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You have a plan…

I was speaking at a high profile event over the weekend. It was Sunday. And Mother’s Day. I was first up. And it was the first time they had run the event. I should have read the warning signs!

So there we are. Me and Ken the tech guy. In the seminar room. With about 50 empty chairs.

But things don’t always go according to plan…

Those empty chairs kept on looking at us. No-one came. So we waited. And we waited some more.

It was time to start. Ken went to check on his other speaker and came back with the ‘good’ news that at least I was there because his other speaker hadn’t even turned up.

I knew it was a bit of a risk being first up but I was hoping for at least a few brave souls to keep me company. To spread my message to. To support. And inspire.

Ah, the explanation…

And then one of the exhibitors stuck his head in to say that no-one was being let in because the health and safety checks hadn’t been completed. That there was a very disgruntled crowd waiting at the barrier.

While it was nice to know that the empty chairs weren’t due to my lack of popularity, I wasn’t exactly in a great situation. I was out of time and the next presenter was on right after me. Not the best situation I could think of for a Sunday morning.

The first guests

Then two lovely, smiling, enthusiastic women came in.

“Have we missed it? Are we too late for the seminar? We really wanted to attend!”

The bluff

“No,” I replied. “Come on in. We didn’t start yet. We know there’s been a problem and we’re waiting for you.”

The dilemma

But I still had the timing dilemma. My time was up and I could see the next speaker pacing nervously and with a hint of impatience outside the door. And still, we had no advice from the organisers.

So Ken and I went to look at the speaker board.

“Well,” said Ken, “You could shift yourself down to the lunchtime slot? How about that?”

But ‘that’ didn’t seem like a great idea. I had my first two guests. Plus I had plans.

The action

So I took Ken’s sharpie (aka felt tip pen ). I crossed out the speakers’ timings. And re-wrote the schedule.

Yup. Crossed out the old times and wrote in new ones. A unilateral decision to shift everyone back an hour.

The visitors would still get to see all the speakers, in the order they had planned. Just a little later. And with the lunch hour, everyone would catch-up for the afternoon. It just felt like the right thing to do.

Make the best of a not-great situation

And things don’t always go to plan. You have to just go with it. Make the best of it. I was still first up and trying to do the right thing for those lovely ladies who had rushed the crowd to get to my seminar.

Ken looked a little shocked. “I’m not sure I would have done that!” he said.

But what choice did I have?

I could have complained. I could have stood down? I could have tried to find someone else to sort it out? But sometimes you just need to take the lead, make a decision and do what seems like the best thing to do in less than ideal circumstances.

Stick to your guns

So back to the room we went, Ken and I. All wired up with my mike.

And then more people came rushing in. Then more. Until we had a full room. Not everyone was happy about the timing, about being held back at the barrier for an hour. Totally understandable.

So with more apologies I just went for it. Encroaching into the time slot of the next speaker. This audience had come to listen to me and they were going to get the best I had to give them.

Sometimes life’s like that

I know it wasn’t ideal, but life’s like that. You always have a choice when you’re in those situations. And usually you don’t have a lot of time to decide.

Sometimes there’s just no backup plan.

So, what about you? Have you had a similar situation? What did you do?

I’d love you to leave a comment and – if you were at that event in London – then I hope I delivered for you – late or not!

When to Spend $67 and When to Spend $1200?

One strategy I always encourage is imperfect action.

No matter how much you want to perfect and improve your idea, your product, your new service, your website… you will always do better with the one that you put out there – and you’ll learn more from it – than the one that never makes it.

The $67 Decision

A good example of this is when I first put my website up. I really wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to use it. I had a couple of people look at it, and I got a couple of quotes, but at the end of the day, rather than spend the $1000 or so getting someone to design it for me, I decided to go low-tech and just have a WordPress site with a nice looking theme.

It can evolve I decided.

So I went with very imperfect but fast action.

(and in case you’re wondering I bought a woo theme for $67 – money very well spent!)

The $1200 Decision

But I recently made the decision to spend $1200 on having a professional editor make a final proof-read and edit of my  book. Is this a bit of the perfectionist coming out? Is it a delaying tactic? And why is this decision different? I mean, it’s a kindle book so technically it’s still electronic and I can change it if I want to, or if I spot a mistake?

Well there were two parts to my decision on this:

1. Firstly it’s about longevity. I can change my website literally within minutes. I can take pages down, put them up and change the content. But I want the book to stand. For at least a year – or maybe even longer. I already have plans for an extended version but I don’t know exactly when I want to do that – and I don’t want the pressure of my imperfection taking over! So to me it’s worth putting this investment into something that I know ISN’T going to be changed overnight.
2. And secondly (and I think the more important business lesson) is that I’ve already tested the concept for this book. It based on material I’ve been using for more than a year now and I’ve been training people on it. So it isn’t my first product, it isn’t something I’m putting out in beta mode. It’s based on material I already know people respond to.

Where Can You Be Less Perfect?

So where could you take imperfect action and get things moving more quickly? And where do you have something that is tried and tested and you know is worth just a bit of extra investment to make it stand out?

I’d love to hear from you – just leave a comment below!

The Power Of Group Focus

One of the areas I work on with my clients is productivity and getting more of the really important stuff done. I know a lot about this – well I thought I did. But the power of focus was really brought home to me at the weekend when I took part in a group productivity day.

I’m in the middle of a video training programme. Yep, you’ve probably noticed I don’t have many videos on my site… That’s because I’ve been ignoring the technology. Waiting. Assuming I’ll wake up one day and it will all make sense to me. Well when that didn’t happen I decided to take a class. It’s been pretty intense with a lot of training and a lot more homework…

And if the homework wasn’t enough, our coach generously decided to throw in, as a ‘bonus’, the chance to spend our Saturday together on a Focused Action Day. The plan was that we would all work simultaneously in our virtual space for five hours, checking in on the hour every hour.

The Power Of Group Accountability

Of course I know that the power of this is in the unwritten accountability. We don’t have to do the five hours, or even any of the hours. But have you ever noticed that when you make a commitment to someone else you are much more likely to keep it?

It was Saturday and I had other commitments. I declared at the outset that I wasn’t staying the whole day. I’d do a couple of hours and I had ‘my task’ to do. We all started from a different place. Some were putting the final touches to their video recordings. Others were using the day to catch-up on missed content.

Group Productivity

So how was it?

As far as a lesson in productivity, the day was a big success. I turned off the internet, no emails, no tweets, just head-down focus. I checked in every hour with my colleagues and the collective commitment was powerful for every one of us.

The Power Of Group Connection

But more inspiring than the productivity was the connection. There we were, a group of 15 strangers. Never having spoken directly before that day. Just names at the end of a phone line.

But by the end of the day we had all become cheerleaders for each other. We were so proud of E who was spending the first block of fully focused time she had been able to spend in about a year because of family commitments. And C moved us to tears with the love she was finding again for her business after having reached rock bottom and moved across the country for a new start.

This motley crew of strangers had become close friends over the course of those five hours.

Create Your Own Group Productivity

And it’s an experience that I’d like to recommend you try out with your own virtual group.

Find a few hours and some friends or colleagues who are prepared to commit the same amount of time. You don’t have to be working on the same tasks but have in mind what you want to achieve.

Check in at the beginning of the day and spend a couple of minutes each talking over what you’re aiming to complete in the day and what you plan to do in the next hour. It doesn’t have to be business based. Maybe you want to get through some domestic chores, have a clear-out, sort out a backlog of paperwork?

Then check in every hour on the hour. Use a teleconference line, or a skype group – it’s free. Take a minute to report your progress and each of you state what you are going to do the next hour. And at the end of the day come together again and ask yourself what you learnt – not just about the task you were doing, but how did the workflow go. What were the highs and lows and what would you do differently next time.

I’d love to hear about your experiences. Have you done anything like this before? How did it go? What are your productivity tips?

Leave a comment below or tweet me @cathypresland

In Business There Are Good Reasons For Setting Goals – But They May Not Be The Reasons You Think

Have you heard about the study of Harvard MBA graduates from the 1970’s who set goals? Or maybe it was Yale graduates from 1953? Either way, the story goes that the group was followed up a number of years later to see how successful they’d become. Apparently those who set specific goals were more successful than those who didn’t and the 3% who wrote down clear goals had accumulated more wealth than the remaining 97% put together.

A convincing argument that just the process of setting goals is more likely to make us achieve them. Right?

Well… not exactly

It’s emerged more recently that there is no actual evidence that these studies took place. In fact Yale has gone so far as to expressly deny the study.

So… should we set goals – or shouldn’t we?

Like me, you’ve probably done your share of setting goals for your business. Annually, quarterly, preparing plans, projects, strategies. Team away-days, logical frameworks, strategic plans…. There’s a certain appeal and a definitely a certain satisfaction from this – a bit like getting all our pencils sharpened in preparation for the new school term.

But does it actually make our business do better?

Other that teaching us that you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, the urban myth about these graduates has distorted the value of setting goals. It isn’t as simple as ‘set a goal and you will achieve it’. In fact the opposite can be true. Setting goals can be a distraction. Studies show that just visualising the achievement of a goal may mean that you are less likely to achieve it.

Here’s my take…

Yes goal setting in your business is a great thing to be doing. But maybe not for the reasons you think. Your goals may not lead you directly to success in the way we have been told. And maybe that time spent on setting and mapping our goals isn’t the best way to do it.

So what instead?

Here’s the two ways I think you’ll find goal setting most useful to you in your business:

1.  To Do Less

Hmm, surely the point of setting goals is so that you can do more? Well no. Part of the process of setting goals is to decide which is the one or the few that are most important to you. And then you don’t need to focus on the others.

Think about it, if you did less, then you could do those few things much better. And wouldn’t that lead to better results?

So prioritise away. Do half what you think you need to be doing. Get rid of some goals. Time is our most precious commodity – save it for the things you really want to achieve.

2.  So That Your Team Knows Where They Are Going

By team I mean anyone around you who is involved in your business. This could be an actual team, or your contractors. Or your advisory board. Or just your friends and family.

If everyone around you understands where you are going then they can support you better. They can help you get to where you want to be and they will be right there with you to celebrate when you get there.

Goals are good but I’m not convinced that goals in themselves will get you to where you want to be in your business – certainly not in the way we might think.

So go on, tell me why you set goals in your business and what you get out of the process – leave a comment below or send me a message on twitter @cathypresland

Want To Get More Clients Easily?

This is a follow on post to how to get clients now, when we ran through Step One of what you should have in place so that you’re all ready for that important first client. To re-cap…

Step One: Get Your Client Infrastructure In Place

There’s an important step between starting a business and actually being client-ready so although you shouldn’t spend a lot of time here, it can be a pretty important milestone to tick off.

I find that it gives you that psychological readiness to get out there and bring the clients back in.

Step Two: Put Yourself Out There

OK I can already hear you saying, yeah, I know this, and I am putting myself out there. But chances are that you’re staying inside your comfort zone and maybe also behind your computer? Be honest! If this is you then it’s time for some tough love - and although you can probably make a pretty good job of this yourself – you do need to really put yourself out there.

Just count up for me how many different ways you are out and about with your potential clients? You’re probably already on the internet, blogging, commenting on blogs, on twitter (that’s four). But are you also doing speaking gigs (highly recommended), networking in person, in forums, on youtube, on other people’s websites, in the newspaper, in magazines, on local radio, on blog radio, doing teleseminars, telling all your friends and relatives, even work colleagues. That’s at least another twelve.

I don’t want you to rush out and do everything in a scattergun way. Think about where your ideal clients are and pick a new way to interact with them that takes you just a little way outside your comfort zone. The go for it. Add one more each week or every couple of weeks until you feel really comfortable in your client’s environment – you know them personally and they know you. Not only is this a fantastic way to get know and build your list, but you’ll also be getting great market research.

Step Three: Snag That First Client

It’s now time for the ask. Don’t just wait for the clients to come to you when you’re starting out. You’ve got people on your list now, you’ve built your credibility and you might even have some written feedback from those speaking gigs to use as testimonials on your website or in your promotional material.  What next?

I want you to try out this one simple technique to ask specifically for what you want (and get it):

1. Decide which of your entry level services best fits the needs of your ideal clients.
2. Identify one group of ideal clients that you are already in contact with – this might be your email list, or it might be a networking group you go to, or your ex-colleagues, friends, or an upcoming speaking arrangement.
3. Contact them and let them know that you want to make a special offer available only to them.
4. Explain how it will benefit them, what it is and what you want them to do. Your pitch should let them know that it’s a new service, you’ve designed it around their needs and you are going to make a special offer only to them.
5. Tell them that you are offering your new service at a special introductory price only for them (if you’re unsure what to offer, start with half price) and that you know it will benefit them (explain how).
6. Also explain that, in exchange you are looking for feedback on the service to help you improve it and maybe a comment or testimonial that you can use as you roll-out the service.
7. This sets up the exchange of value – you’re not discounting your prices because you are new in business but because you are making an exchange with them for their feedback.
8. Make sure that you put some parameters on the offer, and explain them. It’s just for them and you have a time or number limit (tell them what this is, e.g., only if you book up with me in the next week only, the first ten clients, etc).
9. Be very clear about what you want them to do next – do they call you, fill out a form – give it to them.
10. Then be very clear about what you will do next – are you going to call them back, will they get an email from you? Whatever it is make the process as straightforward as you can.
11. And, depending on how you chose to get the news out about this, send them a reminder, or two reminders up until your deadline.

You can take action on this right now by identifying at least one action you can take to get yourself in front of more people more than you are doing already, and you can decide immediately who you are going to offer your new service to.

I’d love to hear back from you about what techniques have worked for you, what haven’t, and what other questions you have. Just leave a comment below.

If you want to make money effortlessly in your business, doing what you love to do, then sign-up for updates in the sidebar.

How To Get That First Client Now – Read On!

It’s so exciting to start a new business. You’re full of creative spirit, working out what your products and services will look like. There’s that whole ‘back to school’ feeling, getting everything organised and set-up just right. But a business isn’t a business until you clients, and it doesn’t take long until you start to wonder where that elusive first client is going to come from. So where are they going to come from?

This is a question that comes up again and again for new entrepreneurs so here are three really straightforward steps you can take right now to start getting clients easily, quickly, and without expensive advertising or waiting forever.

And yep, they’ll also work for you if you’ve been in business for a while and feeling in need of a refresh!

Step One: Get Your Client Infrastructure In Place

You don’t need to spend long on this step but you do need a few basics in place first. In fact I usually advise clients to get the money rolling in right from the get-go, but let’s quickly run through a couple of basics that’ll help you feel confident and client-ready. If you don’t have them in place then a client could come along and you’ll walk away without that crucial first sale.

1. So who are these clients?

Get out amongst them and talk to them. Start communicating. Wherever and whenever you can. Ask questions. Listen to what they say. Really listen. Ask more questions.

2. Work out what they want not what you want to sell them.

A friend of mine says this is like trying to sell sunhats when it’s raining. They might be hand-crafted beautiful sun-hats that we would all go crazy for in the summer. But if it’s raining, who’s interested? Just don’t even try it. Sell umbrellas, re-name your sunhats ‘rain-hats’, or go somewhere sunny where people actually want the sun-hats. Don’t even think about trying to sell your clients something they don’t want – it’s far, far too hard.

3. Think about your service and pricing.

The reason this is in with the basics is so that when that ideal client does want to hire you, you’re not fumbling around thinking what to say or, worse still, saying “I’ll get back to you”. You’re ready right there and then to sell them something. You might be able to do this while you’re in the research phase – how great would that be? Keep this simple and don’t imagine these will be your final packages, but have something short-term, straightforward and relevant that you can offer right now to that ideal client based on what you think he or she is really looking for.

OK so if you spend the next couple of days checking off that you have the basics in place, then you’ll be ready to get out and about in part 2.

That’s it for now. Second part to follow after the weekend…

Next time – now you know what your clients want, go out and get them

In part 2 I’ll tell you how to get more clients covering the one thing you should be doing but probably aren’t doing enough of, as well as the one single technique that’s really simple to implement to get that first client signed up.

If you want to get regular updates and in-depth advice, then sign up for updates in the sidebar.

Preparation and planning in business and why the best laid plans can sometimes go awry

Now I’m no golfer but the hype surrounding the Ryder Cup coming to Wales has been impossible to miss for about the last three years. What with the roadworks, the signage, and the local buzz about how much my neighbours can rent out their houses for…. there’s not chance I could miss it!

But now the Tournament is finally here the ‘unexpected’ has happened. It’s raining. And not just your average autumnal shower. Torrential rain that has got the course so sodden that play might have to be extended into next week. And to make matters worse the raincoats that the USA team brought with them have failed to keep the golfers dry and officials have been sent to buy some that can stand the British weather!

Well it is Wales I guess, and it’s autumn. Is anyone thinking “I could have told you so…”?

I do feel bad for the golfers having to sit it out – and also that we aren’t able to show off our beautiful part of the world (steelworks and all!). But it’s a great lesson in why preparation is actually better in business than planning.

For some years now I’ve gone against the grain by teaching that detailed planning is sometimes just a paper exercise and meticulous preparation is actually a better strategy. Planning implies that we expect a certain scenario to happen, we walk through it, we detail what we are going to do on certain days, we write down all out detailed calculations and then we go ahead and execute. Simple.

But sometimes it rains. And even if we plan for rain, sometimes our raincoats fail.

If you want to take a strategic approach to your business then go for preparation over planning every time. Be prepared for different scenarios, plan for whatever the metaphorical weather may throw at you.

And if you want some how-to steps then try this for size.

1. Take a look at your big picture vision and chose one goal or target that you are planning for at the moment. This could be a product launch, or some marketing you are doing.
2. What’s your target? What results are you planning for – how much income or how many sales are you expecting? Write next to it ‘best case scenario’.
3. Now half this number and write next to it ‘next best scenario’.
4. Now half it again and make this your ‘baseline scenario’. You might be starting to feel a bit jittery at this point. That’s OK.
5. Now look at the work that you are doing. What would have to happen to make your baseline scenario viable. Do you need to bring your costs down to still come in with a profit, or at least break even?
6. If you’re not able to at least break even here, then think again about whether this is your best choice of action right now in your business.
7. Make sure that you don’t lower your expectations at this point – you are still aiming for the best case but you are doing so knowing that when the rain hits you know what to do.
8. And finally, buy a good quality raincoat if you plan on coming to Wales.

I’d love to hear your views on planning (or golf!). How do you plan? What works best for you? What challenges do you have with planning? Leave me a comment below…