MA Business Success 38: How to Manage Change Successfully for Your Business

Watch the video podcast below Listen to the audio podcast below Phil: Graham, how you been going today? Graham: Mate, phenomenal. You know, not just good is a rule that we have whenever we say this to somebody. How you going? Good. It is a standard we do not accept. So if ever you guys...my challenge to you, next time someone asks, "How you going?" Always try and be better than that. Fake it 'til you make it. Phil: Absolutely. Well, today's topic, we've got When is it Time to Change it Up? What am I talking about? Well, you know, when is enough enough, when do you change course, when do you stop something and try something else? When do you change it up completely? You know, the whole lift the snow dome up and turn it upside down, and try and get different results. Well, the only time you know to do this is if you're not getting the results that you want in your business and in life. That's when it's time to change. But if you can pre-see the curve before it gets too bad, well then you're already in front of the game as well. So Graham, you got any suggestions on how we can change things up before it's too late? Graham: Look, it's important to just identify what could be the challenge. Now let's say that we're talking about classes and classes are starting to drop in numbers. So we're going to look at, is it the instructor? We could potentially change them up before we make some critical changes in the classes and then scrap our pro. What about the timetable? Is the classes maybe too late? Again, it's about surveying students that aren't potentially ours, and I know we spoke about that on previous podcasts. But I really think it's important to identify, what is the cost investment in going to that class? How much effort is it, and what are we getting back from it? Because I know that with our schools, Phil, we have programs that are available on different days, so we just may shut down a particular day. And that's not a major thing. Scrapping an entire pro, which we have done before, was a long and lengthy decision, and we really need to give ourselves some definite checkpoints. Phil: So, for example, for you guys that are watching and listening in, if you think that the things aren't working well, rather than change everything and then try and test that and try and get some stats on that, whether it's going to be beneficial or not, change one thing. Let it run its course for a couple of weeks. Change another thing. Let it run its course. Sort of factor those things in before you have the guillotine and then it gets scrapped completely. So it's important to make sure there's little steps to get you to where you need to be. Graham: I think for me, it's all about being proactive, and really, when it comes to business, how do you be proactive in your business? Well, just like a pilot would be flying a plane. He's got to check the dials. You've got to look at all the gauges, all the dials, and see where and what the wind direction's going, what direction you're going in. And only then can you go, "Well, hang on. No, no, this is not going well. We're going off course. Let's change direction ever so slightly, or damn, we need to turn this plane around." And that's the thing that we're doing with our martial arts business, or any business that we operate, is always checking the dials, the levers, the gauges to make sure that we're on the right path. We've had to stop classes, we've cancelled classes, we've created classes, we've combined belt levels, we've combined ages. We've done it all, and you know we always come back from our overseas trips, when we go and check out other martial arts schools. And we come back with these long lists of things, and we say to our staff, "We promise we'll never change anything today." But, you know, we're always changing. We're always innovating, and we know that, and that's one of our quotes, "Innovate or die." If you want to be ahead of the curve, if you want to be at the top of the ladder of your industry and your niche, you have to be innovating different things on getting new people in the door and keeping them at your business. Because you all should know that it costs way more to market to new members than it does to keep your own, the ones that you have. Graham: Oh, I could agree. Phil, just for the guys that may be wondering, what the hell are the dials in a martial arts business? Or in business in general, what are the dials? Phil: Yeah, well, there's the KPIs, I guess. You've got class statistics, you know, class attendance, percentages. You've got the amount of inquiries that are coming in, and again, I think we've spoken in previous podcasts about your return on investment when it comes to marketing, so you want to be tracking that. You definitely want to be tracking your process, the sales funnel. So when they pick up the phone to when they join up, or if they don't even join up at all, track that process as well. There's another whole bunch of three or four dials there. You've got DNAs, you know, "Are people turning up?" And then what are you doing with those dials? If no one's turning up after a couple of sessions, what are you doing with that? So there are plenty more dials with gauges that we check within our business, but what I've found traveling, and speaking, and helping, and coaching a lot of business owners is they don't have time. And that's what it's all about. It's about trying to get time. And the only way you're going to get time is by tracking your stats. And that's what it comes down to. What do you want to be doing with your business in 5 or 10 or 20 years' time? Do you want to be at the top of the mountain guiding the ship, or do you want to be in the cold face digging in the trenches? You know, you've really got to start thinking about your business big picture. And the only way you're going to get big-picture thinking, big-picture action, is by making sure you've got statistics. Graham: And guys, I'm going to challenge you a little bit, those guys who are listening in on this. And look, myself and Phil are all about quotes, we're all about understanding things. But I need you guys to really kind of think about is this, "If you're too busy to create good systems, you'll always be too busy." Simple as that. It may sound pretty blatantly obvious, but guys, it's important to put first things first. Stats for us is where you, it's the pulse of your business. It's where you know what's going right and what's going wrong. And it doesn't need to be a critical issue to make you react. It's about refinement and tweaking. And that's where it's important for you to understand, "At what point do we then make those changes or cut it away completely?" Now, the flip side of that coin is, Phil, I know, that there's quite a few guys that we've spoken to as well on our travels that continually flip between this next fad, this next style, this next this, next that. What is the risk of actually changing up too often? Phil: Well, your clients just aren't going to be concrete. They're not going to be platform, they're going to be. It's like, dare I say it, you know, before you go out, and if you've got a wife or a girlfriend out there, multiple changes of clothes that they may go through before they go out. And then the other person on the other end is going, "Come on, this is happening again." The same thing is going to happen to your clients here. What do you mean? Can't you stick to your guns? What sort of style are we trying to do, you know, are you