Yes, it’s that time of year; its cold, there’s sure to be lots of snow judging by the fact that it is so cold so early in December. People don’t want to come out and play or network or listen to you talk about how great your products and services are at a local hotel or other meeting place when the roads are bad and they’d rather by cozying up to a cup of hot cocoa in their jammies. At this time of year, the only problem that people are interested in finding a solution to is how to stay warm without a ridiculously high heating bill! Yet, business is still getting done and people are still getting solutions to their problems.
So what does this mean for your business? It can mean trouble if you don’t have a plan, a strategic plan, that includes service delivery options that create comfort for your ideal clients. If you offer a service – a coach, speaker, writer, consultant, financial planner/advisor, etc, your product line must be diversified. If the only way you can offer your product or service is face to face, unless you have a 4×4 to handle the weather that you may get depending upon where you live, your business will not be serving many in the coming months.
My personal recommendation is that you conduct a product and service gap analysis. What do you offer now as well as what can you offer in the near future to meet client needs without being harassed by weather conditions? Even if the most challenging weather condition you face is rain and wind, how can you keep your clients safe from the weather while servicing their needs and earning income to support your lifestyle and family? Perhaps you are like me and you coach others and you [unlike me] have always focused on face to face coaching because the breakthroughs are more robust and feeling your client’s energy warms your heart, etc. Well, please don’t mistake me, that is great. I, too, enjoy face to face coaching opportunities and explore them with my VIP Days, but I also have many other options to work with my clients, which also removes geographic limitations on my business. Ask yourself: how can you offer the same level of breakthrough experience when we are 20 inches deep in the white stuff? Perhaps diversifying your coaching package options to include video conferencing might be a solution. You can still see your client, they can still see you, you’re in your home, they’re in theirs; but, business is still being done and you are still using your Incredible Factor to solve their problems. And for the most part, video conferencing is F-R-E-E….
This is just one example of how taking the time to sit down and develop a strategy to diversify your product offerings and service delivery methods can increase your client count and ensure that your business goes on regardless of what is happening with the weather.
How else can you diversify your product and service offerings? Need help coming up with a robust strategy? Invest in a I’m Ready to Play Big Strategy Session with me and I will show you how to make this wintry selling season the best you’ve ever seen in your business.
Your assignment:
Inspect the Incredible: Complete a self-assessment of your current business portfolio and ask yourself the following questions:
1. Determine all of the services that you offer that may be affected by the weather.
2. What can you offer instead? What options can you create?
3. How can you leverage technology to continue your service delivery to your ideal clients? Webinars, teleseminars, video conferencing, etc. Develop a plan to add these options into your current packages.
4. How might creating a passive income product help your product service model?
5. If you have a Blackberry, are you put it to full use? How about offer Blackberry access to your private clients for on the spot coaching?
Once solutions are present, implement, implement, implement…that is what separates the business women from the hobby girls.
©2010 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio CD “How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients” visit https://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com.
