My Business On Purpose

The frustration was immediate as we were in our regular coaching meeting working through the action items to implement. My question was simple, "is the SEO company you hired providing you with their documented activity and updated results?"

The answer was deflating.

This well-established and progressive business owner shared, "not only do we not have reports and updates, but he is also degrading and makes us feel like idiots when we ask him questions."

I lightened the mood by asking, "so is that the magic touch to win the favor of clients? If so, I need to commit to be more of a jerk in our coaching time." The laughter came and went, but the frustration lingered.

Unfortunately, the common theme when talking to small business owners about hiring a marketing agency is simply…

A lot of money with very few demonstrable results.

Why?

What's the similarity between a marketer, a business coach (we can self-deprecate a bit:), and a palm reader?

The barrier to entry is on the ground; anyone can hang a shingle and become one.

I'm not much of an expert on palm readers, but I do know that with any other profession. there are really great practitioners and really bad ones.

So how do you find a great marketing agency to work with?

A few things to consider.

First, NOBODY will know your business or be as passionate about your business as you. You cannot delegate your passion.

The majority of the time, we see small business owners abdicate the marketing responsibility to a distant, remote person who has you as one of many clients and does not wake up every day obsessing about how to grow your mission.

Marketing agencies, by design, have a book of business... multiple clients. They can only market what they know, and they can only know what you and your market tell them over and over again.

Markets change constantly.

A marketing initiative that works today will likely be tired and irrelevant in six months. It's akin to a doctor having checkups with patients to monitor and tweak their treatments. Things change, and if you allow your marketing agency to be measured on activity instead of outcomes, then they are prone (not in every case of course) to hit "rinse and repeat".

Second, because your marketing agency needs to see and hear directly from you (or someone in your business) you must commit to a weekly "touchpoint" with your marketing agency.

This is a very brief check-in on story, content, activity, and results. It empowers your marketing first to capture the nuance, the client successes, and all of the little bits that happen day to day that in most cases go unnoticed and uncelebrated.

I will say this, if your marketing agency balks at this as a condition of working together, RUN.

You are hiring them as an employee of sorts (on contract of course) and in many cases paying them what you would invest a significant part-time or even full-time employee. If they are unwilling to have a weekly meeting that actually benefits you and them... move on.

Thirdly, clearly write ALL of your expectations down before signing up with any marketing agency.

Please don't be offended, but most of the failure of marketing agencies is not the fault of the agency, it is the fault of us as business owners for not communicating clear expectations.

Think through, write down, and agree to outcomes first, and then everything else second.

The goal of a marketing agency is first and foremost to either grow your revenue and margin or grow your brand awareness (which ties directly back to revenue and margin).

Marketers may disagree and say that it is more complex than that. For businesses above fifty (50) employees that may be so, but for businesses like yours with between two (2) and fifty (50) employees, marketing is almost exclusively tied to growing the revenue and margin of the business.

Write down your expectations and don't be veiled. It will then be up to the marketing agency to decide if they can perform to the level of expectation you have set.

Fourth, don't get sucked in to "number of hours" or "number of posts" per week or month. Marketing is about OUTCOMES, not about the quantity of any one technical strategy.

Views, likes, and impressions; we obsess over these because they are quick and give us an immediate snapshot into our public vanity. We know deep down that they are a bit like jolly ranchers... taste sugary but offer no long-term health benefit.

Unless you are willing to spend BIG money on paid advertising (and I mean BIG), you are likely to see very little return on direct social media advertising at the scale you can afford.

I know I know...someone reading this will be the exception. Let's focus on the general rule.

Social platforms (YouTube, Blogs, Podcasts, etc.) are truly valuable assets IF you see them as air support to your ground game.

In most businesses, still the number one lead generation strategy is good ole fashioned face to face referrals and follow-up.

Your social presence is critical to provide authority and credibility when someone hears of you from one of their friends or contacts. When you get referred, the first place they go to learn about you is online.

Don't be fooled, your online presence is very important...but it is not most important.

What is your ground game? How do you get in front of potential customers and clients face to face?

When you set expectations with your marketing agency, it needs to be around outcomes regardless of strategy.

MOST marketing agencies will try to sell you a marketing engagement that is $X per month and includes # of blog posts, # of social media posts, etc.

We have over 500 episodes on our My Business On Purpose podcast and we love providing that as a tool... but does it lead to us being able to liberate business owners from chaos?

What is the outcome? Not the activity.

Finally, know your numbers and set a budget.

