This subject sounds very obvious, but in my experience, many people THINK they have this area under control but they DON’T. In order to truly own your work, you need to know your business—know the numbers and statistics that affect you and your company at large, know your clients, know answers to commonly asked questions/objections, know what is going on inside your company…know YOUR business.

Let’s break this down and look at some examples. I suggested knowing the numbers and statistics that affect you and your company at large. We find there is a direct correlation of keeping track of statistics and getting solid results—not only in sales, but in every department.

Those acting as employees tend to do their job and leave the tracking to their boss. Even those who DO track stats have a natural inclination is to put off tracking and catch up later. Then later comes…and no stats are recorded…and sure enough, results drop at about the same time.

Stay on top of your numbers! Outside of the numbers that affect YOUR responsibilities, do you know the stats that affect your company? Increase your awareness of company goals and benchmarks, and leaders will quickly recognize you.

What does it mean to know your clients? Business owners know their important clients, but many times employees can talk to the same client over and over and not have any personal interaction with them. So much of business is based on relationships, and you have the opportunity to grow business by knowing your clients better.

Knowing the answers to commonly asked questions and objections doesn’t mean that you know ALL the answers. However, those who are acting like employees often are asked the same questions by clients and continuously need to ask someone else for the answers. What I am suggesting is that once you learn the correct answer, internalize it, own it, and use it. If you don’t know the answer, you say, “I’m not sure but I’ll be happy to find out for you.” Then do so.

Knowing what is going on inside your company is not only incredibly beneficial to you in terms of reward, it can also be a lot of fun! Just remove the phrase, “it’s not my job” from your vocabulary and start asking questions. Not to be nosy, but just because, as a business owner, you are interested in every aspect of your company. Asking people how they are and what they’re working on is an easy way to learn more about your company and to increase your enjoyment of what you do!

Be Free!

Leah Simpson
Instructor