Aussie Rules

It’s interesting how people have a tendency to take their own privileges away if they feel they’re under-performing. I’ve certainly been guilty of this myself.

In the past if I have had an unproductive few hours — time where I’ve allowed myself to get distracted and effectively, mess about — I’ve ended up feeling less than happy with my performance. No surprises there.

In such circumstances it was not unusual for me to respond by doing something dumb like forgoing a lunch break. As if this petty self-punishment would have any effect. Well actually it did, it made matters worse.

It’s inevitable we lose our focus from time to time, but punishing ourselves by removing privileges is not the answer. What we need to do is get to the bottom of why we’re doing what we’re doing and plan a new course.

In most cases, taking our eye off the ball and falling foul of distraction is the direct consequence of a fear of something that confronts us.

It could be a change we need to make, a large project that needs starting (or finishing), or a difficult conversation we’re avoiding.

In other words, we busy ourselves with less important things as a way to put something off — it’s an unconscious form of procrastination.

The best way I know to snap out of such situations, without removing privileges, is to take yourself out of solitary confinement and talk it over with someone.

Book a session with a coach; talk to a business buddy; collar a friend who’ll listen.

Chances are you’ll be able to identify a specific issue blocking your progress.

What say you? Post a comment and let’s hear it.

One of the distinguishing behaviours of a successful entrepreneur is that they are always at the ready when it comes to fulfilling their work and accepting new business.

“Being at the ready” can mean different things to different people, but in general it indicates the following pattern:

1. You have all you need at your fingertips

This may be as simple as holding stocks of paper, staples and printer ink; or more industry-specific readiness covering technical manuals, documentation and the like.

In other words, you have what you need to do what you do and you have it right here, right now.

2. You have immediate access to support 

Many of us use sub-contractors or work alongside fellow specialists when accomplishing our work.

Waiting until the work comes in before you build such relationships is a potential recipe for disaster.

Successful entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for their ideal team members and know whom to call when the need arises.

3. Your office is “new business ready”

Let’s assume you’re on the lookout for four new clients.

Not only do you need to make sure you have your intake paperwork ready, but specifically have four files to one side.

Clear a space in your filing cabinet and don’t be afraid to tell the world what you’re up to.

“Build it and they will come” is never more apt than when applied to readiness.

So how ready are you?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, clutter destroys our focus and reduces our energy.

Key offenders can often be linked to incomplete projects (like tax returns) or unfinished business (closure on a business or personal relationship perhaps).

Similarly clutter can come from the gnawing frustration caused by a build-up of unattended emails, paperwork that remains unfiled, bills unpaid … and so the list goes on.

One thing is for sure, unless we attend to the main offender(s) we’re never going to move forwards with the kind of gusto, focus and drive that we’d like.

Here’s a little trick that I was reminded of recently. A trick that is as effective as it is simple. It works like this:

Firstly, get really clear on what key element of clutter needs attention.That shouldn’t be too difficult.

Next, get a friend or colleague to tie a small brightly coloured strip of ribbon around your wrist — tight enough to not come off without scissors; loose enough to maintain blood flow!

Thirdly, make a commitment to that friend or colleague to not remove the ribbon until you have completed and removed the offending clutter.

Try it. It works.

Let’s pretend you’ve just moved to a new town where you know no one and no one knows you. No friends, no acquaintances. You’re all alone.

So what are you going to do?

Well once you’ve stopped sobbing and composed yourself, the chances are you’ll venture out in pursuit of new friendships.

You smile at people, start conversations, get involved with local happenings, that sort of stuff. Before long you’ll make a couple of connections and little by little begin to feel like a valued member of the community.

In business, growing relationships that may ultimately result in new clients (whether directly or through referral) is a very similar process. However, where many businesses behave very differently — and dangerously — is the moment they become busy.

For too many of us, busy means little or no time is put aside to undertake the most basic staying in touch actions. This has the effect of bringing marketing to a total halt.

It’s the equivalent of cultivating a small circle of friends in your new town only to shun them when you’re preoccupied.

