by Julia Felton | Oct 14, 2015
Almost a century after horses were the almost only source of transportation on our streets it is surprising that in this digital age, we still measure the power of a car engine in ‘horsepower’. Even today, when probably the only time most people will see a horse in on a Saturday afternoon at the races, horses still hold a fascination for everyone. For author and business consultant, Julia Felton she believes we can learn so much from them that every business should have one on its payroll.
Julia is the Herd Leader of Business Horsepower Ltd, a company that grew out of her realisation that the horses she keeps on her land in Yorkshire had become her best coaches in teaching her business and life lessons.
According to Julia ” I realised that my herd of horses live in a state of harmony. They act as a single unit and there is collaboration and shared leadership. A wild horse simply cannot afford to live alone, it is simply too dangerous and so the herd band together with a shared purpose of survival. To act in silo groups would be detrimental to the overall success of the herd, and yet, in the corporate world, that is what I witness in business day in day out.”
Drawing from this, and her extensive corporate experience growing effective teams at Andersen and Deloitte, she has just published a new book ‘The Alchemy of Change in which she reinvents ancient wisdom, and the forces of nature, to unlock the potential of leaders and teams.
in the same way that nothing happens in nature on its own, she has created the concept of the Joined-up business. Using an impressive array of tools, strategies and processes Julia helps the reader to unleash their powerful potential and “grab the reins” of their business and inspired everyone in it to work together with a singular purpose.
By each individual focusing on their unique natural strengths individuals, teams and organisations are able to become more engaged and motivated. Collaboration reigns and competition is banished. The result is increased productivity and profitability as twice as much is achieved with significantly less effort.
Her innovative coaching and development programmes, for individuals, teams and organisations, are inspired by nature and her herd of horses. She is committed to creating positive transformation and getting outstanding results through streamlining and systemising businesses so that all the aspects of the business are aligned and no resources are wasted.
During her 12 year career at Andersen and Deloitte she was responsible for developing a business from an idea on a piece of paper to creating and then building a million pound business unit, that became firmly established as the global market leader, providing business intelligence solutions to the hospitality industry. Her unique ability to work at both a strategic and tactical level means that she is sought after as a high performance consultant, mentor and coach.
Julia holds a degree in Hospitality Management and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Institute of Leadership. She is also a Fellow of the British Association of Hospitality Accountants. As a Master Coach and qualified NLP practitioner and trainer she enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs and recently became a Young Enterprise Coach. She is also a Talent Dynamics Performance Consultant, a Trusted Sales Dynamics Coach and a Certified Money and Marketing Business Coach.
Julia’s passion is horses and as a natural horsemanship coach and a Licensed HorseDream Partner she often incorporates sessions working with the horses into her Business HorsePower leadership and team working programmes and Unbridled Success Retreats.
Julia is an accomplished international speaker and in addition to The Alchemy of Change: Ancient Wisdom Re-invented To Unleash The Potential of Leaders and Teams she is the author of Unbridled Success – How the Secret Lives of Horses Can Impact Your Leadership, Teamwork and Communication Skills. Her keynote speech Straight From The Horses Mouth: Leadership Lessons From The Barn To The Boardroom is provocative and thought-provoking, making her a sought after speaker.
Julia will be holding a book launch and masterclass event tonight – Wednesday 14th October – from 7-9pm at Waterstone’s Leeds.
For press, media and general enquiries please connect with Julia via connect@businesshorsepower.com. We can’t wait to hear from you.
by Julia Felton | Oct 1, 2015
When you type the phrase ‘inspiring leaders’ into Google, the results are most likely what you’d expect — images of Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. But have you ever stopped to consider why these usual suspects show up time and time again in conversations about inspiring leadership, and what they might have in common, in terms of the way they think, act and communicate?
One of the most popular TED talks of all time, given by leadership expert Simon Sinek, considers this very question. With almost 20 million views, there are clearly many people who want to understand what it takes to lead in a way that inspires others, and why it is that some organisations and some leaders are able to inspire where others aren’t?
