1. Checklists are good, especially in marketing.

The Brand Guys are big fans of what we call a “faucet” checklist. Faucet means times are slow and you’re thirsty for leads. What do you do on Monday when you look at your pending dispatches and realize, “This week is going to stink if we don’t do something, pronto-like!” Hopefully, you only have to use the faucet checklist five times a year in contingency scenarios. Identify things you will do in the future and create your checklist, so it goes on automatically when the need arises.

2. Budgets are good, especially in marketing.

We rarely suffer from a shortage of good ideas. Rather, we lack the resources to deploy and implement all the good ideas we have. What you need is a budgeting checklist. Start with what you know. Where is the budget being spent now? What are you able to cancel? What is it you used to do that you don’t do anymore, and why did you stop doing it? Finally, what do you want to do next year and beyond? If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. So, let’s get clear on strategy, then let the budget be our road map to get there.

3. We all have blind spots.

This is why your business coaches are in your corner— to help you get perspective on what’s imperative. Working with a platoon is another way to help you appreciate the challenges similar businesses face. Sometimes it takes a third-party looking at your budget, media buy, or website. Be open to letting others have a look—and offer to do the same for them.

4. Simple beats complex every time.

Internally, the complex can sometimes seem simple because you know how to fill in all the blanks and connect all the dots. The rest of us not only lack your insider’s knowledge, but we also have no time or interest in learning it. Be able to explain your services simply and directly. Always be asking, “How can we make it easier for people to do business with us?”

5. There are no dumb questions.

“How much do you charge to come out?” Sure, you may have answered that question 4,301,035 times, but this is the first time your potential new customer-for-life has asked you. Act accordingly. All too often, we think everyone else is blessed with what we know. Before you assume that everyone knows about your services or products as much as you, take a step back and view your world through their eyes. Examine your FAQs.

Maybe those questions are being asked frequently because you’re not truly answering them. You could be busy answering questions no one is asking!

6. Show. Don’t tell.

“Son, don’t tell her you’re courteous. Open her door.” The best way to demonstrate your expertise is not by talking about how many units you’ve got to sell or your $89 drain-cleaning special. It’s through demonstrating the benefits — either through a practical demonstration or by telling a story (or two) about times you solved someone’s problem and were there for people in need.

7. Accountability is good. Responsibility is better.

Accountability is about taking ownership. Responsibility is task-oriented, focusing on defined roles, job descriptions, and processes that must be in place to achieve a goal. Every person on a team may be responsible for a given task that is required to complete a project. True leaders always hold themselves not just accountable, but responsible, and every person in your company can — and should — strive to be a leader.

8. The “Old Boys’ Club” Is the old way of thinking.

The service industry can be a bit of a “boys’ club.” Yet more and more married couples are proud owner-operators. Women bring a strong identity to so many successful companies. Strongly steeped in their brand’s precepts, many of them are proud guardians of company culture, nurturing its health financially and emotionally, rousing the “troops”, and being a vital force, fully invested in their business and the community at large. The “little woman” isn’t little anymore. She’s a force to be reckoned with.

9. The industry is always changing, but customers’ needs stay the same.

In just a few decades, technology has grown light years. Is your business evolving and keeping up with customer-centric marketing, geo-mapping, and retargeting? When it overwhelms you (and it will), remember that it all boils down to being there for customers and earning their trust.

10. Decompression is mandatory.

None of the previous nine tips will be nearly as effective if you’re too distracted, disengaged, or dead to lead their implementation. It is more necessary than ever that you unplug and unwind from time to time. It’s not just for your own good or even the good of your family. Your team needs you at your best, too.

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