I have heard it said before that a very conservative marketing spend for your business is 3% of annual revenue, and an aggressive spend is up to 15% of revenue.

Do you know how much that would be? And if you spent that on marketing, do you know how much that would have to return in revenue in order for the marketing spend to be worth it?

A marketing agency should be able to tell you, if you spend $X with us throughout the year, we will not be doing our job unless it generates $Y in revenue.

Outcomes, not activity.

Many marketing agencies are brilliant at delivering results. Just make sure that is who you are working with.

If not, move on.

Hey y'all, Brent Perry with Business on Purpose.

As I am recording this, September is upon us. Which means football is back! High School football. College Games. NFL Sundays. It's happening. I love this time of year. I was at our local high school football game a couple of weeks ago. It was the first game of the season, played at home in front of a rowdy crowd, and the atmosphere was amazing.

As I was keeping up with the game, I was watching the coaching staff having to make in-game decisions changing the game plan as it progressed. The play calling didn't change. The pace of play didn't change. And most of the offensive and defensive packages they had been in weren't changing. Really, the change that was most evident came with the personnel (the players) on the field. Switching guys around finding the right positions. The left tackle moved to right guard. The center switched over to play the defensive line. The starting wideout moved to running back. The quarterback also became the punter. It's football, these kinds of changes happen.

But it did get me thinking about some of the businesses we work with, and thinking more specifically about the personnel within these businesses.

So the question of the day...

How is your personnel? Your employees.

Are they currently playing the right position, where you are able to utilize their full potential?

We hear it so often with business. The idea of getting people on the bus, and making sure they are in the right seats. And this is true. It is also true that as the leader of the business, you need to make sure you are finding time throughout the year to evaluate your team and make sure your game plan is aligned with your vision story, your unique core values, and your maximum effort to run the business you have dreamed about and built.

Now, this isn't just about hiring and firing... while that can definitely play a part in this conversation, I am more interested in looking at the current "roster" if you will, and making sure each player is playing the right position.

Here are a few ideas for you as September is upon us…

1. Don't wait for end-of-the-year evaluations. I know that is something that has become common in the business world, but making personnel decisions (if they need to be made) should happen sooner rather than later.
2. Make time to review your employees and their current job descriptions.
3. Which brings me to 3, if you don't have job descriptions typed out for your employees, you should start there.
4. Review your vision, review your values and mission statements, and make sure your team is playing for the same wins.

Having the right personnel in place can make all the difference in the world when it comes to your business. It's up to you to make sure your team is moving in the right direction with the employees you have in house.

Thanks for listening.

If you haven't done so already, subscribe to our Podcast, and/or our YouTube channel.

One of the biggest headaches in business??? Making decisions. So how do you effectively make decisions that affect so many people and know you're making the right call? Let's talk about that today..

Good afternoon, Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose here... thanks so much for listening and subscribing.

One of my favorite things about what I do is the different types of leaders I get to work with. Business owners are all over the map when it comes to the way they lead, the way their businesses are run, and the things that are important to them.

I learn new things in every single coaching meeting. In fact, relentless learning is one of our core values, so we put a great deal of energy towards writing down what we're learning and developing new content for all business owners to improve from.

A few weeks ago, a business owner sent me a document they had worked on to help with their decision-making. Now, we use our core values, our vision story, and numerous other filters to run decisions through. If you haven't started there, I would urge you to put in the work there, first and foremost.

This document I received was incredible... and a great way to solidify, codify and systematize all minor and major decisions in their business and I thought it would be a great thing to share.

Every decision in this business is asked a series of 10-12 questions depending on what type of decision it is.

Things like, "Does it make us more profitable? Is it fun?" One of their core values... and "Will it benefit the community?" Another of their core values. Each question, if the answer is yes, gets the number 1 put next to it. If the answer is no, it gets a zero written next to it. You tally all the numbers up and it gets a score equalling the sum of all the answers.

Here's where this thing gets REALLY powerful! Each type of decision in their business is categorized. Everything from new hires to technology purchases, from who they do business with to hours of operation, even things like days off and compensation get filtered through this document.

Everything has a category and every category has a minimum score required to move forward. Practically, if they were planning on buying new iPads for their field employees, they would ask all 10 questions and if the cumulative score is above 5, they move forward with the decision to purchase.

Simple decisions require lower scores, somewhere in the 5 and up category. Medium level ones require 7 or more and big ones, like hiring or compensation, require 9 or 10! It's an amazing system to run every decision through and often times helps the leadership get on the same page!

