I hear so much talk, hype, excitement, dreaming and hoping that NEVER leads to actual results that at times, you tend to get jaded.
I get caught up in it at times too…when I find someone new I like to follow, when I get too wrapped up in product planning and dreaming without focusing on execution…that’s a dangerous place to be because the euphoria of being excited, dreaming and talking temporarily compensate for the REAL euphoria of progress.
Nowhere is this more common than with the many people we work with who aspire to become entrepreneurs.
Each day I hear it from members of Information Marketer’s Zone, people we coach and subscribers on my various blogs, paid products and social platforms…they are going to “blow up” or “explode” when really they haven’t even STARTED to get into an execution and results mindset.
The undeniable fact of achieving anything great in business as an entrepreneur or in life is that you MUST execute, you MUST persist, you MUST adjust and you MUST base your entire focus on getting results.
Nothing else matters…you either did something and got a result or you did NOT.
Dreaming, planning, hyping, getting inspired are all terrific things IF they are tactically used as part of a focused plan to get results – if not, they are a waste of your time.
5 Ways To Triple Your Business Impact
Here are 5 ways you can immediately begin to improve the attention, focus and results you are getting with your business, starting with being more focused on your market and customers.
How Can You Instill Hope In Someone Else?
Results-driven entrepreneurs are inspired to take BIG action because they decide or realize that they are instilling hope into the lives of those who follow them (and who eventually become customers). When you flip your thinking to becoming a beacon of hope in the lives of your market suddenly your mind is forced to think about actions you can take to produce that hope where only desperation, boredom and anxiety may have previously existed. Teachers, coaches, trainers, digital product creators and entrepreneurs of all types who achieve any level of substantial success come to realize that they are more than just a coach, a teacher, a business leader, an entrepreneur…but that they are a bright light of hope in the lives of their marketplace.
One of the first concepts we teach digital product creators on the way to releasing their own signature, high-profit digital products online is that they are NOT writers, speakers, trainers or teachers but instead are delivery agents for hope, inspiration and actions that bring RESULTS to other people’s lives in whichever market they have chosen to operate.
Believe me, this drives you harder and faster than ever before to get results in your market. There is nothing more motivating and fulfilling that knowing you are making a difference to the emotional lives of those you serve.
How Can You Directly Add Value To Your Market?
The most common question I get asked by those who want to succeed as online entrepreneurs is “What Can I Sell Online To Make Money?”
Do you truly believe that is the question that great entrepreneurs started with when they launched their businesses?
Can you see Steve Jobs deciding to produce the first Ipod or Iphone by asking “What Can I sell That Will Make Me Lots of Money?”
When we work with entrepreneurs to create their own digital products we leverage the passion, capability and desire in the entrepreneur themselves and THEN help them get past their blind spots so they are free to identify the MOST compelling areas where they can add value through their products to the marketplace. In 100% of the cases, they were headed down the wrong path until we went through some simple steps in this area
Instead, the question is “How Can I Deliver Tremendous Value To A Given Market”?
That value may be in the form of saving people time, helping people through a problem, assisting people in realizing a deeply held desire or dream or in entertaining or enriching people’s lives in other ways.
If your business is not having the impact you believe it should be on your market then begin asking yourself “How can you directly add more value to your market and customers”
Think in terms of BIG value…solving BIG problems or addressing highly emotional or deeply held desires. That’s where the biggest impact will be made.
Finally, don’t assume your take on what is most valuable is always the right one…dig in and explore your market, you will often find other pockets of demand that you may not have even recognized or underestimated at first blush
What Is The First Step You Can Take Toward A Larger Vision?
For most aspiring entrepreneurs they begin with a relatively small vision…to create a first product or start an e-commerce or affiliate storefront as a side business and then ramp things up.
The challenge with a vision that is small is that it’s tough to ramp up the motivation and be inspired enough to take action when the potential return is modest or uncertain.
A much better way to build a business that has far more impact is to have a BIG vision where your impact and results on the market will ramp to something massive. From there, you can create realistic plans and work the plan but at the same time, be motivated by the bigger vision of achievement you will realize from your business.
How Can You Multiply Your Ability To Make A Meaningful Difference In The Lives Of Your Customers?
So many struggling entrepreneurs view their business from THEIR OWN perspective…the products they sell, the customers they serve, the type of business they operationalize and so on.
Flip that around, begin to think of your business in terms of the meaningful difference you and your business make in the lives of your customers.
When you are inward focused, you tend to only pay attention to tasks, activities and plans around running your business…but when you become focused on the meaningful difference you will make in the lives of your customers you will become outward focused and results become the ONLY thing that matters.
For example, when we plan a new digital product, it starts with defining the market and the meaningful impact we can have on that market which brings us the TOP ideas for our products and keeps us focused on getting that product to market as fast as we can because it will bring meaningful advantage to our marketplace.
In other words, everything begins to revolve around making a difference, getting results and having a GIANT impact on the market.
What Result Is Expected From This Task Or Activity?
The typical person wastes more than 80% of their day on tasks, meetings, conversations and activities that have little or no bearing on the results they so badly seek.
No wonder your business is not getting the results you seek when 80% + of your day is mis-aligned with your desired outcome.
Here’s a great way to fix this very common problem.
Commit to always asking this standing question anytime you take on a new activity, meeting or commitment in your day…”Is this activity going to push the bar in terms of bringing about the result or outcome I have clearly defined for my business?”
By “push the bar” I mean will it get you substantially closer to realizing your goal.
Of course this exercise requires two things:
- That you religiously ask this question as you plan and carry out your daily activities
- That you honestly evaluate the impact any given activity will have on your desired outcome
You will make errors in judgement where you believed that a given activity, meeting, conversation or plan will lead to a result and it doesn’t have the impact you thought it would have…that’s OK – this is not meant to be 100% foolproof but only reversing the ratio of spending 80% of your day on useless activities to the point where you are spending near 80% of your day on highly USEFUL activities
Becoming outward focused on getting results and delivering results to your market is THE way to gain massive impact in your marketplace. That impact will bring influence, attention, sales and profit…the difference between a small struggling business and large, thriving and highly profitable businesses.
