"What'd He Say?"

Ever stop to notice sometimes how difficult it is to know exactly what the other person is talking about?

The reason is simple: Communication doesn’t take place on the sending, writing, or speaking side. It occurs almost exclusively on the reading and listening side.

You can write and chatter all you want in the clearest language you know. But no matter how clear it is to you, if it sounds like a foreign language to your reader, you are not communicating.

When it comes to marketing, the people you talk to sometimes know more than you do about what you are selling. Other times, your readers have only a rudimentary understanding of the product. Since you may never know the level of your clients’ expertise, I recommend that you incorporate basic summaries and overviews in your copy that anyone can understand.

Marketing words need to find a happy medium between speaking to experienced buyers and communicating with prospects who know almost nothing about you — except that they might consider doing business with you, or at least learn more about you and your product, if they understood what you can do for them.

The goal is clarity. Avoid long sentences, big words (unless they are essential), and jargon. When you use easy-to-follow headlines and subheads… and recap your text in short and frequent summary blocks… clarity and understanding mushrooms.

Keep in mind that unless your readers understand your entire message, the tedious hours of selecting just the right words could go to waste.

Please feel free to contact me directly for additional strategies to increase the precision and effectiveness of your messages.

Do You Measure Up?

Running a business is a skill... separate from everything you think you know about your business.

And many talented people fail to achieve the bigger rewards in business because they don't realize the importance of this skill.

After all, simply because you are good at a particular technical skill –– creating software, building bridges, making donuts, and so on –– doesn’t necessarily guarantee your success in running a business in the real world.

But here’s a quick self-scoring test that will help you see where you are… and how you measure up.

First, take out a piece of paper. Then, make a list down the left-hand side that includes all aspects or departments of your business. Your list may include marketing, sales, employee motivation, finance, bookkeeping, shipping, receiving, and operations. The list can go on and on… and it will be different from one industry to the next.

Then, in a second column, put a plus (+) next to each item that you’re truly very good at. And put a minus (-) next to those activities that you really wished you didn’t have to deal with personally.

Second, think about this: If you started your business with a technical skill, there is a good chance that you can be successful and take a company through the early stages.

However, unless you have a strong business background –– coupled with experience, training, and a formal education in business — you may want to consider hiring someone that can take your business to the next level.

Even if that means hiring a president or a general manager and taking less income out of the business for a period of time, your business could have a higher value once you have completed that process.

Third, analyze your “business bus!” Let me explain. The example I use most often is for business owners to think about their company as a bus –– a city bus or a school bus, it doesn’t matter.

The key is that you want to put the right people on the bus in the first place… and then you want to put those people into the right seats.

When you do –– when you put the right people on your bus and put them into the right seats –– your company will be very successful. When you don’t, your bus could be heading for disaster: a course that takes you in the wrong direction and that ends in a dead-end.

A Vision Checklist

Most business owners know about goals and objectives. But they don’t understand the concept of a “vision.”

Here’s the difference: A personal vision is what the owner of a business sees in the crystal ball in 5, 10, or 15 years… such as being retired, living on a yacht, or working only two days a week. A goal is something that you do or accomplish in order to get to that vision.

To be a viable vision, that vision must be realistic… and it must come from the passion that the owner has both personally and about the business.

Now the problem is that the consequences of a business owner NOT having both a personal vision and a business vision can be disastrous... and could sentence the business owner to a life that becomes far more demanding on the one hand… and much less rewarding on the other!

So you have to know where you are… and where you want to be. This, of course, is your vision both personally and professionally (from a business standpoint). And the absence of knowing is the GAP that you hear me talk about all the time.

Now, the key is that having a personal vision is essential for the success of a business vision. The reason is that if the two visions don’t match, one of two things can occur:

First, either the business vision will fail, because it doesn’t match your personal vision. Or, second, if the business vision is successful, as a business owner, you will be miserable if it doesn’t match your personal vision. As a result, the business vision has to complement the personal vision.

The key is that what you want to do is to develop “big picture” goals to get you from where you are today to the vision that you have for yourself and your business 5 to 10 years out.

