​Do you enjoy effort? Do you like going the extra mile? Do you do the extra 20% the difference between great and excellent?
Going through the motions is existing not living. It's about putting on clothes and eating food and doing jobs it's living in a world of obligations and shoulds.
For me effort is enjoying the process the pleasure the fun and the energy. It's about living what you love eating what you enjoy and doing whatever lights you up. it's about going the extra mile, it's about doing a bit more towards something you are passionate about.
I came across this great quote and and included it in one of my presentations this week I thought I would share it here too.

​Passion creates energy and effort becomes a byproduct of that energy. You almost can't help making an effort when you are filled with passion and purpose for what you are doing.
How are your effort levels? Not feeling very effortful is always a sign. It means I'm doing the wrong work or I'm doing too much! Over working or working on the wrong stuff are two sure ways to kill the desire for effort!
Some people tell me that they have no interest in effort. They want an easy life. I've decided that good enough is enough. Some people believe that average is their zone. They believe the average is fine, that's where they are happy and they never strive for anything more.

​I'll meet people who are great. Their lives are great, but they've plateaued. They've settled for great I always challenge them to stretch to look deeper to lift their highline higher and imagine what the world could look like at magnificent.
If it looks different for everyone. For some who are struggling, and effort is to get dressed and leave the house. For someone who is shy, and effort is to attend a networking event for an hour.
What's an effort for you? What would stretch you? What are you striving for? Who is worth effort in your life?
Those three steps are:

1. Clarity - I got clear. Clarity helps you know your zone. What's your current message? Your favorite market/client?
2. Action - I got going. Had a game play.
3. Improvement - I got better. I turned up.

How can you add these to your day or week or month or year to get better and more passionate at what you do?

You don't want to become the Mother Teresa of the fitness industry yes we want to be known as someone who helps others but we don't want to be known for the person that does all that for free.

So how can you make sure this doesn't happen?

• Get clear in initial discussions with clients about whether they have a budget and how often they want to see you
• even if they don't ask, make sure they understand what the investment looks like prior to commencing - this removes any uncomfortable conversations later
• make it clear how you want to get paid when that needs to happen is it before the session is it after the session is it on automatic payment or whatever you choose
• you also need to make sure clients are clear on what happens when they don't show up will you be charging them a full rate half rate or whatever, your policy on those shows needs to be clear and set out in your initial paperwork that they receive from you

Once you have all of this in place you then have the structures that prevent these problems occurring and you have the freedom to choose when to be Mother Teresa and when to be the businessperson.

​All power to you.

I was recently on tour with my colleagues from Holistic Movement Coach (HMC). I've dropped some pictures in below so you can see what we got up to.
​
But this blog is about the title and the topic I presented on. "The Emotionally Intelligent Trainer."
I want to expand so you can understand just how powerful emotional intelligence is and ways in which you can develop it for yourself to help you become even better at what you do.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been studied widely now and is has more impact on your success whatever way you measure that either intelligence (IQ) or personality. Both these last 2 tend to be fairly fixed from a young age but EI is something that is flexible - like our brains it is 'plastic' and can be developed. 
Top performers in whatever field have high EI. That's now a given. But also those with high IQ are often our performed by those with lower IQ. How can that be? - well it's down to their level of EI - that is the differentiating factor. 
Those with a higher EI score tend to earn more. In fact it has been worked out that for every EI point you score, you earn an extra $1,300 per year. That equates to about $29,000 more per year, for high EI people compared to low EI people!! 
Want to earn more?? - then work on these 4 areas below and you stand a good chance of doing so.

Here are some tips on fine tuning these 4 with practice just like you would work on your skills in any other endeavour. If you would like more info I am happy to share more of these tips that I have left below. Just hit me up here.

1. Quit treating your feelings as bad and good - they just are, get comfortable with them.
2. Observe the ripple effect of your emotions - the impact you have on others is always more than you think, take care with that
3. Lean into discomfort - don't avoid the difficult stuff you will learn more about you by leaning into it
4. Feel your emotinos physically - there may be patterns you feel in your body when you start to observe, again lean into it to be more aware - try to link them for better understanding
5. Know who and what pushes your buttons - knowing is managing, we all have these people in our lives awareness, is the key

1. Greet people by name - nothing better than hearing your own name, it has impact when you do it for others
2. Watch your body language - 70% of communication is body language so be smart about how you use it
3. Go people watching - I love this I learn so much about human behaviour, do you?
4. Watch EQ at the movies - see how the movie makers use techniques to communicate emotions on screen - very clever
5. Seek/provide the whole picture - Providing the why for people helps them see the whole picture that you get, but they might not

