May 2, 2014 by

What Needs to Change? Are You Asking the Right People?

whatneedstochangeIt is that time of year again. It is almost without fail that I start getting the emails and articles from advisors and coaches reminding us that the first four months of the year are done. Here is some of what I have seen: “2014 1/3 way over!” “What have you accomplished this year?” “May already?”

They beat the drum to conduct a self-review of your business and seek their help to fix what is wrong with you and your business. They are sounding the alarms off and basically creating fear in people to seek their services. I have a different perspective.

Yes, the beginning of May means that the first four months of the year are over. What does it mean for you? Are you just doing the same things the same way and getting the same results? It is possible this is a good thing for you! However, if you are like the most of us, yes it is a good time to review what is working, what is not working and seek to make the changes necessary to achieve better results.

Instead of first focusing on you and what you need to different from YOUR perspective, try asking your customer and clients to offer their thoughts.

What? Yes you read it correctly. Who better to give you feedback on your business than your customers and clients? There are numerous ways to obtain this feedback and these are adjustable depending upon the type of business your run.

In the brick and mortar retail environment you might run a focus group with prizes given to those who are selected to participate. What you want to know is how they experience your store. How do they find the people who work there and the interaction with you, the customer, at the register, on the floor of the store? Are the items in the store easy to locate? Do they wish you carried other products? And much more.

In the services business environment you might send a letter or a card inviting your clients to take an online anonymous survey. You may set this up to where a gift card credit is sent virtually once the survey is completed. This type of feedback will open your eyes to how your clients feel about your service, how you added value or not, your follow up, your scheduling methods and much more.

This is the perfect time of year to obtain this type of feedback. One critical point is, you must follow up on the feedback once it is given to you. This might be as simple as compiling a full list of the top five items you intend to change and how you intend to change them. At the end of this process you may very well be creating customers and clients for life.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Business Strategy, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , , , ,
February 20, 2013 by

Two Areas Are Key to Your Business Results

Business StrategyWhen you live in a private residence and there is a snowstorm, you have two options. You either go out to shovel away the snow so you are able to leave your home and drive your car, or you do not do anything and just wait until warm weather arrives. If you want results, which in this case are represented by a clear walkway and driveway, you must take action steps and have a behavior consistent with taking action.

So what do you feel when your business is not getting the results you expect? Do you have a long list of reasons and excuses? Do you cast blame on your team, employees or vendors? Or do you recognize that you may not have been taking the right action steps or creating a behavior consistent with the right action steps to take.

You might answer, “Well, I have always done business this way and it has always worked out just fine for us.” Here is the honest assessment of that answer – The world around all of us is in a mode of constant change. You must be willing and open to change, just to keep up. In order to grow and move ahead in dramatic fashion you need to be strategic about the change required. The direction or the end goal is the target point. Then we look at what action steps and behaviors are necessary in order to achieve the target point.

Once this is reviewed and agreed upon as being the right course of action toward the correct target, a review of your resources, training and funding is determined to be appropriate for this undertaking; or perhaps where more is required in one or more areas. For example, you might determine from this study that it is necessary to bolster your sales team or create a sales team for your business. The point here is not to fight change. Do not become complacent and assume the way you have always done things is good enough to get by in the future. Do not over complicate the answers. Often the reaction is to change too much and turn everything in the business upside down. This may not be necessary at all. Of course there will be occasions where turning everything in the business upside down is the answer. These processes must be taken with care as there is a lot at stake. Take the time and the opportunity to map out your strategy for moving forward. You will find it to be time and money well spent.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who lives in Stamford, CT.

Filed Under: Business Strategy Tagged With: , , , ,
March 30, 2012 by

To Be Successful, Does it Have to Hurt First?

Have you ever had your fingers caught by a car door closing on them? Man oh man, it hurts! The very next time you are in a car, are your fingers anywhere near where they were when they were slammed by the car door? Do you consciously think about it and make certain your fingers are nowhere near that spot? How about the next time you are in a car?

Why do we think we will achieve different results from our business, when we keep doing the same exact things which have not worked before? We attend the same networking events. We give the same two minute elevator speech every single time. We make the same phone calls, eat the same lunch, and frequent the same restaurants every single day. Why do we expect different results?

Do you hear that? It is the door closing on the first quarter of the year. How are your business results so far?

To be successful in business we have to be willing and open to change, to learn, and to grow. It does not have to hurt like your fingers getting crunched by the car door for you to change your habits. There are numerous quotes and inspirational messages to grab from and share here. One which you may find to be helpful is:

Successful people make just as many mistakes as anyone else…they just learn from each mistake.

-Paul J. Meyer

Why this quote is meaningful is, we get stuck. We develop a fear that if we change, we may fail or mess up.

What will happen if we fail?  Doesn’t this really move us closer to success?  The more we fail the closer to success we are?

If you are doing the same thing every single day in your business and you are not getting the results you desire

You must change. It is the only way you have any chance of meeting or exceeding your goals.

What are some of the action steps you might consider doing right now to shake things up?

  • Start with your week. Begin to write down what you and your team (they may record their own for you) are doing every fifteen minutes of each day for a week straight.
  • Critically review your recorded list. Circle every item which is not a direct client contact or marketing effort. All of these items need to go. Either someone you hire needs to do them, or someone already working for you needs to do them from now on. Just not you any longer.
  • Clearly write out your goals for the year. There are nine months left to go. Share this information with your team.

Follow these action steps immediately. The payoff is virtually guaranteed.

Do you or your team know you need to hear tips and techniques just like these directly from Mitch Tublin? Increase your level of productivity and your business results immediately contact Mitch Tublin here www.thementorguy.com.

Filed Under: Achieve Goals, Business Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , ,