As business owners, it’s a good idea to remember what it’s like to be a customer. As customers we’ve all known the frustration waiting days and weeks for a return call. Our trust in the company or the person we were dealing with dips. Their delay makes us question their competency. We feel less important to them and let down when promises aren’t kept. The longer we wait for a response, the more these feelings fester. Frustration turns into disgust, and we tell others all about it.
Why would you let your customers have that kind of experience?
A 2021 study cited in the book “Be a Unicorn” looked at a survey of >5.7 million leads to determine which ones were most likely to convert into a sale: The ones in which the rep responded to in <5 minutes! Otherwise, the chances of converting them dipped by a factor of 8!
Here are some of the most common reasons founders do not follow up with customers:
Forgetfulness or disorganization (misplaced the documentation)
Conflict Avoidance
Rejection Sensitivity
Having to say “No”
Having to apologize
Admitting that you lack the resources to solve their problem
All of these are solvable reasons for not following up. Most are based on fear. If you take no action to manage these fears, then you have good reason to fear your bottom line.
At the close of 2023, you may be elated, neutral or downright discouraged with your venture’s progress. This post is for those who find themselves more often in the last 2 buckets of “blah.” The more we stay in “blah” the more we strengthen that brain circuit of negativity.
What can you do to weaken that circuit of negativity and, instead, strengthen the circuit of doing and possibility?
Create your personal manifesto. It is a statement of commitment. Complete these sentences and post them in a place to reinforce your “WHY.” Visit your manifesto every morning to reinforce your intention to take action. Read it aloud or silently. You may record it and play it as you prepare for your day. Speak it aloud to others as a way of holding you accountable to your commitment.
My purpose in doing the work, including the boring, tedious stuff is to___________.
My mission is to___________.
I have taken on this challenge because____________.
I have to give myself credit for____________.
My response to the inner critic is to ____________.
I’ll be kind to myself by _________________.
I’ll reward myself for meeting today’s challenges by____________.
Before I go to bed tonight, I will assess my progress and how I can improve tomorrow. I will visualize my best self, working through tomorrow’s challenges with vigor.
Some people rely on external reinforcers to make big things happen. Others look internally ─ they pray, journal, or talk to themselves. Your personal manifesto is a powerful combination of all three. Give it a try.
Share your entrepreneurial conundrums with The COREageous Entrepreneur family of subscribers. Email me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com. I will post my solutions.
When Victor Hugo, the playwright, procrastinated and wanted to go out to a café instead of writing, he coaxed himself to get work done by having a servant take away all his clothes and return them only until he completed his work. A bit extreme, but it worked.
It’s tax season, time to get back to the gym, plus all the other things you may be putting off. Don’t fret, keep your shirt on! I have a better solution. Check out my 80→20 Nocrastination tool.
Go to my websitewww.MindfulCommunication.comand hit the TOOLS menu. Open the 80→20 Nocrastination Tool. No downloads, and it’s free!
The 80→ 20 tool will walk you through the steps to get started on the task you are putting off. My clients describe procrastination as an ever-widening deep, scary chasm between them and the start of the task. The gap is filled with potential obstacles: uncertainty, boredom, the fear of failure and the dreaded emotions that accompany them. The longer you put off a task the greater the gap.
The 80→20 gets you started, and gently guides you through each step towards DONE. The 8 questions (the 80%) gradually clear the obstacles making the task more approachable. The last 2 steps (the 20%) help you follow through to DONE. The process is easy and can move quickly. Every step narrows the gap and eases the stress.
Give the 80→ 20 a try. I would love your feedback!
Still stumped by procrastination? Seriously? Contact me at Rebecca@MindfulCommunication.com
Perhaps it’s the end of the year, the anticipation of the New Year, distraction or something, but a complaint that frequently crops up in coaching these days is: trouble making decisions.
How you feel about a decision should, no doubt, be recognized. But, at some point, when our emotions start to gum up the decision-making process, we need to revert back to thinking mode. The wide range of emotions cloud the process and extend the time it takes to make a well “thought out” decision.
Damon, an owner of a health food startup, was faced with the dilemma of letting a talented, well-liked, but defiant employee go. He cited several concerns that put him in a state of decision-making paralysis. Once he made a decision, he realized other factors he had forgotten and retracted the decision. The constant flip-flopping made him question his competence as a leader, affected his sleep and added to his distractibility. After a couple weeks of woeful waffling, we took the step of putting the pros and cons on paper.
Not only an aid to working memory (the ability to hold several factors online in your head while you make a decision), writing down the pros and cons helped distance Damon from the emotional upheaval. If you’re on the fence, good ole “putting pen to paper” brings a decision-making process into better focus.
Hampered by distraction? Trouble keeping your focus under stress? CoreCoaching can help. Contact me at Rebecca@MIndfulCommunication.com
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When I ask clients about ‘self-care,’ they will usually refer to diet and exercise. Some might even go as far as to add ‘sleep’ to the list.
When Victor Hugo, the playwright, procrastinated and wanted to go out to a café instead of writing, he coaxed himself to get work done by having a servant take away all his clothes and return them only until he completed his work. A bit extreme, but it worked.
Perhaps it’s the end of the year, the anticipation of the New Year, distraction or something, but a complaint that frequently crops up in coaching these days is: trouble making decisions.
"It takes more than courage to be an Entrepreneur, it takes CORE."