Month: October 2020

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The MAGIC Formula – Moving Yourself – Values

The MAGIC Formula- Moving Yourself - Values

The MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects 

—

Value Added

Values are incredibly, well, valuable. They are fundamentally important.

Many thanks to Michelle Mills-Porter for reminding me how important they are. She is an expert on personality types, she can profile someone at a hundred paces (sort of). She is passionate about tools like DiSC. Still, she emphasised to me that, even before you start looking at personality types, you need to think about values. They are the building blocks from which everything else is constructed.

Uncovering Hidden Values

How do you discern your values?

It is worth taking some time to think about what is really important to you. Some aspects of this may be obvious, others less so. How do you discern this?

If you’re not sure, think about what gets your emotions going.

For years I was confused by myself. I’m not an especially emotional person, I don’t cry very much, and I hardly ever get angry. But every time I watched the musical Cabaret, I found myself getting really angry and crying.

My emotions were stirred up.

I reflected on it and realised that this showed me that I value people having freedom. And I hate to see it when they have that freedom denied.

I also tend to cry whenever I see any piece of good theatre. It doesn’t matter if it’s sad, happy, or even just silly. If it is excellently done. I will probably start crying. I’ve been known to do it in theatre adaptations of toddlers TV shows, just because the production was so good! Why is that? I realised that I value creativity, and I love people being able to express themselves in their own creative ways. Again, I think it’s to do with freedom.

What’s Your List?

Early on in our marriage, my wife and I talked about what was important to us. We’re both Christians, so our initial stab at establishing our benchmark values had God first, family next, and work third.

After further thinking and more years, I realised that self-care has to be up there as well. You can’t help others if you are in pieces yourself, so you have to look after yourself to be able to serve them. Consequently, my priority list now looks like this:

God,
self,  
wife,
family,
work,
other stuff.

Your list will probably look different. That’s OK, the important thing is that you think about it.

Decisions, Decisions…

Once you have established your priority list, it makes decision making, easier. Every time you have to make a life decision, you can measure it against your list: What will be the impact on myself, my partner, my family, etc.?

For example, a work assignment that would take you away for six months from your family may not be an option. Or it may be. It depends on your value list.

Valuable Reflection

It is a good idea to build in regular reflection time just to check that your life and work are still congruent with your values. It is so easy to drift.

If you do unconsciously drift, you will probably notice a dissatisfaction and unease in yourself, because what you’re doing is not aligned with your values. Regular reflection should help you to identify this and think about whether there is anything you can do to put it right.


Look at your values, reflect on your values regularly and check each decision you make against them.

Values are so, well, valuable.

—

Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:

  • Adapt to new ways of working
  • Harness the power of habits
  • Optimise the use of space in your home
  • Use clothes to boost productivity
  • Focus on what matters
  • Plan for the future amidst uncertainty
Be Kind to Yourself – Free eBook
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Be Kind by MAGIC – Connecting with Clients

Connecting with Clients

Being Kind is your business super-power.

How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects 
—

Connecting with clients. 

Connecting is at the end of my MAGIC acronym. But that is just because it is the last letter in the word magic! It could come first, but the spelling would be wrong.

Connecting affects all the other aspects that we have talked about so far. The key to working with clients or anybody else is relationships. And there is no relationship without connection.

I suggest that it will pay dividends for you to reflect on:

  • the levels at which are connecting with your clients,
  • how often you are connecting with your clients, and
  • how you are connecting with your clients.

How Deep?

All of us have relationships at different levels.

Jesus had three friends, Peter, James and John, who were the closest to him. Then he had the circle of 12 apostles and then a wider circle of several hundred disciples.

Each of us will have a small number of close friends and family, then our circle of people we know quite well. And then a much larger number of acquaintances. A lot of these might be Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections.

Imagine concentric circles. In reality, there will be many more than three circles, because you will have a unique level of connection with each person.

At what level are you connecting with your clients?

Obviously, the level of connection with your clients will grow as you get to know them better. It is a good thing to strive for. The more connection you build, the greater the level of trust and the greater the extent to which you will be able to help them.

You can be intentional about deepening your connections.

How to Win Friends…

Dale Carnegie’s seminal book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (#ad) is brilliant on this. If you haven’t read it, make it the next book you read. I left it for far too long before I read it, just because I thought the title sounded manipulative. I was missing out on gold.

Carnegie makes the powerful observation that people that love talking about themselves – it is always their favourite subject!