In his talk, Sinek claims to have discovered a pattern between these leaders, which he has codified into an idea called the ‘golden circle’.
“Every single person, every single organisation on the planet knows what they do, 100%. Some know how they do it, whether you call it your differentiated value proposition or your proprietary process or your USP. But very, very few people or organisations know why they do what they do…By “why,” I mean: What’s your purpose? What’s your cause? What’s your belief? Why does your organisation exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?”
Core to Sinek’s ‘golden circle’ principle is the idea that “people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
Apple
Citing Apple as a shining example, Sinek attributes the brand’s success to its ability to get people to believe in what it does by communicating why they do things the way they do. So rather than saying “we make great computers — want to buy one?”, Apple has always placed emphasis on communicating from the inside out, clarifying why it builds the products it does.
According to Sinek, Apple says: “Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?”
The science
Sinek bases his theory upon scientific fact, and specifically, the biological make-up of the brain, which he says corresponds directly to his ‘golden circle’ rule.
A cross-section of the brain has three major components. The neocortex (on the outside) is responsible for all of our rational and analytical thought and language. Our limbic brains (the middle two sections) are responsible for all of our feelings, like trust and loyalty. They are also responsible for all human behaviour, all decision-making, and have no capacity for language.
So, according to Sinek, “when we can communicate from the inside out, we’re talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behaviour, and then we allow people to rationalise it with the tangible things we say and do. This is where gut decisions come from.”
For a business having a clear purpose, a clear Why, is essential to give the business direction. The business Why acts like a true north compass steering the business towards success, Without knowing where you are going the business can end up stalling and at best going round in a circle. Being busy but achieving little.
A clear business Why is also of paramount importance as it helps engage the mind and soul of team members who want to innately contribute to a bigger purpose. When everyone is on the same page then as the organisation is able to start unlocking some of its hidden potential. Why? because team members give more of themselves when they acknowledge they are committed to a vision bigger than themselves. In the words of Sinek, “Whether they’re individuals or organisations, we follow those who lead, not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead, not for them, but for ourselves.”
So if you haven’t already, ask yourself why you do what you do every day. Once you can answer that with conviction, you’ll be more likely to hire team members who share your beliefs and win the trust and loyalty of those whom you lead, whilst sprinkling a bit of inspiration along the way.
Creating a solid Business Promise (Why) is a key facet of one of the three cornerstones of creating a Joined Up Business and that is explained in my book the Alchemy Of Change: Ancient Wisdom Re-invented to Unleash the Potential Of Leaders and Team. You can get a copy here.
by Julia Felton | Aug 12, 2015
My coach recently introduced me to the concept of systems not goals and it is making such a difference in my life that I wanted to share this article with you which has been inspired by James Clear.
We all have things that we want to achieve in our lives — getting into the better shape, building a successful business, raising a wonderful family, writing a best-selling book, winning a championship, and so on.
And for most of us, the path to those things starts by setting a specific, measurable actionable goal. For example I would set goals on how much income I wanted to make a month, how many times I wanted to work out, how much food I wanted to eat. But there was a problem. When I failed to meet this goal I became disillusioned and rather than the goal motivating me it was infact putting me into inaction. I never wanted to set goals in case I did not achieve them. I started avoiding goal setting and planning as it was too painful to see the results. And as a result my business lost focus, direction and momentum.
What I’m starting to realize, however, is that when it comes to actually getting things done and making progress in the areas that are important to you, there is a much better way to do things.
It all comes down to the difference between goals and systems.
Let me explain.
The Difference Between Goals and Systems
What’s the difference between goals and systems?
- If you’re a coach, your goal is to win a championship. Your system is what your team does at practice each day.
- If you’re a writer, your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule that you follow each week.
- If you’re a runner, your goal is to run a marathon. Your system is your training schedule for the month.
- If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal is to build a million dollar business. Your system is your sales and marketing process.
Now for the really interesting question:
If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still get results?
For example, if you were a basketball coach and you ignored your goal to win a championship and focused only on what your team does at practice each day, would you still get results?
I think you would.