1. Breath right - we all know how important breath is, use it to manage your state when you're flustered
​2. Count to 10 - it worked when we were kids right? So it can work just as well now - great way to take a quick brain break
3. Smile and laugh more - the state you are in when you're happy is contagious, same when your sad - let's be happy!
4. Take control of your self talk - almost all of us have that voice in our head. Just don't over listen to it, get into your body to get our of your head.
5. Set aside time to problem solve - do we really even bother with this - we should, it gives our brains time to process and work through things, got to be good for your awareness.

1. Be open, be curious - it helps you understand others better. Asking good questions, it's all about awareness.
2. Avoid giving mixed signals - re the body language, if our words don't match our body language we will be mixing our message
3. Take feedback well - its a gift say thank you and move on. What you do next is up to you but be grateful for the time they took
4. Have an "open door" policy - if you don't have a door how can you cultivate approachability so others feel comfortable talking to you
5. Only get mad on purpose - use anger smartly and it will have impact. All the time and it's ignored. [Think boy who cried wolf]

perceive to be tight hip flexors how about weak glutes being the cause as opposed to tight hip flexors. 
It's fair to say society has become more sedentary. Sedentary means sitting on your arse sitting on your arse (a lot) means weak glutes so it's fair to assume that most people glutes unless they're athletes will be under active and unable to fully activate and create full hip extension range of movement. If this assumption is true, then it's likely the hip flexor on the other side of the joint will be slightly activated uninhibited and appear/behave tight.

Now you might want to run a test like the Thomas test to be sure of this as it's a useful indicator of where hip flexors are at and once you've done that you can safely say that a hip flexor is not creating a full range of movement. Give that a go and see how things look to you.

Then see how much hip extension your client can create in a prone position; knee bent to 90 degrees and ask them to drive their heel up to the ceiling. Measure the distance the knees gets off the ground and compare to the other side. If it’s less that a fist there is plenty of room for improvement, make sure that that keep their ASIS on the ground otherwise that’s where they’ll cheat.

So, before you go stretching the sh%& out of someone's hip flexors take a look at what's going on at their glutes first assess reassess and then decide what course of action is next if you need help with that hit me up and I'll be happy to assist.​

As Peter Drucker quite rightly said, "what get measured, gets managed." So my question to you is, what are you paying attention to and what are you specifically measuring so that you have regular opportunites to celebrate with your clients so they can also participate in their own successes.

We are the movement professionals right? That's why our clients came to see us in the first place. The things we take note of are possibly 'invisible' to our clients. They don't have the same lense to look throught that we do with our years of experience. Sure, we can communicate these things to them but even then they may not see it the way we do.

e.g. I have a lawyer who has been a long term client and he loves to run. We do plenty of single leg work of course and one of the go to's is a suspended single leg (side) lunge (yes we do reverse as well!). His hips have been travelling sideways on the left leg far more than they did on the right. 'Pelvic Drift' I referred to it as. He couldn't see or feel it. I had to video this for him to see just how much drift there was. Week by week this improved. We did plenty of other things but came back to it last night. And hey presto, no drift. This is an example of the silent success. He has gained strength but also proprioceptive adjustments (software not hardware) in how he moves which are the harder things to define. Using video, then a side by side comparison of before and after and YES, CELEBRATION time. He'd cracked it - more importantly he could see the change.

​What are you observing and what are you celebrating? I'll leave it with you...

Next time you find yourself thinking you carry a certain 'negative' trait, you might like to see it as a strength. Perhaps your arrogance is boldness, your bullying is directness, and your emotional temperament is your passion being expressed. It is, if you turn up as the best version of that in your life and work. This takes good self-awareness and extraordinary compassion, whether the subject of attention is you or someone else.
This requires you to be equal parts empowered and humbled by the fact that much of your strengths are built from your shadows. All you have to do is bring the positive version of these to the table/work/people every day.

Do you have the ability to judge and discern the difference. If not then this can be a beautiful 'work on' for you to raise that self awareness. If you do then no reason to not bring this enlightened version of yourself to the party each and every day. People will get the best version of you - why wouldn't you want them to experience any other version?

Keen to hear your thoughts...

