READ TIME: 13m
DR JOHN DEMARTINI - Updated 2 years ago
I rarely do a presentation without discussing values, and this is no exception, because ultimately if you’re not doing something that’s inspiring and deeply meaningful to you, something you can't wait to get up in the morning and do, something highest on your list of values, you’re not likely to have the vitality, enthusiasm and inspiration that you would be wise to have as an entrepreneur.
At the same time, if you’re not filling the needs or higher values of the individuals that you’re selling to – customers, clients or students – there will be no business.
If you project your values onto them and don't meet their needs, narcissistically, eventually the feedback is likely to let you know that it’s not working.
If you altruistically sacrifice your needs to try to fill theirs, your profit margins will tend to go down as a result.
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So, in order to make a fair exchange that is sustainable, you need to have equity.
As a business, the first thing to know is that everything you do, whether you are working with a customer, working with an employee, or working with an individual at home - every transaction is striving to have fair exchange.
With that said, let us start from the top down in the business structure.
Business Tip #1: Find out what you are committed to.
As a business owner, it would be wise to have a clear articulated objective in 25 words or less about what you’re committed to as business. In other words, getting really clear about what the primary objective and mission of your business is.
It’s hard to make decisions if you don't know where you’re going, but if you’re crystal clear about what you’re committed to, it is easier to make decisions.
Business Tip #2: Investigate whether there is a market or demand for that product or service.
If you’re not meeting people's needs or providing something anybody wants, there’s no demand. So that may be what you’re inspired to do, but you need to make sure it matches something that the world is looking for.
Business Tip #3: Make a distinction between your offering and that of your competitors.
If you have something that a thousand people are busy providing solutions for and can't make a distinction between what you do and what they do, why would customers come to you? They’re likely to go to the lowest dollar if they can't make a distinction between the various offerings.
Business Tip #4: When you run a business, the hierarchy of your values as a leader will influence all the way down the line, including anyone you hire.
You may start a business doing a little of everything, but if you end up trying to do everything, you’ll tend to dilute yourself, burn yourself out trying to perform tasks that are uninspiring to you, lower your vitality, and potentially de-value yourself.
Instead, consider making a list of every objective, job responsibility and function that’s going to be needed.
Then, look at what you are going to do and prioritize those tasks according to what needs to be done by your specialty and what you might be able to hire somebody to do, outsource or insource.
When I first opened up my practice, I did a little of everything. When I saw that it wasn’t working at all, I bought a book called ‘The Time Trap', and literally transformed my business in 18 months by implementing some of the changes it suggested.
I began by making a list of everything that needed to be done and everything I was doing. I looked at what it actually produced per hour, how much meaning it had, and how much it would cost me to hire somebody or delegate it.
In other words, I learned to delegate some things so I could get onto doing the highest priority, most important thing I could do that served the greatest number of people and produced the most income.
I gradually began to delegate more and more lower priority tasks, and working my way up, until I could eventually duplicate myself.
In the process, I learned to prioritize what I was doing and make sure I was doing the things that matched both MY needs and those of the CUSTOMER so I was also getting the most INCOME.
Money is a measurement of the services rendered. In that way, it lets you know that you’re meeting someone’s needs or they are not likely to pay you.
So, ask yourself what produces the most per hour and what has the most meaning? What is the most productive per hour is what is meeting PEOPLE’S needs, and what is most meaningful is meeting YOUR needs.
Business Tip #5: Surround yourself with individuals that really want to go and do what you want to delegate.
It doesn't cost to delegate if you delegate to someone who is inspired to do that job and do a greater job than you would do.
If the job or task is high on their values and they’re more inspired to do it than you are, then that will free you up. It’ll also allow them to be self-reliant and less likely to need micromanaging.
Building teams of people that are going to help you get things done essentially comes back to knowing both your highest values and theirs.
Individuals don’t tend to go to work for the sake of a company, but instead to they go to fulfill what they value most. If they feel that their job duties are helping them fulfill what they value most, they are likely to be engaged, inspired, productive, innovative, creative, love going to work, have gratitude for their job, love what they do, and be inspired by the vision.
In other words, it won't cost to delegate low priority tasks. Instead, it is likely to pay dividends because it will free you up to do the most important things that produce the most per hour.
Business Tip #6: Anytime you perform high priority tasks, your energy goes up, your self-worth goes up, and your net worth goes up.
Anytime you perform tasks that are low on your list of values, you’re more likely to feel drained. I am certain you can think of examples in your own life where you felt uninspired and exhausted after a day of putting out fires and performing low priority tasks.
Anytime you perform high priority tasks, your energy goes up, your self-worth goes up, and your net-worth goes up.
Business Tip #7: When you build a team, be mindful of the fact that your values are going to be different than the people that work for you.
If you can't communicate what YOU value most in terms of what OTHER people (your employees) value most, they’re less likely to be engaged.
