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It’s said you are often just one idea away from the breakthrough you have been looking for.

So here are 15 powerful business development ideas, to help you achieve the breakthrough results you need.

1. If you write a blog or newsletter, ask yourself, if you’re building a tribe or simply writing drive-by content? Almost everyone gets this wrong. Here’s why this is so important.
2. Embrace brevity. People are busy and their attention has never been in more demand. Keep your marketing messages as short and useful as possible.
3. Do at least one thing each day, which your future self will thank you for.
4. Remind yourself that the process of giving and receiving starts with giving. Making selfish demands from strangers doesn’t work. It also damages your reputation. Bring your seed, not your need.
5. Fail more often this week than you did last week. Why? Because if you’re not failing often enough, you’re sticking to things you already know. This means you are no longer growing. This is why Steve Jobs famously reprimanded members of his team, if they were not failing regularly enough. Then, fail more often next week than you did this week… repeat.
6. Stop aiming for perfectionism. It will stop you getting started, kill your creativity and block your progress. The next time you find yourself blaming perfectionism for your lack of progress, call it out for what it is: a stalling tactic.
7. Stop doing work purely because it pays the bills. Start doing work that makes a difference. This post explains why.
   
8. Get expert help in any area of your business, where you are under performing. Things don’t just change for the better because you hope they will. Hope is essential, but it’s not a business strategy.
9. Remind yourself that you pick your clients, they don’t pick you. This is true of 100% of the most successful business owners and consultants I know. Pick clients who value you and allow you to do your best work. Build your client base deliberately. Here’s what you need to know.
10. Get serious about the value of your time. No one ever lay on their deathbed, regretting they hadn’t spent more time watching TV. Throughout the day, ask yourself, is this the best use of my time right now? If it isn’t, go and do something more productive.
11. Make the decision to do the tricky stuff. Every business owner claims to give their business 100%. What they REALLY mean, is that they give their business 100% of the stuff that they are comfortable with. Decide to get less comfortable with the limitations of your comfort zone. This will help you.
12. Learn to embrace your inner freak.
13. Get the most from your creativity. There are hundreds of free, creative thinking ideas here.
14. Believe that almost anything is possible. No matter how bad things may be right now, with courage, hard work and passion, you can achieve almost anything. This post gives a great example of what I mean.
15. Build a great reputation by setting deadlines and delivering on them. Think about it: Telling a client that their project will be ready “by the end of the week” is far less powerful, than telling her it will be ready “by 9am Thursday”. Keeping your deadline promises is a superb way to earn trust and build an excellent reputation. I explain this in more detail here.
16. Give people more than they expect. Don’t under-promise though. Instead, over-deliver.

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Photo: Shutterstock.

I have a couple of important ideas to share with you today, regarding your competitors and some things you need to look out for.

Then, I’ll tell you about an outstanding opportunity that could be right under your nose.

Are your benefits as powerful as they were?

I’d like you to think about the major benefits of hiring you or buying from you. That’s because it’s possible those benefits are not as strong or attractive as they were, before the coronavirus pandemic.

For example, if you were one of the only providers in your industry offering client sessions via video, that won’t be the case any more. If people found your fees or prices were attractive or competitive, that may no longer be the case either. We’re seeing providers in many industries lowering their prices and others aggressively price-slashing. So make sure your strengths are as strong as they were, by paying attention to your competitors.

That leads on nicely to the next idea I’d like to share with you.

Fewer, but stronger competitors

One thing we’re likely to see accelerating over the coming months, is the number of businesses that are either merging with, or being acquired by, better-resourced competitors. This would result in a smaller overall number of competitors to your business, but stronger competition. We saw this a lot during the last recession.

Take some time today to research what your direct competitors are doing. All of them. Even those who have been slow to change over the years. They too are now being forced to adapt.

The more you know about the current shape of your competitors and wider marketplace, the better equipped you are to make decisions. Crisis always brings change. It’s up to you to adapt accordingly. Because doing more of what used to work may not be an option for much longer.

And on a much brighter note…

The opportunity you need could be right under your nose

Amid the challenges out there, it’s really important to be aware that there are also outstanding opportunities. I see examples of this every day. Some are from business owners in the industries most effected by the coronavirus.

Where do I start, Jim?

Be part of the solution, my friend!

