In order to avoid being criticised you just have to do nothing....

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was once quote as saying “To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing”

Occasionally, I'll hear from people in business who aren't comfortable with my style of self-promotion. Sometimes it's from customers or prospects, but more often than not, it's actually from one of my so called "competitors"

It used to really get to me, but now I don't pay them any attention whatsoever.

I've got nothing against them as people - It's just that I know what they feel or think about me, has more to do with them than it does with anything else.

What they're really saying is that they're uncomfortable with promoting themselves in the way I do.

If you're one of those people that's fine - but I feel like I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you the harsh reality;  People who are uncomfortable with, or don't like self promotion usually have to pay consequences - and those consequences usually come in the form of low sales or not enough money.

Does this sound familiar or ring any bells with you?

When you own your own business, like it or not you have to be the number one salesperson.

Even if you have a team of highly skilled, highly trained sales people - You still have to be number one!

No one is going to have as much passion and as much knowledge about your service as you do.

So it's your job to promote it in every way you can.

I'll take that one step further and say not only is it your job to promote it in every way you can -  It's also your duty!

Think about it - assuming your service actually gets the results your clients are looking for, not promoting it to it's full potential is actually doing them a disservice.

If there's something out there that can solve all their problems, they need to know about it!

And you have to tell them!

A word of warning though – you are going to be hated for it -  People aren't going to like it and you're bound to face criticism from all angles (I'm speaking from experience here).

So how do you avoid it?

You do nothing

Simple right?

Don’t share any opinions on anything, don’t do anything significant, don’t be say or do anything!

People won't even know you exist, so how can they criticise you?

You'll become invisible.

You won't make any impact on the world - you won't make any impact on your market.

You'll be nothing!

If that is the path you choose then best of luck to you.

But for me and the Managing Directors and Business owners and Search Firm owners that I work with, we want the opposite -  We want to have some significance to our clients, We want to help them solve their problems, We want to make a difference.

For us, receiving criticism is an unpleasant experience, but it is also inevitable.

If your actions in the world and in this market are significant then you will draw detractors.

A word of warning though - If you start working with us your competitors probably aren't going to like it - in fact, they're probably going to start making a lot of noise about how they don't like the way you do things - don’t worry, the extra business that you’ll be getting and the extra money you’ll be making as a result will soon drown out the sound - but you’ve got to know what you’re letting yourself in for

If you want to learn how to be better than your competitors (and make them hate you in the process) then contact us now either by email (enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com or hello@blueboxrecruitment.com) or by telephone (084 3289 3288 for Blue Box Consultancy or 08456 894 894 for Blue Box Recruitment).  We look forward to hearing from you soon

Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business

Wet, naked angry man

Some time ago when I was out for a drink with some friends, one of the group started to tell a story about how he thought he heard someone trying to break into his house.

 

He and his girlfriend were upstairs getting ready for bed.  He had just got out of the shower - when suddenly he heard a loud crash coming from downstairs.

Now, obviously his options were fairly limited – he could just ignore the noise, he could have sent his girlfriend downstairs to investigate, or he could do something about it himself.

 

So what did he do?

 

He ripped off his dressing gown, grabbed a wooden clothes hanger (which just happened to be the first "weapon" he could find) and ran downstairs at full speed, dripping wet and stark naked towards where he thought he heard the sound coming from.

 

Fortunately – for everyone concerned - it turned out to be a false alarm – some badly stacked Tupperware boxes had decided to re-arrange themselves – as they have a tendency to do – at the most inappropriate of moments – however, that is not important, or indeed, the purpose of this story.

 

The point is that my friend decided to deliberately rush downstairs stark naked – but why?

 

Well, in the heat of the moment, he figured it was the best way to frighten the intruders off - and he has a point! I don't know about you, but a strange, wet, angry naked man running at me, full speed,  ranks fairly high in my list of  ‘most frightening things to wittiness in the middle of the night’

 

An angry naked man seems lot more intimidating than a fully clothed man... and certainly more intimidating than a man in his dressing gown and fluffy slippers!

