We’re Celebrating 10 Years of Weekly Thoughts (WT520)

We’re Celebrating 10 Years of Weekly Thoughts (WT520)

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by Shirley Dalton | 12 Jun, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT520 We’re Celebrating 10 Years of Weekly Thoughts

Do you ever surprise yourself?

Wow! This week I’m celebrating. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could commit to writing a Weekly Thought, EVERY WEEK FOR 10 YEARS.

I have to say I’ve surprised myself.

I’m also really happy with myself and I’m proud of my achievement, and more importantly, I am GRATEFUL. 

I am grateful that you have been on this journey with me, whether we’ve just met or you’ve been here since the beginning.

THANK YOU for being there.

I love receiving your feedback, especially when a thought resonates with you.

I love my community and I just love sharing what I learn.

You see, I can’t help myself.

Years ago, I studied with Cristi Cooke who developed The Pillars of Genius program to help entrepreneurs look at marketing from a different perspective. Cristi helped us to identify what it is that is unique about us; the things that we cannot not do and to use this to help potential customers decide if we’re the person or company they want to work with. In essence, you attract customers who are the same as you or completely opposite and therefore needing what you have to offer or anywhere in between. The point being, you get to choose who you want to work with and the customer gets to choose based on who you or your company are in addition to the services you offer.

My 4 Pillars are:

1. Learn Learn Learn | Teach Teach Teach (I can’t help myself. I’m always learning and growing and recently, I added up how much I have invested in my own personal growth, business training, leadership training and the like and it was over $500,000. What that means for you is that you don’t have to invest the time, the travel costs or the program expenses to get exactly what you need at the right time. That’s what I can offer you.)

2. Systems Set You Free (I love designing and developing systems to take away the stress of being in chaos and disarray. Over the past 14 years I’ve developed my own 5 Step System to help business owners streamline their operations. It’s part of my DNA. It’s something that comes easily to me. My clients tell me I make the complex simple.) 

3. Don’t Tell Me. (I have to admit, I’m a bit of a rebel. I hate being told what to do. I don’t mind asking for help, but please don’t assume you know what I want and tell me how to do something or what I should do. That’s why I won’t tell you what you should do. You know you best, and you know what you want and why you want it. My job is simply to help you get it and support you along the way.) 

4. Fascinated by How People Tick. (I think this is fairly obvious from my Weekly Thoughts. I’m always watching and analysing and doing my best to understand people and then help others to understand their people. I find myself constantly working with leaders and business owners helping them to understand themselves and their people and how best to communicate with them.) 

So how about you? What are your Pillars of Genius?

What are the things you cannot NOT do?

As Cristi says, “What are things that you would be confident to stand in front of a judge and jury and show all the evidence from your life and work?”

And of course, this week I learned something new from Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen created The 4 Tendencies. According to Gretchen, one of the daily challenges of life is: “How do I get people—including myself—to do what I want?” The Four Tendencies framework makes this task much easier by revealing whether a person is an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel.

You can find out here. It’s a free Quiz and will take you less than 5 minutes.

The Four Tendencies Quiz

Let me know what you are.

No surprises for me, I’m an Obliger. I’ll do things for you before I’ll do them for myself.

10 GLORIOUS YEARS. WOW! WOW! WOW! I’m excited.

I invite you to celebrate with me.

Two Types of Trust (WT519)

Two Types of Trust (WT519)

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by Shirley Dalton | 5 Jun, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT519 Two Types of Trust

This week, I was talking with a colleague and he asked me a rather unusual and interesting question.

“Shirley, do your clients have to trust you before they engage you?”

I didn’t have an answer for that straight away, so I “percolated” on it for a day or two and then shared the following with my colleague:

There are two types of trust that are needed: 

  1. Clients have to be able to trust that you can help them achieve the outcomes they want. This means they have to trust that you have the experience and training, etc. plus previous examples of how you have helped other clients, and 
  1. They have to be able to trust you with their secrets and their situation. They need to feel safe and not judged as they share their vulnerability and what’s really going on for them. I think this is the most important aspect of trust.

It’s not easy for many people, especially in business, to put their hand up and ask for help. This takes courage and so they want to feel safe and secure with the person they are opening up to.

I’m sure there are many more types of trust. What do you think?

What does trust mean to you?

It’s an interesting question, don’t you think?

P.S. Be sure to check out next week’s thought – number 520. We’re celebrating 10 years of thoughts!

Be the Client (WT510)

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by Shirley Dalton | 3 Apr, 2020 | Blog, Business

If you’re struggling in business right now, be the client you want to attract.

This was something I learned years ago from Lisa Sasevich.

What does it mean?

It means showing up how you want your clients to show up.

For example, paying your bills on time. If you want your clients to pay their bills on time, pay your bills on time.

If you want your clients to respect you, respect your suppliers.

If you want your clients to show up and invest, show up and invest.

Now more than ever, we are being tested to walk our talk.

Our integrity is on the line.

Here’s what I’d like you to do.

Make a list of all of the things that are important to you when it comes to attracting and working with your clients.

Next, read over all the characteristics or behaviours that you want to see in your clients and (hand on heart), place a tick next to the ones you know you fulfill or achieve or do.

Take a look at those you don’t and consider whether the way you show up is a reflection of the people you are attracting.

Let me know what’s on your list. I’d love to know.