2. The soft no (or the no but): I recently received an email inviting me to coffee. I replied: “I am consumed with writing my book right now :) but I would love to get together once the book is finished. Let me know if we can get together towards the end of the summer.”
Email is also a good way to start practicing saying “no but” because it gives you the chance to draft and redraft your “no” to make it as graceful as possible. plus, many people find that the distance of email reduces the fear of awkwardness.
3. “Let me check my calendar and get back to you” One leader I know found her time being hijacked by other people all day. A classic non-essentialist, she was capable and smart and unable to say no, and as a result she soon became a “go to” person. People would run up to her and say, “could you help with X project?” Meaning to be a good citizen she said yes. But soon she felt burdened with all of these different agenda’s things changed for her when she learned to use a new phrase: “let me check my calendar and get back to you” it gave her the time to pause and reflect and ultimately reply that she was regretfully unavailable. It enabled her to take back control of her own decisions rather than being rushed into a “yes” when she was asked.
4. Use email automatic replies. It is totally natural and expected to get an auto response when someone is traveling or out of the office. Really, this is the most socially acceptable “no” there is. people aren't saying they don't want to reply to your email, they're just saying they can't get back to you for a period of time. So why limit these two holidays? When I was writing this book I set an email auto reply to the subject line “in monk mode”. the email said:
“Dear friends, I'm currently working on a new book which has put enormous burdens on my time. Unfortunately, I am unable to respond in the manner I would like. For this, I apologise. Greg”
And guess what? People seem to adapt to my temporary absence and non-responsiveness just fine.
5. Say, “yes, what should I deprioritise?” Saying no to a senior leader at work is almost unthinkable, even laughable, for many people. However, when saying yes is going to compromise your ability to work at the highest level of contribution to your work, it is also your obligation. In this case it is not only reasonable to say no, it is essential. One effective way to do this is to remind your superiors what you would be neglecting if you said yes and force them to grapple with the tradeoff.
For example, if your manager comes to you and asks you to do X, you can respond with,”yes I'm happy to make this up the priority. Which of these projects should I deprioritize to pay attention to this new project?” Or simply say, “I would want to do a great job, and given my other commitments I wouldn't be able to do a job I was proud of if I took this on.”
6. Say it with humour: I recently was asked by a friend to join him in training for a marathon. My response was a simple “Nope!” he laughed a little and said, “Ah, you practice what you preach.” Just goes to show how useful it is to have a reputation as an essentialist!
7. Use the words “You are welcome to X. I am willing to Y” For example: “you are welcome to borrow my car. I am willing to make sure the keys are here for you.” By this you are also saying, “I won't be able to drive you.” you are saying what you will not do but you are delivering it in terms of what you are willing to do this is a particularly good way to navigate a request you would like to support somewhat but cannot throw your full weight behind. popularly like this construct because it also expresses a respect for the other person's ability to choose, as well as their own. It reminds both parties of the choices they have.
8. “I can't do it, but X might be interested" it is tempting to think that our help is uniquely invaluable, but often people requesting something I don't really care if we're the ones who help them as long as they get the help. 

Saying no is its own only leadership capability. It is not just a peripheral skilful. As with any ability, we start with limited experience. We are novices at "no." Then we learn a couple of basic techniques. We make some mistakes. Learn from them. We develop more skills. We keep practicing. After a while we have a whole repertoire available at our disposal, and in time we have gained mastery of a type of social art form. We can handle almost any request from almost anybody with grace and dignity. 

Saying "No" allows us to focus on our "Why" and all essentialists are focused on this. Grab a copy for yourself it's a great read.

This empowers him to do what he does so well combined with his sheer genius and bloody mindedness. 

I ask what you are reading because it is fairly well accpeted that reading provides knowledge and knowledge is power right? Weeeell, not necessarily - depends what you do with that knowledge.

 am currently making my way through an incrediable book by Greg McKeown called 'Essentialism'. 
It's about boiling down all the things we need to get done to the most important things so we can get on with life and make the most impact. It's about saying 'no' more than 'yes' and understanding why. It's about having criteria to live by (see my blog on values) and using them to guide you to the essentail things in life avoiding the worthless things which can so easily distract us from our main purpose. 
Some of the questions he asks are as follows:

If you answered yes to any or all of these then the answer is to become an ESSENTIALIST. I won't spoil the content so you can get a copy for yourself and make your own way to becoming an essentailist. You will probably find, as I did, that there are many things in there you are already doing, but there are also many you may not be. My craft needs refining. Thank you social media for being the contstant in there that seems to stick out like dogs balls in terms of getting in the way of getting things done.

