"Business as usual" is a dangerous place to be.
"Business as usual" is stagnation -- a plateau, a zone of zero growth, no momentum, and no velocity.
Setting aside the obvious undulations of sales cycles and seasons, your business should always be poised for major growth.
But how do you get "poised for major growth?" Don't you have to attend a Tony Robbins conference or get jazzed by some motivational speaker?
No. With a few solid mindset shifts, you can blow your way past any sales slump, and smash previous records.
If your business can grasp the following five techniques, I can virtually guarantee your growth.
The ideas I explain below aren't novel, earth-shattering or mind-blowing. They're just simple, often-forgotten methods for blasting out of a plateau and shifting your business into high gear.
If you're ready to boost your business to unbelievable levels of awesome, check out these ideas.
1. Insane vision.
Entrepreneurs are visionaries. Take the vision that you have, and make it bigger.
Even bigger.
Bigger still.
The bigger your vision, the better.
Here's why. Everything that happens in business is trying to break your vision down. It's going to get shot at, chipped away, mocked and beat on.
The bigger your vision, the better chance it has.
I'm challenging you to think big. Like Grant Cardone said,
"There is no shortage of money, only a shortage of people thinking big enough."
One entrepreneur recently wrote this in her mentoring group:
"I have intentions for this 2016 that would make 95% of people in my life laugh in my face."
That's the kind of visionary you need to be -- someone whose goals are so insane that people can't help but laugh.
Your vision alone isn't going to carry you. However, coupled with drive and hustle, your vision will make stuff happen.
2. Crystal clear goals.
Your goals are the engine that moves your vision forward.
I'm a fan of SMART goals. Here's how they work, as explained by Top Achievement.
- Specific. A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal.
- Measurable. Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
- Attainable. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.
- Realistic. To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work.
- Timely. A goal should be grounded within a time frame.
The process of goal-setting becomes much simpler when you realize that each goal must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
What kinds of goals should you set? Look for areas of your business that need improvement, and set new goals.
- Growth goals
- Revenue goals
- Customer/client goals
- Product goals
- Production goals
- HR/hiring goals
Your business has an impact to make. Define the goals that will get you there.
3. Organization.
Every business could use a little organization.
Disorganization could be hurting you in ways that you don't even realize.
- Your office. The average worker wastes an hour and a half each day looking for things. That's six weeks of wasted time annually due to disorganization.
- Your taxes. How much money are you throwing away due to disorganized document intake, record-keeping and business structuring?
- Your suppliers. Where, how and when your suppliers work may be in an astonishing state of disarray. How much smoother would your business run if it were organized?
- Your software/subscriptions. Lost passwords, misplaced logins and subscriptions that you didn't even know that you had could be costing your business. In today's SaaS-driven world, the sheer quantity of tools can drive us berzerk. Get a grip on your subscriptions and save some serious cash.
- Your website. When was the last time you audited your content, tackled your SEO or did some split testing? Give your website an organizational refresh, and you just may experience an influx of new leads and conversions.
Chances are, there is some area of your business that could use the power of organization. Becoming organized can serve as a keystone habit, an act that creates a chain reaction of other positive events.
4. New tactics to try.
It's easy to get drunk on tactics, especially if they are numbered -- 5 ways to do X, 17 methods for X, 10 proven techniques that will X.
Tactics are good. I use tactics every day to write blog posts, unleash marketing magic and grow my businesses.
It's easy to get stuck in a rut with tactics, though. We find one that we think is pretty effective, and we keep using it.
The problem is, by devoting ourselves to that one tactic, we may be overlooking other important tactics.
Maybe you should try some new tactics.
- Marketing tactics
- Website optimization tactics
- Conversion optimization tactics
- Content writing tactics
- Sales tactics
- Tax tactics
- Productivity tactics
As a growth hacker, I've committed myself to trying new marketing tactics. Often, it's the untried, untested and unknown methods that produce the greatest results.
5. Energy.
Nothing in life is going to happen without energy.
Energy is something that nearly everyone wishes they had more of. How do you stir up more energy to tackle your goals with vigor?
Here are some suggestions:
- Get enough sleep.
- Avoid junk food.
- Practice meditation.
- Be grateful.
- Drink coffee.
- Work during your most productive time of day.
- Spend time with positive and encouraging people.
- Exercise regularly.
- Take a cold shower.
- Spend time outdoors.
You may have big dreams, SMART goals and some great tactics you want to try, but if you lack energy, you'll be able to accomplish little.
Focus on stirring up energy through smart and healthy lifestyle habits, and you'll be ready to dominate.
Conclusion
Why do so many people lose sight of their goals?
Is it because they're lazy? Dumb? Uninspired?
No. What happens is we forget.
The hustle of life rushes in, and the last thing on our mind is that habit we resolved to start, the resolution we made, the goal we set or the exercise we needed to do.
The same thing happens in the life of a business. To keep this from occurring, schedule regular checkpoints in your business. Take a day each quarter to renew your vision, review your goals, tackle an area of organization, plan your next tactic and stir up some fresh energy.
Are you ready to level up your business?