This thing about perfectionism is controversial to talk about. We are taught to find the “perfect solution” to our customers’ problems. But here’s the thing, and it’s important to remember. Life changes for that customer almost daily. The customer herself can’t really articulate a “perfect” solution. She may think she can, but once her “perfect solution” is in place, things will change and she’ll find that she needs to tweak it a little bit over time.

The big truth is that there IS no ongoing, perfect solution for your own business or for your customer’s business, either. You plan a resolution to an issue and execute it, and after that you see what worked and what didn’t work. You change it around the edges a little bit and go again. Finding what works for yourself or for a customer is not a straight line. It’s a curving line, sometimes curling back on itself, sometimes meandering where you never dreamed it will go. To hold that as true and faithfully watch when changes are needed is the best practice for a solo professional. It’s the best practice for larger businesses, too, but they often become too inflexible and stodgy to execute in that way.

Here are two big problems I see with solo professionals who are trying to establish a business that makes enough money to be viable.
1. Fear of making mistakes, which manifests as failure to take timely action.
2. Trying to decide everything by logic rather than feeling into what might be best for their business or their customer’s business.

I’d much rather see a solo professional try something and fail, and then learn from what went wrong, than to be paralyzed from the fear of failure. Almost all successful business owners have made mistakes, and there’s no sin it in. The sin is in burying the mistake and failing to look at it closely so that one learns. I literally have to re-train a good portion of the clients I work with to actually tell me when something goes wrong! We get into this practice of trying to hide our mistakes, which doesn’t help us in the end.

Additionally, there is a great benefit to using your feeling sense to help make decisions for yourself and your customers. You might also think of this as using your intuitive sense of things rather than depending solely on logic. You can ask yourself a question, close your eyes, and get a gut feel or sense of the best answer. The more you practice this, the better you will get. It is a great addition (and sometimes a replacement) for deciding only by logic alone. In fact, most of the millionaire entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed over the past years tell me that when the chips are down and it’s decision-making time, they trust their gut. Not the figures, but the gut. That’s a great confirmation of using your feeling sense to help you made decisions. Sometimes things will not seem logical at all, but you have a strong sense it is the right path to take.

The truth is that there IS no perfection in this life, so trying to run our businesses from that place will never work. That is the wisdom that successful solo professionals have come to know. the next time you feel yourself fearful over making a business decision, take a breath, check your gut, and move forward. You’ll find that you will do better in the end than waiting for perfection to come.

1.  Increase the number of clients or customers you have.  This  means letting folks who are new to you and your business know about you and the problems you solve.  How can you do this quickly and efficiently?

• Ask existing customers for referrals
• Find a business networking group you’ve not been to before and attend
• Send out an e-newsletter and ask recipients to forward it to one person who might benefit from your services
• Ask friends and family to specifically mention your business to one person this week
• Post helpful resources and advice to your social media accounts
• Revamp any existing paid advertising and look for a higher return on investment
• Partner with an aligned business to advertise or do a quick special promotion

2.  Increase the average transaction value for existing customers or clients.  This means that you offer more value and get a greater price than you are currently getting from your customers.  Here are a few ways to do this:

• Raise your rates
• Bundle several of your products or services together and offer them at a special price
• Create a VIP customer category and charge for access to VIP status
• Offer an add-on to your existing product or service.  For instance, if you sell jewelry offer a color consultation (for an additional price) with each jewelry consultation or purchase.

3.  Increase the frequency of repurchase by existing customers.  This means that you devise options designed to encourage customers to come in more often (or order more often).

• Let customers know the benefit of increased services (massage therapy more often than once a month actually boosts the immune system, for instance).
• Package services for frequent buyers.  Personal trainers, for instance, might offer a special rate for those who purchase a quarter’s worth of training three times a week.
• Let customers know about new inventory as it arrives to encourage more frequent visits to a retail shop.
• Point out that more frequent services can lead to faster results

The point is that boosting your income quickly doesn’t take months of agonizing over how to do it.  Pick one of the three options that you feel will work best for you and get started right now to implement one or more strategies for it.  Income doesn’t increase when we THINK about what we might do, income increases when we actually IMPLEMENT something new.

When clients come to me wanting to increase their income quickly they usually are holding that wish as something that is hard to do, scary, or impossible.  One of the secrets to boosting your income is to change your own attitude about how easy it is to make more money.  If you take action, it happens.  If you worry about how you are going to take action then nothing happens and you continue on the gerbil wheel of “how can I do this?”

