By Caterina Rando, MA, MCC

When coaching entrepreneurs to attract more clients or build their businesses, I am always listening for where they are struggling or doing something the hard way. It is amazing how simply asking yourself a few simple questions can result in huge profits-and huge savings of time-in your business.

What is not working?
There are some marketing methods that do not work as well as they used to. Evaluate each marketing method you are using and ask yourself if it is still working for you. What worked three years ago, and even what worked last year, may not be the right answer for you today. Your business has probably changed, as has the marketplace.

What is working that I can do more of?
Evaluate where the bulk of your favorite clients have come from in the last six months. The clients who you love to work with, who pay on time, who are excited to work with your firm and who are glad to refer you to others they think you can serve-what did you do to get those clients? Was it direct mail, publicity, a presentation? Whatever has worked well, you want to do more of.

What should be working but is not that needs to be redesigned?
Maybe you have talked to experts who tell you to make 10 calls a day, or that it is important to be aware that seven contacts is usually necessary before someone will become a customer-and you are finding that this proven strategy is not currently working for you. If you are not getting your expected results, evaluate every step in the process. Maybe you are not qualifying your prospects; maybe you need to evaluate what you are saying on the phone and see how you can improve it. Maybe you are not being as consistent as you think in your actions, and some deliberate tracking of exactly how many contacts you are indeed making is necessary.

What am I doing that it would be better for someone else to do?
Most small-business owners are doing way too many things that they should be delegating to someone else. Often the excuse used is that there are not enough financial resources to justify the expense. Usually you will find that when you invest in having an expert-like a bookkeeper, graphic artist, or virtual assistant-do what they are good at, they do it quicker and better and usually at an affordable rate. This allows you to focus on those aspects of your business that only you can do.

What would be best for me to stop doing?
Sometimes we try different things to see if they are the right match for us and our business; sometimes a client asks us to do something we do not usually do, and we give it a try because there is money to be made there and we think it is worth exploring.

I encourage you to explore all alluring possibilities in your business. The point to remember that is often overlooked is that it is crucial to your success to evaluate these experiments after they are tried to objectively evaluate whether or not this is, in fact, a good move for you and your firm.

Powerful solutions only come from asking yourself powerful questions. Ponder these questions, and you will create powerful results.

Caterina Rando, MA, MCC, is author of "Learn to Power Think," a keynote speaker, success coach and trainer. She helps people invigorate their professional and personal lives and create the results they want. To find out about her book and other resources, visit www.caterinar.com. Caterina can be reached at 415-668-4535 or by email at cpr@caterinar.com

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