This means looking for one of the gaps in your marketplace. These gaps are newly created wants or needs. And they usually present themselves as problems that need solving. They may not be obvious, but they are there.

When you identify a gap, test it. Do the research. Get the numbers. Ask for feedback. If everything stacks up, get to work on how to service that need (solve the problem), in a way that’s valuable to the community you serve and profitable to you.

Is it easy?

No.

Is it worth it?

Absolutely.

Photo: Shutterstock.

Have you noticed the growing number of multi-billion dollar corporations, which are now trying to act like small, compassionate businesses?

I was thinking of this earlier, after reading an interview with the CEO of a major company. He explained the changes they were making, in response to the pandemic. Interestingly, he’s told his workforce they need to stop acting like a corporation and instead, do what’s right and communicate it in a human way.

Let’s ignore the subtext, that until now this corporation has not been doing the right thing.

Instead, let’s focus on why a multi-billion dollar corporation suddenly demands it’s employees to do what’s right and be more human. And the lesson this has for you and your business.

Big companies and corporations have shareholders to please. That means profits come first. Everything has to scale for minimal friction and maximum yield, making it an impersonal way of operating. In normal times, this works spectacularly well for corporations.

But not today

Today, corporations want to send out a signal, “we’re in this with you and want to help”. They cannot be seen to be profit-first machines. Bragging about their huge, 1st quarter results, or surge in their share price, is no longer a smart move… not when many people and businesses are struggling to survive. So, they now want us to see them as going the extra mile. To think of them as being kinder and putting people before profits. Of course, it’s a tactic. A way to position themselves positively and build their brand. A calculated play, designed to attract attention, win customers and drive their profits up.

The big players have the financial resources to market heavily, pushing the message of how caring they are. They’ll have the top PR companies positioning them in news stories as generous and kind.

Companies make multi-million dollar marketing investments like that, based on the very best data. They know how important a human-focused message is.

What this means to you

Small businesses are perfectly placed to make short, medium and long-term gains, because of the very human way they do their day-to-day business. This is something the corporations and big companies are paying a fortune to try and fake, because they know it’s worth it.

You, however, can simply be yourself.

• Your client relationships are exactly that, relational, (rather than purely transactional).
• Your business always supports local charities, not just when disaster strikes.
• Your customer service is flexible, compared to the rigid customer service policies that large companies are forced to adhere to.
• There’s almost always a direct connection channel between the small business owner and their clients.
• Your clients know that their importance to you is many times greater, than it is to the large companies they buy from.

It’s always a good idea to play to your strengths. And many of the strengths your business has today, come from its size. This means reminding yourself that your business isn’t just like a huge company, only smaller. And embracing the many benefits of being smaller, more agile and maybe most importantly of all… more human.

My clients are amazing.

In fact, they’re totally and utterly amazing.

I’ve loved serving my clients for over 25 years. And I respect them. Every single one of them.

Why?

Because they’re not like the average business owner. That’s why their businesses succeed, when the average business fails in the first 5 years, or worse; slowly fails to deliver the results they need for decades.

My clients want to succeed, but they know that DIY marketing can only take them so far. So they choose me to be a part of their success. For which I’m eternally grateful.

The biggest accomplishment of my career, is nothing I myself have done. It’s that I get to spend every working day, with inspirational, smart, courageous people, helping THEM achieve. Imagine that: Every day since 1995, being fortunate enough to do something I love, with amazing people I admire and respect.

You deserve clients like mine.

How to work with totally, utterly amazing clients

Here are a few useful pointers, based on what I do.

• Before I work with a client, I always speak with them to determine if we’re a great fit. I only suggest we work together and explain how my service works, after I’ve established I can definitely improve their results. I strongly recommend you do the same.
• Only work with people you instinctively trust. If they lose your trust, fire them. Fast. By the way, I’ve only done this once in 25 years, because I take time to make sure we’re a great fit, first.
• Treat different clients differently, based on their unique needs. No two clients are the same, so adapt to their specific wants and requirements.
• Resolve to do everything possible, to help them succeed. I’m talking about going WAY above and beyond the claims you make in your marketing. For example, when appropriate, I connect my clients to my contacts, opening up possibilities they’d never dreamed of. Do the same. All or nothing. If you can help, help. Period. If you don’t trust your clients with your contacts, you should seriously reconsider who you’re working with.

And always follow the golden rule… care more about your client’s success, than you care about your own success.