When starting a new business, you may find yourself being a "generalist" rather than a "specialist." A "generalist" means you're someone who doesn't focus on a special area. You don't want to turn any business away so you end up saying yes to jobs you don't enjoy. This usually happens because you want to bring in clients and make money. At first the clients come in, but over time you find you're working harder and having less fun. Before you know it, you've spread yourself so thin in different areas that your business growth has slowed down.
I remember when I started my coaching business, I didn't want to turn anyone away. I was new and I wanted the business. So when someone asked me to help them find a new career I took it on. I did the job well but I wasn't a career coach and didn't enjoy doing it. I put a lot more time into it because it wasn't an area I was as knowledgeable in as sales. It felt like hard work for me because I wasn't doing what I loved most.
When you are doing what you love, you're in a natural flow. It doesn't feel like work because it's an expression of you. It's the main reason you decided to go into business. But then we get caught in making it and before you know it, you're no longer doing what you love.
So, are you being a "generalist" in your business? Here are some clues to watch for.
• You're a new business owner so you're afraid to turn down business.
• You have the clients but you're working way too hard.
• You're took on the client for the money.
• You dread when the client calls.
• At the end of the week, you're exhausted.
• You're not having FUN!
I was working with a client and she specialized in one area. She was the expert in her field and great at what she did. But being a new business owner, she was afraid she wouldn't attract as many customers if she only focused on this area, so she expanded her services to areas she knew something about but didn't enjoy doing.
She noticed at her weekly networking meeting when she gave her 60-second commercial, she wasn't getting many referrals. We distinguished it was her lack of clarity about her services that was being communicated. Because she was unclear about her message, people were unclear exactly what she offered, so they didn't refer business to her. She needed to decide what she wanted to focus on. If she was going to grow her business, it was time to become a "specialist."
Once she made that decision, she was no longer confused and struggling with what to say, and created a clear and powerful message. At her next networking meeting she stood up and communicated her services with confidence.
People now understood what she did and how they could help her. And within a couple of weeks, people started giving her business.
Are you ready to give up being a "generalist" and become a "specialist" at what you do? Here are 5 questions to answer that will help you focus on what you do best.
1. Who do you like to work with the most?
2. Are you passionate about your product? Why?
3. What do you have to offer that others do not?
4. What are the results people get from working with you?
5. What benefits do you offer that others do not?
If you liked what you've read and want help in applying these steps to your business, I invite you to take your first step by signing up for a Breakthrough Strategy Session with me. I will walk you through a step-by-step process that will give you clarity about the direction of your business, create a 180-degree turn around in your thinking about sales, and move you forward quickly. I will personally give you my one-on-one breakthrough strategies that fit you and your business.
(c) Rochelle Togo-Figa.
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