As I said to a potential consultancy client last week (she asked for honest feedback). “Your business is like a rabbit frozen in the headlights, incapable of making a move or a decision, unable to move in one direction or another.
“You need to unfreeze, relax, take stock and weigh up the choices. With great speed you need to take the bold decision: left or right, up or down. Speed is of the essence. The consequences of making no decision are there for all to see. Do you want to be one more piece of roadkill for the statistics book?”
I apologised for my bluntness but the world seems to be dividing into the decisive and the indecisive, the bold and the meek. The brave and the stupid.
Yes, it is scary out there but we/I/you need to be clear about what we are doing and take clear decisive action.
First things first. Find out who your raving ambassadors are – the people who think your service is remarkable (and are not buying on price). Ask them what they can do to help you get more business. They will tell you. This is certainly a starting point.
What decisions have you been avoiding making? How will you benefit from putting them off?
11 comments:
Great advice, broadly speaking. It has to be executed thoughtfully.
Even though I have an excellent working relationship with my clientele, if I were to ask one of my corporate clients how I could increase my sales with them, and also if they wouldn't mind recommending me, there would be an element of concern about my going under.
Invoices would then be paid more carefully, and never in advance as they sometimes are now. Others, in these days of careful spending, irrespective of their being price based and merit based, would be tempted to squeeze an additional service from me for the same fee.
This has nothing to do with caliber of relationship, and everything to do with them being excellent negotiators, especially so with the more successful clients.
I recall the implications of such advice during the last recession. You have to be very sure of how to go about this sort of advice. More than anything, this means it's about knowing your clients business, and their clients businesses, intimately. The vulgar yet valid sentiment "you snooze, you lose!" comes to mind.
This all points to the fact that if you don't know how to execute properly, or are nervous about it at all, speaking to Robert about the clear strategies beforehand can make the world of difference to your bottom line.
There is a world of difference between 'asking for the business' and 'begging for the business'. Maybe Robert is just calling a spade a spade - after all corporate hospitaility is simply a disguised way of asking for the business.
There is a chapter in the Bright Marketing book that covers 'asking dor the busines' I think.
Jim
BL
Oh and keep up the excellent work, Robert.
Jim
BL
I think you were a bit blunt. But fair as well. Being cruel to be kind.
Boonie F
Bonnie (or Boonie?)
See Robert's Tough Love entry and its comments to see where we all stand on the fair/harsh polite/honest conumuum.
Jim
BL
On re-viewing this post I think that
1) the issue is around your (or one's) ability to judge what is the right method or technique for each client.
2) The skill is not just in knowing which tool to use but when and how to use it.
3) And all of the above assumes that you have the skill to judge what is best for the client.
As an ex-client I can vouch for your ability to do all this.
Jim
BL
There seems to be a correlation between indecisiveness and business failure. That's what I see. Too many people dithering about at the edges, avoiding or denying the reality.
Simon C
Accountant
Yes it is all about execution (no S & M pun intended}.
Bonnie
Yes it is all about execution (no S & M pun intended}.
Bonnie
Bonnie (or Boonie?)
See Robert's Tough Love entry and its comments to see where we all stand on the fair/harsh polite/honest conumuum.
Jim
BL
Oh and keep up the excellent work, Robert.
Jim
BL
Post a Comment