Make a habit of regularly asking your clients questions about themselves. Make sure you remember what they say for next time. Take notes if necessary. I use Evernote.

The most comfortable place to build connections is around things that you have in common, perhaps interests or hobbies, maybe aspects of your work, possibly shared likes and dislikes. You might also have shared connections and friends.

But you can also ask them about non-shared stuff. Unusual hobbies they have that you don’t, but you can show an interest. Alternatively, exciting pieces of work they have done that you can ask them about.

Taboo Subjects?

Other subjects can enter in as your relationship grows. Some of them will require a sensitive and gradual approach. For example, asking about family. But, if they bring it up first and mention their partner, children, etc. then you can refer back to them later.

Other topics might be spirituality and religion. For some, this is a complete no-no, but for others, it will deepen the connection markedly. You might find you have to talk in “code” for a bit to establish that you’re on the same page. 

Similarly, with politics, some people love talking about it, others don’t. It can either strengthen your connection or divide you. You may think it’s not worth the risk and that it is best to avoid this altogether but, again, in some cases, it could really strengthen your bond.

Too Much, Too Little? Find the Goldilocks Frequency

Think about how often you are connecting with your clients. What frequency is appropriate? You don’t want to annoy them and pester them, but you also want them to know that you haven’t forgotten them.

It’s finding a balance – not too often, not too little. 

And How?

Think about the ways that you are connecting. What is the most appropriate method for each time you connect?

You will probably discover that each client has a favoured method of connection. Even so, there will be times when you use a different channel, depending on what you are trying to communicate.

Think about the most appropriate way of connecting with your clients on each occasion – a phone call, Zoom call, email, face to face meeting, social media message, etc.

Connect and Build

Every time you physically or virtually connect with your clients, make sure you establish an emotional connection as well. Aim to build your relationship with them a little further.

Connecting is key.

—

Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:

  • Adapt to new ways of working
  • Harness the power of habits
  • Optimise the use of space in your home
  • Use clothes to boost productivity
  • Focus on what matters
  • Plan for the future amidst uncertainty
Be Kind to Yourself – Free eBook
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Be Kind by MAGIC – Inspire your Clients

Inspire your clients

Being Kind is your business super-power.

How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects

—

Emotions are a much more powerful driver than logic. Inspire your clients and you could be the catalyst of life-changing action.

You can inspire your clients in several ways:

  • Help them to see their achievements in a different light,
  • Help them to describe themselves differently,
  • Help them to imagine possible future scenarios, and
  • Help them to set goals to achieve greater things.

But What You Actually Did Was…

Sometimes what we do feels very ordinary, but looks extraordinary to people who are looking on. You can help your clients to see their achievements as something special.

Help your clients to identify defining achievements. This may well involve working with them to reframe what they have already done, to look back at their work and personal lives and realise what they have accomplished. And then re-label it. This can be very affirming and inspiring.

They suddenly realise that they are something that they didn’t realise they were – for example, a facilitator, manager or mentor.

Maybe they have successfully raised four children as a mother? The time, resource and people management lessons and experience from this are significant and all-too-often go unacknowledged.

Did You Realise That You Are Actually A…?

When you enable your client to reframe their past experience, it could inspire them to explore previously unconsidered future roles. Maybe your client has not yet realised that they could legitimately describe themselves as a coach, a mentor, a manager, or some other role?

Look together at what they have done and explore together whether they could describe themselves differently. And once they have started describing themselves differently to themselves, they can be inspired to describe themselves in that way to others as well.

Encourage them to take up a daily mantra or affirmation which they say to themselves first thing in the morning, e.g. “I am a successful manager of people and resources. My work enables others to work together well and ensures that time and materials are used most effectively.”

Repeating this to themselves will shift their self-image and inspire them to see what could happen next.

What Could Be?

Help your clients to imagine possible future scenarios.

You can be brave for them, and imagine a possible future reality which they may be too nervous to imagine for themselves. Whereas they might think it is impossible at the moment, you can ask them the questions, “Why not?”, “Could you possibly do it?”, “What would have to be necessary for you to achieve that?” You may also have ideas that they have never thought of. Help them to create an image of them achieving it, so they can picture it in their mind.

Then encourage your client to identify obstacles. Some may be real, but most are probably perceived and imaginary. Some may be real but possible to overcome, maybe with a little training or some outside help. Again, ask “Why not?” and enable them to picture the obstacles disappearing or being overcome.

Goal!

Inspire your clients by aiding them to set challenging goals.

