ACCOUNTABILITY BREEDS RESPONSE-ABILITY

The quote above is from one of my favorite authors…Stephen Covey.  For me, it speaks to following up, following through, taking action and self integrity…that is keeping those promises we make to ourselves.

As a business owner or sales professional, how do YOU keep the main thing in your business, THE MAIN THING?  That is, doing those things to maintain existing clients, developing new business, all while running your operation.

How do you get yourself unstuck, on track and focused on creating momentum in building your business?  More importantly, how do you take your marketing plan from the file drawer and put it into ACTION!

Do you have a trusted partner whom you can confide in, who will challenge you constructively, support and encourage you and provide constructive feedback?

As the CEO of your small business, who are you accountable to?

In our journey to business success, we will all struggle with these problems at some time or another…with the fears, the procrastination, with the isolation, with the lack of know-how, lack of support and more.

Having an Accountability Partner is, by far, the best way you can address some of these challenges—personally and professionally!  Here are some tips from my toolbox that’s has had tremendous success over the years:

1. Identify someone whom you can confide in…someone who shares similar values…someone who has a similar sense of urgency…someone who will challenge you constructively.
2. Agree to meet with your Accountability Partner weekly—preferably, at the top of each week, face to face, at the same time.
3. Create an agenda that helps you to gain clarity about your roadmap for the coming week, but also reviews your activities and goals of the prior week.  Your agenda should cover some of the following:
   1. REVIEW LAST WEEK:  What went well and why?  Give yourself a pat on the back. Consistently do those things that are working for you.  When you’re at your best, you are delivering your highest value.
   2. REVIEW LAST WEEK:  What didn’t go so well and what could YOU have done to create a different outcome?  We are always learning…and we learn best by taking action, making mistakes and being responsible to create better outcomes in the future.
   3. How did you accomplish your business plan objective of becoming KNOWN, LIKED and TRUSTED?  What are you doing to build your “platform?”  Don’t be a secret!
   4. State your Top 5 Objectives for THIS WEEK—Personally or Professionally.  How do you know if you were successful…this week? Last week? Ever?  By starting with the end in mind.

YOUR MARKETING PLAN SIMPLIFIED

1. 1. Identify the individuals you will “Stay in Touch” with—THIS WEEK!  This is how your networking efforts pays off over time…it’s about building relationships
   2. Identify the individuals whom you will have a “Prospecting” Conversation with—THIS WEEK!  Being intentional about the outcome of your conversations and it will help you become more efficient at identifying the “frogs” from the “prince” (or princess).
   3. Identify the individuals whom you will have a “Closing” Conversation with—THIS WEEK!  Imagine if you could have [insert your number here] closing conversation(s) per week. What would that do for your business?

Like exercising a new muscle, this approach may seem awkward and challenging at first.  But with discipline, persistence and consistency you will notice a steady improvement…new muscles to flex, more stamina in your “efforting” and your wins will become more frequent.

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SIGN UP for the new CEO MasterMind Business Groups starting Monday, September 27^th.  Join your mastermind group TODAY to help you get unstuck, on track, with your weekly action plan, so you can realize more success in your business.

TO REGISTER, VISIT: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/882789447

FOR MORE INFO: rj@mastermindconsulting.biz  OR  973.519.0042

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