Today’s economic landscape has been a bit unsteady to say the least. We’ve all heard about it and certainly have seen the effects of it on our bottom line. No matter if you’re a CEO, manager or a one-man-band business owner, today’s economy has sent tremors through us all in different ways.
Here are some time tested keys to growth to help you stay focused and moving forward in a positive direction.
Key #1: For The Sake Of What – What’s your vision? Where do you want your company or department to grow to and for the sake of what? What outcomes do you wish to achieve and what impact do you want to leave your customers and your community with? The clearer your vision is, the easier it is to create tangible goals to achieve.
Key #2: Identify Your Goals – What goals do you want to accomplish this week, this month and this year? Have your goals written out and refer to them daily or weekly to keep them front of mind. These written out goals also serve as the stake in the ground that can help you get back on track when you get pulled in too many different directions.
Key #3: Determine Your Mindset – What is your current marketing mindset? Is it working for you or against you? Identify the limiting beliefs that are getting in your way and then ask you coach to help you shift those beliefs to ones that empower you and move you forward.
Key #4: Make New Friends – Refine or reconfigure who your target audience is based on today’s market. How might you shift or narrow the focus of who you want to be working with? Once you’ve clarified who your target audience is, then it’s time to make some new friends. Find the places, events or businesses that meet your client profile and develop relationships with them. People do business with who they know and trust, so aim at developing the relationship first to create a win-win outcome.
Key #5: Think Outside the Box – Take a hard look at your current business and marketing activities. Which ones are still working well and which ones are not delivering the ROI you need? Today’s economy requires businesses to think differently and come up with new creative strategies to out smart the competition if you want to remain a player in the game.
Key #6: Listen Carefully – Talk with your current customers and listen carefully to what they have to say. What problems do they have that you can help solve? What issues might be an untapped market for you explore? The company that succeeds in today’s economy is the one that has their ear to ground and is constantly innovating to meet the current market needs.
Key #7: Create An Action Plan – Determine what your top 3-5 priorities are for the day to reach your weekly and monthly goals and do those first. This way you’re setting yourself up for small successes along the way, which builds confidence and morale of you and your team.
Key #8: Follow-Up And Follow-Through – As you build your connections, make sure that you follow-up in a timely fashion. This is where a lot of business professionals fall down. You can continually build your business relationships i.e. build trust, through phone calls, emails, one-to-one meetings, sharing relevant information via blogs, newsletters and a variety of other strategies that keep your business and “brand” front of mind.
Key #9: Select An Accountability Team – Often times having someone other than yourself to keep you accountable to your goals makes all the difference. Find one or two people you know who are interested in accelerating their business growth as well (either inside or outside of your organization). Share your weekly goals at a brief Monday morning conference call. This helps to set the tone for the week, clarify the direction you’re taking and the action steps you intend to follow-through with. Knowing that there is someone who is going to ask you what you’ve accomplished this week (other than your spouse) has an amazing effect of helping you get things done!
Key #10: Start With The End In Mind – Start your day by envisioning how you’d like it to go. What intentions do you have for the day? What would you like to accomplish? What impact do you want to leave others with? By focusing on your positive intentions, you’re paving the way for it to unfold at your feet with grace and ease.
I’d love to hear about some of your keys to growth too – what tips can you share that have helped you stay positive and on track with your business grow? I look forward to hearing from you!
To Your Success,
Michele
