Would you like 3 power questions to solve your business problems?
They form a simple framework for you to flip what is holding you back into an opportunity for something exciting instead.
But I have to warn you….they are not for everybody.
Many business owners want to stay confused, overwhelmed and feeling helpless, i.e. that there is nothing they can do. If this is you – stop reading right now! Don’t continue, you won’t use this.
If however you DO want to make your business life easier, want to solve problems more effectively and are prepared to use simple (yet powerful) questions to do it, then keep on reading.
The first thing you do in this process is to flip the Problem around, instead of solving a problem – which is what as humans we love to focus on “The Problem”, you’re going to instead focus on The Outcome. What is it that you want to achieve, what is the opposite of the problem you have? What does that look like?
Then you use the 3 Power Questions to evaluate your outcome, and make sure it is set up to get you your result. So once you’ve turned your Problem into the Outcome You Want, answer these questions:
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Do you have an Outcome Goal that is Crystal Clear?
The first question is actually the hardest – and one most often overlooked. We tend to jump straight into solutions, and “what to do”. Without looking first at “where are we going?”.
This is making sure that you know exactly what you want to achieve. By exactly I mean, very specific, not a “oh I think I want to make about a couple of grand a week”, a very specific goal, which means it has a date, it has specific amounts and details.
But more importantly than that it needs to be an Outcome Goal.
You’ve probably never heard of an outcome goal, you should have seen the pennies drop when we showed this to people at our recent 3 day event. They could suddenly see why they had achieved the goals they had – and why they had failed on many others.
It’s a distinction taught to us by our original business mentor Brendan Nichols, and it’s one that still works so well. An outcome goal is one that is about the Outcome you want to achieve, not the Process for you to get there. All too often we define goals that are actually a process of getting to the goal, not the goal itself. Let me explain.
“I want to run a Facebook Ads Campaign” – this is a process, it’s not an outcome. An outcome would be “I will run an Ad Campaign that generates at least $3k in sales from a $1k spend on Ads by the 31st of March”. Note that the Outcome Goal does not dictate that it has to be a Facebook Ads Campaign – instead it gets clear on the outcome, generating X in Sales, from Y in Ad Spend.
The Outcome Goal also has a timeframe, and you could add in more details about products you want to target, or the demographics, or the long term ideal clients you want to attract to your business.
The key here is to make sure that you have an Outcome Goal (what you want to achieve) that is Crystal Clear (defined with specific details, including timeframe). Once you have this it’s time to move onto Power Question 2.
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Do you have a Solid Provable Plan to get there?
This power question is almost as challenging as the first, because often we set off without a plan, and hope to wing it. A plan doesn’t have to be perfect or all encompassing, but it does need to have a solid provable base that it will work. But what does solid and provable mean?
Solid and provable means that you have evidence – whether from your business, or another – that this is a valid way of creating this outcome. So if you’re trying to sell out an event, and you have a marketing plan, have you used this marketing approach before, did it work? If not, do you have someone in your network you can call on to discuss what they do to market and sell their events.
Notice it’s not a PERFECT plan, there is no such thing as a perfect plan, particularly now that the world is changing so rapidly. But there is a solid provable plan, where you can make sure that you have evidence that says “yes, this has been achieved this way before, and we can reuse the pattern and model” and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
A plan is also about working smarter instead of harder.
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Are you Internally Committed to the Outcome?
This last question is easier, but equally as important. Are you truly, really, committed to the outcome you want to achieve?
It’s easy to think “Well yes of course, I’m defining the outcome, so of course I want it.” but with this question you have to really dig deep and think about things like:
+ Why does this outcome emotionally excite you
+ What negative emotions does it bring up (there will be some if you dig!)
+ What about the outcome doesn’t have juice or excitement
Often we commit to something because we think we “should” do it, or someone has encouraged us to do it. But if you’re not emotionally committed to an Outcome, you won’t take action and you won’t push through any obstacles to get there.
While this question appears quite soft it is crucial to dig into. You have to know if there are negative emotions attached to the outcome, are you worried it will make you too busy? Do you value working half days and don’t really want additional paperwork and new clients, if this is true for you, you’re not going to go after that new business.
If you’ve ever set a goal, and not followed through and taken action, many times it’s because of what this powerful question reveals. When you’re not juiced up and excited about an outcome, when it has negative connotations to it, it’s really hard to follow through and take action and make it happen.
But get this question right and you can transform the outcome that will work for you. If you think your outcome will generate too much paperwork then you could automate parts of the process, or get your assistant to do it for you (or hire a virtual assistant). All of these questions will enable you to turn problems into opportunities that you can use to create your amazing business on your own terms.
Please use these power questions, I know they have helped me and my clients massively in creating business on our own terms, and if you want more help to create a thriving business then check out our events page for upcoming trainings and workshops.
