We’re chicks in biz. We’re high rollin’, hard workin’, good lookin’, heel-wearin’, hard playin’ ladies and we’re kicking it. Until we’re not. Every business has up and down times. My practice gets busiest in September, after we’ve been on mental vacation, after Christmas/New Years, post Valentine’s Day, and in April and May, when we come out hiding and smell the roses. (Pun intended.)
Your down times may not always be the same because your business is cyclical. Your busy-ness, or lack thereof, could because what you’re doing to attract business just isn’t working anymore. That’s ok. No business or static. It changes, as do client and customer needs, wants, likes, moods, motivations, and personal and business statuses, all influencing what people buy, when, and in what colour. But it goes deeper than that.
Have you heard of the 7-second rule? It’s the amount of time it takes for us to do the old “size-up” of someone. Sometimes we’re willing to give it more like 30 seconds, sometimes not. If we’re feeling generous, or we have time to kill, we may even give someone 5 minutes. Sometimes we’re just curious as to what they’re all about, and sometimes, not so much.
Here’s the deal. If we like you, we’re going to buy from you. And if we don’t, well, you know the answer. Your bottom line is more about you, than what you’re selling. Put three of you in a row with the same product or service, and ask yourself, how do we decide who we’re going to buy from?
Here are 5 easy ways you can start to revamp your business, increase your busy-ness, and start topping up your bottom line.
5 EASY WAYS TO BOOST YOUR BUSINESS’S BOTTOM LINE
1. Get rid of your business cards.
All of them. Ok…you can keep a few. We were all taught that getting business is a numbers game so we should leave our mark everywhere. Shove a business card in everyone’s face. Now, who ever liked that? No one.
2. Focus on Relationshipping 101.
When you walk into a store, and you’re rushed by the first salesperson who sees you, what’s your first reaction? Mine is often, Whoa, slow down, where’s the fire? Let me come in and see, touch, feel, smell, browse what you’ve got, and then, maybe we’ll talk. A nice welcome is always appreciated, but anything more than that, you’re like the stalker boyfriend. Just give me some space. I’ll either let you know I need you, or approach me in a bit.
Slow and easy, right? It’s all about connecting. We do it all the time. We’re girls. We gab, associate, socialize, admire, compliment. We’re subconsciously looking for commonalities between ourselves so we can connect. That’s human nature, to find things in each other that are similar, that we identify with, so we can connect and start a relationship.
3. Build Your Connections.
We like others who are like us, in one way or another. We’ll do business with that same mentality. You have to start from the bottom, as if you are forging a new friendship. A prospective buyer or service-user knows exactly what they want and when they’re ready for it. They will ask. If you come on too strong, don’t listen enough, and don’t find emotional commonalities, you’ve lost your buyer before you’ve even had a chance to begin.
4. Keep it Real.
Just be yourself. That means talking less, listening more, asking questions (people love talking about themselves) and just being you. No ego, no fake “Ooh, I just love your lipstick”, when you really think it looks hideous. You’re looking for the positive, and you’re being genuine in the process.
There’s something you can learn from every single person you meet. They don’t always have to become clients or customers, but they do have to see the authentic you. It’s like the honeymoon period in any relationship. If you’re true colours suddenly appear, not only can you lose the potential client, but you’ll have lost all their potential referrals, and so on, and so on, and so on.
5. Start Today.
The right kind of ultimate success takes time but you have to get started with a roadmap. You need a plan of action, a strategy, a time frame, a goal, a monthly roster of the 5 W’s (where, why, why, who, when) and how, and patience. Once you start doing what you’re supposed to be doing, in a manner that’s gentle and inviting, and builds relationships, it’s only a matter of time.