It’s for this reason that I suggest that each and every employee of yours goes through the FREE Demartini Value Determination Process on my website. Consider doing the same with the individuals that you hire. Then go through it with them being mindful and cognizant that their highest values are the only thing you can expect them to do.
Here’s why:
Anytime you expect somebody to live OUTSIDE what their real highest values are, delegate things that are not in line with what they value most, or give a job description that does not match what they value most, you are far more likely to end up micromanaging them instead of having an employee that is self-sufficient and self-reliant.
It would therefore be wise to find out what their highest values are and then communicate, delegate, disseminate or allocate job duties accordingly.
In this way, you’re less likely to be distracted by needing to micromanage and motivate individuals. Motivation is a symptom of a company, not a solution for the company.
Business Tip #8: Marketing, advertising and selling is all value driven.
Consider all your content in terms of the highest priorities and needs of the individuals you’re selling your product or service to.
Try not to make assumptions but instead take the time to find out what their true highest needs are. This could be through a survey, or spending time online researching what is trending. In that way, you can make sure that what you are offering is what they truly desire or need – their dominant buying motive.
You can then spend time making sure that you can deliver on those needs, or your clients and potential clients will tend to go elsewhere.
Every human being makes a decision based on what they believe will give them the greatest advantage over disadvantage. So, your product, service, or idea has to provide more value than any competitor.
As I said earlier, if they can’t make a distinction between you and a competitor, they are likely to go with the lowest dollar.
Here are SIX questions that may help you in the process:
When looking at your product, this service, or idea, ASK yourself:
- What exactly are the features that make it stand out?
- What are the advantages it has over anyone else's product?
- What are the benefits that it provides?
- What are the utilities that it can provide? What are all the ways it can be used in their life?
- What is unique about it?
- How is it going to serve your customers?
If you have 30 answers to each of those questions, you’re more prepared to know how to articulate your offering in their highest values when it comes to sales, marketing, and advertising.
Business Tip #9: Use wording from testimonials in your marketing and advertising.
I often get testimonials from speaking engagements and soon noticed that there were certain words that showed up most.
I literally wrote out every word that I got in a thank you letter or a testimonial so I could identify the most common words that people used about my service offering.
I then began using those words in my communication to help escalate the growth of the business to ensure I was marketing my service in a way that met people’s most important needs. In that way, I could be more sure that I wasn’t advertising what I THOUGHT people wanted, but what they had actually TOLD me they had both wanted and gotten out of their interaction with me.
For me, going through that process, figuring it out and distilling it down was crucial to the success of my business.
Another key point I’d like to make is that the world is constantly evolving and individual's highest values are changing as they are maturing. It is therefore wise to keep current with what their highest values are, look at what they are searching for most, find out what their greatest needs are, and get feedback from them to let you know if you are meeting their most important needs.
If you don’t meet the market’s need, you can go out of business. It is an ongoing evolving process.
Make a commitment to add some sort of innovation at least every quarter, even if it is the same seminar, product, or service. Add something new or present it in a new way that positions you as innovative and keeps you on the top-of-your and their minds.
Business Tip #10: Start with naturally existing economic relationships.
This is something that Walter Haley taught me many years ago in the sales process: Take the people that you have actually served, get their feedback, look at what you are doing with them and inspire them to let people know through referral. Enthusiastic clients love to refer. After all, the greatest client is the referred client.
So, start with the clients that already are satisfied and let those clients refer.
A satisfied client is a powerful marketer – especially in today’s age of social media. Referred clients tend to be the least costly, highest quality clients because you don’t have prove anything – your satisfied clients already proved it and felt it was worth sharing.
If you find that you don’t have clients that are enthused or inspired to recommend you, then you may want to go back to the drawing board and look at what you’re offering them or ask them for input – anything that’s not satisfying to them or not meeting their needs. That can provide some valuable input you may otherwise not have known.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, you may want to start by asking yourself: What is it in business that I want to be the greatest at it? What is the one thing that I would love to do to stand out as a leader? Whatever that is, it is wise to make sure that you are targeting that, focusing on that, and giving yourself permission to go and master that.
If you haven’t already completed the FREE Value Determination Process on my website, it is wise to use that as your starting point to get clear around your own highest values and the highest values of those working for and with you.
Then make sure that what you are selling or offering is something that the market actually NEEDS, wants or desires.
Word your marketing and advertising campaigns carefully with language that shows you’re meeting your customer’s needs or solving a problem for them – this is where wording from client testimonials can be incredibly helpful. Then see how you can get current client to recommend and refer you to others.
Invest in your knowledge, prioritize what you read, prioritize who you hang out with, prioritize your clients, prioritize where your money is going, and prioritize your daily actions.
People who live by their highest priority are the ones that are far more likely to get ahead.
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You’ll come away with a 3-step action plan and the foundation to empower your life.
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