For example, if you committed to write two blogs per week over the course of a year you would have written over 100,000 words. The typical book is about 50,000 to 60,000 words, so by this habit of writing twice a week within a year you would have completed enough content for two books.
All of this is such a surprise because goal was never set for the writing. Progress wasn’t measured in relation to some benchmark. What there was a focus on was writing two articles every week. And after sticking to that schedule for a year the result was 100,000 words. If you focus on the system and the process of doing the work, in the end, you might experience better results results.
Let’s talk about three more reasons why you should focus on systems instead of goals.
1. Goals reduce your current happiness.
When you’re working toward a goal, you are essentially saying, “I’m not good enough yet, but I will be when I reach my goal.”
The problem with this mindset is that you’re teaching yourself to always put happiness and success off until the next milestone is achieved. “Once I reach my goal, then I’ll be happy. Once I achieve my goal, then I’ll be successful.”
SOLUTION: Commit to a process, not a goal.
Choosing a goal puts a huge burden on your shoulders. Can you imagine if I had made it my goal to write two books this year? Just writing that sentence stresses me out.
But we do this to ourselves all the time. We place unnecessary stress on ourselves to lose weight or to succeed in business or to write a best-selling novel. Instead, you can keep things simple and reduce stress by focusing on the daily process and sticking to your schedule, rather than worrying about the big, life-changing goals.
When you focus on the practice instead of the performance, you can enjoy the present moment and improve at the same time.
2. Goals are strangely at odds with long-term progress.
You might think your goal will keep you motivated over the long-term, but that’s not always true.
Consider someone training for a half-marathon. Many people will work hard for months, but as soon as they finish the race, they stop training. Their goal was to finish the half-marathon and now that they have completed it, that goal is no longer there to motivate them. When all of your hard work is focused on a particular goal, what is left to push you forward after you achieve it?
This can create a type of “yo-yo effect” where people go back and forth from working on a goal to not working on one. This type of cycle makes it difficult to build upon your progress for the long-term.
SOLUTION: Release the need for immediate results.
I was training at the gym last week and I was doing my second-to-last set of clean and jerks. When I hit that rep, I felt a small twinge in my leg. It wasn’t painful or an injury, just a sign of fatigue near the end of my workout. For a minute or two, I thought about doing my final set. Then, I reminded myself that I plan to do this for the rest of my life and decided to call it a day.
In a situation like the one above, a goal-based mentality will tell you to finish the workout and reach your goal. After all, if you set a goal and you don’t reach it, then you feel like a failure.
But with a systems-based mentality, I had no trouble moving on. Systems-based thinking is never about hitting a particular number, it’s about sticking to the process and not missing workouts.
Of course, I know that if I never miss a workout, then I will lift bigger weights in the long-run. And that’s why systems are more valuable than goals. Goals are about the short-term result. Systems are about the long-term process. In the end, process always wins.
3. Goals suggest that you can control things that you have no control over.
You can’t predict the future. (I know, shocking.)
But every time we set a goal, we try to do it. We try to plan out where we will be and when we will make it there. We try to predict how quickly we can make progress, even though we have no idea what circumstances or situations will arise along the way.
SOLUTION: Build feedback loops.
Business intelligence dash boards give you great feedback on how you are doing. They can create continual feedback loops enabling you to course correct. They help you know if you are staying on track and let you know if the system is working. If we are to keep our business on track it is imperative that we measure the key business indicators and then use this information to help us course correct.
So I encourage you to Fall In Love With Systems
Goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress.
Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.
by Julia Felton | Jan 22, 2015
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about productivity. You see it just frustrates me at the amount of time, energy and resources we waste simply because we are not effective and productive and don’t have Joined Up Business practices in place.
For me it has been one of those weeks. It has seemed like I have not been in control of my schedule. I fell victim to reacting to everyone else’s agenda rather than pro-actively leading my business, and the result is that I’ve been left feeling frustrated that I have not achieved all the things that I wanted to do.