Michael Hyatt is excellent on this. He identifies three areas in which we can set goals:

  • our comfort zone, goals which are too easy to achieve and therefore don’t stretch us;
  • the delusional zone, goals which are too difficult, and we will never attain them, and thus get discouraged; 
  • and then there is our discomfort zone, the sweet spot for our goals. Projects that will stretch us slightly, but we can get there. We will be challenged and learn things along the way, and grow as a result.

Inspire your clients to set goals in the discomfort zone.

What About Accountants and Lawyers?

You might think that professionals like accountancy and the legal profession have little room for inspiration. But why not?

Identify pain points for your clients, and then show them how you could help them overcome them. Suggest what life could be like for them after they have worked with you. This will inspire them to go ahead and to keep going when things get tough.


Inspiration is potent. It is a real driver. Be kind to your clients, inspire them.

—

Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:

  • Adapt to new ways of working
  • Harness the power of habits
  • Optimise the use of space in your home
  • Use clothes to boost productivity
  • Focus on what matters
  • Plan for the future amidst uncertainty
Be Kind to Yourself – Free eBook
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Be Kind by MAGIC – Giving to Your Clients

Being Kind is your business super-power.

How do you Be Kind in Business? By applying the MAGIC formula:

Moving
Attuning
Giving
Inspiring
Connecting

It applies to:

Yourself
Your clients
Your team
Your prospects 
—

Giving to your clients is a surefire way to better business.

We are all customers or clients at some point.

Bring to mind a time where your service provider or vendor exceeded your expectations or did something special for you. They gave something extra. It sticks in your mind, doesn’t it?How can you do the same?

Obviously, we can’t give everything away for nothing to our clients. We have to make a living. It has to be sustainable, we have to give within our means. But, if we can find the balance, there are big benefits to being generous to our clients, and we can probably afford to give slightly more than we think.

Sometimes it will repay in the long run, sometimes it won’t. And even if it doesn’t, it’s a good thing to do because it makes us better, both as people and as businesses.So how can we give to our clients?

More Than They Were Expecting

Firstly we can exceed expectations: under-promise and over-deliver. Surprise them by how good we are, by giving them more time than they were expecting, or more attention.

My accountant’s bill, especially in the early days, often had the phrase “exceeded but not billed” next to his tally of hours. He obviously thought I’d be rich one day and was happy to encourage my loyalty!

Maybe you can offer something other than time? Can you provide extra add-on resources that your clients will value? Downloads, videos, links to useful services?

We All Love a Present

I buy magic tricks from a magic dealer who often encloses a little packet of sweets inside the package. It makes me feel good. Another one sometimes includes a small extra trick as a pleasant surprise.

Could you send a special gift to your clients?I signed up for a course last week, and was sent the course materials. They came in a blue sparkly padded bag. It could have been a regular padded bag, but the sparkly blue effect made me feel valued.

Can you package your delivery in a way that will make your client feel like a VIP? How can you roll out the metaphorical red carpet?

Say Something Special

An easy way to give something is to say something positive and unexpected.

You can simply offer encouragement to your clients, say thank you for their business, say well done when they achieve something. Tell them that they are special and that you value their business.

Why not go a step further and send a card, or buy them lunch or coffee?

Have you Met…?

You can share your network with your clients, help them to plug into it to increase their range of contacts. You can provide them with recommendations, and you can recommend them to other people.

Not giving something physical, but giving them a leg-up and new opportunities.

Work For Free??!!

Can you offer pro bono work?

“Pro bono” literally means “for the good of the people.”

This is a common practice in legal and accountancy practices. I wondered why they did it. Then I read this enlightening blog post on the business case for pro bono work: http://www.a4id.org/policy/business-case-for-pro-bono/

In a nutshell, graduate lawyers are increasingly keen on including pro bono as part of their professional offering. If a firm offers pro bono work, they will attract better graduates. Better graduates will earn more money in the long run. It makes business sense.

Could you do some pro bono work? If it works for lawyers and accountants, why not for coaches and other kinds of client services? I know magicians and other entertainers who have decided to do a percentage of charity gigs each year.

Think about how you can be generous in your client work. How are you giving to your clients?

Make them feel special. You will stick in their minds.

—

Download my free eBook “Be Kind to Yourself” and learn how to:

  • Adapt to new ways of working
  • Harness the power of habits
  • Optimise the use of space in your home
  • Use clothes to boost productivity
  • Focus on what matters
  • Plan for the future amidst uncertainty
Be Kind to Yourself – Free eBook