How many months have you been investing in your business to see no results?
Here’s the interesting thing I’ve learned from being in business and coaching other small businesses to grow.
All the marketing and sales strategies work… in their own time.
Chances are that you have worked hard and doing the ‘right’ things to grow your business. You just have focused on the big sexy strategies that bring in business in the long-term, but have you hearing crickets in the short-term.
If that’s you, know this – you aren’t alone. In fact 85% of the businesses I work with are doing the same. If they can change things around and see results in the next 90 days – you can too. Here are the top 10 ways you can grow a business easily and quickly.
1. Balance out your marketing mix to include short-term (results in 90 days), medium (results in 90-180 days) and long-term (results in 180+ days).
2. Be more active in your marketing. If you wait for your phone to ring, you need to do more marketing that boosts your “Know, Like & Trust Factor”. The fastest way is through being were your clients are and talking to them. If you need to grow your business, don’t wait for business to come to you!
3. Build Out Your Circle of Influence. Have you ever played the game ‘6 degrees of Kevin Bacon’? Think of the people who through the course of their work touch your ideal client. Seek out partnerships and alliances with those businesses who best represent how you like to do business. Developing relationships with a few key people is a quick path to cash
4. Ask Your Clients To Buy Again. It’s easy to focus on getting new clients and new projects in the door, but your existing clients are more profitable. Reach out to any previous client who hasn’t purchased in the last 6 months or a year. Let them know how valuable they have been to you and see if there is anything you can do for them now.
5. Ask Your Clients For Referrals. If you love your clients, then you’ll probably love their referrals. Always be asking for referrals as a course of business, but even if the client you just called in #4 doesn’t have work for you, Then ask, “Who do you know who… ?”
6. Raise Your Price. I know this seems simple, but most people don’t adjust their pricing in accordance to their costs. I had a client who lost 20% in gross profits because she unknowingly she had undercharged. The change in her business puts $100,000 to her bottom line. I know this is a sensitive area, but know most buyers won’t even register a 10% increase in price.
7. Re-evaluate Your Profitability Priorities. It’s easy to say yes to subscriptions and little extras in your business – but you could be nickel and diming yourself to death. Cancel any unused subscription no matter how good of an idea it might be, trim back on the nice-to-have expenses and create cash to put into the growth of your business.
8. Stop Being Busy, Start Being Effective. Take a good hard look at what you do with your day. The top three things an entrepreneur or small business owner needs to do is 1.) Find The Money, 2.) Sell The Money & 3.) Serve The Money. How much green is in your calendar? If it isn’t a revenue generating task – dump it or delegate it.
9. Stop Doing It By Yourself. Gone are the days when small businesses can be successful in a silo, You get no trophy for doing it on your own. Invest in people who want to invest in you through accountability partners, masterminds or coaching. You will leap-frog your competition when you stand on the shoulders of giants.
10. Don’t Make It Harder. Simplicity and ease is what wins in business. If it sounds to hard, it probably is – especially if you are doing it alone. It’s better to keep things simple when putting together a growth plan for your business. Doing small things every day add up to a big result in the end. The easier things are, the easier they are to be consistent and sustainable. Most businesses stall out because they can’t sustain their efforts – don’t be one of them.
Use one or all of these strategies to kick-start the growth of your small business!
Leslie Hassler, business coach and owner of Your Biz Rules, helps women business owners to become the HERO in their business in a way that gives them more freedom to grow their business and be with their families. As a business growth coach Leslie helps smart businesses across industries avoid the pitfalls, get real results quicker in a way that is about working smarter, not harder. In her practical and grounded approach, you learn how to zero in on what works, generate results and create a business that is a win for your clients, for yourself and your family.