Do you want to make more money this month?  Go look at yourself in a mirror, smile, and declare out loud “I”m off right now to make a bunch more money this month.”  It’s pretty tough to do something you don’t believe you can do, so quit thinking you can’t and start telling yourself you can.  The how-to’s are right here for you.  Pick one, work on it, and let me know how much more money you have in your pocket at the end of this month. 

(c) Sue Painter

• Highly successful businesses don’t compete on price alone.  They are smart enough to know that being the cheapest isn’t a strong USP (unique selling proposition).  Instead, they want you to spend money with them because their service is better, their designers more creative, their merchandise higher quality, they are more convenient, or their knowledge and expertise gives you a value far and above what you pay.
• You don’t want your customers buying from you only because you are the cheapest deal around.   Here is one big reason why – cheap customers are not loyal customers.  They buy only on price, so as soon as Sally down the street offers a floral arrangement for even one dollar cheaper, off they go.  You need repeat, loyal customers.  Constantly having to find new customers AND having to find them only because you are the cheapest deal around will flat wear you out.  You will “churn” customers rather than create a willing customer base for your business.  You will work much harder for every dollar you earn, and you will earn less dollars (because your prices are cheaper).
• When you discount constantly, you get customers trained to never pay full price.  I wrote a blog post about this some time back that illustrates this.  Lately, Talbot’s has gotten into the bad habit of constantly offering sales.  I never pay full price there and I never will – I know that I can always wait it out and get a nice discount and maybe even free shipping.  Too bad for Talbot’s that they have trained me and a dozen other people I know to never pay full price.  That also gets me to thinking that if they can discount THAT much, their prices might be highly inflated to begin with – not something Talbot’s needs me to be thinking!
• It is a strange phenomena but it’s true that people will hunt down the cheapest price, gleefully pay it, and then not much value what they bought.  Now what you’ve got on your hands is a customer you discounted to, and the thanks you get in return is that they really don’t even value what they got from you.  That doesn’t make them want to come back to you, does it?
• If you have set your prices fairly (that means, you are making a good profit but you’re not gouging, either) then discounting may mean you don’t cover your costs.  Service business are especially bad about getting themselves into this trap, because they are not purchasing product to resale.  Instead, they are selling their time and expertise.  I’ve seen hair dressers and massage therapists deep discount 30% only to find they are working like dogs and can’t pay their rent and utilities at the end of the month.  Have they gotten clients?  Yep.  Are they going to stay in business?  Nope.  They have, in essence, worked themselves right out of business.

If you want to offer a special deal in order to grow your business don’t do it by discounting.  Instead, ADD a small product or service without charge.  This does TWO things – it ADDS value rather than lessens values.  And, it shows your customers a new product or service that they might not have known you have – something they may decide they can’t live without the next time they are in.

Bottom line – in most cases, discounting doesn’t serve you in building your business.  Solo professionals and small business owners are not the same as super-big-box stores who can spend millions advertising and churn new customers constantly.  You want to cherish your customers, treat them well, offer fair value, and give true benefits in your products and services.  This will build a solid business with loyal, repeat customers who value you and what you offer.

(c) Sue Painter

While it is great to have many new ways to market, designing marketing that works is the even bigger key.  It’s a mistake to get enthralled with a certain way to deliver your marketing FIRST and make your marketing fit that delivery system.  Why?  Well, you’re not focused on your people.  Marketing that works focuses FIRST on your peeps.  You have to think from their point of view  first and foremost.

Two social media marketing folks, Julie Ask and Charles Golvin, came up with a systematic approach to mobile marketing strategy that they called POST.  But the truth is, POST applies to any type of marketing strategy, no matter whether it is old or new.  Here’s the simple system:

• People (P)
• Objectives (O)
• Strategy (S)
• Technology (T)

Ask and Golvin remind us that we have to know who are people are, what our objectives are (what do we want them to know about what we have to offer), the strategies we might use (information, special offers, etc.) and only THEN pick the technology.  If you’re trying to reach 75 year old guys, chances are they WON’T be reached effectively through social media.  On the other hand, to market to a 25 year old guy you might want to use mobile technology.

Be enthusiastic about how you deliver your marketing only after you are enthusiastic about describing your market inside out and backwards and forwards.  The more you know about your peeps, the better you’ll have a sense of what will serve them.  The rest of your marketing will fall into place and be successful.  Make sure you’re design forward, not backward.  Your bank account will show the results!

(c) Sue Painter

Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) did a poll the other day, which tells us that 76% of Americans will cut spending over this holiday season. This means that purchases, travel, parties, gifts, cards and all the related ways we spend at this time of year will be down quite a bit. The poll also points out that about 6% of us (that’s roughly 12 million) still owe credit card debt from last Christmas!

