When you hear the word "success" does it bring on visions of fame and fortune for your business? Have you clarified and articulated what that success will look like for your business and how you'll know when you've achieved it?
What's the definition of success for your business? Most small businesses are selling their time and expertise to deliver a service to their clients. So the question I want you to reflect upon is this? "What does success look like?"
Now before you start answering with responses like, "I'll do $X Million in sales this year." ? STOP! That's not what I meant. The question is? "What does success look like for your client(s)?" Remember, your clients? Isn't it generally fair to say you're in business to provide a service to your clients? When you do it right, what does it actually look like for the client?
Don't get me wrong. I understand that we're in business to make money ? to make a living for ourselves. But that's rarely enough in life. Most of the service providers I know love working with and servicing their clients. If you focus on taking care of that, the rest will almost certainly take care of itself. So what does success look like for the client when you do it right?
Spend some time and clarify success for your service business. What are you passionate about? What is it that you're trying to do for your clients? What difference do you want to make? What do you "love" doing for them? What is it that they will have or be able to do because they bought your service from you?
This definition covers a broad range of issues for you and your business. All aspects of your business must be working well together to achieve this success. Be as specific as you can.
Now, if you really want to make this a valuable exercise for your business, then I challenge you to take the results of your own brainstorming and sit down with a few of your best client(s) to see what they think and get their input.
I think you can see that this type of reflection goes beyond listing your services or the results of your services. This is not, "I'm providing marketing and business growth services to help my clients' realize greater return on their marketing investments." Instead, let's get down to, "Clients won't have to struggle with their marketing efforts, wondering how they're going to get more clients. They will be able to easily generate a consistent supply of high-quality leads and convert them into more business so they can focus on what they love doing ? servicing their clients." See the difference?
For most small business owners I've known and worked with, owning their own business is a "dream." Unfortunately, if they're constantly stressed about how and where to find more business, then their "dream" may become their "worst nightmare."
Success then for my clients means helping them put a more systematic approach in place to ensure they're constantly generating leads and converting them into more business so they can realize their "dream."
When you clarify success in this way, you'll be able to devote your attention to continuously improve what you do and how you deliver your services to your clients. You'll be motivated to ensure you're delivering that value to your clients and not just doing what you always do so the clients will pay their bills. With success clarified, you'll be able to ask yourself, "How is what I'm doing today contributing to delivering success for my client?" And here's the real kicker ? because of your focus on your clients' success, expect to see more success for your own business!
(c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing
About the Author:
Kevin Dervin is focused on helping small businesses that are ready to grow, but struggle with how to consistently attract more clients. Visit http://www.proven-small-business-marketing-solutions.com for more great marketing information you can put to use in growing your business today.
Find Kevin's Kansas City based KPD Marketing practice at http://www.proven-small-business-marketing-solutions.com and subscribe to his free ezine called ABCD Grow.
house refresh service Morton Grove ..Start thinking about buying an established business if you want... Read More
What is in an information plan?Before you even meet with... Read More
Traditional advertising methods are still being used for almost 90%... Read More
Quality control in franchising companies is paramount and all franchising... Read More
There are many potential niches for pressure washing companies that... Read More
Having a successful business means also having a good working... Read More
It is imperative to have your business legally prepared. How... Read More
Last summer the FTC put forth a report and then... Read More
What unspoken message are you sending your clients and customers?... Read More
Essentially there are 5 tremendously powerful methods to make money... Read More
Cash is King?That is what everyone tells us and it... Read More
There are many little details that go into making sure... Read More
Free money! Receive up to $25,000 that never has to... Read More
Have Some Time to Yourself One of the most important... Read More
And is having a logo really that important?My answer to... Read More
First, we need to define the different kinds of skip... Read More
Small business owners often enter their field with great expectations.... Read More
There is a continual trend we are seeing which I... Read More
Everyone loves a good story. Whether it's the story of... Read More
There are several well-known truck washes in the Great State... Read More
Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry.... Read More
There are many choices when thinking about a small business... Read More
Every company has a value proposition. That is a statement... Read More
Some of the very qualities that attract people to the... Read More
Why should you do informative talks to smaller groups?Informative talks... Read More
cleaning service near Mundelein ..Many of our nations 400,000 franchisees run their businesses out... Read More
Technical writing services are employed to explain the details of... Read More
All franchises must meet the legal definition of a franchise... Read More
Obtaining a business credit card enables the small business owner... Read More
A Brilliant Marketing Idea... sounds great but what is it?... Read More
The following tips have come from a wide variety of... Read More
Here's why 'WHY' is such a profit-making marketing trigger."Stop taking... Read More
What's your job profitability? I meet with business owners every... Read More
Most doctors never distinguish the difference between customers and patients.... Read More
Many smaller businesses choose niche markets for various reasons and... Read More
For many small businesses, the "S" corporation is the business... Read More
How far away is the person you need to meet?We... Read More
As an Investment Representative you've worked hard to build trust... Read More
If you are in the pressure washing business and are... Read More
One of the simplest ways to expand your marketing efforts... Read More
If you plan to upgrade your workshop into an Authorized... Read More
Most small businesses will not even try to advertise on... Read More
I am simply amazed at the problems some of my... Read More
What makes a business relationship?What really makes a business relationship?... Read More
Recently one of my customers told me the chaos swirling... Read More
Most businesses accept checks as form of payment for goods... Read More
A solopreneur I know disappears from my radar screen for... Read More
Before you read any further in this article, I'd like... Read More
SBIR Corner: FFP vs. CPFF contracts:In the SBIR/STTR world, the... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and... Read More
Small Business |