Tuesday, October 25, 2011

What are your 3 Critical Business Functions?


It's easy to forget.

Easy to forget what you need to be doing with the majority of your time. Yesterday I got caught up in processing an online order for my city newspaper. Believe it or not it took me an hour to purchase my newspaper subscription online. I could have called the 800 number and have processed the order in far less time. But I wanted to use the online system. I found out at the end of the process that I would be billed for the entire twelve months at one time. So then I really had to call the 800 number to straighten out the mess.

I wasted my time with this task. But when I looked back on my day, I realized that I had spent the majority of my time doing what I needed to do.

  • Do you make it a habit to review your day?
  • Do you use your time productively?
  • Did you spend time on critical business functions?

What are critical business functions? These are the business activities that only you can accomplish with great success.  These are not tasks that can be delegated to your assistant. These are tasks where you shine.  These are tasks that help you grow your business and make your clients happy.  

Here are my three critical business functions.
  1. Writing content for one of my four websites. Content positions me as an expert in my field. Creating content for my blog and my websites brings me traffic which also brings me qualified prospects.
  2. Consulting with serious prospects. The qualified prospects that end up in my sales funnel go on a journey learning more about me and how I can help them focus on their business and create success. I don't have time to consult with everyone, so I put prospects through a process to determine if I should utilize my time consulting with them.
  3. Coaching my clients. Once a prospect becomes a client, I meet with them via phone weekly helping them focus on their goals and strategize various business and marketing tactics. The time I spend working with my clients is the most enjoyable to me.

What are your three critical business functions?  What should you spend your time doing? What are you wasting your time on right now?


Suzanne Muusers
Could coaching be what you need?
Find out here: Are We are a Good Fit for Coaching?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Increase your Income by Rebranding


This month, my focus is on branding as one of my clients is ready to launch a new business concept using a visual marketing campaign that uses branding extensively.  This post is about how you can increase your income by rebranding your business.

Take a long hard look at your brand. What are you communicating to prospects and clients with your brand?  Could it be that an investment in your brand could allow you to take your business to the next level?

Here's a story about how rebranding can lead to new business revenue. I pass a pizza restaurant almost daily not far from my home.  The restaurant has been in the same location for many years and I had never set foot in it. To me the restaurant was nondescript with a rather bland exterior that did not catch my attention hence the reason why I drove past it and never ventured in.

Recently however, the owners have started a new branding campaign. They invested in a vibrant color palette and new logo which they painted around the restaurant windows and duplicated in the overhead signage.  Suddenly they stand out. Suddenly I can't drive past without seeing them a mile away. So I stopped in the other day to buy a pizza. The restaurant was crowded with eat in diners and folks like me looking to take home a pizza. I asked the young kid behind the counter why they were so busy and he said "Gee I don’t know, but lately it seems like more people are coming in saying that they didn't realize we were here."

So, the owners may not be sure that the reason their business revenue has increased because of their brand, but it seems pretty obvious to me that the restaurant was invisible before the rebranding.

Is your business brand too bland? Do you need to consider how to stand out from the crowd? I hope you'll consider rebranding one of your goals in 2012. You might find yourself with lots of new clients and a new look on life.

Suzanne Muusers