Furthermore, by becoming complacent with your small circle, you’ll appear unfriendly and uncommunicative in the eyes of others.

Staying in touch through genuine, personal dialogue and making an effort to strengthen and broaden your circle is essential to any business that wants to avoid the peaks and troughs.

We all need to make time to nurture existing and new relationships, even when we’re really busy.

So who needs to be hearing from you? Who’s slipped off your radar?

Can you think of five people you should make contact with this week? Thought so.

I was speaking to a friend this week who was on the brink of sending out a few hundred marketing letters to his database of contacts.

“Are you personalising the letters?” I asked,  “Of course!” came the response “my software does all that at a touch of a button.”

Er, sticking someone’s name at the top of the letter and repeating it a few times in the final paragraphs is not my idea of personalising.

Certainly there will be times when one size really does fit all, but in many cases using this approach risks ignoring the real value of whatever relationship you have with your contacts.

Before we bombard those around us with any message, we should pause and consider the person who’ll be receiving it — the real, live human with whom we have at some time interacted.

When we put each recipient in mind it invariably changes what we want to say. True personalisation gives our message greater meaning, more relevance and more impact.

When we pause and consider each person in turn, we may realise that what we’re saying is largely irrelevant to some individuals.

In such cases all we would achieve by sending the message is a dilution of the relationship and even risk a reaction like “Why’s he sending me this?”

In the past I have referred to this kind of behaviour as “binge marketing” and it rarely generates anything of great value. Worse still it can be counterproductive.

Far better to have our messages connect with a few, than be ignored by hundreds.

Let me know what you think.

No-one really likes a confrontation, least of all us chirpy independent types.

However, it’s inevitable that now and again something happens that makes us mad. How we handle these confrontations, particularly when they involve our clients and customers, is what I’d like to explore.

Over the generations we’ve been told that the customer is always right. Sure, and that bloke in Nigeria really has $17m ready to transfer straight into your bank account.

It’s not right to fail to pay invoices; to shift the goalposts on projects; to forget a meeting; to ignore phone calls and messages. No. No. No. That’s not right at all.

And it bugs us doesn’t it?

It’s tricky, though, because complaining or criticising our clients is something we must do with great caution. Tearing a strip off a member of the Finance Department may give us a momentary buzz and may accelerate payment of our invoice, but what does it do for our future prosperity when the CEO and CFO have a little chat about our outburst in their weekly meeting?

Speaking up about failings and mistakes is one thing; jeopardising income is another.

We must pick our fights very carefully and be prepared to bite our lip now and again.

On the assumption the potential fight involves a client we want to retain, keep a detailed note of the event(s) and when the time is right — maybe at contract renewal time for example — discuss ways the relationship can be improved.

Our feedback could help our clients become better clients and in the process we may just find some areas where our own procedures need a tweak.

What are your thoughts, have you been a little heavy handed recently?

Spill the beans and post a comment.

When we’re in the process of promoting our products or services or negotiating a contract, it’s very easy to slip into a talkative mode and fail to listen.

We’d do well to spend a little more time planning our conversations in advance, giving thought to what information we’d like to uncover.

After all, how nice would it be if we were able to help our prospects position themselves as being in need of our services, rather than us having to do the selling?

Very nice indeed.

In our conversations we need to use relevant questioning to reveal opportunities.  From there, it’s a relatively seamless step to clarify what we’ve learned; verify our understanding and finally, swoop in with a close.

Easy really.

Let’s take the case of a web developer trying to open up a conversation with someone who already has a nice looking website. Imagine an opening question that clarified the present situation and went a bit further:

“I realise you already have a website. I wonder, if you could make three improvements to it, what would they be?”

Assuming that one or two areas were revealed in the response, the next comment from our web developer might be to verify with something like:

“Ok, so let me make sure I understand this. Your site is drawing favourable comment, but it’s not actually enabling you to have dialogue with visitors and it’s not generating any leads. Is this right?”

Finally then, the opportunity for a closing question:

“So if I could demonstrate ways to improve both of these areas, would they be actions you’d consider investing in?”

