Kill an Obsolete Project, Survey Competitor’s Websites, and More To-Dos for July/August

July 8-14

MANAGEMENT
The management guru Peter Drucker believed that in order to grow, a business must have a systematic policy to get rid of “the outgrown, the obsolete, the unproductive.” Start that process today: Make a list of projects, policies and products that you should consider killing, and solicit nominations from your staff (via an anonymous survey if necessary). Commit to killing one part of your existing business before you leave for Printing United in September.

July 15-20

MARKETING
Below your email signature, place a call-to-action link that rotates monthly. Create a schedule for the remainder of 2024 and set reminders to update it. Some ideas: “Join our customer loyalty program”, “See our gallery of delivery-van wraps” and “Refer a customer and get a 20% discount on your next project!”

July 22-28

ONLINE
Check your website. Is your telephone number easy to find? It needs to be.

MANAGEMENT
Your business will only be valuable to a potential buyer if it can run successfully without you. Schedule a few days this month to step back and think strategically. Ask customers, friends, and neighbors for their opinions of your services. Don’t get defensive if they fault certain aspects of what you do.

July 29-August 4

ONLINE
Assign a different competitor’s website to every member of staff with a mission to find something great there, and then bring it back and share it with the team. The onus should be on positive features.

PLANNING
Don’t let any more great ideas get away. Set up a “spark” file for all the terrific ideas you come across in your reading, in the dentist’s waiting room, in the shower, or as you work on next month’s roster.

August 5-11

TRAINING
Begin training your staff to give first-time and prospective customers a tour of your facilities. This is a good way to break the ice and make newcomers feel welcome.

MINDSET
If you haven’t managed to get away from the business yet this summer, book a break this week. August could be your last chance this year to take a decent vacation.

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

August 12-18

STAFF
Spend time tightening job descriptions. Standardization ensures every single employee performs the exact same procedure and provides the exact same excellent service for every client. That predictability and consistency helps secure a customer for life.

MANAGEMENT
Change your furniture, change your perspective. Move your desk to a different spot in your office (and do it again in six months). It sounds silly but it will encourage you to review the status quo.

August 19-25

ONLINE
Add some “campfire language” to your website’s About Us page. Why? Most introductory pages are drearily formulaic, telling the buying public what you do but not who you are. Yet in most cases, what you do or offer in the way of services is little different from what other wide-format print businesses in your area provide. In contrast, no one else has your story. Share it and start to build emotional connections with your customers.

MONTHLY PROJECT

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

Eliminate Growth-Blocking Bad Habits

Trying to eliminate a bad habit or a personal belief that has hindered your personal growth?

Try Tony Robbins’ “Dickens Process”. The process asks you to examine key beliefs that have impacted you negatively — on three temporal planes.

So take a self-defeating belief like: “I am a natural introvert, and do not have the personality to reach out to my community”.

• What has that belief cost you in the past, and the people you care about? What have you lost because of this belief? See it, hear it, feel it.
• What is each costing you and people you care about in the present? See it, hear it, feel it.
• What will each cost you and people you care about 1, 3, 5, and 10 years from now? See it, hear it, feel.

The strength of the Dickens Process is that it doesn’t allow you to escape consequences. You are forced to confront what your negative belief has cost you already, and will continue to cost you. It’s hard to persist in negative beliefs.