4 Ideas To Improve Your Business

Let’s establish something about being in business:

It’s doesn’t matter what business you’re in – B2B or B2C.  It could be digital marketing, software, construction, manufacturing or any other industry these two points hold true:

You are in…

•   The people business

What you sell are…

•   Relationships

Keep these two points in mind as you read through four ideas to improve your business.

  1. Strengthen your business relationships: Because you are in the people business you need to strengthen the business relationships you have – with co-workers, customers and vendors. You need to understand more about who they are. Have more conversation with them – by email, by phone, by directly meeting with them one-on-one. Ask how their day is going. Ask if there is anything you can do to assist them or help them. If you only see people you work with as a way to reach your goals, you’re not going to be successful. People need to know or sense you care about them at the professional level. Determine how you can strengthen each of your business relationships on a daily basis. Be conscious about your interactions. Some interactions you will have to initiate; other times it will relate to what is on your calendar that particular day or week or to what is happening in your business. Also, using a tool like Nimble will contribute greatly to strengthening your business relationships.

  1. People need to trust you:  People need to know when you say something that you will hold to your word and will make it happen. It could be about almost anything. Something as small as bringing someone a cup of coffee to something big like keeping an appointment or meeting an important deadline. But the point is you do what you say you will. People who work with you put their trust in you. It’s how they prosper at work and ultimately, at home.

  1. Have people in the right place at the right time doing the right things.  If you are a CEO, founder, business owner or entrepreneur, it is especially important in order to be successful on a day-to-day basis. Make the best use of the talents and skills people have. Develop goals and a business plan that plays to individual strengths and adequately covers any weaknesses. If people aren’t in the right place at the right time doing the right things, they will not be successful nor like what they do. Remember, a key to success always includes having a GREAT attitude about whatever it is that needs to be done. GREAT attitudes can only strengthen business relationships.

  1. Have clear expectations.  Not unrealistic expectations. Both for yourself and for others you work with. How many new prospects can you realistically contact or meet with in a day? How many company meetings can you realistically attend in a day and still get other necessary things done without having to sleep overnight in your office?  How can you ask someone to do something that isn’t what they do or do best? Have you ever worked side-by-side with or in another co-workers job for a day or even an hour just to know what it’s like to experience and get a different perspective to improve overall company operations?  Or are you just setting yourself and others up for failure due to unrealistic expectations? That’s exactly what you don’t want to have happen at your company!

These four ideas to improve your business will help you to understand your business better and to make it stronger. Why? Because you’ll understand business more clearly and you’ll be able to give clearer direction to those you work with.