The conundrum of committedness – part 3

In my last two blogs, I’ve talked about the conundrum of committedness. The first part of the conundrum is the need to continue generating new commitments, even if there are a lot of them currently. And the second part is that new commitments aren’t always predictable.

Here are some ways to manage that situation for your business:

• Know your numbers! How many prospects do you need to have, on average, to get one client? While the number is not a fixed number, there is probably a good average to work from.
• Know how long it takes for the average prospect to become a client… and then for that client to pay.
• Don’t stop doing what you’re doing! Continue working with current clients, continue marketing your services.
• Do what it takes to go the extra mile. It might mean late nights or running the assembly line through the weekend from time to time, but those steps are necessary to keep clients happy, especially when there are unpredictable changes.
• Automate. If possible, automate some of your processes so you are no longer working on the mundane details that might distract you from your focus. Over at IAC-EZ, that’s what kind of help we give to businesses.
• Hire out. You might or might not want to outsource your core competencies, but you should probably consider hiring out your non-core efforts so you can spend more time on the work that earns your income. Over at IAC Professionals, we helps all kinds of businesses do that all the time.
• Plan for it. As a consultant, I see these challenges in businesses all the time, particularly as we work at increasing a business or bringing a new product to market and then facing the demand it generates.

Best,

Heather Villa

Related posts:

1. The conundrum of committedness – part 2
2. The conundrum of committedness – part 1