I highly recommend the book. See if you can build up some momentum to reading more than you already do. 2 a week is a tall order but I am happy with one a month.
If you are stuggling to get time to read that much then you really do need to get the book and read it as it's princiles will enable you to have more time and therefore live the life you really want to live as well as work. Enjoy.

Deciding on a pathway of learning that takes care of pretty much 100% of what you need to know in your industry makes life a great deal easier so long as you plug in the times that you need to be studying and the times you may need to travel and attend sessions in town or even out of town (that's the fun stuff!)
Sticking to this routine will bring ever increasing knowledge and wisdom to your 'game' so long as you commit. Don't commit - and the cumulative effect doesn't take effect. 
The Cumulative Effect:
Try putting your money in the bank or into a fund and taking it back out within a few months. Nothing, nada - nicht! You'll have taken advantage of very little. Your money will not be worth much more than when you invested it. Things only increase in value if you leave them alone and they keep on gaining value over time. The same goes for your education. If you do a little now and a little at the end of the year - the accumulation of knowledge and wisdom is sparse and you'll have a bitsy approach to your learning.
The Rhythm Effect:
By setting a rhythm to your learning you will be laying neural pathways that will become embedded over time and make the process easier and easier as time passes. Have you ever tried ice-skating? It's the kind of activity you do once in a blue moon at a party of on a random occasion - you never really do it enough (unless your an enthusiast) to get any good at it. The same goes with learning and self education. If you only do it intermittently you will only ever feel like a beginner.
A Way of Life:
If it becomes a way of life as part of your journey through your career then, like our clients, you make it a lifestyle choice rather than an add on that "must be done" at some point! Don't leave your education to chance. Don't wait until the last minute to cram something in to tick a box that needs ticking for your registration. Look at it holistically as a facet of your life. Choose your values carefully and see if that learning value is in there already. Then lean into that and find your thing. Whatever flavour that may be but find it, embrace it and turn it into a lifestyle choice. Make it an immovable object in your week, your diary or your planner - whatever tool you use to stay on track. 

What's your plan? If you don't have any ideas on how to implement this but really want to, hit me up for a free chat HERE.

An unpredictable market requires unpredictable behaviour.
I'm obviously referring to Covid here but it could be any kind of disruptor that has thrown your business off course. The key is finding that forward momentum that I am alluding to in my metaphors about boats!

When the 'should’s', the 'must’s' and the 'have to’s' start taking over your mental space you know you’re onto a loser. A life by design, doing the things you love will automatically being the energy required to do the job, without all the force of goals and structure. No discipline required. Do the things you love with the people you want to when you want to.

But what and how?
Sit quietly and listen
Take time out from the noise and the heavy structure of the day and find time to create your own internal noise rather than the external stuff that surrounds us daily. Get a sense of what is true for you and what is not. The sense of direction you get comes from a place that is true to you. You can trust in it and use that to your advantage. Then every other decision, goal, or intention you set will be grounded in the clear honest signal deep inside. Trust the silence.

A way to take action?
Be gentle as you move
There is a physiological tussle in behaviour change and personal development. So being kind to yourself as you would your clients is a great way to start. The science backs this up. I have blogged about him before but BJ Fogg at Stanford Uni who wrote the book ‘Tiny Habits’ explains that starting and staying small on new action is the best recipe for success.
What can you ask yourself before embarking on a new path if that is what you have planned? Equally if you are doing more of the same these questions, from Lisa O’Neill CEO of Thought Leaders, are equally as valid:

• Is it true?
• Is it kind?
• Is it useful?

And before taking an action – she asks, “what would love do?”
The considerate quality of these questions is a great base to work off for both yourself and your clients – success looms….go get it!
​
[Inspiration kindly received from Matt Church at Thought Leaders]

• We are choosing to no longer attend meetings that waste time and showcase mediocrity.

​​If organisations are getting smarter about how they manage their time - we must too. How can we stop wasting time with meetings and other supposed important tasks that may not really be adding value to our days?

• We don't want to stay in relationships that drain us, we want to be in those that sustain us.

​Do we stay put because of the fear of being alone? Do we want to move forwards so that we can be free to express ourselves how we want to without the fear being pulled down for it? Recruiters are reporting a massive talent shortage and finding that people are wanting to do more meaningful work with those they really want to do it with - not just to get the paycheck but to make a difference.

• We don't want to do work anymore that has very little meaning.

