Zack Poelwijk, Author at Build Your Dream Business

Research shows that people make purchasing decisions based on their emotions.

Based on this knowledge, a large part of what motivates consumer purchases is trust. Whether you’re a dentist, a health coach or a website developer, people first want to know that they can trust YOU. Then they’ll consider whether they can trust your services. And if they can trust you? Then you’ve practically already sold them on your services.

Present yourself as a real, trustworthy and approachable human being by including your photo on all of your marketing material, in print and online. People want to associate a real, breathing person with the things that they buy.

I’ve fielded a few phone calls now to our agency from people who have told me that they just wanted to see if someone answers the phone.

First, sell you. Then, sell your products or services.

If you own a hair salon and a competitor opens up, not only near you but with cheaper haircuts, it could be tempting to see that as a negative that you can’t overcome. But think again.

If all of their signage advertises $10 haircuts, your signage can be the one that advertises, “We FIX $10 haircuts.”

What else has negative sides that can be put to advantage? Here’s some…
1. Cost, expense.
Here’s how you sell that negative: “Yes, it’s expensive, but that’s because I believe it will deliver exactly as advertised.” Or, “Yes, it’s expensive, but let’s look at the ROI you’ll get.”

2. Too complicated.
Here’s how you sell that negative: “It requires some attention to use this. It’s not right for people who want a hands-off approach. This is for people who are willing to put the time in to have a successful outcome.”

3. It doesn’t have this feature I want.
Here’s how to sell that negative: “The features it does have are the best in the industry.”

What negatives relate to what you’re trying to sell?
And here’s the flipside to this…if there’s not an authentic way to sell the negative, then evaluate why you’re so set on keeping things the way they are. Maybe you should be fixing them instead.

What would you say if someone said that it must be nice to not work for anyone? To be your own boss?

When you own your own business, the quick answer to the question of who you work for is that you work for yourself. But when you really think about it, that’s not true. You work for your customers. Because if they’re not happy with your performance, they won’t come back.

I own my own freelance writing business. Many people have commented over the years that “it must be nice to not have a boss.” At first I went along and agreed.

Then, I started realizing that when I agreed with people that I didn’t have a boss, particularly when I was still working from my home, that seemed to devalue their opinion of my work. They thought I just worked from home when I felt like it, that I could take as many days off as I wanted to, or choose not to do the work if I didn’t like it.

When I started responding, “actually, I have several bosses,” they seemed to more fully understand that I wasn’t just sitting on the couch eating bonbons. The work needed to get done whether I felt like it or not. It was easier to explain that if I took days off I didn’t get paid. And I explained that I had to check in with the editors of all the websites, newspapers and magazines that I was working for to make sure I had more work coming down the pipe after the work I was doing currently was done. I was always looking for more work from the bosses I already had, and was always trying to find a new boss.

And if I didn’t give my “bosses” what they wanted, they wouldn’t hire me again. So . . . who do you work for?

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, when we all start to think more about gratitude and giving thanks. If you’re grateful for your many bosses (your customers), show them. Not just on Thanksgiving, but all the time. What would that look like for you?

No, I’m not talking about that dream they were having when their alarm went off this morning. What I mean is, have you asked them what their life goal is? Why have they hired you? If you’re a service business, you must be helping them in some way. Sure, there are immediate goals. But what do they REALLY want?

We talk a lot here at Build Your Dream Business about how to answer the questions of what YOUR dream is. It’s the name of our business, after all. But if you’re a coach, a consultant, a real estate agent, the owner of a juice cart or a massage therapist, your clients have dreams too.

How can you help them achieve those dreams? By asking them, it tells them that you’re interested and you care. It gives you a chance to adjust what you’re offering them or how you’re relating to them. When you draw out the hopes and dreams of the people you’re trying to serve, you can truly help them. Knowing their true, long-term goals may alter what service you thought you were providing them.

And, depending on the type of service provider you are, if they don’t have a dream, you can choose not to hire them.

Photo by Neil Bates on Unsplash

If you’re doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, maybe the prime competitor you’re working against is yourself.

What are the hours of the other businesses in your area in your niche? If they are open only Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 (the same hours as other people who work office hours), what would happen if you opened Tuesday through Sunday and stayed open until 7? Would you be able to better serve the working people who can’t visit those other businesses?

Do your competitors offer services such as gift wrapping? What would happen if you offered services that your competitors no longer care enough to offer?

Do you competitors use environmentally friendly practices or products? What would happen if you made it known that you did?

Are you competing with DIY-ers? For instance, if you’re an accountant your competition is off-the-shelf accounting software. If you’re a landscaper, your competition is someone mowing their own lawn. What would happen if you offered an incentive to get people to switch from their DIY mindset?

