Do you want to stop sabotaging your business and starting adding to your bottom line? Download the 4 Profit Killing Mistakes cheat sheet now!
What did you feel when you started your business? An intense overwhelming, I am almost ready to burst kind of excitement? The kind of hope that makes the grouchiest curmudgeon alive, grin? How about an overwhelming sense of self-sabotage?
If right now you’re waving your arms and yelling, “No, not me…I would never, ever, ever sabotage what I’ve worked so hard for”, think again. Everyday I work with studios and coaches {and in all honesty, myself} to overcome habits that are sabotaging the profits and success of their businesses.
Every coach and teacher I work with is just a little bit different. Some have carried over subconscious prejudices from their prior business life {Yay, I’m free! I never have to sell again} and some are walking into entrepreneurship with an ever present chip on their shoulder {I’m not in this for the money, I’m only here to change the world}. Even my most successful clients {and once again, me} with million dollar businesses have those little thoughts that pop up into their head that not only are false, they undermine our chance to grow {This is the most money my business can make and I shouldn’t expect to grow anymore}.
{Silver lining}. There are five shifts you can do today that can erase the sabotage and put you on the road to success.
1. Comparison is the thief of joy {and profits}
As soon as we open our business we’re on the lookout for the next, bigger, better business that’s going to steal our competitors. This causes us to change our prices, alter our packages, and change how we sell, all while forgetting the most important thing…our Core Client. Your business and the value it brings to your customers stands apart from your competition. It is up to you to educate your client during your sales and intake systems so they can see the value you provide. And, a business centered on serving its Core Client always wins.
2. Put on your CEO mindset and get to work.
You are the CEO, the boss, the head honcho. You may have forgotten this around the time you got overwhelmed with the not so fun side of this job {hello taxes and bills}. And once we forget and fall off course, it’s easy to change our decision making from rational to emotional. A CEO mindset forces you to make the best decisions in light of your business as an investment that must produce a profit. An emotional mindset views your business as a hobby that can change at a whim based on your feelings {and never thinking of your profits}. If you want to change your profits fast, become the CEO you were meant to be.
3. Use Contracts.
Handshakes simply don’t hold up when it comes to business {even though I hate this, it’s true}. Contracts are there to make everyone’s expectations and responsibilities clear. Just because you switch to contracts with clients {for anyone who is on a recurring billing package this is a must} and staff does not mean you suddenly are going to be a lawsuit wielding maniac. It just means you can rest easy that you’re protected if you client turns out to be a lawsuit wielding maniac. Put everything into writing and be sure to have clear files {both physical and in your email} that save your documentation. This is a better safe than sorry lesson.
4. You are in sales and you must have a killer system that brings home the profits.
If you’re not operating a tried and proven sales system, you are sabotaging not just your profits, but the results of your clients. Sales doesn’t have to be sleazy or aggressive…it should be a graceful education that teaches your client how they can utilize your products to achieve their greatest goals. If you’re walking into each session uncomfortable and unaware how to walk your client into the sale without actually selling, you don’t have a well-rounded sales system. Sales systems begin with a polished and concise Intake that walks your client question by question into an educated sale. This process also let’s you guide your client into their perfect package…and the most likely chance for results! If you’re missing that I guarantee you’re missing profits.
5. You set a goal without understanding why this matters to your clients.
How often do you really ask your client what they want to do? Not what you see in their body, their Intake, their diet or their medical history, but what they want to do? Or you stop at I want to lose 10 pounds and fail to find out why this matters so much to them. The triggers that set your client’s goals are the foundation of your sales. Understand the pain that’s behind the goal and you will have completed 50% of your sales process without asking for a dime.
Do you want to stop sabotaging your business and starting adding to your bottom line? Download the 4 Profit Killing Mistakes cheat sheet now!
