In my blog last month, I presented a few things I have been reminded about or learned while getting certified to offer the ActionCOACH 12-Week MasterCLASSes. The following are several more ideas and concepts that will benefit you:

  • The section of your brain that filters information from your conscious mind and your subconscious is called the Reticular Activating System, or RAS. Your RAS filters both positive and negative thoughts to your subconscious. Therefore, be careful about what you “feed” your subconscious to work on. If you tell yourself that you can’t achieve something, your subconscious will work on making sure you can’t achieve it. On the other hand, if you “feed” your subconscious positive thoughts, it will work on helping you achieve those goals.
  • I just received identical e-newsletters from two different CPA firms. Obviously, these were produced and sent by a newsletter service. The purpose of a company newsletter is to separate and distinguish your company from all the others in your marketplace. If you do not have custom content in your newsletter, you will not be able to communicate why potential customers should invest their time and money with your business.
  • Statistically, happy customer referrals are the best kind of referrals. They carry a higher conversion rate along with a lower cost. It is surprising how many businesses fail to have any referral process in place. If for example, you set a goal at the beginning of the year of getting one new customer via a referral from each existing customer, your business will be twice the size by the end of the year. There are two key points here:
    1. Your organization must prioritize every aspect of superior customer service to generate “Happy” customers. If your customers are not “Happy,” they will not refer others to your business.
    2. Your company must have a process focused on asking for and rewarding referrals. This process must be constantly applied, especially with your “Happy” customers.
  • At ActionCOACH we have a formula BE x DO = HAVE around the concept growing yourself to the role you have within your company. For example, if you want to own (HAVE) a great business, you must DO the things necessary to enable your team to deliver great products or services, therefore, you must BEcome a great business owner. Stated another way, don’t allow your business (or department) to outgrow you!
  • Quoting Brad Sugars, the founder and CEO of ActionCOACH, “If you motivate someone that’s stupid, they just do stupid things. You’ve got to educate people.” Constantly training your team, and yourself, is essential to having a great company that offers great products. Offering great products or services will create happy customers who will refer more customers to your business.

The last tip expresses the point that ALL of these concepts, your BE, training your team, providing great products and services, creating happy customers, etc. are intertwined. A great product by itself will not make a great business. A great team by itself will not make a great business. And a great owner or leader by him or herself will not make a great business. However, a great leader who has a great team, offering great products or services has a great business.