Business Articles - Marketing

Now is the best time in your life to jump ahead of your competition and reach your goals. You'll never be at this crossroads again; they'll be others but not this one. The economy is robust so the time is ripe, all you have to do is seize the moment, or as it is said in Latin 'Carpe Diem.'

Why You Must Get Started NOW!

If you take a hard look at your competition, you'll find that the majority of them are working their business day by day, no long-term goals, strategies or ideas in place. You've heard me say many times during the seminar; only about 2% of contractors are truly in control of their business and their future. What does this mean for you? It simply means that you can now firmly entrench the destination of your business on a road that takes into consideration the big picture.

Common dogma dictates that you must run around like a chicken with your head cut off, that you must have enumerable amounts of problems with you employees and customers, that every day must be a grueling test to stretch you beyond your limits, and then some.

The same people who can't get their heads, which are permanently stuck, out of the sand, promote this brain set. They sincerely believe that this is the only way to operate their business. They naturally assume this is the ONLY route to success. It has never been the only route, just the one most frequently traveled by those that not only know no better but also do not even possess the will or capability to learn a better way. This is why it is the most traveled path, because it is the one most traveled by the masses who trod it every day.

With this the case with so many, especially your competition, it makes good sense to separate yourself from the masses and establish your own path to follow. One that will insure you the success you so desire. Your efforts and energy are an investment in your future. You must drill that paradigm into your head and never let anyone or things distract you from its path.

Five Ways to Leapfrog Ahead of Your Competition

If everyone else is following the same time worn path then it is in your best interests to decide which path you want to follow. Will it be the high road or the low road? The following steps will help you determine the right path with laser accuracy.

All you need to do is commit to building it and following it.

1. Analyze everything you've done right and wrong with your business to date. Learn from your mistakes, duplicate your successes.

2. Set in place the systems you need to duplicate and leverage yourself and your employees. Optimize every possible position. Your leverage over your competition will come from your ability to outperform them in every way.

3. Build your strategic business plan as soon as possible. Don't let one minute escape you. The sooner you get started, the sooner you'll reach your goals. Make it your blueprint for your path to your goals and success. Follow it with the deepest passion. Constantly keep utilizing it as a tool and a reference. Make it your destiny.

4. Study your competition. Discover what they do right and wrong. Uncover their weaknesses and utilize their strengths to your benefit.

5. Treat your customers as your most precious asset. Create ways to re-sell, up-sell and service them. Make it a point to keeping touch with them at least two times a year. Let them know when you have something new to offer them, as a matter of fact, present to them as a 'first time offer exclusively for our favorite customers.' make them realize that you value them and their business. Remember, they've done business with you once and they'll be happy to do business again and again.

Do you know anyone who has been successful in his or her own business? If you do, chances are very good that they did by mastering the details. Anyone who has to reach their highest plateau of success possible has accomplished this by mastering the details, techniques and strategies. With this mastery comes proficiency. And proficiency will always be accompanied by speed. That is how you leapfrog over your competition in the marketplace.

Henry Goudreau, C.S.L.
HG & Associates, Inc
www.hgassociates.com
"We turn contractors who dream of a successful business, into business managers who make a business successful!"