Being a proactive leader of your business and grabbing the reins is so important to ensure success and yet there are times when life seems to take over. For me this week it has been the ongoing saga with my website that my hosting company took down for nearly 30 hours, just when I was in the middle of a launch!!! Exasperated does not described how I felt. Now they acted in good faith because my site was being hacked by bots that were impacting the performance of other website on the server, but still that didn’t help me.
So faced with having wasted loads of time sorting out this issue I found myself up against a few tight deadlines to get work completed. It is then that I remember that old trick that really successful and productive people engage in everyday. They practice R&D! No not Research and Development (although I bet they do some of that) but rather Replicate and Duplicate.
When you replicate and duplicate you become super productive as you leverage all the work that you have done before. By simply re-purposing old content you can instantly create new products and services.
For example:
- If you have a talk you deliver frequently turn it into a book
- Convert a book into a workshop
- Take a workshop and develop a coaching programme around it
In this way one piece of effort leads to at least three new offerings.
And of course you can take content from two or three sources and then combine them to create something completely new. That’s what I’ve done this week to enable me to create a article for a magazine by their deadline. I’ve re-purposed and re-packaged some of my earlier work. And I have to say the end result is pretty remarkable.
So how can you maximize your efforts by building new products and services on what you are already doing?
I’m betting you already have a deliverable core to your business and your customers’ needs. Now let’s turn it into a variety of new offerings by plagiarizing…re-purposing … sections from your original work.
Less work. More money. Take this action this month and reap the benefits…income…all year.
If you’d like to more about how to be more productive and effective in your business mark your calendar for Weds 4th Feb when I will be hosting a complimentary training call and sharing some of my best productivity strategies.
by Julia Felton | Dec 23, 2014
Numbers are your best friend in business and yet time and time again I come across business owners who are running blind. They simply don’t know the numbers in their business. And since they don’t know their numbers they don’t know if they are on track to achieve their goals or not.
One of the reasons many business owners are not looking at their numbers are that they are afraid of what they might see. But trust me, taking the ostrich approach and sticking your head in the sand is never a great option. Sure, it might work in the short term but in the long term if your business is losing money each and every month you will soon go bankrupt.
Knowing your numbers helps gives you visibility in your business to know what is ahead and based with this knowledge you can make changes. So for example, if your budgeted to make £10,000 in sales this month and three quarters of the way through the month you realise that you have only banked £5,000 then you can take corrective action. For example you could have a sale of your products to generate some additional revenue or could launch a new product or service.
You see knowledge gives you choices about what to do. It helps put you back in the driving seat of your business – fully leading it- rather than the business running you.
Still not convinced. Here are five ways that tracking your numbers will benefit your business:
1. Know how far you are from reaching your goals.
Scores of research prove that individuals and organizations who set goals are much more likely to achieve them. However, to achieve a goal, you must be able to properly measure your progress. By understanding how your business is doing in both revenues and profits daily, you can tell if you’re on track to achieving your goals and adjust your plans as needed if you’re not.
2. Pinpoint and manage key underlying issues.
There are a handful of smaller activities that effect larger results. For example, the following are often key underlying issues for sales:
- Number of outbound sales calls
- Number of live connections
- Number of proposals given
- Proposal close rate
- Average price per sale
When sales are low, most entrepreneurs don’t know what to fix to see improvement. By tracking each of these numbers, you can instantly know what to fix.
3. Discover problems before it’s too late.
Most entrepreneurs have a bad sales month, then look back to determine what caused it. Had the entrepreneur tracked his numbers on the underlying issues, he could have fixed the problem early on. For example, he might have learned that the number of proposals issued in the first week of the month was low, and made sure more proposals went out the door.
4. Quantify success and failure.
By understanding and tracking your numbers, you can measure whether your business is performing well. For example, if your sales team made 500 outbound calls already, your number of customer complaints is less than 10, and your average delivery time is less than seven days, you can rest assured that your business is running smoothly.
5. Offer team members more constructive feedback.
Tracking and publishing your numbers tells team members what’s important. For example, if you track customer satisfaction, number of refunds, and average customer hold times, your customer service manager knows precisely how he is being judged and what to improve.