If we don't feel like our work matters we will move on. That sense of purpose is so important for getting through the tough times. Over and above all other things it' keeps us sane and resilient when conditions make it difficult to do that thing we do. Work is personal and what we are doing has to matter. If all it's about is making money, forget it we are out. Money was always a currency of meaning, value, and honour. It's just lately (last few hundred years) it's become something else.

2020 was the year that the world changed. The pandemic folded time and forced innovation and forced practical solutions quicker. The obvious ones are flexible work hours, working from home or homing from work as I like to put it. Buying local and the larger supply chain logistics import reliance come undone. 

Choose your response in a given situation and lead from the front - showing others how change can be a doable thing for everyone everywhere, regardless of industry. 

As a leader and business owner I have had more uncertainty over the past 18 months than in the whole 27 years of being in business or working for a business.
There has been no certainty. Here in little (young) NZ we are still sitting at the point where we wait for more certainty to appear from Govt and it's associated departments that allow us our freedom to trade and travel, or whatever else you do!

We need to be certain of our strengths, certain of what we want, about the direction we are wanting to go in. Having an aura of certainty makes others feel safe - our clients and families will feel this from us.

People with certainty have the ability to live with passion, focus, purpose and persistence. They allow no doubt. They keep going until they can’t and then they get a new plan. 

Setting a direction is the job of a leader - it does not mean than you cannot change direction - in fact its vital that you do. Being vulnerable and adaptable are also key strengths that sit nicely beside certainty.​

Creating a list of my certainties allows me to be more open to the uncertainties. You will have heard the phrase, "control the controllables". Doing just that will give you more power of intension and purpose and take away some of the power that uncertainty may bring with it.
You have but 5 weeks left of 2021 - what will you do with it? Commit to finishing off 2021 with a bang and start looking at what 2022 is going to look like for you...have at it and have fun!

Gratefully inspired by Lisa O'Neill

​Discounting your value is an erosion of conviction or a demonstration of commitment. In other words, it's not about what the final price is, it's how you got there. I, for example, may reduce my day rate if you buy 10 days; in doing so I am rewarding your commitment to me. And in this case, I should never go lower than my minimum acceptable day rate. More often than not though, a person in charge of procurement has a checklist of questions and procedures and one of them is to ask for a discount. If there is no increased commitment from the other side, don't discount and even if there is, don't discount lower than your baseline hourly/day rate. Resist the instinct to lower your fees. Be cool, stand in your value, know your worth and be willing to walk away if it's a deal-breaker.

​The Mexican restaurant selling Italian food or whatever combination seems slightly wrong can easily be a mistake we make in our fitness businesses if we don't take the time to identify our core strengths and walk away from the extra services, we think we should provide when in fact not providing them is the crux of the matter and the recipe for success.
 
There are not many downsides of taking the time to really hone in on who your customer is and what your business provides. this can be compared to sharpening your sore before cutting down the tree. If we just try and cut the tree without sharpening the saw it's going to take twice as long. 

Let’s do a side-by-side comparison of niching down in your business pro’s and con’s I think it will speak for itself:

The list could do on….
 
If you haven’t sharpened your saw lately take a leaf out of Abraham Lincoln's book – he said “If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first 4 sharpening the saw.” Take that approach to your own business and you’ll be amazed at how things turn out.
 
First looking at what you do – specialising in ‘that thing’ then pushing that one clear message out to the audience you know will be your customers.

This is a key skill in our industry in fact probably one of the most important. When we meet prospects who could become clients it's really important that we build rapport in a short space of time so that we connect with a potential client, and they see us as an ally and someone they feel they can work with.
There are some key tips and tricks which I want to share so that you can use these to help build rapport on an ongoing basis have more success in landing prospects as clients and have a bigger business as a result of more clients.

Here are some areas to take note of when building rapport. These can be abbreviated to G.E.E.V.S.
General Posture gestures:

• facial expression
• body position/form
• gestures/movements

Eyes:

• movements
• blinking
• connecting/disconnecting

Expiration/inspiration:

• rate of breathing
• amount of breathing (depth)
• pauses
• location in body

Voice:

• speed
• volume
• tone
• timbre
• words used
• other sounds

Skin:

• muscle tone
• pulse

​Start learning these, start looking at them in your friends and family and start using them with potential clients if you're not already instinctively doing some of these things, you probably are, but there's always things to improve upon.
 
Go get ‘em….!