This clearly isn’t rocket science, but gee it amazes me how people don’t get it right. Prospective clients will always show us the way … if we just ask the right questions.

Experiences to share? Horror stories to recount? Post a comment and let’s hear it.

I realise it’s a bit rich for me to talk about over-emailing, given that I send out around 60,000 each and every month through our Flying Solo ezine, but that’s precisely what I’m about to do.

What I see all too often is a failure to effectively develop relationships through an avoidance of verbal conversation. And we all know what’s causing this: yep, a strong preference towards electronic communication.

Don’t get me wrong. Email is wonderful. I cannot imagine operating in business without it. The trouble is, it’s the very immediacy and simplicity of email that is its potential downfall. Well in the world of relationship building at any rate.

Just imagine if email were taken away from you. What would you do? Would you type 20, 30, 40 letters a day? Fold them, pop them in envelopes and trundle up to the letterbox? Not a chance.

You’d pick up the phone and make conversation. Conversation, dialogue as opposed to monologue, builds relationships and it builds them well.

I’m not suggesting we all stop sending emails. What I do recommend though is that we pause for a second before hitting “reply” and consider whether picking up the phone may just be a better move.

Successful businesses respect and acknowledge key relationships and make full use of all forms of communication. Let’s make sure we all do the same.

What say you? Leave a comment. Er, don’t call just at the minute.

One of the many bonuses of gallivanting around the country addressing groups of business owners is that I get to meet heaps of interesting people. However, it’s also where I first discovered the worrying trend of “Speed Mating”.

Speed Mating is a phrase I use to describe an attempt to build rapport too rapidly.

Watching speed mating in action it occurs to me it’s not at all effective. Furthermore, it can cause damage and it often goes largely unseen by the person practising it.

I suspect it’s borne out of the misguided belief that the classic Australian sense of mateship can be seamlessly transferred to business and somehow bypass the foundations of a trusting and lasting relationship.

Building genuine rapport requires more than a slap on the back, an overly firm handshake, 15 seconds of eye contact and a quick name abbreviation.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, “more” isn’t shooting off an email with an invite to visit your website either!

Let’s all slow down a little and remember that rapport-building takes time. When we allow a genuine kinship to develop organically, it’s more fulfilling for all concerned.

Ultimately, patience is preferred over prematurely forcing friendships.

If you habitually leave gatherings with a clutch of business cards, but no memories or recollections of contacts made, please do us all a favour and stay home with a phone directory … the people listed there will be just as pleased to hear from you.

What say you? Have you been the victim of a Speed Mating incident? Tell me all about it by posting a comment.

An analogy to start the week, dear readers. I don’t know about you, but I love them.

Just imagine for a moment you’re a person who designs and plans recreation spaces — parks, play areas, picnic spots, ponds with ducks and the like.

A couple of months after the opening your perfect park you go to see how it’s being utilised only to find a bald patch of grass where the great unwashed have strayed off your beautiful stone path to make a shortcut across the turf.

You’d feel pretty fed up I bet. But what would you do?

You might erect “Keep to the Path!” signs; fit some ugly barriers along the path or go completly bonkers and employ burly security guards.

Then again maybe you’d just get miserable and put it down to the gradual decline of modern society.

In the real world this sort of thing happens all the time. So much so that environmental planners and designers have a phrase to describe the phenomenon, “desire lines”.

A dictionary definition may read something like:

desire line  An informal, preferred path used to get from one location to another rather than using the official route.

So what do planners do in such situations?

Invariably they move the path to the one that’s being unofficially used. That way the punters are happy, the park stays looking nice and the planners sleep at nights.

Now you’re probably wondering, what does all this have to do with running a business.

Quite simply this: If you have procedures or policies that people are not following — “pay within 7 days”, “read and sign this three month contract”, as examples — just consider the “desire line” carefully before you go beating up your clients.

It may just be they are trying to tell you something. Something you’d do well to hear.

Quick, beat a path to the comments section and share your thoughts.