One Way Or Another, He Was Going To Get Us Hooked!

I must admit, I’ve never had a (belated) Christmas present quite like it!

Last Saturday evening, 12 of us were treated to an unforgettable experience by Number One son, Adrian

Imagine sitting down to a 9-course meal, served by your very own Executive Chef! (Yeah, that’s not a typo. 9 courses, across 3.5 luverly hours)

Unable to visit us at Christmas, Adrian took time out from overseeing 5 Cambridgeshire restaurants… travelled down to West Sussex with wife, Barbora (restaurant manager) and smiling friend… and served the meal to end all meals.

(And it all took place at ‘The Soul Millionaire Mansion’. The house which served as the setting for my novel ‘The Soul Millionaire’.)

Why am I sharing this belly-busting experience with you?
That’ll be clear in just a moment.

You see, it wasn’t the extraordinary Purely-British menu that blew our minds… scallops, salmon, squid ink, farm bacon, roasted beetroot, parsnip chips, roasted goat, squirrel suet pudding, roasted hazelnuts, crab, rabbit terrine, mint puree, roasted pumpkin, capers and herbs, pheasant on vegetable stack, raspberry sorbet, waldorf salad, gooseberry and elderflower ice cream, special poached eggs, cambridge burnt cream, shortbread, sticky toffee pudding, clotted cream, mushroom sauces, spinach sauces…

… No it wasn’t that at all!

It was the fact that we were all taken in by the seemingly small(ish) portions.
And the fact that – no matter what you did or didn’t like – there was something there that captured your attention and surprised your pallet.

Which meant that – by the end of the evening – every corner of you had been gastronomically satisfied (and filled)

It was an exercise in captivation of your audience.

And it came to mind when we held our Client Q&A Teleconference this week.

Paul Woods (ImagineFP.com) was sharing his marketing activity with members of the team…
“We’ve discovered that there’s no silver bullet in our marketing strategy.” He pointed out. “It’s a combination of coherent activities both offline and online. But done consistently, constantly.”

He then went on to describe his networking, public speaking, leaflets, mini brochures, website, email system… all communicating and supporting their upgraded fee-based service.

Each of us is captivated and wooed by different media and approaches.
Each of us is satisfied by different items on the Service and Communications Menu.

What Adrian knows, and what Paul discovered… is that the talented chef and smart marketer both know how to captivate their audience.
A  drip, drip, drip of tantalising – and relevant – components from your Menu.
Each drip and drop designed to approach the consumer from a different angle. But along a consistent theme.

At the end of the evening, Adrian left ‘his’ kitchen, and entered the dining room to a round of applause (followed by a flurry of hugs and kisses).

He was calm, unruffled, unphased by all the praise (he’s learned not to ‘breathe it in’, as Danby Bloch would say)…

…and completely unsurprised when we started to ask him about creating a Mid-Summer Olde-English Charity Banquet for 100 people!

It’s what happens when you study your audience, are brilliant at your craft… and recognise that it takes at least ’7 touches’ to bring people to you – on your terms.

Wisdom, from the mouths of babes!

You’re Holding 2012 In Your Hands… There’s So Much You Could Do!

I distinctly remember a phone call, many years ago, when I spoke to an uber-stressed IT Director.

“So,” I asked “How was the Time Management course?”

“Afraid I didn’t make it.” says he.

Then I asked the stupid, pointless question… “So, why’s that then?”
(You’re ahead of me, aren’t you?)

“Well,” (big sigh here) “I just didn’t have the time!”

Ha!
Double Ha!
It would be funny, if it weren’t so ridiculous and sad.

During the last few months, I’ve met a wide selection of Financial Advisers, (Financial Planners, Life Planners, Wealth Managers et al) at our various workshops and public seminars.

When it comes to being stressed, they were strewn along the whole spectrum.
From highly driven, 7-day per week merchants, frustrated and aging before my very eyes.
To calm and fulfilled and laughing, with clients flowing almost effortlessly through the door.

At this stage, I must make a confession…
During 2011 I found myself shuttling from one end of that spectrum to the other.

At times, I was just like most of my Blog readers… working silly hours, at maximum stretch, with a Project List as long as both arms (and a leg)

Until, that is, I spent a day walking the fields and woods of Hampshire with my Mentor/co-Director, Andrew.

Amongst the peace and beauty, some tough talking and clear thinking occured.