Consumers get savvy in tight times – that’s a fact you can take to the bank. What else will you be taking to the bank over the holiday season, though? As an entrepreneur, you have several advantages over large, lumbering, inflexible businesses. Use these advantages wisely, and you can thrive in the upcoming holiday season that everyone says will be tough.

• Stay close to your customers and listen very carefully to what they need. In tight times, people shift their spending somewhat to things they really need rather than fulfilling wants. I guarantee you have the opportunity to listen better than 90% of large businesses. Listen and learn – and create a program or a product that answers the needs you hear.
• Offer unique, personalized service that no big-box store can hope to match. Deliver, wrap, offer a wish list sign-up, send e-mail messages with “hints” to friends and family. Have more than one special event which you publicize well, with door prizes that make it worth the customer’s time to come by. Offer a small gift if your customer brings a friend. Have live music to set an open and relaxed mood – which offers a gig to a local pianist or other musicians who might be hurting. If you don’t have a store-front, point out that you can help with gift lists via e-commerce, which helps your customer save time and gas money. Collaborate with other entrepreneurs to put together packages and cross-market to each other’s customers.
• Offer your products and services in new ways. If you’re a coach, pull together an hour-long session focused on the New Year and offer it on a gift card. Use your e-zine to point out that friends and family want VALUE in gifts, which your expertise can provide. Offer services to people outside your normal target – advice to kids or elders, for example.

Ask for the referral – ask customers to pass along your name and the unique things you have to offer. Word of mouth advertising is the best you can get, and the cheapest, too!

Use the mantra “listen, create, respond” with every customer and every potential customer. Your willingness to be unique and creative will show and will naturally attract people to you. These tips and your own attitude will create a holiday season in which your business thrives.

Sue P.

I had an early Christmas gift given to me this week. A long-time client brought it, the stylish pink and beige wrapping reflecting the stylish person she is. It was, hands down, one of the most perfect gifts I’ve received for Christmas, ever. I felt this little rush of pure delight when I opened it, and I anticipate enjoying and using it for many years to come. It made me happy and it let me share a moment of pleasure and fun with the giver. The gift and the giving were satisfying to us both.

This early-Christmas event got me thinking about satisfying customers and clients. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this holds the formula for perfectly serving our customers well, creating one of a series of satisfying moments that meet and even exceed our customer’s expectations. Here are the elements that lead to pleasing me (the ersatz customer):

• The giver knew my interests well, having paid close attention over time to what I talked about
• She was vested in giving me something she knew would be on target
• The gift was useful and allied with one of my interests and activities
• It was something new, just out, and not likely to be something I already had or knew of
• It met a need in me for more information on an activity I often do
• It was timely – she gave it to me before I went out and stumbled across it myself
• The gift gave me the feeling that she cared about me and wanted to please me
• I am left with a feeling of anticipation, looking forward to using it
• The giving built an increased sense of connection and pleasure between the two of us

Do you see how the gift giver did what savvy entrepreneurs do? Following her formula, we’d hit the nail on the head with our customers every single time, and do it in a way that proves to the customer that we are useful to him (or her). We would have a full stable of loyal customers who looked to us to know them and be able to meet their needs. What else could we ask for? We’d be happy, they’d be happy – just like my gift giver and I were.

Over the next month, try serving every customer as if you were seeking and giving them the perfect gift. The step back and evaluate. I’d bet you’ll find that this is another way to make your business thrive.

And to Anna, many thanks.

Now, research has shown that using the word “free” doesn’t engage your potential customers. Freebie seekers are just that – after resources that don’t cost a thing. The more you feed freebie seekers the more they will show up for more – and you will train them to keep doing exactly that! So, what to use instead? The research shows that the word “new” actually engages potential customers more than the word “free.” Try replacing the “f-word” with “new” and see what you get – my bet is that you’ll get money, which is the point of your business, after all!

(Thanks to Penny and the staff at amarketingexpert.com for pointing out the research on “new.”)

I’ve never paid much attention to the World Heritage designation, but my recent trip caused me to be curious about the list and what the designation really meant. I like that term “outstanding universal value.” In other words, if we visit these places, what can we see or learn that is additive to life? How does what we see influence and add value to our lives?

What are our own, unique “heritage sites” that inform and provide value to our lives? What have we done or seen or learned from others that can be universally applied, useful, helpful? That serves as rudder to our actions, or wind to our sails?