practicing what you preach? The clients are going to get confused, they're not going to show that consistency, and therefore, if you, the instructor or business owner, are jumping from ship to ship to ship, then there's a good chance that your students will follow. They'll just go, "Well, I'm just going to go over to this school, and I'm going to go to this school, and that school." And then they'll become just a dojo rat and never really amount to anything. And we know that it's not really about what we teach, it's how we teach it in martial arts. Yes, what is important, the martial arts self-defense skills, or tournament-type sparring, whatever it is that you do. It's how you teach it, and it's the change that you make. Graham: Hey guys, I don't think you even noticed what Phil just gave you there. He gave you an absolute gem. So what that basically is, is you may have a very traditional art and your roots are down deep. That doesn't mean that you have to teach the same way as what you potentially learned yourself too. You can find a dynamic way of presenting and still honoring and respecting your traditions of your arts that you do, but it's the delivery system that's different. And I guess that's what you've got to really focus on nowadays, is the way the technology is changing, the way the world is changing, people are learning differently. They want things delivered differently. So that's where we find, okay, when we talk about "When is the time to change it up?" it's not necessarily change it up and get rid of a style, but the way that you deliver that style. And again, for you as the instructor, geez, if I want to change it up, how do I need to reboot me? What do I need to do to reinvigorate me so I can present differently in the way that I teach my classes, and therefore it rubs off on students as well? Phil: Absolutely. And let me just sort of segue into a different way of thinking this. Just for the other people out there who might be thinking, "Oh, I'm just not sure how this applies." Let's look at it as investing. When is the best time to invest? Invest in your future, invest in your wealth creation. When is the best time to invest? Well, it's now, and it's with as little as you have. It doesn't really matter because what will happen in years to come, and if you've never invested now, at whatever level that might be, you end up five, ten years down, wishing you had've done something back then. So if you want a tree, when's the best time to plant it? Today, because you're only going to get the growth over time. And that's the difference that makes a difference. Graham: Yeah, I couldn't agree more, man. It's don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Absolutely. Phil: And take action. So look guys, I hope you're enjoying the new podcast, version 2.0, where we're not only giving you great audio, but we're getting the video to you guys as well. We have a couple of extra little things that we're doing in these podcasts. Graham, what are we doing? Graham: What we'd like to do is throw it out to you guys. It's a little segment that is questions for the boys. Because we're here to serve you. We can only educate you to the level that you guys want. And if we don't know what your pain points are, what your challenges are, we can't obviously fulfil those questions and those needs. So we want you to really throw it to us, let us know the things that you're finding a challenge. You may have overcome a challenge you want to share, so we can obviously do that as well, too. We can throw a shout out, say hey, look, you did this well. But the only way we can receive that, team, is to send it through via our [email protected]. There's obviously the social media aspect. Guys, get online, you know, check us out. Like our pages, both Facebook and all the other media that we have, and just start following us, guys. Phil: Also, something that Graham and myself have been thinking about doing is offering our podcast listeners something specific. A very special deal that you guys can take advantage of and it is only just for the people who are watching or listening to this podcast. So what it is is, if you would like to take advantage of this, you just obviously need to go to our website, and you get to join up to our Silver level. It's $99, and we're actually going to throw you in gold level for free. So silver level is sort of like your school liftoff platform with all your ideas, thoughts, it's about getting your business from where it is to where you want to be. It's about getting in the right mindset, it's about making sure you're in the right area, and all these things. So Silver level membership is an amazing school liftoff, or it's also good for those schools that are two, three, four, five hundred or more to go back and just make sure that they've got these things nailed, because times have changed. And in Gold level, Graham, we have all our systems, procedures, the checklist. It's like the box of tricks. Graham: It's the kitchen sink with everything included. Phil: Everything's in there. So what we'll do for the $99 that it costs to do Silver, because you're a podcast listener, we're going to give you Gold level for free. And we're actually also going to throw in a free coaching session. So if we added all that up, guys, it's a value of $898, and you're just going to get that for $99 a month. And if you can continue that, and then we can work out something for you guys. Graham: Hey Phil, I know that we probably haven't even thought of this. Is there a deadline? Is there a time frame that they can only use this in? Obviously, with this particular podcast, once it goes live, guys, we won't be letting this go for too much longer. So it's important that, as soon as this is released, there's a couple of weeks, guys, and then you are done and dusted. So you've got to take action. We're all about action takers. Phil: Absolutely. And you know, going on the topic, when is it time to change? Well, when you get given opportunities, opportunities to change, opportunities to improve, opportunities to be better, then you should be taking them. We're willing to invest our time in helping you grow your business, to grow it from where you are to where you want to be. And without you guys committing or investing in that, then you might risk yourself being in the same position year after year. And then 10 years down the track, being in the same position. And, you know, we don't want that. We want you guys to get exponential growth both personally and professionally. And I ask you guys, did you get where you are as a martial artist without a coach, a mentor, an instructor? No. Does the pro athletes get to where they want to be, the Olympics, without a professional coach? No. Do we have coaches? Graham: Oh yeah. Phil: Yes. You need a coach. A business coach, a personal...whatever it might be that's going to help you go from where you are to where you want to be. If you're struggling, if you're suffering, if you're finding it hard, find someone. If it's not us, find somebody else. I don't mind who it is, but if you want to improve in your life, find someone who can help you. Well, I've had a ball today. Really good topic. Graham: It's always good to chat TIMA, and even better now that you get to see us doing our thing on the videos. Always great, guys. I can't wait to speak to you again on the next edition. Phil: And on our final, parting piece of advice, remember our logo. "Believe in yourself, begin the journey, and become the person and the business of your dreams." Ciao. Graham: Peace.