When you come into contact with aspiring entrepreneurs every day of your working life as we do running a virtual office in Central London we notice that certain qualities mark out business success. My own thoughts and observations are well reflected in a recent article by Cheryl Snapp Conner who writes regularly on business development. She identifies 6 important qualities to develop when you are building your business.
1. Add value first — and always.
Regardless of the obstacles in consulting and business, this rule is akin to the laws of gravity and physics. Be as interested and devoted to your client’s successes as you are to your own. When this is the case, there’s no need to talk about your hero stories or the ego numbers you’ve reached. Every contact should begin and ends with the thought, “What kind of massively important difference can I make for my clients today?” There’s no need to hard sell.
2. Put Your Brain in Gear Before You Speak.
And then think again. This is interesting in that some entrepreneurs, leaders and even elected officials (think Trump or Boris Johnson) suffer from the chronic impulse to fill the air with words before their brains have fully engaged. whoSome are living by the motto that “if you’re brazen enough when you say it, it’s true.”
3. Creative Thinking is Essential.
In business and life, beware of the parties who declare “this is how it has to be done.” There are myriad paths to success. What can you add, subtract or tweak to get a situation to work? What would turn it into magic? If option A and option B are both untenable, don’t settle. Continue to think and strategize on ideas about what will work instead of bemoaning what can’t — or what didn’t.
4. Be Clear and to the Point.
Brevity is a virtue in our harried business and personal worlds. We all know the person we unconsciously flee or avoid calling because we know the conversation will never be short. In selling, planning, and every aspect of a business, distill your message to its essence. When you can tell it in a single breath or while standing on one foot, you are probably there. Make the details of your proposal easy to find and verify, but don’t feel the need to overwhelm your listeners. Think about whetting their appetites enough that they come to you, asking for more. This is where you succeed.
5. Gratitude is a Powerful Ingredient.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed about everything that goes wrong in the world of business. Taxes rise, systems fail and rush hour traffic is worse by the day. Health concerns and stress put us all to the test. But imagine the power of stopping at least twice a day to consider at least three things you are intensely grateful for. Family relationships. Seasonal colors or scents or the clothes you love wearing, Your company’s strategy and the customers and clients you serve. Imagine the power you’d instill if you showed gratitude to your employees every day.
We would also add some guiding principles of our own. The fact that every budding entrepreneur needs expert support in their office to free their minds from the mundane so that they can pursue loftier business ideals. Having someone answer your phone and pass on messages correctly can be crucially important. Knowing that business mail is attended to in a timely and secure manner is vital even in our ‘paperless age’. This is why so many of our clients at Hold Everything build and maintain successful businesses in a rapidly changing business landscape.
