Three Things Every Business Knows They Should Do But Don’t
Posted by aonenetworks On February 27, 2014
You probably know what you complain about the most in your business. Maybe it’s that you don’t make enough money, or that you spend so much time working with your company that you forget to eat. Sometimes our problems are social media management, or how to handle customers that don’t appreciate our efforts and are cranky no matter what we do. However, all of these concerns are usually summed up with “I need to make more money and have time to sleep at night” in the end.
So now that you know what your concerns are, what are the solutions? Often, the solution to our issues is something that’s, quite literally, right in front of our faces. However, a lot of small business owners forget that these things are important and look for other solutions instead. Here are a few that are sometimes ignored and really shouldn’t be.
Learn to Say No
No is a difficult word to learn, especially when we’re talking about saying no to money. Sometimes you choose not to say no because the deal is just too lucrative, even though you know it’s going to be difficult or the client’s pickier than you’re used to. However, learning how to say no is still an important tactic in business, especially when you’re trying to preserve a good reputation. Saying no to a potential client that’ll cause more trouble than he or she is worth is almost always a good idea, especially if you do it in the right way.
Say Thank You
When it comes to being grateful for your clients, you simply can’t say thank you enough. It’s true that a lot of the success you’ve achieved is from your own dedicated hard work, but without clients, employees and networking opportunities you’ve gotten from business friends, it’s unlikely you’d see the kind of success you’re seeing. Since you owe some measure of your success to others, saying thank you to them is never a bad thing. Make saying thank you a habit, and say it in any form that you can: cards, emails, social media, and even texts can be a welcome communication in someone’s day.
Learn to Follow Up
Following up is one of the most difficult things to do for a small business, especially since small businesses are usually only comprised of a few people, all of which wear multiple hats as it is. However, it’s more important than ever that you follow up on each and every opportunity. Keep in mind that following up once isn’t usually enough, either. You don’t want to bug potential business or connections, but keeping in touch is an important part of being remembered – and being remembered is an important part of getting business.
Following up, learning how to say now and remembering to say “thanks” for all of the great things that your clients have brought you are all great ways to improve your business starting today.
