In this blog post, which has been created off the back of a Star Power Half Hour session I did for Change The World Marketing, you will discover:
- The 3 biggest mistakes even smart business owners make that keep their sales stagnant and profits paralysed
- How you can avoid these mistakes
- Some easy to follow, practical strategies you can use to immediately start attracting your ideal clients.
But before we dive right into the 3 biggest mistakes business owners make, it’s important to understand that today’s consumer is more demanding, more discerning and wants more for their money than ever before. That means you have to work much harder to capture their interest and secure that all-important sale.
We’re all guilty of thinking up fantastic ideas and new ways to drive sales, but it goes without saying that unless you make the necessary changes and take action, everything will stay the same. The bottom line is if you want different results, you need to start doing things differently and raise the bar in your field – otherwise your competitors will.
Mistake number 1: No marketing strategy
You’d be amazed at how many business owners spend enormous amounts of their time implementing marketing tactics and conducting what they think are killer campaigns, but don’t achieve the results they want.
Now the reason for this is often because they do not have a marketing strategy in place. So while they are investing precious time and money, their efforts are random and lacking purpose, which obviously leads to far less desirable results.
To help you get the ball rolling, here’s a basic strategy for you to adopt and adapt:
- Write a clear plan for your business, including the goals/objectives you want to achieve
- Define and research your ideal client and make a list of what they have in common
- Then, stand in their shoes and understand the concerns they have when considering making a purchase
- Employ a multiple marketing strategy that uses lots of different mediums and tactics to engage with your ideal client/customer
- Have effective sales conversations (no underhand sales techniques, just laser-focused messages that take someone from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘definitely’)
- Implement a repeat and referral strategy (because securing new clients is much more difficult and costly than keeping your old ones)
- Track and measure your results (figure out what’s working and what’s not, so you can concentrate more on the former and less on the latter)
Mistake number 2: No customer focus
When it comes to marketing their products and services, businesses sometimes get bogged down in features. That is to say they focus on the product’s features e.g. ‘This kettle is made from stainless steel’ instead of the benefits to the customer e.g. ‘This kettle is made from stainless steel so it’s durable, won’t rust and you won’t have to buy another one for a long time’ – see the difference?
Another mistake businesses often make is leading with an ‘all about us’ approach that focuses on themselves. So stuff like ‘We have been going for 20 years’, which is all well and good but tells the customer very little in reality.
At the end of the day, your potential customers only want to know one thing and that is how your product or service can improve their life. Once they understand that fully, they might consider parting with their hard-earned cash
Here’s what you should do as a minimum:
- Compile a list of the problems your customers might have or could have in the future
- Write down the impact of those problems on them and their business. This gives you a solid foundation for crafting your marketing messages.
- Look to establish yourself as that trusted adviser who your customers will automatically come to when they have a need
Mistake 3. Giving up too soon
Have you ever sent off an email to a prospective customer, not received the response you wanted and then given up on that lead as a result? If you have, you’re not alone.
But by dismissing a lead too early in the sales process, you are effectively handing potential sales opportunities to your competitors and diminishing your own worth in the process.
It’s been shown again and again that most sales are not secured after the first communication. In fact, it takes several interactions to earn a person’s trust and get them to really start listening, which is when you are in a much stronger position to secure a sale.
Furthermore, by giving up too easily you dramatically reduce the number of prospective clients you have. Remember, if someone says ‘no’ it’s not necessarily no forever, but no for the time being. In other words, there is scope to approach this individual or company again in the future.
You should::
- Create a written contact strategy that outlines your complete outreach approach
- Include both online and offline activities (more opportunities now than ever to get in touch with clients)
- Again, focus on benefits, not features
- Vary your follow-up methods
These simple steps have a good chance of making your customers think of you when they think of a product or service you offer – and that’s worth its weight in gold when they are in a position to buy.
By avoiding these three mistakes and getting to the point where you’ve got everything working like a well-oiled machine, you’ll benefit from less stress, more profit and a better work-life balance.
Did you find this post helpful and insightful? You can afford even more value by booking a free 30-minute strategy call with Dylis.
You’ll come away with not just a high level strategy for your business, but also feeling inspired, renewed and re-energised to drive even more revenue going forward.