Once you figure out how your competition operates, then you can easily be more and do more than they are.

According to recent research by the University of Scranton, 92% of people who set New Year’s Eve goals never achieve them. What’s the difference between the 92% of people who don’t meet their goals and the 8% who do?

Research by Edwin Locke and his academic partners answered that question back in the 1970s. Their research showed that the most achievable goals were ones that were specific and challenging. But they shouldn’t be so challenging that they can’t realistically be achieved.

Locke’s research showed that specific and challenging goals led to higher rate of achievement than easy goals. “Do your best” goals or no goals also met with failure. Based on their field work, the people who achieved their goals most often received feedback to keep them on track. They were given a reward such as money when they attained their goal, and they accepted their goals.

In other words, in a work setting, they were assigned a goal and they accepted the goal. And then had some input and ownership into how it was going (they got feedback and they wanted the reward).

So how can you put this information into practice? If you want to learn Italian so that you can attend an international conference in Rome next year, don’t just tell yourself that you want to “learn Italian.” Instead, set a specific and achievable goal. Set a goal to purchase a language learning program. Set a goal for yourself to complete a chapter every three days. Then set a goal to join a conversational group six months from now.

Those goals are specific and achievable. And there’s a pretty good reward attached to completing it. When you learn to create manageable goals, and give manageable goals to your employees, you’ve moved yourself from the realm of the 92% who consistently fail to meet their goals to the rare and few who actually do. That’s something to be proud of.

While you, as the business owner, are off saving the day — also known as securing new clients, talking to the media, paying people, getting paid, keeping your promises — your team of heroes is back at the office.

They’re the ones answering the phone, filling orders, answering emails and generally hustling to get the day’s work done. Build a great team, first and foremost. And when you have built a great team, treat each member with respect.

What turns ordinary people into heroes? Feeling needed. Our team must feel needed in order to truly become heroes. So, first off, hire good people. And then, empower them to do the work you hired them to do.

Don’t fall into the trap of telling yourself that only you can do the work the right way. Your team of heroes wants to do the work the right way too. Empower them to say the right things to customers. Empower them to make decisions. Empower them to go the extra mile for a customer. Just like you would. Right?

Sometimes, let’s face it, there’s not a lot of great joy in being an employee. When we hire people to do the work and then don’t give them the tools to do the work, we steal from them the joy that it is possible to get from being an employee. Their job is to be the hero of our team, and our job is to let them be the heroes of our team.

When you started a business, you likely had a “purpose” in mind. That’s what motivated you to do what you do. It’s the thought behind your entire business plan. When you first started your business, you likely felt a rush of excitement each day, as you woke to begin preparations for your business.

Now that you’ve been in business a while, do you still feel that rush? Do you still wake up each morning with your “purpose” in mind? Not just your tasks for the day or your motivation (bills must be paid!) in mind. But your purpose.

Probably not. It’s easy to forget.

Your purpose is the bigger picture you’re working towards. If you started a non-profit, that may be to strengthen families or neighborhoods. If you’re a fitness or health consultant, that may be to help others optimize their health as you’ve found a way to optimize yours. Even if you feel like you have a mundane retail business, there’s something in the work that you do that’s close to your heart.

When you align your daily efforts with your purpose, you wake up motivated. (OK, if you’re like me you don’t truly get motivated until that second cup of coffee, but you know what I mean!) You love what you’re doing and you know exactly why you’re doing it.

Tomorrow when you wake up, try these steps:

Think about who you are trying to help and why. If you’re not sure what your purpose is, you may not have a lot of detail on this. It’s ok. Clarity will come the more you do this.

Call up the tools you need to do your day’s work. Focus. Patience. Courage. Flexibility. Whatever it is. If you believe in a higher power, ask that higher power for the tools. Go ahead and ask.

Visualize your purpose. Spend a minute holding a picture in your mind’s eye of what it means to actually work toward your purpose.

Encourage yourself throughout the day. Once you’ve gone through these steps, don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back. Most people will never see the great efforts you put into the world.

Repeat daily.

Yesterday, I got to witness the totality of a solar eclipse. Being able to take off my protective glasses and see the diamond white light of the solar corona surrounding a black center of what should have been the bright sun of mid-morning was an experience I’ll never forget.

I don’t live in the path of totality so I was willing to drive a few hours away from home where I could see totality. My friends who chose to stay at home got to see 99.3% of totality. Does that .7% really make such a difference? Yes! That last sliver of a percent is where the magic happens.

Same is true of business, isn’t it? You can do “almost all” of your work. Put in “almost all” of your effort. Come up with an “almost great” idea. It’s that “rest of the way” work that leads to the magic.

Are you willing to do it?