This morning I received an email from a contact of mine. It went something along the lines of “Just listened to your new audio. I have some feedback if you are interested.” Oh dear, I thought. That doesn’t sound good.  I’m pretty sure that if the feedback was positive, the email would have sounded like another email I got recently – “just listened to the audio. Fab by the way. Can’t wait for parts 2 and 3).” So, I sat there this morning, having a really good think about whether I wanted to hear this feedback or not.  You see, as small business owners we’re taught that any feedback (good or bad) is a good thing. And bad feedback is actually brilliant news because it helps you to improve. But, here’s my take on things. I don’t believe that receiving every bit of feedback is helpful or useful to your business.  

The reason I say that is this.  I think there are three types of people who give feedback to businesses and that you should generally only be listening to one of them: 

Type 1 are people who are genuinely angry and are making a complaint about you or your business. These are the people who you should listen to and go out of your way to sort out. This sort of feedback, while usually not good is definitely worth listening to and doing something about. 

Now here are type 2 and 3 which you should be very careful about listening to:

Type 2 are people who want to sell you their own products and services. They will deliberately criticise what you’re doing and tell you that they can do it better for you. Listen to these people at your peril.  

And type 3 – well they are just people that like a good moan. Nothing will ever please them and they delight in passing back their negative feedback to make themselves feel better. Of course, they’ll never admit that though! 

Why shouldn’t you listen to these people? 

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If you wish to run your own business under a major brand name then you may want to become familiar with the term “franchise consultant”. Franchise consultants are essential in the business sector today because they play a proactive role in the franchising of businesses for franchisees and franchisors alike. They offer numerous advantages in business for both parties and can help to place the right budding entrepreneur into the right opportunity. Before you seek franchise consulting help, you should understand the role of franchise consultants.

What Is Franchise Consulting?

Franchise consulting is not to be confused with franchise brokering. The latter offers franchises for sale on an indiscriminate commission basis, whereas the franchise consultant works with franchisors and franchisees alike in a much more proactive way. He or she will actively work for an individual who wishes to invest in a franchise to find the best possible one.

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I love my children and I know they love me.  In fact they love me so much they’ve been sharing all their germs with me. This time I’ve lost my voice and have an ear infection.

This all came about during a recent trip out to LA to attend Ali Brown’s last ever Online Business Success Workshop. Not only did I come away with some amazing marketing advice I also made some pretty big shifts with my own business which it seems is helping me get unstuck.

Have you ever reached that point where you know you should be moving ahead much more quickly than you are?

You feel like you are racing ahead but with the parking brake on.

Well, that’s how I’ve been feeling.  And being at the conference really opened my eyes to the possibilities for the next phase of my business.  But while my eyes have been opened, my throat and right ear have been closed.

It was half way through the conference that I got sick and lost my voice.  Everyone said it was a sign from the Universe.  I guess the Universe saw that I wasn’t responding to the quiet nudging and soft taps at my door so it needed to do something to shut me up and get my attention.

Ok, I’m listening.

Without my voice I have become aware of some interesting things.

1. People model our behavior.

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In case you hadn’t noticed, people can react very differently when faced with the same price for a product or service. In fact in most cases, we’ll never actually know what is in their minds when they consider a price and then decide to respond to it in certain way. So what does that mean for those of us pricing and selling our services out there in the market?

Typically, people who sell services go for an hourly rate. They use a process called “reverse competition” to determine what their rate should be. This is where you take a look at what your geographical competitors are charging, and you decide where in the range you want to fit on the spectrum of hourly rates. Inevitably, we choose a rate somewhere in the middle, so we can say that we’re not the most expensive, but neither are we the cheapest!

What kind of message are we sending out to our clients with this approach?

We’re showing absolutely no differentiation from any other company – just sticking ourselves straight down the line. In other words, we compete with everyone! Not a very prudent marketing decision. So pricing simply using an hourly rate that sits in the middle of the spectrum is, in my view, a wasted opportunity to create a point of difference with your offering. Let’s think more broadly for a minute about what we are actually offering to your clients: Regardless of what our specific offering is, we all offer some combination of:

•  Quality
•  Price and
•  Service

QUALITY
Quality has become an expectation - the minimum you need to be in the game. It is similar to a high school degree - no one cares if you have one, but watch out if you do not. Quality is no longer an effective differentiator.

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CEO’s have not been using a service that can provide them with great value. Historically CEO’s have relied on mentors and consultants for guidance and help learning the ropes of the lifestyle that is a CEO. After the ropes are understood there is no need for mentors or consultants, CEO’s are hired because they are resourceful, intelligent and adaptable people.

CEO’s need is a professional coach. They need a coach that relies on experience and process. It is very important for CEO’s and those in the board room to realize that they have the answers to most issues that are presented to them to solve. A highly trained coach who focuses on a process of pulling that information from the CEO is the most effective way for support in a job that feels quite unsupported.

Many coaching firms and individuals will tout that they have the experience to coach you, which is only half the equation. Experience and empathic understanding is important but can put that coach into a position of becoming that mentor or consultant CEO’s do not need.

“It is not necessary, for example, for the executive coach to have all the knowledge required to solve a particular problem. Instead the coach should have the objectivity necessary to stand outside of the problem, and the agility to assist the executive in recognizing what is missing and what needs to be done” (Altier, 1989).

The coaching process is the number one way a CEO can arrive at answers that will empower and support their natural leadership and problem solving abilities. A good process coach is like a good telescope; you have to purchase the telescope, learn to use it as the tool it is, then the coach will use the process to bring those things that seem blurry or far away closer so that the CEO can arrive at the decision that needs to be made. Coaches do not make decisions for their clients, they help them see the problem clearer not the answer.

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