Our success is based on the sum of repeated actions
What separates the successful from the unsuccessful? It’s not talent or opportunity. It’s not even intelligence. The one quality that all successful people share is consistency.
Whether you are working on a new product launch, trying to grow your customer base, or simply trying to keep your business afloat, you need to be consistent in your efforts. There will always be ups and downs, but if you are consistently working towards your goals, eventually you will see results.
This means showing up every day and putting in the work, even when you don’t feel like it.
“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently” – Tony Robbins
Why consistency is so important for entrepreneurs:
1) Consistency builds trust with customers
As an entrepreneur or business owner, you know that earning and maintaining the trust of your customers is essential to your success. But how do you go about doing that? One important factor is consistency – always behaving in a way that reflects the values and promises you’ve made to your customers.
When you’re consistent, it builds trust over time, which can help differentiate you from your competitors and encourage customer loyalty. So if you want to build trust with your customers, be sure to consistently deliver on what you promise!
Being consistent is the key to success.
You might not realise the small ways in which inconsistency rubs your customers the wrong way. If you are a service-based business, do you find yourself telling white lies, exaggerating or over-promising? This could be completely unintentional, but look at how these add up:
- You promise to send the invoice by 12pm, but only send it at 5pm
- You assure the customer that the job will be completed within budget, but it goes over projections by 5%
- You overslept and are running late for your first meeting for the day, but blame traffic or electricity problems (if a virtual meeting)
These seemingly insignificant moments can cause a lot of damage over time.
Why?
Because they affect your customer’s TRUST, one of the most precious and valuable commodities in business. Once you get a reputation for being late, inaccurate with projections, slow to respond etc. it will be hard to recover.
The solution?
Consistency, of course!
Keep things simple and balanced, from setting and attending appointments, drafting budgets/quoting, showing up on time and attending to things you’ve promised.
2) Keep your staff feeling safe and motivated
Another aspect that most business owners rarely give any thought to, is how consistency helps their staff and empowers them to produce at the highest level.
Some ways you can support them in this, is to set specific meetings at the same time and on the same day (every Monday or daily etc.). This helps them plan their tasks and projects around these immovable meetings and not have to drop everything when being called into last-minute meetings that could have been pre-scheduled.
Yes, you need to allow for a certain amount of adaptability and flexibility but we are referring specifically to things you can control and repetitive tasks/functions. Predictability and routine helps many people because it eliminates doubt and insecurity.
When it comes to big projects and deliverables, ensure that every team member knows exactly what they need to do and by when. Be consistent in how you assign tasks, award bonuses, grant leave days and deal with conflict.
If you do so, your staff will feel safe (as opposed to frantically overwhelmed) and this will motivate them to keep doing their best.
Consistency beats talent any day of the week.
3) Consistency helps you run your business
It doesn’t take a PhD to realise that if you can perform services professionally and efficiently then you are more likely to succeed. No one wants to purchase goods or services from a company that seems erratic, chaotic or disorganised.
Structure and proper working procedures (Standard Operating Procedures) enable everyone to work at the same high standard and deliver exactly the quality of results you expect. Your customers will be delighted and your sales will reflect the benefits of doing things right the first time.
Additional benefits to your business:
1. Consistency breeds trust
2. People want to do business with those they know, like, and trust
3. When you’re consistent, you become a known commodity
4. It’s easier to get your message out when you’re consistent
5. Being consistent allows you to focus on what’s important
4) Consistency leads to success
Think about it…
- If you go to the gym once, you won’t have the body you’ve always dreamed of.
- If you sit down at a piano for the first time in your life, you will not know how to play a song from start to finish.
- When learning a new language, you don’t just watch one YouTube video to suddenly speak fluently.
- When playing golf, you won’t be the next Tiger Woods the first time you step onto the green.
You get the point.
All good things come to those who practise over and over and over again. Success comes through the repetition of effort, even when you don’t feel like it.
It’s the most amazing feeling to look back and see how far you’ve come, both in business and your personal life. Imagine you run your first 10K, and then remember you started off by just walking around the block every day.
Consider the feeling when you make more sales than you ever have, or land a massive contract/client because your proposal was honest, effective and precisely what the client was looking for.
Consistency is the secret to beat overwhelm and achieve your goals.
Ten tips to be more consistent
It sounds easier said than do, right? So here are some tips to make routine and predictability one of the greatest assets in your business.
- Wake up at the same time every day and go to bed roughly the same time
- As far as possible, plan your day and stick to the schedule (for more productivity tips for business owners, click here).
- Schedule recurring meetings on the same day of the week at the same time and set them to repeat.
- Standardize your quoting and invoicing procedure
- Standardize the working procedure for business tasks, so that all of your staff do things to the same standard
- Keep your word to your customers. Ensure that what you promise is feasible. It’s always better to underpromise and over-deliver than the reverse.
- Train, inform, instruct and discipline staff in the same manner across the board – there is no room to play favourites or to be harder on staff members you don’t like.
- Keep to a routine on social media. Don’t post one day and then ghost the platform for weeks thereafter. If needs be, check out how to create a content calendar to keep your social media game humming.
- Similarly, your brand should have the same look and feel across all platforms. Use the same type of images, your brand colours and fonts and tone of voice.
- Don’t stress if something unexpected comes up that day, it happens. Just get back on track as soon as possible.
Closing thoughts
Consistency is key to a successful business and life. It’s what allows you to stay focused on your goals, maintain relationships, and achieve long-term success. That’s why it’s so important to be consistent in everything you do.
We hope this article has inspired you to create consistency in your own life and business. If you want more tips like this, join our Facebook Group “Social Media Marketing for Entrepreneurs” where we share helpful advice from entrepreneurs just like you who are working hard to build their businesses.
