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The Secrets to Marketing (and growing) Your Service-Based Business

The Secrets to Marketing (and growing) Your Service-Based Business

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I started my first service-based business in 2012 on a computer in my bedroom. At the time, my daughters were 12 and 10 years old and still very much in need of my attention.

To set new boundaries, I told them that when mommy had her shoes on, she was working and not to be disturbed. This was significant because we never wore shoes inside the house.

The business I started was called, “Boutique Marketing Group,” and it was a digital and direct marketing business.

I began with the intention of turning it into an agency, even though I had no clue how to do that. What I did know how to do however, was get clients.

This article is for you if you are in any service-based industry, including technology, dentistry, medical, facility management,  professional services, or consulting.

The Secrets to Marketing (and growing) Your Service-Based Business

How It Started

I started by telling my friends what I was up to, and luckily a friend of mine needed help for her coaching business.

This is often overlooked, because many business owners don’t want to bother their friends and family about their business, which is understandable.

I’m not suggesting that you give them a sales pitch, but you can be intentional with providing information. It is very likely that that your friends from the golf club, the pickle-ball court, or your kid’s soccer games know someone who may need your services.

Then, I joined the local chamber of commerce and found clients through networking and being deeply involved with the community. Some of these clients are still with me and have transitioned over to K. Hollingsworth Consulting.

I found clients by teaching businesses how to create beautiful brochures using Microsoft Publisher which a lot of businesses were using at that time.

I tested a direct mail campaign where I reached out to 150 businesses about a free in-person class that I was teaching at our local Staples. 20% of the businesses I reached out to attended that class.

One of the attendees hired me to teach Microsoft Publisher to her team at a popular local bakery where she was manager so they could make their own marketing materials.

Shortly after, they hired me to do detailed marketing research in anticipation of a big competitor who was moving into the neighborhood. The goal was to mount a defense and retain their market share.

Product vs. Services

Prior to starting my marketing business, I had an award-winning career in sales.

I sold cookies and pharmaceuticals for Fortune 500 companies. So, I can tell you with confidence that marketing and growing a business that relies heavily on labor and technology to provide services is different than marketing and growing a product-based business.

“…marketing and growing a business that relies heavily on labor and technology to provide services is different than marketing and growing a product-based business.”

If you are having trouble with your sales and marketing efforts, it could be because you have not made this distinction, which means that your strategies likely aren’t tailored for service-based marketing and selling.

Two Categories of Service-based Business; Consumable and Complex

Broadly speaking, there are two categories for service-based business, and it’s not professional or business services. What I’m referring to are businesses that provide services that are readily consumable and services that are complex and/or expensive.

Consumable service-based business provides services that are timely, local, and where the buyer has either an immediate or urgent need.

For example, a child falls on playground and cracks her tooth. She may need immediate dental care so her mother grabs her phone to search for “emergency dentist near me.”

Or the commercial oven at a very busy restaurant needs immediate repair services, as downtime will result in significant losses in revenue.

If this is the type of service-based business you have then consider the following as part of your marketing and sales strategy:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-click. This can be expensive if you are in a competitive market, but with the right SEO partner and strategy, you can be very competitive in a crowded marketplace.
  • A website that is designed to quickly convert traffic to booked appointments.
  • Have a live phone number throughout the website.
  • Have a strong referral network of strategic partners. For example, if you’re in IT Security then aligning with consultants who serve your same customer base. Or if you’re a pediatric dentist, consider a referral partnership with a local pediatrician (this is how I found my daughter’s dentist).

Complex service-based businesses provide services that are expensive, timely to implement or acquire, changes your prospective client’s processes (think leadership/culture coaching, hiring a new IT management company, or changing personal habits), and has a detailed onboarding process. Lastly, these services can be national or global.

If this is your type of business, then the focus of your sales and marketing strategy should include:

  • Mitigate the inherent risk of change with a professional sales process that addresses their specific pain points, is results focused, and shows them the process for onboarding.
  • Building trust through frequent and brand consistent posting on social media or wherever your customers will be exposed to your brand and service (remember that your prospective customers and clients will research you online. If you are absent from the major social media platforms, this will raise the risk-factor for them).
  • Have testimonials on your website and case-studies available for prospective clients to review.
  • Showcase third-party attestations such as Google reviews, Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, or others that are industry specific.
  • If possible, create a new easily consumable service as a low-risk option so they have an opportunity to get to know your organization and services.
  • Provide psychological safety for them by giving a guarantee.

