Catch up or Stay Ahead
Which would you rather do? Play catch up or bust your ass to stay ahead?
As a professional speaker, I travel all over the United States speaking to different event groups and associations and if there’s one thing I’ve witnessed recently it’s a plethora of business owners lamenting the fact that their competition has passed them by. They complain that “This person must be undercutting me” or “Customers don’t know anything” or “What’s changed? Things were fine a little while ago” or my favorite “I’ve been doing this for XX years…I don’t need to learn anything new!” Do any of these sound familiar to you? Have you maybe said one or two of these sentences yourself once or twice? Let’s address each one of these statements individually.
“This person must be undercutting me”
Is there a possibility that you are being undercut? Yes. Is there a possibility that your competitor is a better marketer or salesperson than you? YES. The most sold hamburger in America certainly isn’t the BEST hamburger in America. You must develop your business skills, sales and marketing along with your performance, planning and production skills to become a true player in today’s day and age.
“Clients don’t know anything.” “What’s changed? Things were fine a little while ago.”
These two are very closely related. Too often we get caught up in our own hype. We see all the money coming in and we start to “coast”. Coasting is the WORST thing you can do in your business. Why? Because that’s exactly what happens when you coast. Some young punk comes in behind you and steals all of your clients, your market and your contacts all because they wanted it more. That’s it. No special formula. No secret sauce. They were just out-hustling you. Period. Go look in the mirror for that one and see who to blame.
Now if you find that this has happened to you…go back to basics. What got your market share, to begin with? Little things like “thank you” notes after a client transaction or connection. Going the extra mile for a customer and not charging her or him for it. Taking more time with someone on the phone to ensure that all of their needs are met. Calling up clients on the phone that are already booked with you once a month just to see how you can help them. It’s the little things that are repeated day after day, week after week, month after month that will add up to a BIG change in your personal and business life.
“I’ve been doing this for XX years…I don’t need to learn anything new!”
Do you use any social media? Have you ordered an Uber? Do you own a smartphone? I would venture to guess that you have used or are currently using at least one if not all of these items in your daily life. What happened? You’ve been living for XX years! You didn’t need to learn anything new. So why did you?
You did because society evolved. It made your life easier. You wanted to be cool or be seen using the latest things. Business and people evolved around you. Did your business evolve with it? You need someone to hold your feet to the fire and ensure you implement a strategy in the areas of business where you need to improve the most. You need a coach. My name is Mitch Taylor, and I’m the coach your business needs to ensure you don’t waste your precious time and money without action and positive growth to show for it. Hit me up at mitch@mitchtaylor.net and let’s chat about it.