What if you could find a simple action list that when embraced, could make you a better leader overnight? We know that it takes strong leadership to build a thriving business. The goal for building any business is to create long term success. That goal translates into building a consistent profit. With effective leadership, the vision of such a healthy profitable business is within reach. Here is your action list with 4 tactics for you to employ in your business practice. Leadership is a learned art that can be mastered over time.
Try implementing these 4 leadership tactics and watch the magic happen.
SHOW UP
Smart entrepreneurs realize that to succeed you need to be present so that you can focus without distractions. Being present results in your ability to make more purposeful decisions. On the implementation side of your business equation, you and your team can focus on producing high quality work. To be a better leader make yourself available and attentive to the details that arise.
Good business practices begin with showing up, with sleeves rolled up, ready to tackle to challenges that lie ahead and celebrate the successes you have experienced along the way. In the past, one of our clients did not understand the importance of showing up. He, as the CEO, left the detail work to his General Manager. However, without the leader being visible and involved in the organization’s operations, the inspiration of the team was gone, production dropped and employee morale suffered. The vision was no longer clear. Being visible, and “showing up” pays huge dividends. A difficult lesson, but the CEO is learning to be more visible.
One important way to be more productive with your work output is to develop a work schedule where all the functions—marketing, sales, financial planning, product development—contribute to meeting one common goal. Such a structured work schedule allows you to drive the productivity toward meeting that one goal. The impact becomes more visible and meaningful. For example. If you want to expand your email list to attract more leads, then as much of your time as possible, aside from servicing you current clients, should be actions that drive more email enrollments.
Make this one overarching goal measurable by determining how many email enrollments you want to add to achieve the goal. Hype up your marketing efforts such as putting a new lead magnet on your website, networking at live events, and including an email signup offer on all correspondence. Research your ideal client’s main pain points and develop a new solution to offer. Looking at finances, determine what monies you can spend to meet this goal. Having all functions of the business work cohesively maximizes the results.
BUILD CONSISTENCY
Smart business owners quickly realize the importance of keeping their messaging in front of the client base. In other words, you’ve got to consistently put yourself out there with your marketing and sales messages. You must be consistently visible to your customer base. Beyond the consistent messaging, you must over deliver and consistently produce quality work so that your customers can count on your products and services to solve the problem they brought to you.
To become a better leader, eliminate any confusion about what solutions your company provides. Each week establish specific marketing and sales strategies you will follow so that you consistently communicate with your customers and consistently add leads to your sales funnel. Building consistency in your messages and your work products will keep you foremost in the public’s thinking. Not only will you grow repeat customers, you will likely receive more referrals from these satisfied customers.
COMMUNICATE HONESTLY
Speaking of consistent communication, successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of honest communication. Speaking honestly to both your workforce and your customers is the first step in building a trusting relationship. When a member of your workforce or a customer comes to you with a challenging problem, they expect that you will provide an honest solution. Even if you can’t solve the problem, you might direct them to someone who can.
How do you demonstrate your honesty? Are you modeling the same standards that you require of others? Your behavior and your words comprise the foundation for your reputation. Having a reputation that portrays honesty, authenticity and trust are three of the most important character traits an entrepreneur can instill in herself and the people who work with her.
To check your honestly level in your communication with your customers, I suggest that you put on your skeptical cap and read some of the marketing messages circulated by your company. Would you buy from yourself? People like to do business with people they respect, people who stand by their word. Are there parts of the message that need to be clarified? Selling misinformation is the quickest way to destroy the good will you have spent time building.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
If you don’t believe in yourself, why should anyone else.? Smart entrepreneurs have learned through experience that self-confidence beats self-doubt every time. You have created this business because you have a passion for what you do, and you have developed the expertise to provide valuable service to your customers. As you know, it is extremely helpful to build your credibility through customer testimonials. When the going gets tough, and it will, read these testimonials. To become a better leader, remember why people have become and remain your customers—that leads to self-belief.
Becoming a better leader is an easy path to chart. By staying focused on your purpose, consistently communication your message in an honest way and demonstrating your own self-belief pays impressive dividends. It simply takes practice.
Beretta was a Great Dane therapy dog who partnered with me for 10 years. He and I wroteThis book to share our lessons with other business leaders. Order Leadership Unleashed today. Fetch yourself a copy of his book to learn more from Beretta! Even if you execute only one of the concepts in this book, your organization will be transformed!