Breaking Down Your Business | Small Business | Business Owners | Entrepreneurship | Leadership

Jill: I like to put myself in my customer and client's shoes-

Brad: Exactly.

Jill: ...in the way of, "What would I be interested in reading? Oh wait, something really short."

Brad: Right.

Brad: Welcome to Breaking Down Your Business episode 344.

Jill: Brad, we're talking to you.

Brad: It's a new year.

Jill: Is this a new year, new you?

Brad: It's a new me, yes.

Jill: [crosstalk 00:00:19] Already.

Brad: You can find something if you go to breakingdownyourbusiness.com/344. There's something there.

Jill: 344? Happy New Year.

Brad: To you too.

Business owners wear too many hats. Systems turn the insanity into sanity. They help you (theoretically) to make sure everything gets done on time.

As a business owner, what is it that you do? Business owners have to:

• sell. No one is going to sell as effectively as the business owner does.
• recruit and train. You need to be responsible for who's in the business.
• own the brand. What does the brand mean and is it consistent?
• do strategy. Where is the business going?

Anything that you don't do should be the responsibility of someone else. That's where systems come in.

What are you handing off in your business for someone else to do so that you have room to breathe? And are the materials your team needs easily accessible to them? Brad recommends getting a pack of notecards with one task that's written on each that needs to get done in order for your business to succeed. With your team or by yourself, arrange those cards by skill or tool. Each of the piles you end up with is a job.While you may need to do these tasks yourself, eventually you might be able to outsource to a VA (learn how to hire a VA here).

Who takes care of what in your business?

If you’re a manager or business owner, chances are you juggle many HR tasks and are trying to keep up with the ever-changing employment laws. HR 101 from ComplyRight is a free online training program that will give you a solid understanding of employment law so you can handle typical workplace issues like a pro. The six courses include General Legal Obligation for Employers, Recruiting and Hiring, Classifying Workers Correctly, Managing Your Employees, Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discipline and Termination. Explore ComplyRight’s free courses at www.complyright.com/courses.

Are salespeople the best or the worst?

Catherine VonVanno of 20Four7VA calls in to discuss leads. So far, she's had warm leads but she wants to start reaching out to people who might not know of her VA service and go the direct marketing route. Does she try to handle internally, or go with a marketing agency to help?

The question of direct marketing and radio ads leads to a discussion about what kind of prospective clients may be out there who aren't really internet savvy. And how would you educate your market?

What is the job of a salesperson and how do you know when you've found a great one? Do salespeople just exist to take you on that last mile of the sales journey? What function should they play in your business - and how do you feel about them as a consumer?

What are your thoughts on salespeople? Listen in!»

Wanna join Jill and Brad for drinks at their FIRST-EVER offline event? Meet them September 13 at Park & Field in Chicago to get your shouting on. RSVP here.

If you’re a manager or business owner, chances are you juggle many HR tasks and are trying to keep up with the ever-changing employment laws. HR 101 from ComplyRight is a free online training program that will give you a solid understanding of employment law so you can handle typical workplace issues like a pro. The six courses include General Legal Obligation for Employers, Recruiting and Hiring, Classifying Workers Correctly, Managing Your Employees, Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discipline and Termination. Explore ComplyRight’s free courses at www.complyright.com/courses.

• Catherine VonVanno is the president and executive director of 20Four7VA, which provides virtual assistant solutions to eCommerce businesses.

Want more info about hiring when you are trying to grow? Brad's doing a webinar, How to Win the War for Talent: Actionable Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent at Your Business, on July 31! Just sign up at this link and let Brad and two others help you be better at hiring.

How do you hire people when trying to grow your company? Why is it so hard? We're so busy, and on top of all of the things we're doing, we now have to worry about the hiring process. Everyone's looking for the quick and easy shortcut, but sadly there is none.

We're also not great at recognizing what it is we need. A lot of small business owners think that if they just had someone else who was exactly like them, they'd be fine. But that doesn't exist either (and you don't really want that). Brad has a system for figuring out what he actually needs for the task at hand.

Also, you'll probably need to spend more on hiring quality people. You can mitigate risk by hiring part-time to start out.

You can start collecting resumes with Google or some software so that when you're ready to hire, the talent pool is there for you. You can also meet face-to-face with people to see how you feel about them, but it doesn't mean you have to hire everyone you meet.

And once you have hired, if they're not working, don't feel bad about moving onto the next person.

How do you hire when you're trying to grow your business?

What causes sales? And how do you get new clients? Jill sends lots of emails or schedules events to build momentum. Both she and Brad like to announce things first - if they announce an event, they're more likely to commit to it. She'll also reach out to PR and press people to get coverage.

Brad suggests using referral partners or reaching out to past clients to build case studies.

Ari Meisel helps successful people become more successful and productive. He started his company, Less Doing, about seven years ago, and three years ago, he sidetracked and built a VA company called Leverage. About 9 months ago, he left Leverage and is in the process of rebooting Less Doing and honing in on what the brand offers. He's built the business through client referrals as well as through his book and his podcast, but it's all been very passive. Now he wants to scale lead generation, but he's not sure who his target is.

Jill suggests repurposing the content he already has and to be more direct. Better calls to action that are emotionally based will help to convert people, Brad says.

Brad's got a four-step plan to help service-based businesses get new clients.

1. Demonstrate expertise to your target market.
2. Invite people to raise their hand.
3. You've got to follow up.
4. Close the deal.

Do you have trouble getting new clients?

• Ari Meiselis a best-selling author, productivity expert, CEO, real estate developer, green building consultant, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. Several years ago, Ari encountered and ultimately overcame severe personal roadblocks and that journey transformed his life. His discoveries about personal and professional productivity have improved the lives of thousands of individuals and businesses. His proprietary process, the Less Doing System, is the foundation of his company Less Doingwhich offers individuals and enterprises road-tested methods to optimize, automate, and outsource everything. The goal is to learn how to work smarter, instead of harder.