitude, whilst client satisfaction is seen as adopting a proactive attitude. Being proactive in your business and with your clients is much easier than being reactive, and as we all know, it is less expensive and less time consuming for us to keep our current clients rather than go in search of new clients all the time.

Dynamic Business Magazine published an article I wrote about Client Satisfaction, and I thought I would re-post here for you part of the article.

Five Steps to that Buried Treasure of Extraordinary Client Satisfaction, that:

Discover Treasure#1: Be really clear on who your ideal clients are.

You can never really know too much about your clients.  Understand the underlying drivers of your ideal clients.  Underlying drivers are the beliefs, feelings, and desires that drive your clients’ buying behaviour.  Once you understand this, and I mean really understand this, you will not only begin to speak the language of your ideal clients, but they will hear and understand what you can do for them.  They will know that you are the person who will help them solve their issues or challenges.  They will realise this because not only do you know these people, but you are also clear on the benefits your products or services provide.  If you have been following me for a while now, you will know that I am constantly talking about how you need to be clear on the benefits and results your products and services provide. This is not new, but what we often forget is that while clients will buy the product for the benefit, they will stay for the experience. You want to make sure the experience they have with you is worth staying for.  Think about ways in which you can continue to provide your clients with an extraordinary experience.

Discover Treasure#2:  Make sure that your clients’ expectations are always met.

What are the expectations your clients have of you or your services?  Do you really know, or do you simply presume you know?  When was the last time you asked a client what they really expected from you?  These are all great questions to consider, because when you are clear on these expectations, this is when the extraordinary client experience can really kick in.  Not only are you satisfying your clients’ initial needs, but also you have taken the time and effort to further understand them.  The experience you then provide them can be different from anything they have previously experienced. 

Discover Treasure#3: Re-affirm that the decision to buy from you was the correct decision.

A simple way to do this is by not over committing. Once a client has decided to buy your product or service, don’t forget about them.  Put in place a strong communication strategy that will support your client and the relationship you want to build.  Be responsible for the types of communication that are being sent, and be aware that it is your responsibility to ensure your clients understand your messages.   And remember, once they have made that initial purchase, don’t forget about them.  A great technique to consider is to check in with them 24 hours after the initial purchase, and answer any questions they may have about the product or service you provided. Another way is to use your client testimonials for retention, not just in the initial pre-purchasing stage.  Again, include some of your testimonials in your initial follow up emails, to remind the client that they have made the right decision in wanting to purchase from you and your business.

Discover Treasure#4: Treat each client as an individual, and take the time to find out who your best clients are.

By understanding this, you can increase the lifetime value of these clients. You spend so much time bringing these clients in, so why not do what you can to keep them? Really get to know your clients – find out about them and keep up to date with what is happening for them.  Understand what they want from you.  It might be that they don’t need to receive a discount on a current product, what they may need is a more advanced course or product to keep them moving forward.  They may need to work with you exclusively, or they may need you to refer them to some one who can better meet their needs at this point in time.  Be willing to do what you can to serve your clients at the level they deserve.

Discover Treasure #5: Deal with complaints – Immediately!
When a client contacts you to complain about a product or service, look at it as a blessing in disguise.  For every client who may complain, there are probably many who don’t, but who may spread negative comments about your business.  So in the situations where you might receive a complaint, deal with it immediately and deal with it honestly.  If you need to give a refund, exchange a product or do a repair, ensure that you do this as soon as possible. Seeking client satisfaction benefits your business in the long run.  In addition, why not offer the client a special offer or bonus on another product or service as well? Show your clients that you value their business.  And remember, once you have dealt with the complaint, take the time to rectify the problem. It is in your best interest to solve any problems as soon as you possibly can, and learn from the issues that came to light to make sure they don’t happen again.

Ten Treasure Filled Ideas For Extraordinary Client Satisfaction:

1.  Never take your clients for granted.  Be thankful for each one of them.
2.  Think outside the box, and go the extra mile for your clients.
3.  Stop and listen to what your clients are saying, and understand what they really need.  Don't presume you know what they need.
4.  Always put yourself in the same playing field: Never think you are more important than anyone else.
5.  Communicate clearly.  In fact, why not over-communicate!
6.  Ask for feedback, and be willing to accept what your clients are feeding back to you. Make the necessary changes if required.
7.  Work with clients you want to work with!
8.  Host a client appreciation event.
9.  Take the time to really know your clients.  Be able to tell a story about them.
10.  At the end of the day - have fun with your clients.  Isn't that why you are in business?

Let's continue our conversation, feel free to jump over and leave your comments and ideas around what you do to provide the WOW factor on our blog.