Double Your Profits – Part 2 – The Essential Pieces

By Beth Schneider

Did you miss part 1?  Become my Facebook friend and check it out in the notes section - or see it on our blog at http://www.processprodigy.com/blog/?p=244.

These days I find myself doing a lot of writing.  I have a whole routine; grab a cup of coffee and close down all programs except for a word document. Since I like to scribble notes, I keep a pad and pen handy. I also like to be comfortable, so yes, I have special writing pants.  Even with my routine in place, I often find myself sitting and staring at a blank screen.  Tapping my finger on the pad, scratching my head and getting frustrated, which makes it hard to think, which makes it harder to write.  UGGGHH!
People are always asking me  how to get started with putting systems in place.  It dawned on me that these same people might have their own routine.  They get motivated, put on their special systems pants and then stare at a blank screen.  Focusing on HOW you do something in your business is the key to squeezing 2-3 times the results from your existing team and marketing efforts, so let's make this easy to get started.  No more starting at a blank screen.  Oh and special system pants are not required.

There are three essential systems that every business, no matter what the size, must have. In my Outrageously Effective Systems Club, we call these the core systems. They are:

1. A system for Overcoming Sales Objections
2. A system for Setting Up New Clients
3. A Project Management system

Overcoming Sales Objections
My friend, Sharla Jacobs of www.rejuvenateyourpractice.com calls this “dancing with concerns”, which, I think, is a great way to describe this task.  Take a close look at the excuses . . .er . . .I mean reasons that people give you to explain why they are not ready to buy.  Then, one-by-one, create a list of things to say and do to turn those "reasons to walk away" into "reasons to buy". The biggest complaint out there is, “I don’t have enough clients.”  Consider this an essential piece of your business because it is what brings in the clients and signs them up.

Setting Up New Clients
I bet you’ve been in this situation.  You go into a store and the clerk follows you around, attending to your every need...  well, until you hand over the cash.  Once you’ve given up your money, you become suddenly invisible. What do you do to your clients once they’ve said yes?  Every marketing guru in the world will tell you it’s easier to sell more to an existing client than to go out and get a new client.  So what are you doing from the start to make sure that your clients feel like royalty and want to stay around you?   Lay out all of the new client steps ahead of time so that each and every one of those new additions feels completely taken care of and important.  When your clients feel good, they buy more from you and then they tell their friends to buy from you. Result? You feel good, too.

Project Management
The dream is to be able to kick back and enjoy your life while your business runs without you.  That's a scenario we'd all like to live into, isn't it? Unfortunately, the more common scenarios I see include stressed out, overwhelmed and very "stuck" business owners.  Why is like this? Well, primarily because so many business owners have "fallen out of the driver seat" and their businesses are driving them rather than vice versa.  If this sounds like your situation, take a breath... You can get back into the driver's seat by laying out the pieces of your business as if it were a recurring project.  For example, my client Michele takes each and every client through a series of steps and tasks.  By documenting those tasks she made it easy for her team to understand exactly what she needs them to do and how to do it.  For your own situation, pick something that happens over and over, maybe coaching clients, launching products, doing teleclasses, etc.  Lay out each and every step so that you can repeat those same steps instead of constantly reinventing the wheel.

Next time you sit down to figure out how to free up your time and make things easier, think about the core systems.

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