Seven No-nonsense Ways to Grow Your Business

Each issue of Private Duty Today talks a lot about home care theory, and that's important. Leadership begins with big picture thinking.

But you're busy, and some days stretching your brain hurts a little. On those days, wouldn't it be nice if someone just told you exactly what to do?

Today is the day. Here are seven no-nonsense ways to grow your private duty business, and all of them you can start before the weekend.

Get out of the office -- Go visit someone, pretty much anyone. Identify one individual that has the potential to give you one referral. Go ask them for a referral. Every one of us knows someone that could use homecare, so go to someone that you have a relationship with and say "What would it take for you to give my company an opportunity?" Do this once a day for a month and you'll be amazed how much your business grows.

Update your elevator speech -- Condensing your business into a few words is a valuable exercise. You'll have an updated "elevator speech" before you are finished. Having a 30 second answer to the question "what do you do?" will have a dramatic impact on your business.

Start an "Employee of the Month" program -- Sit down today and identify one terrific employee. Chances are they made you a bunch of money in the past month. Give them some recognition.

Start a weight loss competition -- If you're like most private duty companies you have an office staff with several women ranging from 110 to 310 pounds who all think they need to lose a little weight. (You also have one guy whose buttons are stretching on his fitted shirt, but doesn't see a problem.) Start a friendly competition to motivate your office employees to be a little healthier and happier. Make sure it is lighthearted. This tip comes courtesy of my wife, Kristen, who has lost 14 pounds since her office began their competition in July.

Chocolate -- The polar opposite of the last tip... buy some chocolate. Chocolate makes people happy. Place a dish of Hershey's Kisses or miniature chocolate bars on your desk. Believe me, you'll feel more popular.

Grow your geek -- Improving technology in your systems frequently pays dividends. Take a few minutes today and investigate new scheduling software, a CRM system, improved computers or better telephone systems. Remember to stay focused and ask yourself "How would this technology help me grow my business?"

Rewrite your job description -- Are you being the most effective you can be? How much of your time is spent firefighting? Rewrite your job description asking yourself the question "Does this task help my company grow?" Get rid of as many tasks as possible that don't directly lead to company growth. You will be surprised how much more efficient you are tomorrow.

Spend an hour today improving your sales skills, improving employee morale, improving systems or improving yourself and you'll instantly feel the benefits. Spend an hour every day more focused on growing your business, and you will reap the benefits in short order.

One more no-nonsense tip

Buy something from Private Duty Today! Here are a couple of choices and all of them will help you grow.

Increase Your Income Selling to Bank Trust Officers and Other Trusted Advisors (e-book)

Marketing to Die For... Without Killing Your Budget (e-book)

Making the Approach: Advanced Sales Training for Home Care Professionals (e-book)

The Joy of Selling (book)

Changing Lives (book)

The Customer Service Companion (book and study guide)

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