Overpromising & Underdelivering? Here's How to Fix That in Under 90 Days
Having a more robust sales process is not going to save the day in your business. There is no point in pouring money into acquiring new clients if you are struggling to hold on to them. The ability to deliver consistently on your promises is the key to client retention and building a reputable business.
Do you find that your team promises too much to your clients and often just don't deliver? Lots of small businesses find it tough to break this habit; however, it's possible to turn this around in under three months.
To transform your inability to deliver on your promises, there are three simple steps to follow:
#1: Build Out A Product Ecosystem
Today, the rise of product ecosystems has become a significant player in business strategy. Without one, small business challenges escalate and become even harder to tackle. I hear many business owners tell me that their services are customised or tailored to the clients’ needs. Then in the next breath they wonder why they are run ragged, not making good profits and spending hours on things like writing proposals or keeping their staff up-to-date.
Productising your services can be done in the professional services space. I have seen it done successfully many times with most of our clients, and we have grown our own business using this model.
It starts by understanding what services you offer to most clients on a regular basis, what is it that you get asked for on a regular basis, how valuable is it to the client, and what else could be added into that package to further enhance the service you offer?
Once you are clear on this, you can establish a number of products that package up your essential services which allow you to then do two very important things:
1 - Start to understand the repeatable processes so that you can systemise your business. This builds consistency and trust. You can download our 9 Steps to Simple Systems HERE.
2 - Helps you clarify your marketing message so that customers can easily engage your services - thus streamlining the sales process for you. You should be able to send a proposal to a new client in under 5 minutes!
#2: Map Out The Repeatable Processes
After mapping out your products and the deliverables for those products you will be able to see repeatable processes that you can systemise.
A lot of business owners struggle with this step because when you have been running your business reactively, all of your time is spent putting out fires. Commit to change and commit to spending the time to do this.
Start with one area of your business. Clearly define the step-by-step process that your team needs to follow to successfully complete that part of the project from start to finish. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and can be refined for greater efficiencies over time.
Once you begin the process, you will be able to add steps or reassign resources to bolster your operations in the short and long-term.
Finally, further enhance these systems by eliminating time-consuming tasks that are in-effective. Look at software or other support measures that can easily handle these things, freeing up time and resource for your team to spend on tasks that deliver the highest value to your clients.
#3: Record Training Videos For Each Piece Of The Process
Once you have mapped out a system, build a library of training around it. Employees must be able to hit the targets you set out for the company to deliver on its promises. The best way to make sure they know their job is to shoot training videos. Not only is a video an excellent way to describe each process; it's also engaging and interactive.
Employees will slack off and ignore the vital pieces of information if they are bored. By recording videos that are short, witty and to the point, they'll stay focused and consume the message more effectively.
Start delivering on your promises. Download our 9 Steps to Simple Systems workbook today (see below).
