Hedging Your Bets. Is it worth it?

As Britain is going gambling stir-crazy with the announcement of the new Super-Casino to be built in Manchester, I'm sat here left wondering how many entrepreneurs take unnecessary risks in their business. They take gambles on business projections that they would never apply into their everyday lives. Or the opposite by hoping that their business would grow by Osmosis.

Let me give you an example. I was coaching a business client, Susan, earlier today on what Referral Strategy to implement into her new business partnership. She'd just got a deal to coach 40 people in sharp bursts over 4 sessions over the period of 12 months. I asked her how many referrals will she be asking for from each coachee each time. She wasn't. She didn't feel it was right to ask clients for referrals when they are being coached. Nonsense. Deep inside Susan knew better.

So we did the maths. (We'll use round numbers to avoid complicating things. Actually to avoide confusing me!) Susan's coaching time would have generated £20,000. Not bad for coaching, huh? She also had an affiliate deal with her strategic partner who hired her for the coaching. For every client Susan would create by referral, she would £500. If she asked and only got 1 referral from each coachee per quarter that turned into business, she would have brought in 160 new clients. That amounts to £80,000 worth of referral fees. Pretty amazing, me-thinks!

So Susan would earn four times as much from referral fees as she would as a coach. All the coach did was ask for one high quality referral (preferrably 3 or more) from each client everytime she met. How difficult is that? What about you? What's stopping you from asking for referrrals? Is the price of NOT asking worth paying? For Susan the cost would have been £80,000. That's money left on the table. Money left on the table can never be retrieved. How much money are you willing to leave behind?

Until next time, have an amazing week!

The Persuader

Dreaming Big...

Welcome back to The Persuader's Referral Supercharge!

So much has happened since the last session that I don't know where to start. Let's just say that at the beginning of last year I had several dreams of the kind of person I wanted to become and the things I wanted to do. Amazingly several of them have been turning into reality. One of my dreams was to have my own television programme. I had no clue how that was going to happen, but I was convinced it was going to happen. Guess what? Last week I was approached by a veteran of the media who is very keen on creating a show specifically for me. I don't care if it happens now or much later on. As far as I am concerned I am not going to put my feelings on hold and wait for the programme to be on the box before I enjoy it. Wierd? I know! But I am enjoying the feelings of excitement right now.

Given that we are into a New Year, I figured out that like me, everyone else will have their dreams and be making their New Year's resolutions. I also figured that by now, the middle of January, most people would have broken theirs.

How about you taking a different approach this year - one that works? Imagine it is now December 31st 2007. If you were telling a friend about how successful the previous 12 months were, what would you be saying? What kind of business would you have created?

Did you have to work hard and push to chase after new referrals? Or were you like a magnet and attracting great referrals towards you? What did you focus on that helped you to become attractive to people who already knew you? Even more importantly, what did you focus on to attract people who previously had never heard of you?

Most people get confused about setting a clear vision or even a goal for themselves. They jump straight into detail and ask themselves 'how' they can achieve that goal. No wonder so many people find goal-setting hard and realising the goal an even greater uphill struggle.

So here's the BIG tip for the entire
year:

1. Focus on what you want

Imagine what it would look like and feel like having achieved it. Then replay this through your mind over and over again. On a daily basis at least.

2. Act as if you have realised your vision by fully immersing yourself in the feelings associated with that achievement.

3. Take daily action just one step at a time. It's the daily actions that will lead to massive results.

4. Finally, celebrate everytime you have taken action. Act as if you have achieved your vision.

I can go through the science of this approach and theory behind this approach. But I am not going to. As the Zen philosopy goes,

'To know and not to do is not yet to know".

Act on what you already know. Otherwise your knowledge is just academic. Use the tools that are already in your toolbox. Use them more effectively and more efficiently.

Have your dream and dream big. Make 2007 an amazing year. Give it a theme. My theme for 2007 is the 'Year of Attraction'. What's your going to be?

Until next time, don't be good. Be amazing!

The Persuader