One final thought. Don’t just look at your numbers to determine what needs fixing. Use them to pinpoint what’s working well in your business and do more of that. A great tool is to create a business intelligence dashboard that contains all the key metrics that you need to run your business in one place.
Remember: what you measure you treasure. So if you really want to start making more money in your business start paying more attention to the numbers on a daily basis. You’ll be so glad that you did.
And if you’d like help to Accelerate Your Business Profits then please request a complimentary strategy session. I offer a limited number of these each month so apply for one here
by Julia Felton | Nov 26, 2014
Most business owners and entrepreneurs I know don’t plan to fail in their businesses – let’s face it who wants to fail – and yet with 1 in 3 business failing in their first year this is the position many people find themselves in.
And if you have survived the first year, congratulations, but beware because only 50% of those of you who survive the first year will make it through the next four years.
Scary isn’t it.
So what is the the number one cause of this failure? According to Dun & Bradstreet, the primary cause is lack of business planning.
Yes, entrepreneurs and business owners don’t plan to fail. Rather, they fail to plan (which causes them to fail).
To my mind, there are two types of business plans. The first is the business plan you must create when you start your company. The purpose of this plan is to ensure you have fully thought through your venture.
Among other things, this plan includes significant market research. It assesses your market size to ensure the opportunity is big enough. It analyzes customer segments to confirm that customer needs match your company’s proposed product and/or service offerings. And it analyzes the competition to determine how your company will position itself and how you will most effectively compete.
From a strategic standpoint, the business plan must document your marketing plan (how you will secure customers), your human resources plan (who you will hire) and your operations plan (what key milestones you will accomplish and when).
When you’re done, your business plan will confirm your market opportunity and give you a roadmap to follow. It will also be required should you wish to gain funding from investors and lenders.
Now, once your business is up-and-running, you still need a business plan in order to succeed. I refer to this type of business plan as a “strategic plan.” I term it as such because this type of plan requires much less research (since you already know who your customers are, the market fundamentals, and lots of information about your competitors). Rather, the focus of this plan is strategy.
Specifically, this plan needs to identify precisely:
- Where you want your company to be in five years
- What you need to accomplish within the next year to progress you to that point, and
- What your strategy is to complete your key milestones in the next 12 months
It is also useful to undertake a SWOT analysis so that you are clear on your company’s strengths, and opportunities and how best leverage them.And so you are not blind sided you also need to be consciously aware of your company’s weaknesses and where the potential threats might lurk.
I like to keep this strategic plan short (often just one page) and the Growth Accelerator Orbit Plan is a great tool to use. It helps detail on one page your 3-5 year plan in all the key areas of your business. Seeing everything on one page enables you to easily understand how all the different parts integrate in order to create a Joined Up Business. Many of my clients find that armed with this information their original plan does not compute. For example they have not planned for sufficient resource to deliver the revenue targets. Clearly seeing this means that corrective action can be made now before it is too late.
If you don’t take time to do this, you become too tactical. That is, you continue to use the same tactics that have gotten you to the point you are at. And oftentimes, the strategy and tactics that got you where you are today are NOT the strategy and tactics that will get you to the next level.
Creating a business plan when you start your company, and annually creating strategic plans to grow your company is absolutely essential to your success. Research proves it. So, if you want to avoid failure, and achieve maximum success, make sure you are continuously creating, updating and following your business and strategic plans.
Currently there is funding available through Growth Accelerator to help businesses develop both their business and strategic plans, so if you are interested in finding out how I can help you access this funding and create these plans for you then please get in touch – julia@businesshorsepower.com.
Ensure your business success in 2015 by planning for it.
by Julia Felton | Oct 26, 2014
If you run your own business I’m sure you are always been told that you need to attend networking events because this is the one of the fastest ways to gain visibility and let people know what you do.
I agree that visibility is vitality important for any business owner because if you are the best kept secret on the planet no-one knows to buy from you. In fact I’ve known many great businesses fail simply because no-one knew about them. Today, however, it is easier than ever to get visibility and let people know what you do.