Maybe decisions don't fit in a category, so they use financial ones. If this will cost us less than $5k, it needs to score a certain level, $5-10k... a slight bump, anything over that number has to really line up and score 9-10 for us to move forward. Powerful... when implemented.

So how do you make your decisions? Do you make them behind closed doors? Is there any authentic, purposeful discussion? Any process? Or do you just wing it and hope for the best. Do you just chase opportunity?

Let me tell you when you build a system around the things your business values and measure every decision against those values, it keeps you on track towards your vision. It keeps you on track towards being the business you want to be!

You can't fake this as it has to be repeated over and over and over. But, in looking back, the business is marked by a sense of purpose that's reflected in every decision.

So... where do you need to start? If you're like so many businesses I work with, poor decision-making cripples them more than poor employees or economic climates. So open up a document and write 10-15 questions down. If you need help, reach out, and let's write the questions out together!

Don't let indecision or poor decisions rule in your business! Build a system and stick to it. Your employees will immediately know what you value and who you are. It will hold their feet to the fire in maintaining that culture and hold everyone accountable to your standard.

It's powerful. Don't skip this stuff! It really does make all the difference.

That's all for today friends... if you enjoy these, make sure to subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel so content is delivered straight to you every couple of days. And send me your questions so I can keep "relentlessly learning" how to make better decisions.

Take care.

In a polarized America, inflexible statements of dogma are becoming normalized and opinions have become rights.

This will not be such a post, but instead merely a reflection on the joy and value that can be when a woman or man chooses to live out their faith at work.

In my faith background (belief in God and his Son Jesus) we have a varied history of faith expression largely based on the "tribe" that you were groomed in.

For some it is a charismatic expression in the public view, for others, it is a somber expression in private.

Most religions have a sect of fundamental purists, those who feel it their duty to protect the "brand" at all costs. Many also have a sect of passive attenders, those who are content checking the box of "showing up" to the various disciplines, gatherings, and perceived duties of their religion.

Religion is by definition "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Those holding to a "belief in and work of" also feel a sense of responsibility to both living out the teaching of their belief while also teaching others.

Jesus himself said in one of his final statements, "Go and make apprentices of all nations... and teach them…"

How do we live out our faith in the workplace when any faith can so easily divide and drive a wedge between relationships?

How do we live out our faith in the workplace so that it facilitates human flourishing instead of human animosity?

Wouldn't it be better if we were either agnostic or atheistic towards faith at work just so we could get the job done, and then as in the words of Fleetwood Mac, "you can go your own way?"

Part of the value of faith is the vision of peace, it is a primary goal within many faith traditions.

Talking with business owners throughout our tenure as a business, peace is of the most common desires among their angst minds. When asked, "what do you want?", many business owners respond simply with a version of the work "peace".

Three elements will help us live out our faith at work.

First, legislating faith into anything weakens the very faith you are trying to impose.

Prayer in schools is a most likely example for how legislating something while bringing the appearance of embrace, can actually do more to harm the thing than to bring the intended outcome.

I am happy to announce that in any country, under the rule of any government, and within any economy, that prayer in schools is alive and well.

While you may not want to fall on your knees and bring attention to your ritual, it is quite plausible that in the middle of class, walking down a corridor, or eating lunch in the lunch area, you can quietly and thoughtfully seek God in prayer.

You can do the same at work.

Some say, "I want to work for a Christian (or Buddhist, or Muslim, etc.) employer." Maybe instead we should think to work towards a mission that you believe in and within a skill set that you have been gifted towards, and be a light based on the faith that you hold regardless of the faith your employer holds.

I've seen plenty of non-faith-driven leaders pushing towards a powerful mission, and plenty of faith-driven leaders that are a bear to work for.

Stop waiting for someone to give you legal permission to pray, to be kind, to be salt and light, to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, or to replace worry with faith and hope.

The second element is to know that the heart and principles of your faith should integrate with your day to day decision-making even if all of your rituals or formal disciplines cannot.

I'm an employer who employs a small team of like-minded people. Currently, all of our team members share a general faith conviction. And still, it would not be well received if one of our team members spent their entire workday in formal faith study and meditation in place of the work that must be done towards our mission to liberate business owners from chaos..

We have a work mission to push towards and we need our team members working specifically towards that mission. Of course, I strongly encourage studying and meditating within the personal disciplines of your personal and spiritual growth.

