When did you last get into your car and just drive, without really knowing where you were going?

It’s a nice thing to do if you just fancy ‘going for a drive’ and you don’t mind where you end up. But when you’re in business, setting off without a direction could cost you a great deal of precious time, effort and marketing budget, without getting much return.

Here are a couple of examples to illustrate the point.

Building Better Business

One of my clients, William, runs an excellent weekly networking event online. Each week he gives some advice to the assembled throng, or asks a question for us to discuss, on a topic about which he, as a business mentor, has a lot of experience. It’s a great way of showcasing his knowledge and expertise, in a very relaxed, non-salesy way.

“What should I talk about on the next call?” he asked me last week. There are many topics that he could discuss, all related to building a better business. Which one to pick? I thought about this for a moment and then asked him: “What do you want to achieve from these weekly calls? What’s the next target you’re aiming for in your business?”

His answer was that he would really like to take on one new mentoring client. “So let’s talk about mentoring on the call,” I suggested. I didn’t mean that he should spend the time selling his services and telling the participants on the call how great he is as a mentor. Instead my suggestion was that he encourage a discussion about the importance of getting the right support for building a better business. The question he asked at the start of the session was “Where do you get the support you need, to develop your business?” We enjoyed a really stimulating conversation about different sources of support – coaches, mentors, mastermind buddies, virtual boards, friends in the pub … It allowed William to share some really good advice about where to get advice, when to listen to advice and when not to listen to advice! In a very subtle way it was all aimed at saying “I’m a really good mentor; come and work with me.” No one at the event would have felt sold to, and some of them might actually be wondering if William could be the mentor they’re looking for.

You can join William’s networking events here.

Where Are You Going?

Another contact of mine recently asked me for some feedback on an ebook that she’s written. I read through it – its only 20 pages long – and there is plenty of feedback that I could give. I gave comments about the content, the style and the length of the book. But before I offer any advice, there is a question that I will ask Janey. I want to know what her aim is for the ebook – what’s the goal? Until I knew the objective of the book – the goal towards which she is aiming – I can’t give Janey any really useful feedback. If her objective is to win a new client who will pay her thousands of pounds for her advice, then I think the ebook needs rather a lot of work. However, if her aim for what she’s written is just to share a few tips and get a conversation going, then she’s heading in the right direction.

These are two relatively small examples of the importance of knowing where you’re going in your business. However, they do illustrate just how important it is to know where you’re going and to always aim your marketing towards your goal. Without focusing on his goal, William could run a very nice online networking meeting, but ‘nice’ doesn’t win you new clients. And Janey could send her ebook to hundreds of potential clients, but if it’s not written with her perfect potential client in mind, they won’t pick up the phone and call her.

Where is your business heading? What are your long term, medium term and short term goals?

The importance of having goals is the second element of marketing that I’ll be covering in the next Clients4Coaches course, which starts on Tuesday 6 October 2020. 4 weeks with space for just 4 coaches for just £400 +VAT. If you’re serious about growing your coaching business, then don’t miss out. Book your place now!