Once you see the vision… and get your hands on that vision… you can develop those goals by developing specific strategies to achieve each of those goals that supports your vision.

You’ll also want to develop specific action plans… and steps… for each strategy, so that you know who has the responsibility to do what… and when they are supposed to be completed. So, critical to this is to include timelines and responsibilities.

Then, because this is not a one-time activity that you implement and then forget about, you need to review this every year.

Escaping Our Past

They say we can never escape our past.

When people ask, “Gil, what did you do before you got into business coaching?” (…and they invariably do), I say, “Marketing… specifically lead generation.”

Their ears pop up and they want to know more. With good reason, too, because every business needs lead generation. But most ordinary lead-generating approaches are dull. They don’t do the job… as evidenced by the lack of response or the poor-quality leads they produce (or don’t produce).

Then they ask, “What kind of lead generation?”

I answer that I specialize on working with and helping businesses that have special needs when it comes to prospecting. These are businesses that face lengthy and complex sales cycles… have hefty price tags or expenditures associated with the products or services they deliver… live in a highly competitive marketplace… and sell products or services that traditionally require a relationship.

One thing leads to another and they say, “Would you have time to talk to us about our situation?”

To which I say, “Of course. I always have time to talk lead generation.”

Suffering In Silence

Many business owners spend the majority of their lives suffering in silence.

They have no one to talk to.

Their spouse has heard the same tale of woe too many times.

Their close friends change the subject when any conversation about business comes up.

His employees tell him exactly what they think he wants to hear.

Their accountant talks about the numbers from last month or last quarter but doesn't really think about the business beyond the numbers.

Their family dog looks up with his sympathetic puppy dog eyes but isn't really listening and has nothing to add.

In other words, they’re all alone!

They’re working hard. And painfully they’re trying to figure out why the reality of their business and personal lives doesn’t match the perfect picture they once painted for themselves –– when they first went into business.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall…”

It’s not just being able to say what’s on their mind. It has to do with getting answers, advice, guidance, feedback… and questions posed to them that help them navigate the challenges and opportunities in front of them.

Now if that doesn’t sound like the perfect spot for the business coach to enter stage left followed by a marching band, I don’t know what is.

If you’re not currently working with a qualified, certified business coach, I strongly recommend you give it a try… for at least three sessions. (Five is better.)

Seek out a coach where you feel there’s a good and comfortable fit. And by all means, find a coach who knows the power of accountability.

Committees And Accountability

It's best not to hold committees, groups, or two or more people accountable for making things happen.

The reason is that committees can become “he said, she said” when it comes to taking responsibility. No one really knows who's supposed to do what.

However, when one key person has the responsibility and is accountable, you know who to praise… and who to blame. The key is to make sure one person -- or one champion -- is responsible and accountable for each key assignment… and make sure everyone else knows who that is.

This doesn't mean that the person who is accountable works alone or does everything personally. They can turn to their committee, team, or group provide support to the task at hand... and apply the same philosophy as it pertains to responsibility and accountability. They make individuals within their team accountable for specific subtasks.

Stop Being A Friend

A leader can’t be everyone’s buddy. A strategic business operator can’t be popular. After all, this isn’t high school.

Yet too many business owners try to be liked instead of respected. Let's face it. Holding people accountable can appear confrontational at times. As a result, many owners avoid tension, conflict, and ongoing performance reviews. But such avoidance is dangerous to your business and the growth and development of your people.

As a leader, you need to be respected, not necessarily liked. Above all else, you are their boss and a challenging coach that demands the best of each player.

I kept my fingers crossed as I watched Jeff C. (owner of a printing company), fret over firing a longtime employee. Jeff held parties, picnics, Christmas gatherings, and Easter egg hunts at his home. Everyone in the company was chummy –– one big happy family. There was no professional distance between Jeff and his employees.

When the firing of that longtime employee finally occurred, the company (the other team members) went into a state of depression… more like mourning. It was as though someone in the family had passed on.

The moral of the story is that you can’t be chummy. You don’t have to be mean or distant. You just need to be the leader!