I also strongly encourage living out moment by moment, the truths that each person gathers as they forage through their personal time of study and meditation; hunger for right things, laugh and cry with your workmates, show mercy, make peace, keep your promises, show love to those who frustrate you and make you mad. There is no law or boundary for these helpful things.

Your business is not only a viable place to live out your faith, it is a perfect place to live out your faith.

Business is an area laced with pressure, timelines, and the squeeze of deadlines. Business is an area where expectations are set and often not realized which requires grace, truth, kindness, forgiveness, and second chances.

When many say "live out your faith at work" what they mean is "I must push, persuade and compel you to believe the same thing I do."

When I meet someone who is genuinely kind, thoughtful, intentional, and looks out for my well-being and prosperity...they don't need to push an agenda.

Thirdly, above all, love.

Having already quoted a hippy band from the 60's I am at risk of sounding like a flower child in the parking lot of Woodstock sitting in a VW bus pondering the value of peace vs. war.

I assure you that my hippy status would be seriously revoked based on both my experience and my lack to understand the lifestyle of the '60s.

A question that would be helpful to ask that I have heard from a variety of sources is simple, "What would love have me do in this situation?"

Even reading or listening to this post, how would love require you to respond?

Let's assume that the early apostle Paul, a former terrorist to early Jesus apprentices and an early century religious expert, was correct in his definition of love, eventually writing that, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

What if we lived that out at work?

Must we legislate love?

Must we demand that we have the right to wear a Christian lapel pin or pray in the lobby?

In our faith tradition, it is common to label certain nations as "open" or "closed" to teaching or training on the shocking news Jesus came announcing.

Presuming that the foundation of your faith is love, then it's not true...all countries are declared "open" assuming you have a relationship in that culture. I've been to hostile areas globally where communism or capitalism have been subject to corruption. Not one has been opposed to kindness, diplomacy, or a conversation.

There is no boundary to your faith... not even work. What is required though? Relationship.

Hey y'all, Brent Perry with Business on Purpose.

Are you celebrating your victories? In your business? Or even your personal life? It feels to me like we go through seasons that we have our heads down, or our blinders on and we're just moving from one task to another, the next job, another fire to put out, you name it... and when we find ourselves in those seasons we can often miss the moments and opportunities to celebrate wins in our lives.

If you have been in a room with one of our coaches here at BOP, you have probably heard us start most of our conversations with Big Wins, which is very intentional for us. It's actually one of our unique core values. Beginning in Gratitude.

I was coaching a client of mine a few weeks back, and just like every week when we are together, I asked the question as we were getting started... give me a big win. He thought for a moment, and then like a light bulb going off above his head and his eyes lit up... that duplex he and his wife had been trying to sell for a year finally went under contract and they were going to be able to sell it. Again, they have been trying to sell this particular piece of real estate for a year, and it has been a thorn in their side. Awesome. What did you all do to celebrate? Well, nothing really, just kept on moving.

What? Now, let me pause for a moment... this time isn't about me telling you that you have to throw a party every time something good or special happens that would be a victory... but I am saying you need to make sure you pause, even for a brief moment to acknowledge your wins.

One of the most disciplined men in all of sports, Tom Brady, gave himself 6 days after the super bowl to celebrate before he got back to work with his trainer Alex Guerrero. Now, this may not seem like a long time, and between you and me, I would probably have taken a little more time myself, but for Brady, this was him celebrating his victory.

Celebrating isn't going to look the same for each person. But each person can celebrate.

Do me a favor, pull out a pen or your notes on your computer or your phone, and write down a couple of big wins... those victories you have had in your businesses over the last few weeks. These don't have to be winning the super bowl wins, these can be small victories that can oftentimes go overlooked.

In an article written for the Harvard Business Review, Steven Kramer wrote about minor milestones,

When we think about progress, we often imagine how good it feels to achieve a long-term goal or experience a major breakthrough. These big wins are great—but they are relatively rare. The good news is that even small wins can boost inner work life tremendously.

Let's celebrate wins. Even the minor milestones. And if you haven't been celebrating these last few months, do me a favor and take yourself to a nice lunch and dinner.

Oh, and that's exactly what that client ended up doing that night. He and his wife went to their favorite burger stop in town and celebrated their win with burgers and a shake.

Thanks for listening.

If you haven't done so already, subscribe to our Podcast, and/or our YouTube channel.

Good afternoon friends! Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose here, thanks for tuning in.

One of my favorite comedians of all time is Jeff Foxworthy. His…" You might be a redneck" jokes still make me laugh to this day. His bits like, "the redneck spelling bee," or going on and on about how rednecks are attracted to shiny things like bass boats, beer cans and UFOs had me rolling for hours on end growing up.

