Small Business Talk
The Podcast to Grow your Business Faster
How Are You Showing Up?
Show Notes
Business doesn’t need to be hard.
Your solution can fix your clients problem – easy!
So why is that not a reality for most businesses?
Why is business so hard for so many businesses?
A couple of weeks ago, I was at an event and the speaker was telling us about how he lost “a guaranteed job” to a competitor because he didn’t take the client seriously and didn’t show up 100%.
The job was to sell a family friends house. It was an expensive house in a lovely area, and it was exactly what the speaker was doing at the time. He could have done a great job and got the family friend a really good price.
But . . .
He had showed up to the meeting like he was going over for a friendly BBQ.
That was not what the competition had done, they had all come in suits, bought presents, and done a full presentation with details about exactly how they would position the house and to whom.
Yes, the speaker had rapport, he had know, like and trust
What he lacked on that very day was commitment and respect for his potential client. Having known the family all his life but in that moment, he took them for granted and didn’t show up with the respect he needed to instill confidence in his ability to do the job.
Is It How You Are Showing Up?
You have heard it a million times – all you need is know, like and trust.
Really.
There are hundreds of people you know, or like or trust – maybe even all 3 but would you do business with them? Often the answer is “No!”
Why because you don’t feel valued, respected, or appreciated.
Are You Failing To Show Up At All?
Often people are not showing up at all. Check out a lot of people’s social profile’s they are hit and miss at best; sometimes it is even hard to work out what they do for a living.
Ever had a really good friend but you don’t really know what they do. When you asked way back when they gave you some mambo jargon and you were too embarrassed to let on that you didn’t understand. Or even worse if a so called good friend has bought your product or service from your opposition? Now don’t be too hard on them because it’s all on you, my friend. If your prospects and networks don’t know what you do, the solution you provide and how you can help them – that is a lost opportunity on your part.
We Don’t Want To Be Too Pushy!
Yes, there is a line, and I am not suggesting to be a 80’s pyramid seller (as it was called then) but don’t be your industries best kept secret.
If you had the cure to a horrible disease and your prospect had that disease, wouldn’t you want to help them? Yes, I know that is being a bit dramatic but for some people that is almost “their” reality.
If I can help you market your business, bring you qualified leads and help bring you prospects that want to buy your product at a positive return on investment wouldn’t you want that?
Your Title Doesn’t Define You
Yesterday I was in a room full of ladies at an event, there was 3 bookkeepers in the room. Yes they were all bookkeepers but they did different areas of bookkeeping. One was a payroll specialist, one had developed her own simple bookkeeping app and another specialised in one of the major accounting software package. Yes, they all did the same but different.
It was not until each of these ladies spoke did the room know of each one’s “super power”. You need to let your prospects know what area you are passionate about and what is your “super power”.
Life is full of specialists and we seek them out when we have a specific problem to be solved. We all know that we don’t go to a GP for brain surgery. Yes, you might argue that you have to go to the GP first for a referral and that is true. Sometimes we have to go to a generalist to find out what we don’t know however it is frustrating when we could go straight to the specialist and save time and money.
Are you letting your prospects know that you are a specialist and what your speciality is?
Niching
As a customer we seek out the specialists, the exact one that can solve our specific problem, from medical to a mechanic, we do it every day. So as a business why do we find it so hard to niche?
We have this strange notion that we will miss out.
In reality niching can help us streamline our businesses, reduce costs and simplify our messaging. Niching can allow you to make more impact to your specific clients.
Niching could be the answer to turn your business around from a hard slog to a well oiled machine.
Knowing is Not Doing
We all know what we need to do to show up in our best light, but do we do it?
Video helps reduce the buyer’s journey and create a ladder to leapfrog multiple steps – but do we do it?
We know we need to niche.
We know we need clear messaging and stop being a “jack of all trades” so what is stopping us doing it?
That these are questions you have to ask yourself.
Best Foot Forward
When I was a young girl, it was said that you couldn’t leave the house “without your face on”. It basically meant having your makeup and hair done and in the 70’s and 80’s they really did take that seriously and spend hours each morning getting it “just so”.
I can remember one day when I walked into town, about a 20 minute walk. I was walking along the main shopping street and my Mum was walking towards me; her face dropped, and she suddenly was ushering me down the street into her car. You see I had no shoes on. I was nicely dressed, hair done, didn’t wear makeup then but I had committed a mortal sin of not wearing any shoes. I am not sure who was more embarrassed my Mum because I was not wearing shoes or me as a teenage girl being physically ushered into the car and driven home.
My colleagues laugh at me now because no matter what time I am on a zoom call, I always and I mean always have my hair done and lippy on; yes even at 5am. It is part of how I show up.
How Are You Showing Up?
As another year closes (at time of the recording) we really need to be very conscious of how we are showing up. For some 2021 has been an amazingly productive year and your business has grown, even grown a lot. Your challenge maybe to make sure you are not self-sabotaging your success to slow your growth.
For other this year may have been tougher than you would have liked. Check yourself and make sure that “how” you are showing up has not contributed to your situation.
Showing up for yourself, your business and your clients is one of the most important things that you can do.