In addition to what I’ve outlined there, there’s much you can do to build trust, get more clients or customers, and create lasting relationships. If you’d like to learn more, please book a free, high-value discovery session with me here https://calendly.com/helpugrowcro/30min.

I look forward to working with you.

Executive consulting. do you have to be good at sales?

You’re A Business Owner. Do You Have To Be Good At Sales?

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Are you a natural salesperson, outgoing, and with a large social network? – Or are you more introverted and want to “do the work”?

There can be advantages and disadvantages to either personality type, but the most important thing is that you recognize your need to be the face of the company.

That may mean pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

If you’re introverted and want to work “in” the business, you’d need to push yourself to have regular sales-driven interactions with your clients and business partners. This is obvious.

However, if you’re extroverted, friendly, and outgoing your challenge is likely to be more process-driven to ensure the right people interact with your sales process.

Are You Selling or Serving?

Ahead of the fear of death, heights, and spiders, is the fear of public speaking (citation).  However, I would argue that selling is another fear-inducing phobia that exists alongside public speaking. Even some salespeople would rather do anything else than make a sales call or write an email.

The reason is a combination of a poor mindset and the fear of being disliked, rejected, or annoying. Together, this can make the act of selling truly anxiety-producing for some individuals.

If this sounds like you, to lessen your anxiety and improve your mindset, it might be better to think of “serving” instead of “selling”. That is, think of sales as the process of connecting potential customers to the services that will make their business run better and their lives easier.

You’re outgoing and have a large social network, so what?

This sounds like a natural win, but sometimes it isn’t. Yes, networking is vitally important to business growth, and being outgoing and personable will make it easier to meet people.

However, being overly social could lead to an issue of never getting into a sales conversation. Friendships, while enriching in other ways, rarely translate into closed business.

I’m not suggesting that you always have to be in sales mode, but sharing your love of what you do or sharing customer stories that impact you personally, is a great way to bridge the gap between being social and opening up a sales conversation.

You are generally introverted and enjoy working “in” the business

You’ve likely heard that successful business owners need to work “on” the business rather than “in” the business.

However, if you enjoy innovating your service, if you’re constantly thinking of how to make improvements, and you enjoy delivering the service to your customers, then removing yourself from service delivery may actually hinder growth. 

Of course, there are still significant risks of working too much “in” the business. For example, the inability to delegate responsibilities combined with attempting to control business outcomes is sure to stifle growth.

If you’re unable to delegate, then you likely do not have a leadership team either.

The importance of having a strong leadership team to help guide the business cannot be understated when it comes to growing your business.

In this case, you need to acknowledge that you can’t continue to grow without letting go of some control. Consider hiring someone,either on a full-time or fractional basis, to help support the organization, such as a COO, CRO, or even a CEO.

You as the Ambassador of the Organization, Another Mindset Hack

I find that the best organizations, small and large, have a leader with a combination of the following traits:
  • Deep institutional knowledge
  • Is the keeper of the company’s history and founding story
  • Understands every aspect of the service and its value to their customers
  • Deeply values her employees
  • Is able to articulate all of this with clarity and enthusiasm.

A great leader is the face of the organization to the outside world and the advocate for the business inside. Together, this energy infuses the organization by inspiring the employees while supporting its customers.So, if this sounds like you and you still have misgivings about selling, then think of yourself as the “Ambassador” for your organization there to spread the good news.

Digital Marketing

How to Get the Most from Your Digital Marketing

The key to achieving the most from your digital marketing efforts involves three main elements:

1) Reviewing Contracts, 2) Setting Clear KPIs, and 3) Establishing Reasonable Expectations.

Let’s face it, many business owners dread the nitty-gritty details of contracts and KPIs.

They prefer to focus on what they do best—running their business.

However, neglecting these details can lead to missed opportunities and wasted resources.
For instance, a business owner might be an expert in their field but not as skilled in scrutinizing marketing contracts. They might not have the time or expertise to ensure they are getting the best value from their digital marketing agency.

Similarly, a sales director might excel in closing deals but struggle with setting realistic marketing expectations and KPIs.

If you want to see real growth in your business, you must dive into the details or find someone who can.

In this blog, I will discuss the importance of thoroughly reviewing your marketing contracts and setting clear KPIs. The next part will focus on establishing reasonable expectations.

Why Reviewing Contracts Matters

Thoroughly reviewing your marketing contract is essential to ensure you get the deliverables you’re paying for. This step helps identify any gaps and verifies that the marketing company meets its commitments.
Moreover, it helps avoid common communication issues between your team and the marketing agency, ensuring a smoother workflow.

