 | Using A Quiet Summer Productively | Working on your business ... | Posted on: 03/07/2013 By: Jacky Sherman |
Many B2B companies go quiet in the summer months as their clients and prospects are on holiday or busy covering for their own staff's leave. How about using these quiet times to replenish your soul and update your business plans?
sounds a bit philosophical? let's look at how you can use knowledge to inspire you
So take a break and refresh yourself. Step right away from your business and give your brain a rest. It will give you an opportunity to regain perspective about why you are in business in the first place.
Spending some more time with your family and friends, visiting new or familiar places can give you new insights into your long term goals for work and your life. Letting your mind meander where it wants to go can bring surprising conclusions about the wish to change or to re-affirm the path you're already taking. Great self-knowledge for the soul!
You can take time to reflect on what has gone well so far this year. Like many business owners, most of your time is probably spent dealing with the areas where there is need for improvement. Great knowledge can be gained examining what has gone well so far.
Don't forget to congratulate yourself on what has gone well so far! Make a list of at least 10 things where you've succeeded then analyse what you did to make them happen. Those are the things to do more often, aren't they? You know they work and they bring you success.
If it's been a tough year this can, of course, seem difficult. My Tip is to make item Number 1 on your list "survived a tough 6 months" then the next items on the list are about what you did to survive.
It will help enormously if you do this with someone who challenges you and keeps you focused on the positive. A coach perhaps, or a mentor?
Now decide what you want to do next armed with your new found self-knowledge. My blog post last April called what do I need to prioritise gives a simple way to decide where you will make the most impact in achieving your ambitions.
What new knowledge do you need to make this happen? If you're the expert in your field and spend your time providing support for other companies, it's easy to forget your own need for new knowledge and support.
There are two types of knowledge you may need:
What to do - If what you are doing isn't bringing you the results that you want maybe you need new knowledge on alternatives. How to do it - It's one thing to know what to do quite another to do it. Before you go shooting off trying out new ideas, check that you know how to do what you are doing correctly.
If I give a simple example from my area of expertise: in order to win new business by referrals, most people know (or are told) they need to network. However, many report that "networking doesn't work for me". Now networking is proven to be the most cost-effective way of winning business in service industries, so it will work! In my experience the knowledge and skills that are missing is how to network.
Most of us don't know what we don't know especially in areas outside our expertise. Whatever your next business challenge is, my second tip today is this: who do you know who is an expert in that area? How about calling them up and exploring how they can help give you the right knowledge and help you apply it in a way that works for you?
Lastly, remember to have some fun whilst gaining new knowledge and replenishing your soul this summer. If new knowledge on how to gain new business is where you want to focus your efforts for the rest of the year then call me on +44 (0) 7970 638857 or click here to ping over an email because I've got a lot of knowledge you will want to learn.
Until next time ...
JACKY SHERMAN
 |  |  |
Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a000d'
Type mismatch: 'URLencode'
/V1/Func_FBCom.asp, line 127 |
| 
