As we hit the midway point of 2015, it’s time to assess both the goals we set and the status of the trends we spotted at the start of the year.
With fierce competition to stay ahead of industry trends and remain relevant to clients, having unclear goals and expectations could force some businesses to reassess their strategy altogether.
In December, we asked some of our Value Added Associates what trends they were seeing in their business as they transitioned to 2015.
More importantly, we wanted to know why continually staying relevant in business and not resting on your laurels is so critical for success.
Here’s a recap of some comments shared with us — and our take on how things are holding up mid-year:
There’s a new thirst, a new quest for understanding people and talent in the workplace more than there was in previous decades.
You have to stay relevant and constantly challenge yourself to understand what’s happening in the economy and in the business world in order to differentiate yourself and to really make a difference for your clients.
MID-YEAR CHECK: This trend for more and better tools that help companies “understand people and talent” seems to be strengthening, according to our research and our pulse on the market. Stay connected to this trend.
Our success is now built on value, which means we have to restructure what we do. Partnering with our clients versus being a vendor is part of that transformation.
MID-YEAR CHECK: Sound advice Jan. 1 and today. Recent research we’ve been conducting has shown a more consultative approach in how sales and service is a rising trend.
You have to be real, open and authentic, and work with your clients in partnership — you can't try to sell nirvana to people.
You also can’t have one customer if you plan to partner with a specific client for life because of high turnover rates. You have to have many relationships — have an extra foot in the door — within organizations to stay in it.
MID-YEAR CHECK: It’s always a good idea to diversify. What have you done so far this year to open yourself up to new business relationships? Things to try: LinkedIn Inmail, networking groups and a focus on interacting on social media with several new targets by building a social relationship.
To stay relevant is to stay valuable. If you don’t know what’s happening within the industry and become stagnant, you risk becoming replaceable to clients. If you want to continually perform at a high level, you have to regularly tune up.
MID-YEAR CHECK: Regular tune-ups are vital in an industry evolving this quickly. But you’re busy, so the question becomes how. Dozens of industry events are going on every day — and they are being discussed online.
Look for LinkedIn groups to join or visit event sites to uncover hashtags used to broadcast event takeaways. These are great ways to stay relevant.
Like many people, every year we set goals and every year exceed them.
The people who plateau and ultimately fail are those who get a little taste of success and think it will simply repeat itself year after year without learning, growing and being a greater VAA.
If you’re not growing, you’re wilting. And who wants a wilting plant in their office?
MID-YEAR CHECK: Force yourself to grow — intellectually and business-wise. Have you begun offering a new product this year? If not, please check out our Stress Quotient™ diagnostic assessment. It’s a great place to start.
For the same reason this concept is critical for the success of any business, there’s nothing less relevant to the marketplace than where a company was positioned, say, six months ago.
Technology changes and advances rapidly virtually every day of the year. New things are being discovered all the time, and the demands of the market shift regularly for a wide variety of reasons, not just economically.
We live and work in an environment where today’s buyers have an abundance of choices, and unfortunately, they have low expectations.
While there’s a lot to choose from, they get disappointed quite frequently. I think staying relevant isn’t just a competitive advantage, but rather a requirement for survival in business today.
MID-YEAR CHECK: To avoid the common pitfall of client disappointments, shift to a value-added mentality. Consider carefully how you have added value to your clients so far this year.
If you have, and they recognized it, ask them to write a brief testimonial. Even better, write it yourself and pass it by them for their approval. Then use it to market.
So, now time for the truth. We're halfway through the year — Have you made progress on your 2015 goals?
Do you think your business strategy must continue to evolve, or can you stick with tried-and-true methods if they’ve worked in the past? How will you continue to make positive inroads?
It's these types of conversations that are essential to sustaining momentum.