For example, if there’s a lag in communication or reporting, addressing it early on can prevent larger problems down the line.

Setting Clear KPIs

Establishing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial for measuring the success of your marketing efforts. Clear KPIs help you track progress and ensure everyone is aligned with the business goals.

For instance, if your goal is to acquire two new clients per month, understanding your conversion rates and industry benchmarks can help set realistic targets.

By having these metrics in place, you can better communicate your expectations to your marketing agency and track their performance effectively.

The Importance of Reasonable Expectations

Setting reasonable expectations is often overlooked but is vital for a successful partnership with your marketing agency. Understanding the sales cycle for your product or service and aligning your marketing efforts accordingly can prevent frustration and unmet expectations.

For example, if your service has a lengthy sales cycle, expecting immediate conversions from a new marketing campaign may be unrealistic.

By having a holistic approach and integrating lead generation into your broader sales strategy, you can achieve better long-term results.


Questions to Enhance Your Digital Marketing Efforts

  1. Have you thoroughly reviewed your digital marketing contract for deliverables and gaps?
  2. Are your KPIs clearly defined and aligned with your business goals?
  3. Do you communicate regularly and effectively with your marketing agency?
  4. Are your expectations realistic based on your product’s sales cycle?
  5. Do you regularly assess and refine your marketing processes?
  6. Have you established a feedback loop with your marketing agency?
  7. Do your marketing efforts align with your overall business strategy?
By addressing these questions, you can optimize your digital marketing efforts, ensuring you get the best ROI for your business.
Not sure about your sales processes? Then contact me today for a free, no-obligations Sales Growth & Strategy Session today at  https://helpugrowcro.com/contact/
Your 2 biggest sales mistakes transformed

Your 2 Biggest Sales Mistakes, Fixed!

I love sales! I love it because at its core, sales (and selling) is about building strong relationships while helping your customers solve a key problem.

When done correctly, sales will help you build long-term, profitable relationships, and you get to be the hero in one part of their business journey (I’m well aware that sales positioning is about the customer, not you, but this article is about what makes great salespeople).

However, if you’re like most business leaders, you probably don’t share my love of sales, selling, or sales professionals–yet.

According to a 2017 HubSpot survey, only 3% of people surveyed found sales professionals trustworthy.[1]  

I’ll take it a step further, it’s not just that people don’t like sales professionals; they don’t like being sold, or feeling manipulated or pressured to buy something that they don’t want or need.

If you’re among the 97% of those who don’t trust (or like) sales professionals, that means that you likely will not take the time to learn the craft of selling.

As a result, your business will suffer because you need sales to grow.

I understand, no one wants to be seen as someone who is untrustworthy or manipulative.

How to Change Your Mind About Sales and Selling

Has it occurred to you that, as a business leader, you are already always selling?

I’m sure you’ll agree the days where the boss says “Jump” and the employee says, “How high?”  are long-gone.

Today, you need to create buy-in from your team, your clients, your vendors, and your investors to get your business moving.

You need to cultivate leadership skills, which I’m here to tell you also means, you need great relationship building and sales skills.

Tactical Implementation of Good Salesmanship

The tactical implementation of good salesmanship involves excellent communication skills.

That said, don’t mistake excellent communication for speech-making. I’ve seen people talk themselves right out of sale for two of the following reasons:

Your Biggest Sales Mistakes Revealed

Mistake #1: Listening to Respond

Listening to respond is when you are thinking about what you are going to say next while the other person is still talking.

For example, you may be hyper-focused on listening for objections or rehearsing in your mind what you’re going to say next.

Most people do this. It’s a common habit.

The problem is when you listen with a response already in mind, you are distracted.

At best, you are only half listening, and the person with whom you are speaking knows it.

A study completed in 2018 on the power of listening, found that when participants were paired with good listeners “…(versus those paired with distracted listeners) felt less anxious, more self-aware, and reported higher clarity about their attitudes on the topics [discussed].”[2] In other words, they felt more positive towards the listener.

More importantly, distracted listening is disrespectful. It is not a way to win over a prospective client or soothe the ire of a customer who has a complaint about your company and services.

Instead, try active listening. You will greatly improve your customer (and personal) relationships.

Active listening involves:

  1. Genuine interest in hearing what the other person has to say.
  2. Making gentle eye contact.
  3. Mirroring their gestures and tone of voice (building rapport).
  4. Making encouraging sounds, such as, “mmm” or “uh huh.”
  5. Nodding your head “yes” at certain points to encourage the speaker to say more.

