The 9 biggest mistakes in business

No 1 – No Targeting

By trying to target everybody you can very easily end up targeting nobody, your offering may be seen as too generic and not fit for any particular sector. Taking a photograph without focus will just produce a blurred image, targeting is just another word for focus, focus on the market(s) you want to get into. Look very carefully at what you want to achieve, and it’s not just money! Then try and work out who is the right sector and/or person you want to sell to.

Next work out what you can do to make that happen. Although your product or service may be applicable to all markets, you will need to address each market as if your product will only work for that sector. The approach will be different, the words will different. You will end up with multiple targets, each being addressed with something that appears to be specific for that particular customer.

Is it easy? No, if it was everybody would be doing it.

N0 2 – All Talk

We’ve all met the people who ‘talk the talk’, don’t be one of them. State what you want to achieve and put the activity in to get it achieved. But don’t just give yourself deadlines, make them known to other people, make them public, That way your chances of achieving that goal is that much greater.

Making Deadlines public will enable you to have clarity, goals, targets and accountability.

N0 3 – You are given 86,400 every day

Only 1% of any sector is flying, are you that 1%?

Unless you are really committed, all the time, you won’t achieve the levels of success you crave.

If a bank gave you £86,400 every day, but you had to spend it within 24 hours, you can’t save, roll it over to the day, you’d find a way to spend.

Well, you have 86,400 seconds every 24 hours, nearly 87,000 seconds you can’t save, or rollover to the next day.

How are you going to spend it?

You are going to have to do things that most people won’t do
Try the things most people won’t try
Put up with the sort of crap most people will turn and run from

So, what’s your commitment?

N0 4 – Going it alone.

What do you do best?

What is it that no-one else in your business can do better?

So do that! And let other people do the other stuff.

What earns you money, do more

What costs you money, do less

What do you hate doing, which means you probably don’t do it as well as someone else, don’t do it

Who can help?

Remember, if you haven’t got an assistant, you are one.

No 5 – Not having a system for getting customers.

There’s too much happening in your business for you to keep it all in your head, you must have a system.

Have a system for:

bringing leads in
keeping them engaged
getting them to buy
get them to refer
following up

No 6 – Making Excuses

It will only ever be your fault!

Any other thoughts on why you haven’t achieved the goals you set out are futile and wrong.

For example, if other people are taking up too much of your time on ‘other stuff’, stop it happening, they are time bandits, they are stealing your time, you are working to their agenda not yours.

Think about the 5 biggest things that have gone wrong in your business this year.

What was the REAL issue?

N0 7 – Giving up too early

Most prospects will buy after 10 or 11 ‘touches’ from you, the truth is that most businesses give up after just 5.

Of course there are multiple ways of communicating with your prospects.

Newsletters (Lumpy Mail)
Regular emails (not always selling)
Letters
Giving them opportunities to buy
A phone call

What is the worst that can happen, they might not buy, which is the situation you are in now.

N0 8 – Listening to the wrong people

In any sector

20% are struggling
60% are getting by
15% are growing
4% are successful
1% are flying

That means that 80% of your market is getting it wrong, so why listen to them.

You are the average of the 6 people closest to you, surrounding yourself with people you aspire to, otherwise listening to the wrong People can be toxic.

Spend time with the right people regularly
Speak to them often
Avoid people who don’t want what you want.
Understand that not everyone ‘gets’ what you’re doing
Don’t talk business if you are with the wrong people

N0 9 – Not having a plan.

Why do you have a Sat Nav?

Because it knows where you are and knows how to get where you want to go.

Without a clear plan of where you want to be (and when), with milestones how can you possibly get there?

Write your marketing plans

Use them
Refer to them
Modify them
Include start dates, make them public
Have a calendar
Make it clear enough for someone else to do
Is it real? ( You know what I mean)
Review, Review, Review.