So then, why doesn’t networking work for most people? The simple reason is that most people spend their time networking telling people WHAT they do. For example, they are a social media consultant, a coach, a trainer or a landscape gardener. You get the idea.
However, people don’t really care WHAT you do they care WHY you do it.
The why is the reason that you went into business and it is what motivates you to get out of bed in the morning and continue on with business even on the toughest days. The why is your driver.
So for example Virgin’s WHY is to change the game and challenge the status quo by providing a product or service of great use. Us shoe retailer Zappos WHY is to make customers happy whilst Disney use imagination to bring happiness to millions.
When people share Why they do something this stirs feelings in the limbic part of the brain – the part of the brain responsible for decision making and behavior. It helps people connect together through shared feelings and emotions. Contrast this with the neocortex part of the brain which is rationale and analytical and is concerned with what we do. The problem is that the neocortex does not drive behavior which is why when you tell people what you do at a networking event they often don’t take any action and help refer business to you.
Networking Neighs is networking group with a difference as the entire focus of the event is on sharing with people WHY you do WHAT you do. Based on the proven formula developed by Emma Taylor of The Bay Horse Speaks the levels of connection that have been built up between the members in other Networking Neighs Groups has been astounding as has the level of business passed between each other.
Forming relationships and connections is vital for business success and really helping others understand more about your own drivers really helps accelerate this process. Plus the event being held at Gallabar Farm, where the mere presence of horses somehow unlocks something hidden within each of us to connect and be seen as who we really are.
You can find out more about the Networking Neighs meeting in Yorkshire here. You’ll also find Networking Neighs in Warwickshire and Sussex
Next time you are at a networking event I challenge you to start sharing with people why you do what you do. You’ll be amazed at the results.
by Julia Felton | Jul 8, 2014
More people than at any time before have taken the leap to start their own businesses. This includes chiropractors, dentists, osteopaths, massage therapists, coaches, consultants, speakers, and a host of other professions.
Starting a business on your own has many challenges. For many people, the biggest one is “selling.” You can’t grow your business if you don’t sell your products and services to someone.
Yet, for many, “selling” brings up visions of sleazy used car salesmen who try to manipulate others to get what they want. Who wants to be like that? So, you’re faced with this dilemma: How do you grow your business and be a good, authentic, loving person at the same time?
The secret is to transform “selling” into “serving.” Let me show you how you do that.
Changing the Game
Selling is sleazy when it’s manipulative. Let me convince you to do something so I’ll get what I want.
If you want to grow your business, and feel good about yourself at the same time, it’s necessary to change the way you think about “selling.”
Everyone buys things. If you provide a product or service that has real value and helps people solve real problems, there is someone who will want to buy it. That someone is struggling with the problem you are prepared to solve. They wouldn’t want a solution if solving the problem wasn’t important to them. So if you can help them solve their problem and do a good job of it, you have become their new best friend. They not only will want to buy what you have to sell, they will want to buy from you again and again because now they have begun to trust that you are someone who can help them solve their problems.
When you are able to shift your thinking from “I’m selling something” to “I’m serving someone by helping them solve a problem that they care about,” you’ll find yourself feeling great when that someone buys your stuff. Here are 5 ways to make that shift.
Step #1 – Get Clear on the Value You Offer
It all begins with you understanding what are the problems you are uniquely qualified to help your clients or customers solve. Knowing where you are most trusted in business is a great place to start and you can do this by taking the free Trust Test at http://bit.ly/trusttest
But you can’t stop there. What problems does your product or service address? What resources do you bring to help your customer or client solve those problems? Why should people believe that your proposed solution really works?
Make a list of the problems and then list how your product or service solves each problem. Make a list of the resources your customer or client will have at their disposal when they purchase your product or service. Then gather testimonials, endorsements, case studies and anything else that will demonstrate your solution really works.
It’s been found that people are 10 times more likely to respond to a solution to a problem they have than they will to an opportunity to achieve something they want. So, make sure you really understand how you can help others solve their problems.