So, I thought I would put a little twist on it today. If you're a redneck, good for you. I applaud you in that endeavor. However, there's a far more dangerous situation for you as a business owner or key leader. And that's if you're in chaos. Here at Business on Purpose, our mission is to liberate small businesses from chaos. Plain and Simple.

But how do you know if you're in chaos? How do you know if you're in deep? You know I remember having my first child. We were so sleep-deprived we almost couldn't remember what a full night of sleep was. But once our child finally slept through the night and we got that taste of normalcy again, it was a shock to the system! We never wanted to go back to those sleepless nights.

So I hope this is a shock to the senses. A wake-up call, that, if this is you, you need to put some work in to punch chaos in the mouth. It's robbing you of joy, of profitability, of your lifestyle, and most importantly your mental health.

Now, these are not just some funny lines I made up, but are actual quotes from businesses I have met with and worked through these issues. So, if you check all the boxes, know you're not alone. But know you need someone in your corner walking you back to sanity and back to systems in your business.

Alright! You might be in chaos...

1. If you've ever woken up early on vacation to return voicemails or emails... you might be in chaos.
2. If you've ever wondered, if something happened to me today (car accident, sickness, injury) my business would go under... you might be in chaos.
3. If you've ever printed out your P&L and wondered why the number at the bottom was a negative number... YOU MIGHT BE IN CHAOS.

Now you know how this works, don't get upset. These are real situations that can be avoided and worked through! Please don't be offended, but please know there's another way.

1. If you've ever canceled a lunch meeting because "my guys just need me on the job site"... you might be in chaos.
2. If you've ever hired someone and they quit within 2 months because you "missed a red flag" in the interview... you might be in chaos.
3. If your sales are going up, but your profitability is going down... you might be in chaos.

Again, not picking on anyone, but these conversations happen weekly with business owners and we build systems to fix each and every one of them!

1. If you are so sick of doing what you're doing that you, "just want to sell!"...you might be in chaos.
2. If someone asks you your margins on a job and you can't back it up with numeric proof... you might be in chaos.
3. If your employee asks you where the business will be in 2 years and what their role will be and you DON'T know the answer... you might be in chaos.

Man... these are convicting. I hope they are for you too!

1. If you find yourself being the person who handles every emergency on the weekend, because "at least I know I'll do it right"... you might be in chaos.

Hey, listen. I had a bit of fun with these. The point of these is not to make you feel bad about yourself or your business. Actually quite the opposite. It's to shock the senses a bit and help you see that there are businesses out there that are doing things differently. That may have slipped into bad habits, but because they were challenged, built the business they dreamed of and wouldn't check a single one of those boxes!

It's true. And it can be true for you! If you're frustrated or just want to hear a different way to do business, an intentional, on purpose way of doing business that will lift you out of the chaos... let's grab lunch. We would love to walk alongside you and your business to help you make time for what matters most.

IF that's too much right now, just subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel. Start there. It's an easy first step.

Thanks so much! Have a great week.

"I don't have much to do in my business these days" were the exact words from a business owner I met with last week.

You could get a sense that the words almost scared him as they came out of his mouth and left a concerned sense somewhere between, "I can't believe this is actually true" and, "am I missing something that I should be seeing?"

As business coaches, we can't help but be excited and offer a bit of a chuckle when we see business owners arrive at the place where their business is running consistently without their direct, hour-by-hour, day-by-day input and effort. Not by unhealthy abdication, but instead by thoughtful, consistent, intentional leadership rooted in systems, process, and purpose.

After a few seconds of joy and enthusiasm, we quickly move into a mode where we want to ensure that the owner is in a healthy place, and the team is in a healthy place.

Frankly, it makes me a bit uneasy to think about a driven personality with a forward-leaning mindset to be equipped with marginal time and marginal resources.

Ever heard the story of the successful entrepreneur who was engrossed in a twisted and bazaar mid-life crisis? The marginal time and marginal money paradox is the most common breeding ground for such an unrestrained crisis.

The very first thing you should do if you are bored in your business is to pause and make sure you have health in your personal disciplines. Boredom has been made out to be a non-productive territory littered with heat, dust, and tumbleweed... a wasteland to progress.

It's not true.

It is in boredom where restoration can happen, insights can emerge, problems and opportunities can be clearly seen, and experimentation can flourish.

Busy automatically cranks the volume knob to 10, boredom gives you control of the volume so you can think.