My paternal grandmother, Lillian, read the natural world and people so well that she saw or anticipated events before they happened. She taught me this skill, pulling me out in the yard in early spring to show me how I could “see” which daffodil bulb would open first. The ability to read the energy of things is most definitely one of my “heritage sites.” I’ve used it, consciously or unconsciously, my entire life. I use it very deliberately now when I am working with an entrepreneur to help that person “see” their stuck places that hamper business growth.

Seems to me that we all have our personal “heritage sites” and being aware of them helps us move through the daily decisions of life and business. The trick is to sort out what we have that has that universal value that UNESCO defines. Not all heritage is useful, just as not all natural or historical sites have the World Heritage designation. Pick the heritage that serves you well, and your personal and business life will be richer.

I was fascinated and engaged by watching as several women showed me how they clean the wool with “soap” made from a local plant, let me try spinning the soft clean wool into thread, and then showed me how they dye the wool fibers with plants, herbs, and even a little bug that grows on cactus (making a deep purple hue). The more I watched and participated, the more I came to understand the intrinsic value of the pieces they offered for sale. The Quechuan women sealed the “know, like, and trust” factor by offering exemplary customer service, too! When it started raining, a young woman disappeared and returned a few minutes later from a village store, carrying plastic ponchos which she offered to us (no charge). When the cool breeze came up with the rain, I was quickly offered a second cup of warming tea. And when I said in my faltering Spanish that our trip to Peru was part of a birthday celebration for my husband, the women gathered around him and gave him an on-the-spot Peruvian birthday celebration, throwing confetti on him and offering their traditional birthday blessings.

These women have it all – talent, true interest in their customers, and a willingness to educate about what they do. It doesn’t surprise me that I spent Peruvian soles there. I have a story and a memory to go along with the soft alpaca pieces I brought home. Marketing and merchandising really couldn’t get any better!

Background: For a marketing campaign, I wanted to offer a gift card toward a cup of coffee to a business networking group’s membership. I needed 150 gift cards, each worth two dollars. First I called Starbucks and was rather snottily told that they would not do gift cards for less than five dollars each. (I know, you need that much in there!) Next I called Border’s and was assured that yes, they could do the two dollar gift cards but they refused to get them started over the phone (would not take a credit card for them by phone) and that I had to show up in person and stand there while they processed 150 two dollar gift cards. Given that, I canceled an appointment and drove over to stand in line, only to be told when I got to the head of the line that “oh, sorry, I was so wrong, we can only do gift cards for five dollars or more.” What? OK, so much for the training of Border’s employees. Next stop, McDonald’s. Guess what? They ALSO can only do five dollars. But at least the manager there offered their printed “McDonald dollars” gift books that I could tear apart and use. The only problem was that she had only $85 worth of these in the entire store, I needed $300. I took what she had and left, daunted at the prospect of stopping by another 2 or 3 McDonald’s to find the rest.

The real deal: Hardee’s is not far down the street so I thought it was worth a stop to ask there. Jan Sweet, the manager, was very welcoming and said she could do the two dollar gift cards, even though she had to ring them up one at a time. She was shocked to find out that Hardee’s computers were like everyone else’s, programmed to accept only five dollars or more. “This is crazy,” she says, frowning. “We have people come in here all the time who need a few dollars for sports teams and teachers.” Determined, she called both her district manager and her marketing person only to hear that their computers did not serve her need.

Queen of Marketing struts her stuff: Jan was absolutely determined to make her customer (me) happy AND quickly realized I was sending 150 people her way, who would more than likely purchase more than the two dollars worth of coffee I was gifting them with. She rooted in the safe for “Hardee dollars” only to find that they were out. She actually offered to stay late that evening and print up a special coupon just for me, pointing out that the only downside would be that the giftees would then have to come to her store – she couldn’t make and sell a special coupon that would be good at any Hardee’s. It wasn’t a perfect solution for me, but it WAS a solution. I agreed to it. Giving me something free to drink, she disappeared into her office while I waited. Suddenly, she re-appeared with some gift coupons in her hand left over from another in-store promotion. They were for an entire Hardee’s breakfast (about $4.00 in value). Waving them at me, she offered to sell them to me for $2.50 each, and she had enough to fulfill all I needed. Deal done!

The smarts: Jan is one smart manager. She took care of an urgent need from her customer (I needed the things the next morning), she upsold me, she offered me a great value allowing me to look even better to my giftees, and she made sure I knew that she’d be glad to always come up with something special and give me a good deal if I ever needed something in the future. A good business relationship was made! I will talk her up to everyone I know as one of the rare managers who is a small cog in a huge machine and who actually provides true customer service. She met the need. Let’s all bow to Queen Jan. And Starbucks and Borders could take a lesson!