You know the trouble with assumptions right?
Assumptions are not facts…. haha I bet you just assumed I was going to say that assumptions make an Ass of U & Me… the old trite assume joke.. which disappoints me that you assumed I’d be so unimaginative and predictable.
In business and in life assumptions are useful and dangerous. What are some of the assumptions business people make every day that sabotage their goals?
- Those People Said No Because _____________. Fill in the blank with a list of theories: they hate me… they don’t like me because of my religion, they will never do business with blonds. People make up stories that move from assumptions in their minds to false realities. If you don’t know why you lost the deal, if you don’t know why your customer fired you, if you don’t know why you weren’t invited to bid…. go ahead and make assumptions… then please try and verify. I once coached and worked closely with a guy who thought every deal he lost was because of the country of his origin. Every single time. Maybe that happened some of the time. More likely it never happened. Maybe he lost the deal because someone beat his price, he was outsold he has a reputation as a hothead, someone else had more relevant experience… or maybe he lost the coin flip. Nobody wins every deal but by planning your business strategy on unverified, likely false assumptions you are damaging your business. If you don’t know it’s a fact then don’t treat it as if it is.
- My Customers Love Me – If your company is executing flawlessly… there’s a good chance that your customers don’t love you because they don’t even know you’re there. Think about the air you breathe? When was the last time you thought about that… when your dog passed wind? Just now because I asked you to think about it? Great air, like great service, is invisible and easy to take for granted. Don’t assume your customers know what great things you’ve done for them… remind them on a regular basis before they start thinking you’re not needed. Give them a graph of how much air they breathed each month. Give them a chart that shows how much the breaths they took last month contributed to everything they accomplished. Send that along with the invoice.
- My Customer Understands Our Business Relationship – You’ve presented the details, they’ve signed a contract that describes the relationship then why does your customer say…” wait a minute, I didn’t know I had to pay for that? I thought that was included?” I once signed a contract with a service provider and they called me to tell me they couldn’t accept the contract. I said, “What? My money’s not good enough for you?” The reply, ” You obviously didn’t read or understand our contract.” When I went back to read the contract I found how they knew that… buried in the contract was a clause that said that after signing the contract I needed to doodle a drawing of a bunny. Want to avoid problems later on… before accepting a contract, make sure you verify that the client understands all the details.
Want to explore what assumptions are sabotaging your business? Want to have your assumptions challenged? Find out what it’s like to be coached by a person trained to challenge your thinking… to help you get past assumptions… to help you get better. Schedule a complimentary, no-obligation coaching session by pressing that little green button below.
