I’ve always been fascinated by the giving of fresh flowers as a gift. I have met people who feel they are a waste of money. “They just wilt and die,” they say. They are here today, dead tomorrow.
As a gift, they are enjoyed in the moment, treasured for an instance and then almost as soon as they have arrived, they are gone.
My wife loves flowers. When I buy them for her, she puts them in a vase and puts them in the middle of the table where she can see them. She takes a photo of them on her phone and is likely to post the photo online, or set it as her screen saver on her phone for the week. She leverages the small act of kindness to maximize its enjoyment.
Achievements in your business can be a lot like these flowers. You enjoy them for the day, or the week, or the month and then life goes on. If you let it, that achievement that you have worked so hard for and is valuable to your story as a business can quick become a distant memory that no future client or customer will ever know about. These achievements come in many forms including:
- A client who is ecstatic about the product or service you provided
- An award your company receives
- Landing a big article in a local or national publication
- A fantastic project you have just completed
All too often, we forget to (or don’t know how to) leverage these achievements so that their value lives on. If you have a wonderful testimonial from a client, an award, a featured spotlight article or a great portfolio item – Do those achievements matter? Are those of interest to your potential future clients or customers a year or two later?
They should be.
One of the first things to remember is that in most cases, it’s not too late! You can ask that past customer if you can get a short written testimonial from them, or better yet, record a quick video of their experience. You can find a place on your website and in your marketing collateral to include that award you won and explain what that award says about your business. That article about your business is something you could send out to all the new contacts in your email list from this year. After all, it’s news to them!
Remember, achievements are only as valuable as your ability to leverage them for future opportunities. It is what you do with what you have earned that matters.
We are passionate about creating strategies to proactively leverage achievements for businesses. Contact our team to make a plan for capturing your past to create more opportunities in the future.