Success Strategy One:
• Start a Bucket List in December.
At the start of a New Year a lot of people make New Year's Resolutions.
You know the sort of thing I mean.
"This year I'm going to stop smoking, lose weight, get fitter, save more money, etc."
However based on my own experience and the results of many people I've talked with, New Year resolutions are usually not that effective.
Within a few weeks (or even a few days) most of these resolutions have pretty much gone out the window and life goes back to normal.
If you want to be inspired for the rest of your life, I believe there is something else you can do that will work a lot better than New Year Resolutions:
And that's start a Bucket List for yourself.
In my humble opinion, a well-constructed 'Bucket List' has the potential to revolutionise your life and make every year exciting, memorable and a heck of a lot of fun.
And a great time to start your bucket list is actually in December, well before the New Year comes around.
If you would like some ideas on how to do this here is a free resource that may help.
I've written a short guide that explains how to set up a bucket list and use it to make every year exciting, memorable and fun.
The guide is only 12 pages and it's my gift to all Herald readers.
You can download it (no registration required) at this link.
I hope you find it of value.
Success Strategy Two:
• Say 'thank you' to the many people who have helped make a positive difference to your business.
These people could include key clients and customers, helpful suppliers, valued advisers, enthusiastic supporters and many more.
I think December is a great time to positively recognise all these people.
An excellent way to say 'thank you' is to send these people a hand written note saying you really appreciate what they have done for you during the year.
A hand written thank you note is very rare in business and is always appreciated when it is sent out.
You might like to say something like this in your note:
'Hi Mary, just a small note to say a big thank you for all your help and encouragement during the year. Your support made a big difference and I really appreciate it. Kind regards. John Smith.' (For special supporters and clients you might like to enclose a small gift with your thank you note.)
I personally like to share short booklets with inspirational messages at this time of the year with key clients and contacts. (These are often appreciated and make a nice added value gift.)
Success Strategy Three:
• Set up a programme of RPI for 2016. (RPI stands for 'Regular Positive Inspiration.')
This just means you expose yourself regularly to positive ideas that will help improve your results in some way.
If you own or manage a business, an important key for long term business success is your ability to attract new customers and clients and convince them to spend money on the products and services you offer.
In other words sales and marketing is a critical factor for your business success and is something you should devote time to getting good at.
So look for helpful marketing resources and ideas.
Have a fantastic month and I'll be in touch again in the New Year.
'What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year' - Vern McLellan
Action Exercise:
Send a short hand written thank you note to at least 20-50 people who have been helpful to your business in 2015. And consider including a small gift with some of these notes to your most important clients and key contacts.
Graham McGregor is a consultant specialising in memorable marketing.
Download his 396-page Unfair Business Advantage ebook at
no charge from theunfairbusinessadvantage.com.
