"Your Mission, should you decide to accept it ---Using a Mission Statement to Increase Business Productivity"by Steve O'Sullivan In the last few weeks or so I have been approached by a number of friends and associates asking me to participate in some great business projects with them. They all sounded like good opportunities. But were they? This brings to mind the question "How do I decide what I should get involved with to make my business grow?" What's the difference between an opportunity and a distraction? The decision can be simple if you have a 'Mission Statement'. Here's mine. "My Mission is to help thousands of people improve their lives and businesses through coaching, training and education." When I have to decide on what projects to participate in I just take a look at my Mission Statement. I ask myself, "Does this opportunity fit my Mission?" If the answer is yes, I ask myself "Do I have time for this?" Two simple yes or no questions and the decision is made. You can apply this process to anything you want or need to do in your business. If it fits do it, if not, just say no! You can have both a Business Mission Statement and a Personal Mission Statement. Both are effective for deciding what actions to take. Why have a Mission? Here's a good reason. One of my mentors Earl Nightingale said "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It's as simple as that." Missions Statements have broad goals within them and help direct the creation of more goals.
"OK, I get the point" sez you. "So how do I figure out what my Mission is, Coach Steve O? Help me out here!"
Here are 5 Tips to Help Build and use your Mission Statement Keep it meaningful and specific - You have to be clear about what you want out of life or business in order to get it. If you aren't clear about it, take some time to ponder those thoughts or talk it over with a friend, partner or spouse until you have a firm handle on it. Make sure it is truly meaningful for YOU or it won't be an effective guide for your life or business. Make it short and sweet - A great Mission Statement can be as brief as one sentence, but no longer that one paragraph. You want to be able to memorize it easily, incorporate it into your DNA and live or work by this statement. The words you use must "taste good" so you'll want to "eat it" everyday. (Kind of a weird metaphor, but you get the picture.) Answer these questions - "Why am I building this company?" "What is the action or actions I will take?" "What is the desired result?" And these optional questions. "How much money will I make?" "When will I accomplish this by?" Keep it in front of you - When you have your Mission completed, plaster it all over the place. On your bathroom mirror, on your computer, heck, make it a screen saver! The point is to look at your Mission everyday, taste it, savor it, digest it, let it be the sustenance that drives your business or life. Use examples, generators and facilitators - If this is your first try at building a mission statement, I suggest taking a look at some examples for inspiration. Here are a few; "To be the preeminent publisher and provider of self-improvement resources that inspires and empowers individuals to lead the lives they most desire" - Nightingale-Conant Corporation, "To make people happy" - The Walt Disney Company, "To push the leading edge of aviation, taking huge challenges doing what others cannot do" -Boeing. There are some interesting and fun mission generators online. Nightingale-Conant has a handy and free mission statement tool you can use. Try it to create your mission or just to develop some inspiration. http://nightingale.com/mission_select.aspx. This next one is hilarious, and pokes a bit of fun at Mission Statements. http://www.netinsight.co.uk/portfolio/mission/missgen.asp. If you just can't get going on this, call an expert facilitator and get some help. I have several great referrals if you need one.
Just so you know, I balked at the suggestion of developing a Mission Statement when it was first suggested. I rejected the idea as being useless and a waste of time. Boy was I wrong! Eventually, I got some help, did the work and came up with what has proven to be the guiding light of SOS Impact Coaching and Training. As I like to say, "Just do it, Do it now!" © 2007 Steve O'Sullivan
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Did You Get Lazy In Marketing? (If You Want More Clients, Do What You USED To Do)
It’s a phenomenon that happens to most people in business for themselves after a few years. When solo-entrepreneurs first get started in marketing their business, they have gusto, they have energy, and many take a no-excuses approach to getting clients. They’re WILLING to do what it takes, and they do it often (most of them).
But after a few years, they begin to rest on their laurels, they get lazy, and after a while, they stop doing what they used to do to get clients. Some stop networking; some stop doing free intro classes, either in person or over the phone; some no longer do as much speaking as they used to. They’ve slowed down their marketing, and then they wonder what’s happened to their pipeline: it’s empty.
Oh, and I hear a whole bunch of excuses as to why they’re no longer doing these things, too. There’s always a YEAH-BUT… “I don’t FEEL like doing that anymore,” or “I’ve already done that, it won’t work again,” or even “I’m tired, I don’t want to work that hard.” Some even begin to wonder if they should stay self-employed, ready to give up.
As a result of the excuses, the well continues to dry up and they find themselves digging the well when they’re thirsty (Not fun: it creates sleepless nights and financial troubles.) Then, the fear sets in and they scramble for NEW things to do. Ever done that?
It seems they want to reinvent the wheel. They’re looking for new ways of doing things and this creates a sometimes frenetic, frantic approach to getting clients. I believe this ties into the “Bright Shiny Object Syndrome” we talked about last week, always looking for something new to do, something exciting, while leaving behind the proven stuff.
However, what I’ve learned over the years is, doing something new doesn’t always create results as quickly. The systems aren’t as easy to put in place and there’s always a learning curve for new stuff. What clients are surprised to hear is that, instead of creating BRAND new strategies, sometimes, we begin by going back to doing the tried-and-true, proven things that worked very well for us in the past. We go back to the basics: Marketing Pie 101.
Why reinvent the wheel when you can go back and do the simple things that are proven to work?
YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
My thoughts on this: You either have EXCUSES or you have RESULTS.
So, my questions for you are:
What have you been UNWILLING to do recently to get clients that USED to work for you?
Have you stopped doing something that you did regularly in the beginning?
Where have you gotten lazy?
What used to work for you in the early days?
Are you doing this now?
Are you WILLING to do this now?
If now’s the time for you to ramp up your client load, then stop everything and take a look at your Marketing Pie. Which slices of the pie are you implementing regularly? Are you not being consistent with your marketing?
It’s time to go back to the basics. And, it’s time to recommit. The funny thing is, when you recommit and you start doing these things again, they WORK. And what happens is, you start getting clients, more mo’ney starts pouring in, and you begin to LIKE doing these things again. Marketing becomes FUN again. Your whole demeanor changes. And, you instantly become more Client Attractive as a result. THEN, once the foundation is in, you can start adding in all the new stuff. Try it. It always works for me and my clients.
Now, if you’re stuck with what to do to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ avoids the “Bright Shiny Object Syndrome” and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To receive your freebie audio CD by mail and sign up for her weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.
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Watch for "The Essence" in your inbox next week.I've joined forces with my friends Suzanne Lowe of Essential Care Chiropractic, Chris Krohn and Dani Burling of The Emerging Soul and Jeff Weber of Jeff Weber Massage to establish ECHHO (East County Holistic Healers Organization) and our monthly newsletter "The Essence". This new publication will feature articles on Massage, Chiropractic, Meditation, Spiritual Healing and more. Over 500 people will receive a complimentary subscription to the Premier Issue via email. Plans are in the works for a print version as well. We are offering advertising opportunities beginning next month and are all business inclusive. If you are interested in getting your message out to our community, contact Chris@ECHOhealing.org. Look for your copy on August 1st, and please pass it along to anyone who might benefit from this great collaboration. |