What I re-discovered  has made such an impact on me that, today I feel as if I’m floating 9 inches off the ground

If you’re already dreading the weight of this year’s To-Do List, allow me to share just a couple of insights with you… as you prepare to face the challenges of 2012.

First Insight: Be Clear About ‘The Reason Why’ of Your Business

I remember an Adviser saying he’d like to work with me.
But what he wanted was everything delivered as a template.

“Don’t explain things through all that coaching and your workshops. Just give me the templates,  and I’ll work it out for myself.”

At the end of the meeting, I didn’t pursue the relationship further.

Look, let’s be honest…
There’s a wallowing mass of ‘How To Do It’ stuff out there for your profession.
Masses of it.
We’re awash with workshops, webinars, websites, linkedin groups…!
And a lot of it is given away. Free. Gratis. Pro Bono.

If all you had to do was learn the ‘How To’ of running a business…
Well, then most Advisers would be Healthy, Rich and Deliriously Happy!

I assure you. They’re not.

The problem is… too many people are running like fury, because they’re unclear about what they’re doing ‘all this’ for.

There’s no deep-seated, passionate, crystal clear ’Why’ behind their business.

When you’re clear about the central reason for running your small business…

When you’ve decided that it’s about more than just making money (I’ll show you some street market vendors who are making a pretty penny – with a lot less hassle than you’re facing)…

When you’ve written a clear Business Strategy around this Reason Why…

Then two things happen:

1)   Not only does your attention get focused on what is strategically important, to achieve what you really, really want. But…
2)   You’re much more astute about what to STOP doing… even if everyone else is doing it day in and day out.

More importantly, you know when to say ‘Enough!’
You know when to ignore your Screaming,  Driving Ego which says ‘More Is Definitely Better’

For example More-Clients-per-Adviser is seldom a shrewd business strategy.
Indeed, time and again, I’ve seen that mentality lead to frustration, misery, even tears.

If you don’t immediately buy into the ‘Reason Why’ approach, think about this…

Last year I wrote about a comparison between companies like, say, Dell and Apple

• Both have created wealthy organisations, with  mistakes and successes on the way
• But one has left a far more iconic, inspirational mark on business and consumer history

Ask yourself, which of these types of business your clients would be attracted to.

And then ask yourself…
“Is my business inspirational?
Or is it the Financial Services equivalent of buying something for a dollar, and selling it for two?” 

Because, when you’re that attractive, quality referrals, and beneficial alliances flow your way. And you work far less frantically to build your business.

Second Insight: Forget Time Management!

The problem with thinking ‘Time Management’ is that we’re seduced by the thought of ‘More, Faster, More Efficiently’.

Trying to cram more things, more efficiently, into your day is a sure route to misery. That’s my observation of hundreds of Business Owner-Managers.

Why? Because there are only a few things in business or life that make a big difference. (And they’re seldom ‘things’)

The wisdom that seperates the Calm from the Ludicrously Stressed is knowing which of the gazillion tasks that face them are the BIG ones.

I’ve found that, by combining two widely-discussed (but seldom-used) principles, I’m enjoying instantly better results:

• The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule), together with
• Parkinson’s Law

You see… if only 20% (or less) of my activities produce 80% of my results… then I’m spending Monday mornings carefully thinking through which activities are the Top 20%.

Then, more and more, I’m leaving the rest alone (or training someone else to handle it. Sometimes!)

Next… I give myself less time.
Since work will – without question – expand to fill the time…
I now cut down my time for each project.
And I’m going home earlier.

I’m working hard to avoid multi-tasking, and trying to ignore absolutely everything (especially emails) until I’ve finished that task.

Oh… and I now never, never list more than 4 Major Projects for each day.
Just four.
If nothing else gets done, well… then it doesn’t matter that much. Does it?

I’ll conclude by referring to one of the simple questions I learned when – as a Financial Planner – I first started using a coach.

At first, I though it was slightly cheesy.
Until I realised that I was staring at a question that made me squirm.

Ready?

“If you had a bad heart… and were only allowed 2 hours per day for work:

• Would you be doing the work you’re doing today?
• And if so, what tasks would you stop doing each week?

Now that you’ve answered both of those… Why are you about to do what you were about to do?”

It’s the simple questions that carry the power to create change, and which free us from drudgery and wasted weeks each year.