​Marcus Aurelius said: “Just remember you can endure anything your mind can make endurable by making it in your interests to do so”

If you have purpose, you can find the ease in the discomfort or you get the mindset right. That can come when you have a strong sense of purpose in what you do. 

​“The more you know who you are and what you want the less you’re going to let things upset you” This was a line from Bill Murray in the film Lost in Translation.
What the writer is referring to is that sense of clarity and wisdom or self-understanding. But how do we achieve this especially when we are young? When we may not have got the understanding of who we are yet this can be difficult but there are 3 ways in which we can find purpose in life, and these are: 
​1.Gradually over time (this is the slow game, gaining wisdom over time)
2.Event which forces out purpose (e.g. family member gets sick and needs support)
Learning from others to speed up your understanding (e.g. mentor, professor, older family member)

Goals can sometimes be the obstacle to success but a sense of purpose decouples these things so we can focus on the purpose or general direction in life – therefore we don’t get so hung up on the goals and pursue the purpose. 

​When we’re locked down you can do all the online things for sure but for me it doesn’t feel like things are moving forwards. The day to day isn’t the same, of course, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of not doing anything, to giving up or giving into the inertia that comes with not being able to see clients on a daily basis.
 
This can then lead to over thinking and questioning what you are doing. 

Is this the right work to be in?
 
Should I find something more Covid proof?
 
How to I keep the plates spinning when there is little to no cash flow?

​When it seems like there is nothing to work on or to push ahead with on a daily basis the brain can become stagnant. Much like the body, if we don’t keep moving and thereby giving our brains the endogenous neurochemistry it needs to help us feel good and want to do more, we won't get that kick of motivating transmitter dopamine (among others).

Well, you’ve probably heard the expression, ‘fake it til you make it’ or perhaps, ‘be the thing in the world you want to see’. You’ll need to work out which of these or some other type of ignition works for you. We’re all different so keep searching if these don't work for you. You get the idea though. To trick our brains into wanting progress we must fool it into thinking we are making progress through tasks and small endeavours. 

​Start with the things you can control. A lot of energy and stress is consumed when it doesn’t need to be when we sweat on the things we cannot change.
 
Look at your business take a critical eye to it and see what things you think you can do today or over the coming days to make it better than it already is.
This is the Kaizen way – continuous improvement. Tiny steps taken continuously so that when added together, make a significant difference.
 
If you want to publish more articles, then structure a plan so you can see how well you are doing. See this pic below as a great way to give yourself accountability and structure to your goal of getting published more often. 

If you have less grand plans than publishing then think about the things you do every day that could be improved let’s just brainstorm some ideas right now:

• Updating your new client welcome letter
• Updating your rates increase letter
• Updating your Par-Q or pre-screen form
• Add some services to the footer on your pre-screen form
• Set up an online booking system to save you texting backwards and forward, I use Calendly you can even take payments using PayPal or Stripe 
• Getting your logo updated on Fiverr.com – cheap and easy
• Creating PDF books for your website again using Fiverr.com
• Creating online courses for clients to pay for – Coursera/Thinkific and many more platforms out there
• Take a look at Zapier – you have to buy a subscription but there may be processes you can automate in your business that you currently do manually

This list could go on and on but if you want to take stock so you can make progress take a look at my Business Diagnostic tool which asks you 60 questions about your business and helps you identify what areas could be improved on.
This way you’ll have the gun loaded and ready to fire when we get to level 2 of lockdown with a newer shinier business ready to rock and roll.
 
If you’d like any help with that hit me up for a free chat no strings attached. I just love to help people and if one more PT can be even more successful then my WHY will have been answered. 

You may remember back in November 2020 I talked about ‘cutting your cloth to fit’. Well, I’m back with version 2.0!!!
If you need to reference that last article because you missed it, here it is now before you read on today.
The title of that last article was obviously a metaphor for managing your expenses to suit your turnover but what if you fixed your turnover challenges instead of dropping your expenses – or even better, did both.
What if you had a growth in sales and also trimmed some of the ‘fat’ out of your expenses which have been ‘coasting’ along happily because your sales were buoyant up until we got locked down – or for that matter had any unforeseen event that had a negative knock-on effect to your sales.
As that first article talked about trimming out some of your expenses of changing more of the fixed costs to variable ones is a great start but if you need to be more ruthless take a deeper look.

​E.g. #3:  I recently decided to let go of a domain name I have never used but had in case I wanted to mirror my website with a slightly different suffix. GONE. $38 odd less per year, not much but it adds up.