Boredom is not bad; it offers value, flexibility, and opportunity. Boredom provides opportunity for you to indulge in your thoughts, either good or bad.

Instead of asking "what should I do?" if and when boredom sets in, change your perspective to "what can I hear?" or "what can I see?" now that I have the wide-open space of boredom.

Your mind has a trainload of thoughts, and boredom is the train station for those thoughts to disembark and lounge for a while.

The second opportunity that emerges with boredom is a chance to revise your future destination.

We travel back and forth to Nigeria on a regular basis, which usually requires four airports along the way. I follow a similar, subconscious routine at each airport reviewing my flight app to check boarding times, seat assignments, and the itinerary on the ground once we get there. Inevitably, sitting in the boredom of the airport terminal, a new idea that alters the itinerary will pop in my mind and brings with it some fresh ideas that I can breathe into the trip.

Every business should have a written, multi-page vision story, and that vision story will be tweaked (as opposed to wholesale changes) throughout the year as you have new insights in the context of the boredom spaces.

Boredom allows a business owner to re-evaluate and revise the written vision, drawing in a tighter and tighter focus on the final destination.

That vision may include doubling down on what you have already written. It may involve selling your business and starting something else. You may uncover a pivot in your business or personal life that you simply had not seen or heard prior because the distraction and volume were too loud.

The third thing you can do when you are bored as a business owner is to embrace the time and rest.

It is said that even God himself rested.

Probably an indication that we too should have moments of rest. Rest defined is to "cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength".

Rest can be reading a book, self converting a sprinter van, napping, writing, exercising, or just sitting and staring.

This is where you need to be mindful of where your rest leads you, and it is best to have someone else help hold you accountable to how you rest so you maximize that time for good, and not for backward movement.

Finally, when boredom hits you it's ok to just sit still.

We undervalue stillness, silence, and solitude.

Thomas a' Kempis said, "in silence the quiet soul makes progress".

Dallas Willard has a modern spin on this idea in sharing that each of us "must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life."

A dear friend has been in a health battle for the past 9 months and he recently shared his journey meandering through the dark values of stage three Melanoma, in concert with severe kidney trauma.

His takeaway to the audience he was sharing with was not "woe is me", but instead, "the world has forgotten the joy of silence."

He has spent hours waiting in the last 9 months. Waiting on doctors appointments, waiting on prognosis calls, waiting on the next treatment...waiting.

As he has waited,, he has been reminded of the power and gift of boredom.

If and when you get bored working on your business, don't rush, don't run, slow down...and listen.

How do you lock in and define your customer? It's a great question and one I'm excited to talk through today. Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose here.

It's so powerful... knowing who you want to sell to. Locking and truly defining your ideal customer.

If you examine successful businesses across the landscape, almost always their success is a result of them knowing EXACTLY who they are selling to.

Take someone like Chick Fila. They have successfully targeted a group of people that want to eat Chicken in a clean, convenient, customer service forward way. They don't branch into tacos and burgers and pizza. Trying to hit every single customer! No, they stay focused and then spread out their offerings to hit that demographic in as many ways as possible.

So how do you do this in your own business? How do you figure out who that ideal client is so you can then serve them better than anyone else? Here are three ways…

1. Ask who your most profitable client is?

This is the logical place to start, right? If you look back at the past 6 months to a year, who did you do business with that gave you your highest profitability? Now, we can't exactly clone profitable clients, but you can begin to market specifically to that type of client. If you're in the trades and you have a certain builder that you worked best with, who else in your market does business like them. Go to that client and ask them. Or ask them how you can get more of their work.

Too often we don't have because we don't ask. "Oh, that just feels salesy! It's not my style to be pushy!"

Ok, first of all, you have to know your value you are bringing and understand that your ideal client is LOOKING FOR YOU!!! You provide just as much value to them as they do to you. That's powerful when you get that. It's not salesy, because you're delivering them exactly what they're looking for. A business or consumer is not frustrated when they get what they are looking for. No! It's gift. It gets them excited. So, if you know who that customer is, keep targeting them. Write it down and find creative ways to target more clients JUST LIKE THEM.

A few more questions to ask...Who pays on time? Who are you not gonna have to nickel and dime and wait for checks to clear and just have the hassle of doing business with? That will lead us to our next question.

1. Who is your least profitable client? Both financially and just in the joy of doing business?

Sometimes it's just as important to realize who you do NOT want to work with as it is to know your ideal client. Who saps energy from you? Who robs you of profitability? Who, even if you do everything right, still ends up frustrated and complaining?