Make Me Feel Welcome (WT500)

Make Me Feel Welcome (WT500)

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by Shirley Dalton | 24 Jan, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT500 Make Me Feel Welcome

Last week I joined Lee Woodward, Creative Director and CEO at Real Estate Academy, for an interview to discuss onboarding new employees.

I thought I would share the highlights with you because this is such a critical task for every organisation.

Here are the top 5 things you need to manage, according to me:

1,Make them feel welcome.

Most new employees don’t know anyone when they first start apart from the people who interviewed them. It’s a daunting thing to walk into a new workplace where the other employees have established friendships and ways of doing things. It’s critical to make them feel welcome and that you are happy for them to be there. 

2. Have their “stuff” organised.

This fits in with point number 1. It’s not a good look and doesn’t feel good for the employee if their email address isn’t organised; they don’t have a place to sit; they don’t have stationery, etc.  or uniforms, etc.   I’m astounded at how many organisations miss this point. Make it someone’s role to make sure everything is organised BEFORE they start. 

3. Tell them what they are there to do.

I remember receiving a list of about 70 items when I started in the franchise organisation and rather than feeling daunted, I was excited. I had to somewhere to start and I knew what I was meant to be doing. I felt important and needed.  Make sure you give them a job description and more importantly give them something to start with (and that doesn’t include sitting in the corner reading the company manuals). It could also require a little training, however the sooner you train them and get them started, the sooner they will be productive and confident and comfortable. 

4. Show them where they can find things.

Remember they don’t know where you keep the stationery or the cups and tea and coffee and what the rules are for the fridge and the washing up and garbage.  Give them a little tour and show them around; show them the things they will most likely need. 

5. Introduce them to their immediate and higher level supervisors and managers.

This is important because it shows the boss is interested and cares. It also helps them to know who to go to if they need any assistance.  It’s a security and comfort thing, relating back to step number 1 – Make them feel welcome. 

Here’s your task this week. Rate yourself on the above 5 points.  If it’s not 5/5, identify what you can improve and work on that.

The Power of Gratitude (WT497)

The Power of Gratitude (WT497)

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by Shirley Dalton | 3 Jan, 2020 | Blog, Business

WT497 The Power of Gratitude

As we start the new year, I am reminded of The Power of Gratitude. 

I am so grateful that we took a detour to complete a 6-week systems project in Mudgee, Central West New South Wales.

If we had stuck to our plan, we would have been amongst the thousands of tourists rushing to escape the fires on the south coast of New South Wales and Victoria. We’d already seen first-hand some of the fires on the north coast as we were evacuated a few months ago from Bonnie Hills.

In fact, some of my colleagues had even mentioned some of the “Must See” towns on the south coast, which sadly, are almost destroyed now.

Whilst we send our thoughts and prayers to the people and communities that have been ravished by these unrelenting fires, we must also pay attention to what we can be grateful for.

When we express our gratitude, it raises our vibration and gives us more energy to create the businesses, relationships and lifestyle that we want.

When we operate from a powerful energetic state, we tap into the creativity of the Infinite Intelligence which helps us find creative solutions to problems.

This year, I want to focus on the gratitude I have for the ability to connect to this higher power. I committed to writing in my journal every single day this year; not for any goal or outcome, purely for the joy of writing and helping myself to organise my thoughts and coach myself.

How about you?  What are you grateful for, right now? What will you commit to doing this year, just for the fun and sheer pleasure it gives you?

Wishing you a very happy 2020! May it be all that you want it to be and more.

Shirley

It’s for the Client to Decide (WT494)

It’s for the Client to Decide (WT494)

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by Shirley Dalton | 13 Dec, 2019 | Blog, Business

WT494 It's for the client to decide

I was participating in an online group discussion this week with my colleagues from all around the world. 

Some of the group members were moving into coaching and they wanted to know what other people charged for their services. 

It was interesting to see the differences in what people offered and what they charged and one of the newbies, (we’ll call her Valerie), laughed and said, “I’ll need coaching to charge that”.

What followed was a very interesting discussion around pricing and self worth and I thought it might be of interest for you, too. 

“I couldn’t possibly charge that”, Valerie responded to one of the coach’s models. 

“Why not?” asked the coach.

“I’m just starting out as a coach and I don’t know enough nor do I have enough experience”, she replied. 

“It’s not about you Valerie.” 

“What do you mean it’s not about me?” 

“It’s about the value you provide for the client. It’s what we call value based pricing.” 

“What do you mean by value based pricing?” 

“Your prices are determined by the value you provide for your clients. It’s based on the transformation they can have in their lives.” 

Valerie still wasn’t getting it. 

“Valerie, what is it worth to someone to help them save their marriage? What is it worth to someone to help them regain their health? What is it worth to someone to grow their business?” 

“It’s worth a lot,” she said and then continued with “But I don’t think I’m worth it, I couldn’t possibly charge that much.”  

“It’s for the client to decide that they are worth it”, another coach chimed in. 

Boom! 

I had never heard it expressed this way. I was so grateful to have witnessed the discussion. 

How often do we base our decisions in business on what we think of ourselves without considering the value that our products or services provide for our clients. 

This week, I’d like you to take a look at what you or your organisation offers in terms of the value you provide for your clients and ask yourself if you are charging enough.

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