Mistake #2: Talking Too Much

This can be challenging because there is a balance between strategically positioning yourself and your company during any sales conversation, active listening, and over-talking.

That said, you do need to be aware of lecturing or diving into a monologue about your company and services.

Instead, ask leading questions:

  1. What is your primary pain point?
  2. What have you done in the past to help solve it?
  3. In your opinion, why didn’t those other solutions work?

Then, ask for permission:

  1. Is it okay if I share with you some features about our services? I think they may help you resolve… (mirror back what they told you).

By the time you get to the permission part of the discussion, not only will your customer feel validated, you’ll have a deeper understanding of their needs. It’s likely, too, that you’ll uncover some additional needs or issues.

Lastly, this process will place your customers in a reciprocal state of mind, which will allow them to hear your ideas better.

Didn’t I tell you? Sales is a beautiful thing!

Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact me today for a free 30-minute, no-obligation Help U Grow Discovery and Strategy Session, where you will leave with at least 1 actionable tip that help you grow your top-line revenue.

 

 

[1] https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/salespeople-perception-problem

[2] https://hbr.org/2018/05/the-power-of-listening-in-helping-people-change

 

Yellow Modern Motivational Podcast Promotion YouTube Thumbnail

The Secrets to Sales Success for YOUR Service-Based Business, Part 1

When I tell you the secret, you may roll your eyes. But bear with me. I promise, it will be worth the read.

The secrets to sales success include two main ingredients:  1) Processes and 2) Communication.

But let’s be honest, most business leaders hate creating and implementing processes.

Like Angela Basset, they just want “to do the thing.”  

And that “thing” typically isn’t selling. It’s usually about delivering the service.

For example, a dentist went to dental school to learn how to help people live better lives and eliminate the shame and pain associated with a patient’s dental care. She didn’t go to learn how to run a marketing campaign.

Or a Chief Information Security Officer who set up a consulting practice to deliver and guide the implementation of security services. He’s passionate about protecting our economy and infrastructure from the bad guys. He’s not so keen on how to implement a sales strategy.

However, if you want to grow sales (topline) revenue and scale your business, your best bet for success (and to continue to do the things you enjoy in the business) is to build scalable revenue operations.

That is, you’re gonna have to sell the “thing,” or build a team that can.

In this article, I’m going to share with you the importance of building solid processes and give you some tips on how to do it effectively. The next article will address Communication.

Why Process?

Having clear marketing-sales-customer retention processes will help you build a predictable sales revenue cycle.
This is especially important if you want to scale your business and manage your employees’ utilization rates.

Also, having definable and repeatable processes that you can test and refine over time will provide the added benefit of mining actionable, first-person data.

For example, if you struggle with inconsistent sales, i.e., sales come in then stop, having your processes written down (defined) will provide you with actionable data. That is, you should be able to reverse engineer your process and benchmark it against current industry trends to help determine why sales lag in some months and are robust in other months.

The All Important Four “C’s” of the Sales Process

Sales processes demonstrate competence, confidence in your services offerings, continuity, and care.

Your sales process is how your customers will get to know about you and the services your company provides.

So for example, let’s say you’re an IT provider and you have a long sales cycle. In fact, according to your data, it takes 9 to 12 months to close a deal. (This is often the case whenever you have an expensive and/or complex service offering).

Your prospective customer may read a few reviews before an initial engagement, but that’s not going to sell them on your services.

Rather, your prospective customer will get to know you and your services through your sales process. Your process will determine whether they should trust you or not.

7 Questions to Help Improve Your Sales Processes

1. Do you have a definable and repeatable sales/lead generation process? Or is each engagement different?
2. Does everyone on your team understand their part in the sales process? Or is it disjointed?
3.  Does your sales process uncover and address your prospect’s key pain points?
4. Is your process well structured, taking the customers’ psychology and buying cycle into account?
5. Do you ask for feedback on your process from prospects you win and lose?
6. Do you believe that your process builds confidence?
7. Have you ever been complimented on the professionalism of your process even when being rejected? Or do prospective customers ghost you during the sales process?

Not sure about your sales processes? Then contact me today for a free, no-obligations Sales Growth & Strategy Session today at  https://helpugrowcro.com/contact/

How to build thought leadership

Video: How to Build Trust and Thought Leadership

It is 2019 and “James” is giving a talk on ethical hacking at the Technology conference in Las Vegas.