Who are the businesses or clients that do NOT match up with your mission and core values? Who distracts you from your mission?

Write a list down and scratch them off.

Imagine if someone was in the Chick Fila drive-thru and asked them to make a cheeseburger for them. Now, if we have the mindset that everyone is a client and we have to serve every client, we COULD do this. Send someone to the grocery store to grab some ground beef, bring it in, make a patty, put it on the flat top or grill, use one of your buns and get it out the drive-thru window after a lengthy wait.

The customer drives off. Next thing you know they leave a review online. Worst burger I've ever had. Almost like they've never made one. Waited an eternity for terrible food.

Why does this happen? Because that's not your ideal client. That's not the person you can serve and thrive in the process. So if you look at your products and services, are there any that you need to get rid of to help you stay away from your least profitable clients? Are there any products, services, or clients that are distracting you from knocking it out of the park?

Write them down and stay away. Every time you're tempted to do business with them, remember it's a distraction that could cost you big time.

1. Ask yourself what problem you solve?

Your ideal client will always need the solution to whatever problem you solve. So... if you were explaining to someone why they should do business with you, what problem do you solve? Now, it's probably not just one. It's probably 10 different things.

Write those down. Then take it a step further. Who needs those problems solved? Who has those problems and is looking for an answer? What fears do they have and how often is this a problem? You'd be surprised, you may even come up with another million-dollar idea by focusing on the problem you're solving and who needs the solution!

Alright, those are the three steps, ask who your most profitable client is, cross of your least profitable clients, and figure out the main problems you solve. Put those all together and you should have a great idea of who you should work with.

Lastly, though I would tell you to filter it through this last question. Who do you WANT to work with... who do you like/dislike and draw energy from working with? I know you can't always choose the best client. But... it can be a tiebreaker. There are tons of opportunities to make money out there, but which customer gets you excited?

That stuff matters.

Alright, time to put in the work. Time to write it down and then go build out a plan to reach your ideal customer.

There is a movement sweeping across the southeastern United States in the form of a gas station.

People are literally flocking to a gas station... planning their trips and their stops around a gas station.

Buc-Ee's is a gas station posing as a department store, barbeque joint, beef jerky outlet, and Taj-Mahal-like restrooms. If you've never been, it is certainly worth the stop.

A friend of mine recently walked in and saw a large yellow poster on multiple walls throughout Buc-Ee's with their starting wages posted boldly along with the promise of 3 weeks of paid time off, a 401k option, and other perks.

For many in the contractor space, Buc-Ee's is now a legitimate competitor to finding employees not so much due to their rates and wages, but instead because they have clarity around their pay.

In some cases, it is a good idea to share wages and benefits publicly, and other times it is a good idea to not share that data publicly. Regardless, most businesses don't have the clarity themselves internally regarding their compensation structure so that when it is time to bring in new employees, they are in a losing battle from the start.

Large companies are mocked often due to their structure and bureaucracy, but the structure does offer clarity.

Merging the clarity of structure with the local, family feel of a small business can be a powerful cocktail to find the right people for the right role all headed towards the right mission.

How do you determine salary structures for employees? Here are five elements of determining a salary structure for employees.

First, you have to know your own numbers.

Recently we ran a test program among three Heating and Air (HVAC) businesses in the southeast United States. All three came into our test program through a relationship we had developed with Mingledorff's Inc. (a large HVAC supplier).

As we began coaching each of the businesses, we found that although each business was similar in size and scope, each of the three businesses had a very different handle on their finances.

Part of the Business On Purpose process is to create a subdivision of bank accounts, and a dashboard tracking process to follow real-time cash flow (different than a cash flow statement). Once set, each business began tracking their flow of cash, cash on hand, receivables outstanding, and any upcoming payables among other metrics.

Within three months it was clear to see that one of the business owners had never fully followed their numbers and was on a collision course with a cash crunch and would eventually run out of money.

A second business owner realized what was happening with their cash, and also woke up to the reality that the "family business" was creating real tension and apprehension in decision making. The owner had to make hard decisions so their business not only stopped the cash bleed but also started to generate legitimate profit.

The third business owners also realized what was happening with their cash, and within six months had increased their cash position by $400,000, up from less than $100,000.

More cash and specifically a higher baseline of cash means more options and flexibility in how to compensate team members.

If you know your numbers, then you can know your compensation.

Second, you have to know what additional revenue will be needed to cover any additional compensation.

