Our habits and mindset form the core of our personal as well as professional lives. Even the seemingly small but positive habits make a far-reaching and deeper impact on our business, whereas the negative ones will eventually run the most successful business into the ground. These habits stop ambitious entrepreneurs and their businesses from achieving their full potential. Here are three seemingly small habits that may be cramping your business style and some ways you can fix them:
Not Asking the Right Questions
Once the exhilaration of landing a new customer fades, the entrepreneurs naturally scramble forward to get the job done quickly. However, they don’t often pause and consider if they have enough information to not only do the job but do it efficiently and thoroughly enough. Their lack of knowledge stems from not asking enough questions because they perceive that asking too many questions at an early stage may make them look inexperienced or confused to their customers. Since a service is an intangible product, there is more room for miscommunication there. That’s why you should always ask our clients these questions at the start of a project:
- What are the customer’s expectations?
- What are deliverables?
- What is the deadline?
- How much is he supposed to pay in total?
These questions will not only help you get the necessary information but also in developing a mutual understanding with the client that would go a long way.
Not Listening Enough
Entrepreneurs are full of passion as well as ego, which makes them averse to honest criticism or feedback. Even criticism has value if it’s given and taken in the right spirit. Being receptive to customers’ feedback enables one to do the following:
- Understand the customers’ exact needs and adapt one’s service according to it.
- Pinpoint and fix the loopholes.
- Improve service quality as a well as profitability.
Being receptive to the customers’ needs and opinions help them feel valued and increase their sense of affiliation with and ownership of your brand.
Having Only a Need-based Relationship with Customers
The dynamic of your relationship with your customers depends upon how often you interact with them and for what purpose. If you get in touch with people only when you have something to sell, then they are more likely to see you only as a self-centered, pushy sales person and not as a trusted contact delivering them worth and valuable. If you approach a customer with a sales proposition always, then he or she may buy from you once as an obligation but this wouldn’t lead to repeat sales or referrals. Trying to cultivate your relationship with a client means the following:
- Dropping in often and saying hi.
- Sending small ‘thank you’ gifts.
Sending seasonal greetings and birthday wishes. - Giving them preferential or unexpected discounts.
Entrepreneurs with a growth-oriented mindset recognize and acknowledge the positive habits of their peers and even their competition. They refuse to be held back by their bad habits and try to replace them with positive and productive ones often. Since self-improvement is a gradual process, so habits can’t be changed overnight. As a personal development and business trainer, I help ambitious female entrepreneurs break free from the clutter of bad habits and replace them with powerfully positive ones. Book a free session with me today!