John’s business was eroding and not growing.

Areas of his business that were previously fertile and profitable were now barely breaking ground.

He was so frustrated and he needed to increase his sales.

If you follow the dictates of systemization, you might quickly arrive at the conclusion that his lead generation and lead conversion systems needed to be fertilized and rejuvenated.

But that is not necessarily the correct answer to the issue.

In fact, leaping straight to a solution can actually do more harm than good.

The System of Thinking

Creating effective systems requires systemic thinking.

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Midsize companies increasingly find the need for outside consultants, but how do you find the right people and manage the relationship successfully?

Not every company has the internal resources to pull off every project. Midsize firms are just as needy as larger companies that frequently find themselves understaffed when it comes to developing and implementing sophisticated new systems. The most common solution is to get help in the form of consultants and other IT service partners.

But how do you evaluate, pay and manage these outsiders? With the right partner and a well-planned project, the result can be mutually beneficial for both sides. But bring in the wrong people, and you might experience an extensive—and expensive—bust.

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The conventional wisdom is that it costs more to get a new client than to keep an old one. And for once, the conventional wisdom is correct.

Yet, many professionals too readily take clients for granted. Or don’t look for opportunities to increase revenues from perfectly satisfied clients. The reality is that for accountants and lawyers it is competitive in ways that go beyond the traditions of practice. Ask your clients how many times they’ve been approached by your competitors and have been aggressively pursued. And then ask yourself if you can continue to be complacent about keeping your clients happy, on a regular basis. Ask yourself again if you can afford not to be aware that other firms are actively pursuing your clients.

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Don't get burnt out trying to do it all yourself

Let’s address an impossible topic: Delegation.

It’s not that delegation is impossible, it just seems that way to many Independent Professionals.

As self-employed professionals, we went out on our own because we enjoyed working on our own; we liked to be our own boss; we preferred to make our own decisions, and we liked doing it our way. The reality is that many things get done well, some things get done just okay and many things don’t get done at all because we can’t bear to have someone else do stuff for us!

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Do you wish you had a magic wand when it comes to marketing your business? You think a magic wand would have amazing power, but you need to know how to use it to get results. You need to point it in a certain way, you must have a clear intention and you often need to use certain words in order to get the desired result.

I know this might sound silly to you, but let’s think of planning as a magic wand. You create an intention, wave the wand, take action and produce a result. And if you have the right wand, you can consistently and repeatedly produce the results you want.

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