The room is buzzing. You can feel the eager anticipation of the IT engineers in attendance, and James does not disappoint.

Like a master illusionist, James wows his audience with how easy it is to break into a network. Then he gives them a peek behind the curtain and says, “Anyone can learn to hack into your network. Anyone.”

The audience claps their approval, even if they are still not completely sold on his assessment. Because this is a time when IT folks and their bosses, especially their bosses, believe that only the Targets and Equifax’s of the world get hacked. Not small manufacturers, mortgage brokers, or consulting firms, never them.

James is sly, though. He expects his audience to be doubtful. They’re engineers, after all, and being doubtful is in their nature. But James has a plan.

Everyone who attends the conference is added to his email list.

On Monday morning, they receive an invitation to attend a live webinar with his “crew.” Other security professionals who talk about the hacks of the day.

One of the regulars is named Chris. His company does incident response.

Chris and James are thought leaders. Through the medium of video, they help you to feel like you know them, even before you’ve met them. They demonstrate knowledge and likeability. They are consistent with their messaging.

More importantly, they’re the ones you’ll reach out to when your systems are down. I know, because I was at that conference in 2019, I’ve attended their webinars, and I have worked with them since.

How to Build Trust in 2024

Your customers have a problem, and they are looking for the services you offer.

Unfortunately, there is way too much information (including misinformation) on the web to sort through it themselves.

So, they need an expert, a thought leader, to help them make the right decisions for their business.

2024 is the year of know-like trust. It’s the year when you should be thinking about videos, podcasts, and marketing that makes you visible.

Think about it: if there are more data points on the web than grains of sand on the plant (citation), then it makes sense for your customers to go to people they know, like, and trust to help them solve their business problems.

Now, you may be thinking, “How will they find us if there’s so much information on the web?” Good question.

Thought leadership content can work for you in a myriad of ways.

Here’s a true-life example of how thought leadership content can work for you:

Your sales rep, Sheila, is golfing with an important prospective customer named Tim.

Tim brings up an issue he’s having with his ERP system. Sheila says, “That’s interesting because our marketing department just made a video on that topic. Is it okay if I send you the link?”

“Sure,” Tim says.

Sheila sends Tim the link and follows up with him.

Tim likes the video and does a little more research on her company. He easily finds several more videos and other pieces of good content on how  Sheila’s company can solve his problems.

 

Building thought-leadership for an online community

  • You can take this strategy off the golf course and apply it on LinkedIn and email outreach.
  • You can even do it as part of a larger community-building strategy on YouTube.
  • You can drive traffic to your content and develop an automated conversion strategy.
  • With the right tools, you could even build your own ecosystem, like James did, where prospective customers go to your channels rather than search aimlessly on Google.

 

The psychological benefits of video

There’s a positive psychological effect of seeing someone on video that imparts importance and a feeling that they already know you and your organization. It’s called building rapport.

Rapport is about building meaningful connections with another person (citation). And it can be done through video and other content marketing strategies. It’s a “one-to-many” strategy.

Rapport will help to provide warmer leads when a prospective customer calls you.

If the video content is done well, meaning appropriate for your ideal customer, it will have a similar effect on prospects as having written a book and calling yourself an author.

If you and your team could manage one good piece of meaningful content a week and share it, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you become a thought leader in your industry.

Let’s have a conversation. Call me today for a free, no-obligation strategy session. I’m here to help.

What to do when Sales are Flat and Sad

Video: 3 Things You Must Do When Sales are Flat and Sad :(

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Transcript:

We’re going to talk about how to get your sales and marketing back on track if sales have been flat, and leads aren’t coming in the way they used to.

Step 1: Look at Your Own Data

 The first thing is going back into your own data set.

A lot of business owners are so concerned about acquiring new business that they don’t go back and analyze the rich data that they already have.

If you’ve been in business for more than 18 months, then you have a lot of data and information about your customers.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • What are they buying?
  • When are they buying?
  • How did we acquire our customers?

 

For example, a friend of mine who owns a software company did this type of analysis for himself because he wanted to know where his best customers were coming from.  

When he did the analysis, he found that his biggest customers, that is, his top 20%, came from partner referrals.

This was enlightening because he was spending his time, energy, and resources going directly to the end user.

He then made a strategic shift in his strategy to focus his marketing efforts on key partnerships to help acquire his business.

And it was really successful!