Step #2 – Understand Your Client/Customer/Partner’s “Critical Need”
Once you’ve understood in general the types of problems you are uniquely qualified to solve, the next step is to understand who has those sorts of problems and would be attracted to your particular solution.
You may think that everyone needs what you have, but that’s never true. Even if we assume everyone has the problem you’re solving, only certain types of people will be attracted to the way you solve it.
Apple has done an amazing job of helping people solve problems they didn’t even know they had–like the ability to carry their entire music library with them in a pocket size device, or to watch TV shows or videos on a book size device. Most people will agree that Apple’s products are good quality. And just about everyone wants to listen to music or watch videos these days, but not everyone is going to buy an Apple iPod, iPhone or iPad. For some the products are too expensive. For others, the products don’t go well with other equipment they already use. Apple’s success has been successfully targeting people who are willing to pay more for a product that helps them feel special and unique while being useful at the same time.
I define your perfect alliance partner as “that person or organization for whom you are uniquely qualified to fulfill their most critical need and in fulfilling that need you fulfill your own critical need at the same time.”
You’re in the business of solving problems. Step #2 is about finding the people who have those problems and consider them significant enough that they’re willing to pay to solve them.
Step #3 – Build Trust
People will only buy from or work with people they trust. These days, building trust begins by establishing a relationship with people who have the problems you are prepared to solve. You build trust by getting testimonials, endorsements, or case studies from people who have benefited from your products or services. You can also build trust by demonstrating you have had success in the past. And you can build trust by offering knowledge, service, or even products for free so that your potential customers and clients have the chance to see how well you can help them solve their problems.
You can read some of of my clients at https://www.businesshorsepower.com/success-stories/
Step #4 – Remove the Perception of Risk
Anytime someone purchases something there is a risk that it won’t serve their needs. To the extent you can show others that the risk that your product or service will not provide the promised value is very low, the more likely it is that people will be willing to invest in what you offer them.
One simple way to reduce risk is to offer a guarantee. If they’re not happy, they can return the product or service and get a refund within some period of time. A guarantee allows the customer to see if the promise matches up to their experience.
But you can reduce risk in other ways as well. You can offer additional bonuses and extras for free so the value customers receive is so much greater than what they’re paying that they feel the risk of not being satisfied is low.
The more you build your reputation, the less risky people will feel about doing business with you. When you have endorsements or support from well-known or trusted authorities, you inspire confidence that you can deliver on your promises.
Step #5 – Genuinely Care About Your Customer (this is the most important one)
When you see yourself as “serving” rather than “selling” then you let go of your attachment to “making the sale.” Your focus and concern is with making sure that your customer really has a need you (or your products and services) are uniquely qualified to fulfill. This is the place where the Golden Rule comes in: treat your customers as you would want to be treated. Your job is no longer trying to sell anyone. It becomes identifying people who have problems you can solve. These are the people you are here to serve and serving them becomes fun.
Going Deeper – Join Me at the Get Clients Fast Telesummit
On Thursday 10th July at 10am GMT I am being interviewed by Helen VandenBurghe as part of the Get Clients Fats Summer School about Mastering The Inner Game of Sales: 5 Secrets To Becoming a Trusted Sales Adviser So You Can Effortlessly Convert Prospects Into Clients
How would you like getting clients to become an effortless task that you actually enjoyed?
Wouldn’t you just love prospects to be magnetically drawn to you?
This is possible when you fundamentally change your mindset and energy about sales and instead become a trusted sales adviser. I’ll be sharing with you:
• #1 mistake that most sales people make when talking to clients
• My proven 5 steps formula to becoming a trusted sales adviser
• 7 mindset traits of successful trusted sales adviser
and much more…..
You can join the call for free, simply register at: http://www.getclientsfast.net
by Julia Felton | Jul 4, 2014
As many of you know I recently became certified as a Growth Accelerator Coach. So to help you demystify how this programme can help you I have put together this short review.
Could your business benefit from a successful growth strategy?
Are your everyday responsibilities getting in the way of thinking time?
Have tactics overtaken strategy?
Have your processes fallen behind the pace of growth?
Could your managers be better equipped to step up?
