The older we get the faster time passes. Do you remember when you were little and Christmas was a few weeks away? Every minute of every day passed so slowly you thought the moment of Santa's arrival would never come. But, then you grew up. You decided to become a woman in business, or even a woman entrepreneur, and now the hours, days and weeks seem to blur. What no one is telling you is that business is all about urgency! Every second counts...every minute may mean the difference between success and failure. Business, all business, is about urgency....
The cliches are clear "life is all about the present", "there is no time like now", and "yesterday's the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift, that's why it's called the present." The point, and message, of all these cliches is that the only time you have control over is now. In business that is especially important as opportunities come and go that may dramatically impact the bottom line or your business future.
For example, I have a client who has operated a successful retail business for more than 9 years. For the past year or so, we have been discussing taking the business to the next level. There are several options for advancing a retail business: open another location, invest heavily in an online store, expand lines of merchandise etc. Too often these conversations with clients go on forever with the entrepreneur never ready to make the commitment. In this case, I was able to find a phenomenal deal on retail space in the perfect location and there was no time to waste. I presented the opportunity with urgency and within hours a deal was sign and within days the store was opened. I am happy to report this store is a tremendous success for the entrepreneur and her brand. Happily she respected the urgency of her decision.
A second client story is of a businesswoman employed for six years at a national insurance company. As a senior executive with the firm, she was determined to manage her time by working from home when she wasn't on the road. As with any large company, she had a senior manager to report to and, unfortunately, this guy did not agree with her plan. As a business coach, I often help clients work with difficult people. Let's face it if you are in business learning how to manage difficult people is part of the job. Once again urgency was required to really be effective. In this case, it was necessary for my client to take a proactive approach with her manager. When she was one or two steps ahead of his criticisms or concerns, he accepted her ability to handle her position. Eventually, because she accepted the fact that it was urgent for her to change her approach to this man her situation improved.
Finally, a woman entrepreneur who came to me because she was having trouble closing the sale learned that although customers are often confronted with urgency by salespeople, if used properly, it is still a powerful tactic. Let me explain why?
Most people hate wasting time. They seek gratification and avoid pain. They desire to work with people who they enjoy spending time with and who listen to them. If you as the salesperson can show the customer how it is in her best interest to act quickly you will close the sale. Urgency in sales does not work when the immediacy of the sale only benefits the salesperson such as: on deadline; end of the month, quarter or year quota; final day of sale. Customers are used to being coaxed by these tactics of urgency and believe that another sale is just around the corner. Allowing the customer to believe they have created their own sense of urgency will guarantee the sale.
The older I get the less I want to wait for anything. I find that having a sense of urgency about some things increases my time for enjoying more things. In other words, as my mother used to say "a watched pot never boils" because time always goes by slowly when you are waiting for something to happen. In business you can't wait for something to happen - YOU MUST MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
Embrace a sense of urgency in your business and watch what happens!