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E.g. #2: I am an audible subscriber but I have allowed my monthly credits to accumulate so much I had 6 waiting for me to cash in on a book that I am not yet ready to read. I have put that on hold for 90 days saving me approx. $48 (3 months x$16)

It’s not much but it all adds up and over time can make the business super lean when I want it to be, just by taking a magnifying glass to the small things. I once had a boss – actually he was my bosses, bosses, boss! He said, “take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.” He was kind of right, if you manage the little things in your business the larger things will by default be taken care of…it stuck with me.
 
Back to the sales ideas to boost your topline (sales) now you have taken care of the expenses. 

In no particular order:
 
1. Send an email to 5 prospects asking what it would take to close a sale
If you’re not sure why someone’s not signing on the dotted line – ask them. Often it’s an easily fixable issue that opens the door.
2. Ask an existing customer for a referral
Good customers refer good customers. Ask a customer “What is the primary benefit you got from using our product? Do you know anyone else who would benefit from it?
3. Upgrade a customer
Would you like fries with that? Small, medium or large? They want what you’ve got now is your opportunity to add more value to their experience and your sale.
4. Go back over messages/emails
There may well be lots of leads you have let go of or clients who have slopped through the cracks over time. Now is the time to follow up and see where they’re at. You’ll be surprised how many just ‘got busy’ and never bothered to come back to you. ‘There’s gold in them there hills!’
5. 10 cold emails
“Cold” anything is a numbers game. Do it often enough and you will get something out of it. Cold email (or Linkedin) messages need to be super valuable to get any cut through and they are still worth it if you can scale it
6. Package your knowledge and give it away
It gives people who could use your services a small taste of what it would be like to work with you and has been extremely effective in attracting new clients.
Collect old blog posts, customer correspondence – anything that can help your prospect. Package it up, give it to them and make sure you have a method to follow up
7. Test a new product on an existing customer
Those ideas for a new product or service that are swimming around your head? Call an existing customer and ask “If I did this? Would you pay this?” The idea isn’t validated until they’ve paid you.
8. Approach a partner
Who’s got your customer? I’m working with the local physio that recently changed hands I approached the owner and am presenting to the whole team in their October monthly education meeting. Approach someone who has your ideal client, and you can bring complimentary skills to the relationship. Make sure it works both ways.
9. Pitch a journalist
Getting covered in the media is far easier than most people think. Look at who is writing about your industry and get in touch with them. If you can provide an interesting angle, stats or insights that the journalist can’t get themselves you will get covered. Media will not explode your business by itself, but it can be used to build credibility with customers and partners.
10. Run a trade in offer
This tactic isn’t just for car dealers. Contact a customer who has had your product or service and offer to trade it in for the newer/bigger/faster version you can provide now. You are in the incumbent supplier and in most cases it’s harder to move away and change but you need to keep adding value.

​With these in place and a diary appointment to remind you to do them over a week or even 10 days you will find some opportunities to either boost your bank balance now or certainly over a period of time with consistent effort.
 
Go for it…
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​Everyday heroes serving the public with a smile and a welcome and a product that has already been prepared as you approached the building.
 
I like to walk my dog. My dog likes to be walked. I see this is a win win. My opportunity to get out and do some exercise my dogs’ opportunity to get out and get some exercise, not only that, but I stop at my local coffee shop/bakery for my favorite cup of Joe some mornings. it's got to the stage now the barista sees me out of the window and has already made my coffee by the time I go in to order it, how good is that service.

How could you replicate this kind of service in your business?
What opportunities are there to wow your clients when they turn up for their session?
What are they not expecting that you can deliver?
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These questions are all worth pondering. there are bound to be more questions you could think of in which you could differentiate yourself from your competition just by wowing your clients when the opportunity arises. Knowing what your customer likes asking, recording memorising even awesome simple steps to making your service stand out from others.
 
I go to other coffee shops but I don't get this sort of service So what is it that this place does differently what is it that this barista goes above and beyond compared to the other baristas. They are all baristas they all serve the same basic product but where do I want to go when I'm thirsty for my cup of Joe you guessed it the brilliant barista.
 
Not only do I get my cup of Joe there is a dog bowl for my dog she's pretty happy to find a bowl of fresh water when we get there however far we've walked she has a thirst on! The simple tasks and easily executed it's a matter of having a system and working the system and ensuring everybody in the business knows the system - simple as that!