 

And that is my whole point - illusion makes all the difference.

 

That's why positioning your business is so important - if you want your potential clients to take you seriously, you have got to be positioned in the right way.

 

I'm not talking about running at them naked - in most industries that would be inappropriate – and in some places, highly illegal - but the way you communicate with your potential clients, the way you tell your message and story, the way you offer your prices, the way you operate all need to be in direct coloration with whom it is you want to attract – and, conversely, who it is you want to frighten off!

 

Get it wrong and you end up attracting some of the "profit suckers" that don't seem to have the ability to pay you on time - if they pay you at all!

 

Or the "energy drainers" who seem a gazillion times harder to deal with than any other rational human being that you can ever come into contact with.

 

Or the "price buyers" who don't value what you do, and are constantly demanding cheaper prices.

 

Get it right - and you end up attracting those clients who you really "click" with.

 

The customers that you can convert into fans who love the way you do things and are more than happy to pay your premium fees because they appreciate the value you offer.

 

I know who I'd prefer to work with. What about you?

 

If you'd like to charge premium prices for your services. And only work with the best clients, and some tips on how to frighten off intruders (we promise NOT to encourage you to run around naked though!) then you should contact us now on 084 3289 3288 (for Blue Box Consultancy) or 08456 894 894 (for Blue Box Executive Recruitment)

Alternatively you could always drop us an email – enquiries@blueboxconultancy.com or hello@blueboxrecruitment.com – we would be delighted to hear from you – regardless of which communication method you choose

If you just want to check us out, have a look at our websites – www.blueboxconsultancy.com or www.blueboxrecruitment.com

Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business

Make business or make excuses - you cant do both...

When I first started working with business owners, one of the things I became obsessed with was studying the attitudes of the really successful ones and comparing it to the attitudes of those who were struggling.  On the surface, it looks like successful people are successful because they do things differently.  But if you look beyond that, you can see that successful people are in fact successful because they think differently.

You see, your thoughts control your feelings, your feelings then control your actions and your actions control your results - so your attitude and the way you think are the route of whatever results you're getting in your business at the moment.

So, how do the successful business owners think differently from everybody else?

Well, one thing I've noticed about the business owners who are struggling, is that they have a wealth of excuses as to why they're in the situation they are in

These excuses can come in many forms, but whichever way you look at it, they are still just excuses

Whether it's the state of the economy

Personal circumstances

Lack of funds

Lack of knowledge

     

The list is endless and it's just excuse after excuse

Now I'm not saying that those things are easy to overcome, but they are just part of running a business - and if you are in business, then you just have to accept that sometimes you are going to come across difficulties or difficult times – it is almost a fact of life

It's your attitude towards them that makes the difference

Successful business owners have a very different way of viewing things

They face the same challenges and obstacles as everybody else - sometimes even bigger obstacles

But they think differently, and instead of accepting things the way they are and using these obstacles as excuses for why they are NOT wealthy - the do something about them

You see -the harsh reality is that you can generate leads, sign clients and do good business,  or you can make excuses - you can't do both!

And it really is that simple

No one is saying that running a successful business in any kind of sector you chose is easy - if it were, everyone would be doing it - but you need a certain attitude if you want to be successful, and part of that attitude means letting go of your excuses, standing up and taking responsibility

If you would like to stop making excuses and start making business, then give us a call - there is always someone here who would love to hear from you.  You can contact us in all the usual ways - by telephone on 084 3289 3288 (or 08456 894 894 for Blue Box Recruitment) or by email at enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com (or hello@blueboxrecruitment.com for Blue Box Recruitment)

If you just want to check out what we do and who we do it with, then have a browse at our website - www.blueboxconsultancy.com and www.blueboxrecruitment.com

Until the next time, take care, be bold and do good business