Strategic focus and knowing when to say, No!

First you have to have a strategy and secondly, you have to be able to stick to it. So, make sure you develop a good strategy, one that is a) potentially successful for you and b) one that you can stick to.

Having done that, you now face the daunting task of turning down projects that are not part of you stratgeic focus. Is this possible for you and if it is how is this achieved?

1. Focus! Stay on strategy.

Send a clear message to your team and your clients. Everyone on the team needs to know what the business stands for and to know that it isn't simply there to hoover up money as and when it comes across it.

It is also a statement to clients that let's them know where you stand. It says "We are good at hwat we do and we know what we're good at and we won't let anything distract us from delivering great results to you."

2. Saying "no" to the wrong type of projects.

This is tough but it protects the critical underbelly and fragile wobbly parts of your business. Many consulting firms get overwhelmed by major projects and while they're working hard at trying to ramp up the business and at the same time delivering the projects, they're not spending time selling, marketing or building new client relationships.

Therefore, when the major projects come to an end, they find themselves in a flat zone. Now you have to start the saless boiler up from scratch. Everyone is exhausted from the last project but now you have to tell them to get back on the streets to find new work again because there is no new work warming up on the back burner.

Peaks and Troughs

By saying "no" to disruptive projects, you protect yourself from demanding distraction and can then continue to spend time developing solid new client relationships and deepening existing ones. This builds client loyalty and trust and ensures there is a regular flow of work, which, if you manage it well, will steadily grow at a manageable pace one that is in sync as the company grows.
3. Saying "no" supports the small business model.

Micro-economics. This is simply the basic formula that connects supply, demand, and price. If you continuously increase supply by saying yes to everything, because demand is high, you run the risk of applying a downward pressure on your pricing.

If you say "no" to work that is not cost-effective, you are re-enforcing the statement that your services are "in demand" and your pricing "reflects that demand." You are selling on and applying a real market "value" for the product or services.

The other option is;

• lowering your price over time because
• the quality of your work deteriorates because
• your overloading your workforce /talent (you) because
• you are desperate to generate new work because
• you're in a self-inflicted cycle or downturn because
• other

Turning away work is not an easy decision to make. It can be a very painful decision for a small business to make but a necessary one.

Are you just a gal or guy that can't say "no," even if your business depends on it. Have you better ways of keeping your business focused? Get in touch now!