​Times get to work start a list of things that you deliver as part of your service but could elevate them to that level of delivering a wow. Examples that have worked for me in the past are:

• a gift, something they like and I've talked about in the past, small, but thoughtful
• tickets to their favorite show
• a meal voucher at their favourite restaurant

 
You get the idea it's personal it's not generic. Generic would be a towel, a water bottle - unless they have their name stitched into them it's the same thing, you'd give everybody, so give it some thought, and you'll be surprised how much of an impact it makes.
 
Good luck - Stay safe
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While NZ is locked down I am offering FREE 30 mins catch ups so you can off load, ask questions, pick my brains or chew over a new business idea, whatever it is feel free to reach out so we can have a chat

Until I got help I felt as though my world was getting smaller. Once I had that help and support my world got bigger and bigger and bigger now it's a matter of deciding what not to do as opposed to what to do - that sounds big headed by what I mean is, when your brain in in growth mode it seeks and spots opportunities and actively looks for ways in which things could be done better or ways in which to grow.
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At the crossroads, I felt as though I'd exhausted my technical skills and myself in the process! So not only was I tired I also lacked the motivation required to take the next steps.

this can be tough this can be demotivating this can feel as though the business you have is the wrong thing for you because it's made you tired exhausted even and lacking the will to go on, I don't mean in a dangerous way but just lacking the motivation to progress.

Do you have this feeling? Are you at that point of wanting more but not having the knowledge on how to get it?

Reach out for a free chat - Let's Talk

We don't see our biases that's why they are described as unconscious, we grow up with them so our 'norm' can seem to be the way the world works but often we'll meet people with different world views and quickly see that in fact we don't see things the same way so in situations where we need to bring a neutral mind to a situation we often don't!

Back to that list of different biases!
1) Affinity Bias - "birds of a feather flock together" we will generally befriend and socailise with people like us. We will feel most comfortable with those who look and sound like us. 

3) Labelling Bias - How they look, dress, show up externally. It's so easy to judge. But I remember a car sales man tell me about a farmer that turned up at the show room looking for some help with a car and no one gave him the time of day. He went elsewhere to the showroom of the guy telling the story and bought 3 cars on the spot. He was dressed shabbily and unkempt but the sales people in the first showroom judged his ability to pay on his appearance! WRONG! Never assume...

4) Selective Attention Bias - Surrounding ourselves with those who are similar to ourselves. This has a lot in common with the affinity bias. We feel 'safe' being around those that look and act like we do but this can narrow our field of vision when it comes to working with people of all creeds and backgrounds. 

There are other biases like the 'weight' bias, this can be common in our industry. We see people who are over weight and can start to judge them as lazy. We know how much work goes into looking good and we may think over weight people just don't put in the work. There may be an element of truth, there may not, but until we get to know people we don't know their story. There may well be very good reasons why people are the way they are. 

Respectful Care
Respectful care delivers care that exudes acceptance, absolute worth and autonomy. This allows the client to open up and feel heard when you are working with them. If you have overcome all the biases in the book you will be free to serve and make real differences in peoples live....

If learning is not one of your values then it's quite possible that you don't have a regular routine that helps you grow and build your knowledge base to improve yourself and your business.

​It sounds a bit corny but if you're not growing anywhere, you may well be staying in the same place that you've been for the last year. So, do your years just repeat themselves? Is it a case of what works now should just keep working for you? Perhaps it does perhaps you're completely content and don't feel the need to increase that knowledge however this may become self-limiting after a while.
 
The world keeps moving. You can't deny that technology research current thinking will become yesterday's thinking very soon. so if we don't spend a little time and perhaps a little money keeping up with what's changing we could get left behind. Have you had one of those experiences where you realise what people are talking about you know nothing about? has that experience made you turn inwards and think about what you need to do differently?

As Daniel Pink put it in his book “Drive,” “human beings are motivated by purpose, autonomy and a drive towards mastery,”
If you're not learning then what is your purpose where is your autonomy and are you getting closer to mastery?

By creating a culture of learning in your business you are setting up the opportunity for continuous improvement much like the All Blacks have done finding those 1% opportunities and multiplying them by 100 gives them double the improvement they had the previous year it doesn't even have to be 100 in your business it could be 10. What 10 things can you think of that could be improved? Some of those you can probably do yourself and some you may need help with but overtime the incremental change that it makes to your business will be significant and your business will not look like it did 12 months ago.
 
I urge you to take a critical look and see what could be changed or worked on day to day week to week. A little time of reflection can reveal huge opportunities that can be chipped away at over time.