One dollar of revenue does not offset one dollar of compensation. You are running a for-profit company.

Many business owners take a mindset of break-even when they are laying out compensation packages assuming, "well if we can just generate an additional $65,000 in revenue for the $65,000 in annual compensation paid to that new employee, then we are good!"

No, no, no.

A dollar of compensation should have an exponential return... three, four, five dollars in return.

How much new real revenue (total revenue minus cost of goods) will need to be generated to profitably and generously compensate for this role?

Third, you will have to articulate a clear job role.

What specific activities lead to the new revenue-generating success of this new role as aligned with the vision and mission that you have set out.

Too many new team members come into the fold and are unclear as to what they are being asked to do.

We are coaching most of our clients to have a fully scripted, four-week schedule laid out for their new team members.

Where should they be, what specifically should they be doing, watching for, listening to, and learning?

Within this four-week script should lie many of the culture and skill learning that will be asked for in their job role.

If you do not have a role written down, then you can have confidence that you have not provided the clarity that is required. Without that clarity, you will also have confusion around compensation.

Fourth, you will need to have your head on a swivel to see what the market is telling you.

Most businesses start with the market and then work backwards. Looking at what the market is paying should be a later step after you have run through your due diligence internally. Don't let the market influence you until you have clarity on what role you are offering.

To find out what the market is paying, just ask!

Call other business owners' friends in complementary businesses (contractors call contractors, etc.) and ask what they are seeing.

Finally, clearly spell out your compensation plan.

Your compensation offering should be clear knowing the base salary, all of the "extras" that the business will pay out because of this new role over and above the base salary (taxes, benefits, regular expenses, etc.).

You should also think through how to onboard this employee as a part of their compensation layout so they know not only how and when they will get paid, but also how they will be powerfully trained to live out the expectations of their role, and of the part they play in ensuring additional revenue is realized.

Without future revenue, the role cannot exist.

A gas station branded with a beaver mascot was willing to go through the hard work of determining employee salaries... will you?

Hey y'all, Brent Perry with Business on Purpose.

Are you listening? Not in the literal sense as listening to me right now, in this very moment. Are you listening in regards to your business? It can be an easy response to say, yes of course I am. But do me a favor, take a moment... are you really listening? Do you listen to your clients/customers? Do you listen to your employees? Do you listen to your counterparts if you have them? Do you listen to your coach?

I love this quote from Justin Bell written for Forbes,

"As leaders, every action we take either develops or deteriorates trust. One of the most powerful ways to build trust is through listening".

Let me take you back to Brent Perry and third grade. Knoxville, TN. My teacher stood in front of the class and handed out a worksheet to us, turned face down. He said before we turned the worksheet over, we had to listen to his instructions. His instructions went something like this…

1. First one who hands the assignment in correctly gets pizza today for lunch... a big deal in third grade.
2. Make sure to read all the questions 1-20 thoroughly before you begin the worksheet.
3. Print your name and date and the top of the paper.
4. You must fill the worksheet out in pencil.
5. You must answer the odd-numbered questions in cursive.
6. When you are finished, turn the worksheet back over and raise your hand for me to collect it.

Now I don't know if you know where I am going with this, but as soon as he said start, the whole class (myself included) flipped that paper over and went to work as fast as we could write. For the next 30 minutes, we worked diligently until we got to the last and final "question"... which read, disregard all questions, and simply write your name in all caps on the back of the worksheet. Done.

That's all it took. And nobody in the class filled out the worksheet correctly.

Now don't get me wrong, my teacher knew what he was doing. He was teaching us a lesson, but he also just wanted a free 30 minutes to himself without being bugged by third graders. But his lesson worked, it has stuck with me all these years later. If we would have just listened to him and not raced to be the first one done, we could have celebrated a win.

So, the question on the table for the day, how well are you listening?

Let me offer you 3 easy ways to improve the ways you are listening in your business…

• Make sure you set time each week for your employees.

You might start with 1. This is outside of a team meeting. But carve out 10-15 minutes to follow up with someone in your business to have a small conversation about how things are going.

• Practice becoming a better Active Listener

This might take more practice for some of you all. But I promise this is a skill that will benefit you as a leader.

Eye contact; focusing on the other person

Leaning forward a little or nodding

Sitting still

Letting the other person finish what he or she is saying without interruption

Interested silence; giving a person time to respond

• Is a goal, learn something new from everyone you are listening to.

It might not happen every time, but when you enter a conversation with that mindset, you are already bringing value to that conversation.

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Thanks for listening.