Do you want to unlock your capacity for innovation?
Do you need to discover new routes for funding and investment?
Do you want to build on the power of your people?
Could you benefit from a more united and inspired leadership team?
Do you want to see relationships with your clients thrive?
Answer YES to any of these questions and there’s a good chance you could benefit from joining the Growth Accelerator Program.
As a Growth Coach and Growth Accelerator Trainer, I’m often asked to explain the program to people so I thought I’d produce this helpful little guide.
What is the Growth Accelerator program?
Growth Accelerator is a government funded UK initiative targeting high growth businesses who want to enter their next growth phase and have the determination and potential to get there.
Alongside the Regional Growth Manager, we work with you to develop your growth plan, bespoke to the needs of your business. This will typically focus on one of three areas; Access to Finance, Business Development or Growth through Innovation.
Who can join?
To be eligible for the program, your business must be registered in the UK and be based in England. You must have fewer than 250 employees and a turnover less than £40m. It’s for both B2B and B2C businesses.
What do I get?
- A free consultation with a Growth Manager to assess your needs.
- A free GrowthMapper assessment, giving you new insights into the barriers holding your business back from growth.
- A Growth Coach (chosen by you) and funded by a grant of £3,500 to be used to support your needs for growth.
- Up to £2,000 matched funding for Leadership and Management training for all your managers.
- 6 half day workshops (strategy, sales & marketing, change management, leadership, achieving more for less and high growth teams).
- Free membership to the Growth Community.
What’s the Investment?
It depends on the number of employees
- 1-4 employees = £600
- 5-49 employees = £1500
- 50-249 employees = £3,000
(all packages incur a VAT cost of £700 which is worked out from the full grant award of £3,500)
To get cracking with your business and personal growth, call me on 01423 788229 or email me at julia@businesshorsepower.com. Either myself or the Growth Manager will come out to assess your needs.
by Julia Felton | Jun 17, 2014
Coach Charlie has been excelling himself this week teaching some new clients the finer points of sales and marketing, particularly as it relates to energy. Julie won a Horse Assisted Coaching session with me as a raffle prize to raise money for the Harrogate Neo-Natal Unit. I was delighted to be able to support this organisation who have supported a number friends through their challenging times.
Julie selected Coach Charlie to work with during her session on over-coming her fears around selling. Making sales is a key activity for any business owner but one that many of my clients don’t relish. Charlie taught Julie the subtle art of selling – how to manage her energy, when to lead, when to follow, when to pause and how to keep him engaged.
You see the biggest challenge you have in business is not competition for your products and services but rather people’s apathy and inertia. Your potential clients have so much going on and are over-loaded with information that sometimes they stop engaging. (The average person gets 147 emails per day and I know I get a lot more than that). Your challenge like Julie’s is how to attract the attention of the client (in this case Charlie) and keep him engaged so that he wants to follow you.
At first Charlie just stood still rooted to the spot, unable to move. Julie did a great job of keeping his attention but her energy was not compelling enough to get him moving – and guess what, Julie shared that often happens in her business. Her prospects are interested in what she has to offer but like Charlie never take action and buy her services.
Charlie taught Julie how sometimes you need to be a little directive to get the first step, because this is always the hardest. Once the first step is taken however, then momentum can keep the horse (and your potential client) moving forward. When Julie raised her energy and gave Charlie some clear instruction he walked alongside her.
How many times have you not led your potential client through the sales conversation for fear of being too salesy? This is the lesson that Julie learnt in the round pen from Charlie – sometimes your clients need a gentle nudge to get them moving in the right direction. They need to be told what to do in order to take the first step and it needs to be easy to take. Set things up for success. So in Julie’s case getting Charlie to walk across the round-pen to join her was too much of a step but when she made that first step easy, by joining him and being much closer to him, he willing walked with her.
The horses have been teaching me so much about sales recently so I’m delighted to be a guest speaker on The Get Clients Fast tele-summit happening next month. Stay tuned for more details and how you can grab a copy of my hot off the press free report Attract And Convert Clients By Being A Trusted Sales Adviser.