Step 2: Look at Your Marketing Message

The second thing you must do is to take another look at your marketing message.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Is your value proposition well-stated and understood by your employees? Your employees are the ones who will help to communicate why customers should do business with you versus the competition.
  • Do your customers understand your value proposition?
  • Can your customers easily recognize your brand?
  • Is your marketing message aligned with your value proposition?
  • Or has your marketing message wandered away from the value proposition.

It’s not uncommon for your marketing message to drift over time and become convoluted.

This is very likely to happen if you don’t have an internal person who is responsible for managing the marketing message for the organization and/or the brand for the products/services that you offer.

Step 3: Complete a Market Analysis

The third thing you want to do is your market analysis.

Now that you understand what and why your customers buy from you; and you double-check that your marketing message aligns with your value proposition and core competencies, now is the time to complete your market analysis.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Are there new market forces that have eroded your current value proposition? For example, newer technologies have entered the market and/or customer tastes have changed.
  • Are you meeting your customers where they are? In other words, when was the last time you attended a trade show or industry conference?
  • Have you made time to assess the current market conditions for your industry and capitalize on current trends or are you too busy working in the business to notice these changes?
  • Have you done a competitive analysis in the past 12 to 24 months?

Once you have done the above three tasks, I promise you will see a trend. This is vital information from which you can create a strategy to help you course correct and get your revenue engine going again!

Call me at 888-365-1085

If you want to discuss this or maybe your biggest challenges, then give me a call. I’m here to help.

break through your revenue glass ceiling

Break Through Your Topline Revenue Glass Ceiling!

Are you frustrated because you can break through your revenue glass ceiling?

Maybe you want to grow through $1 million in top-line revenue, $5 million, or even $50 million. But you’re unable to sustain a level of revenue generation from which to grow your business.

2-steps forward, 2-steps backward

Maybe you get close, and then you fall back. It’s very frustrating.

In this article, I will give three common reasons this could be happening, and then I will give you one of my favorite actionable tools that you can use today to begin to get you to the next level.

Reason #1: Wearing Too Many Hats & A Lack of Resources

Most businesses have resource issues, but this is often a huge obstacle to sustained revenue generation for small and medium-sized businesses.

It’s not uncommon for the person who is responsible for revenue generation, i.e., sales and business development, to also be the person who is responsible for service delivery or another crucial aspect of running the business.

They are wearing too many hats, which translates to a lack of human capital, which prevents you from scaling the business appropriately.

Let’s say you’re a larger small or middle-market company, and you don’t have this issue, but you may have misallocated resources.

For example, your VP of Sales and Marketing is busy hiring and training new salespeople but lacks the time or the resources to spend on the marketing end of the business, which means that your lead generation engine isn’t running.

Even if you’ve outsourced your marketing to a third party, the lack of oversight is causing the lead generation activities to fall flat. So, the resources you have aren’t being well spent.

Questions to ask

Questions that you might want to ask yourself are:

  • What resources do I have?
  • How are they being allocated?
  • Do I have the correct resources to help me scale the business appropriately in order to break through the revenue glass ceiling?

Reason #2: No or Too Few Processes

Another key reason you may not have sustainable revenue growth is due to a lack of processes.  

Think about your process from lead generation to onboarding and customer care.

Questions to ask

Questions you may want to consider are:

  • Do we have a sales process?
  • Are our processes repeatable?
  • If a key person leaves the company, are there sufficient processes in place so we wouldn’t suffer significant downtime?
  • Do I have the appropriate processes in place to help scale the business?
  • Are my processes connected? In other words, are all the processes that touch the customer and generate revenue connected?

Reason #3: Mindset

Revenue generation is a top-down process, so the mindset of the leadership sets the revenue generation culture within the organization. Period.

It cannot be overlooked.

My favorite quote

There’s no such thing as fear of success, there’s only the fear of the responsibility that success brings.

 The fear of added responsibility is largely unconscious, but I often hear it from business leaders and owners when asking them about their struggles.

Questions to ask

  • Will adding new staff and processes create more work for you?
  • Are you concerned about losing control if the company grows too big?
  • How will growth impact your lifestyle?

The good news is that just recognizing that you have some unconscious fears and concerns will help you break through.

Next Steps: Create a Gap Analysis

If you are unsure what is causing your revenues to stagnate, then consider doing a S.W.O.T. or S.W.O.T.T Analysis to measure your organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (and Trends). You can even use this tool for specific departments within the business.

When done well, a S.W.O.T. analysis can be a guiding document for the organization. Once it’s been completed, you can use the S.W.O.T to create a gap analysis and plan based on your priorities.

If you’d like to discuss your biggest challenge, please give me a call at 888-365-1085.