By Dr. Jason Carthen
Recently, while traveling to a training engagement, I looked down and noticed a warning light had appeared on my dashboard amidst the other gauges. After some inspection, I realized the problem stemmed from under-inflated tires! Now imagine my surprises because I did not think minimally inflated tires would cause the entire system to begin to register warnings and a need for action. Boy was I wrong! It turned out that because of that under inflated tire, a new host of problems had started to crop up.
Be Aware of Your Messaging
In business, you must diligently remain aware of your messaging and your forward progress as it relates to your service offering. We can sometimes fall into the trap of forward movement without assessing our progress or the value that we are creating for our clients or followers. The ability to make tweaks or what I like to call “mid-course corrections” along the way, offers the greatest opportunities for success over the long-term.
I want to offer to you two ways to make sure you are not only broadening and deepening your service offerings, but assessing whether it adds immediate value. The first may seem simple enough, but is rarely placed into action, and the second may feel counter-intuitive dependent upon your motives for carrying out your business:
Assessment
1. Assess your clients or followers satisfaction at multiple intervals. When you offer a blind survey or another avenue for feedback, your ability to add immediate value goes up tremendously! Why? Because a survey or feedback tool points to an immediate need that you can address at the point. Keep in mind, you are in business to serve the customer and address their needs. Many of my colleagues would say, “address their pain” but I believe it also goes beyond the pain to addressing the greatest dream or desire. When you can address what they “hope to accomplish” then you are adding immediate value!
Give it Away!
2. Test your product or service offering by giving away a product (book) or service (half hour coaching session) to determine if you need to tweak or modify your delivery or refine your process. Remember, you did not always require a fee for service and sometimes, we actually create more long-term value and repeat business from the initial interaction or sales call.
As an added benefit, on my Radio Show “Discover the Leader in You!” Episode #29 I talk about understanding your motives for going into business and what leads to sustainability while overcoming fear. You can find that episode here on iTunes:
No matter what business you are in, it is imperative that you frequently check your “proverbial tire pressure” and determine if you are properly aligned with the needs of your clients or followers to increase the likelihood of success.
Leave a comment or post on my Facebook Page and share with us the last time you gathered information about your progress. Your comments and insights are important to me!
