How to Streamline Your Business

I give myself time to soak in new topics, expand my skill set, watch rising stars, and think about what I want out of business and life.

I’ve been thinking about my big picture recently. Every Wednesday, I have my “Phil Day” where I say no to client calls, pause my inbox, and schedule time to learn. I give myself time to soak in new topics, expand my skill set, watch rising stars, and think about what I want out of business and life.

This may be bold, but I’m going to go ahead and confess: I want to be the #1 personal branding expert in the world.

Being #1 in the world is a lofty goal, and I’ve realized that consistency and open-mindedness is what’s going to get me there. My business, thankfully, has been relatively unaffected by the pandemic, and I’ve been thinking about some examples of consistency that might help others:

Streamline by choosing a medium that you love.

I’m 78 episodes into my podcast Brand Therapy, which I’ve been consistently posting nearly every week for two years. It’s an honor to have the ears of trusting listeners, and because I look forward to podcasting, publishing regularly is effortless. I get just as much value from having the conversations we air as a listener might.

Remember the old quote: “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It might be cliché, but I think it’s true.

Streamline by structuring your sales process.

When a client wants to work together, I have a clear structure about how we engage. First, an intro call is scheduled (Tuesdays or Thursdays only), then we have a brand audit, and then, if we want to keep engaging, I work on specific branding services in order for a specific amount of time. This set process has saved my team hours of back-and-fourths for years because a.) we’re clear about what works, b.) if someone’s not a good fit, they’ll know right away, c.) there’s no guesswork when putting together quotes.

Streamline by playing to your strengths.

I love public speaking, and I’ve been told that I’m engaging on camera. Since video content is something people have requested, I’ve consistently published a YouTube video every Tuesday of 2020. Not every video is a hit, but that’s okay: I’m about to hit 20K views on this video, so now I have a clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

Speaking and teaching also enable me to gain trust quicker. I put less effort into prospecting and cold outreach and more into educating—free content in videos or Instagram captions, and premium offerings in courses and coaching programs. Plus, I enjoy it.

Now, I’m going to turn this back to you.

What’s your big picture goal?
What medium do you love?
How can your sales process be streamlined?
What can you create consistently that plays to your strengths?

Do share (by commenting below). I’d be curious to hear.