Ciamos

Bernadette Doyle

This week I want to share a tip from a research study way back in the 1920s that can help you with you achieving your goals.

Back in 1927 a Harvard Business School professor started a research project of the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. The researchers started by examining the physical and environmental influences of the workplace and then later, moved into the psychological aspects such as breaks, group pressure, working hours, managerial leadership.

The major finding of the study was that almost regardless of what changes the researchers tested, the production of the workers seemed to improve. The conclusion the researchers came to was that individual behaviours may be altered because they know they are being studied. Or to put it another way, just the act of measuring performance improves performance. This is known as the Hawthorne Effect.

So how can you use the Hawthorne Effect to help you achieve your business goals? And does the Hawthorne Effect have an implication for you even if you don't have employees?

I think it does, and the key is to start by monitoring your own performance. If you want more clients - as many of you who participated in last week's survey told me you do - start keeping track of those activities or results which will contribute to this end result. Your actual measures might vary depending upon the business you are in, but here are some suggestions to get you started.

• Size of your prospect database
• Number of new enquiries generated each week
• Number of appointments set
• Number of new clients won each month
• Conversion rates of enquirers to buyers.

Even if you're a solo operator, start keeping track of these things, and I promise you, that even before you have a chance to implement ANYTHING to increase them, that your results will start to improve. My own experience in business has taught me that the things you pay attention to flourish.

When I sit down with someone who tells me they want 'more clients', I start by asking them questions like: how many prospects do you have? How many enquiries are you getting at the moment? What have you been doing to stimulate these enquiries? It's not unusual to discover that there is no system in place or no way of measuring these things. So just the act of starting to pay attention can make a huge difference.

So this week, identify what critical success indicators you can start measuring - and start keeping track!

Bernadette Doyle publishes her weekly Client Magnets newsletter for trainers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, then get your free tips now at www.clientmagnets.com