by Sharon Pearson
I sometimes meet business owners who are either doing it tough or have never really got their business up and cranking. They’re frustrated, confused and… well, stubborn.
The stubbornness got them into their own business, but now it’s hurting them. They’re so determined to stay on the ‘carry on no matter what’ train they’re not seeing the twisted tracks they’re trying to run their business along.
Their number one mistake – ‘Individual-itis’.
The business is their baby, they know it inside out, they created it, nurtured it, love it – even though it’s killing them through exhaustion. Because it has their DNA all through it, they’re blind to the rogue genes that are playing havoc – until it’s too late. Either the business runs out of steam, it implodes with a shudder or it continues to limp along, surviving on grit and sweat and other manly and overrated attributes.
Individual-itis is rampant amongst start up businesses. The newly minted business owner sees the freedom, the lifestyle, and… the money.
All they have to do is have enough people realise the uniqueness of their particular skill and they’ll have it all. The free time, no boss and… the money.
| “The road-kill of the business world is the person who thinks because they have a skill they have a business.” |
So they build it, expecting them (the “I’ve been waiting for you forever and thanks God you’re finally here” customer) to rush to their door, hand them cash and the good times can start. Cue ‘Rocky’ soundtrack here.
When it doesn’t happen quite like that the business owner has a few less stars in their eyes, but comforts themselves with the notion that it ‘will take a little time’. Mistake number two.
So they keep waiting and limping along, thinking that’s the same thing as running a business. What they’re really doing is getting ready to be a statistic.
The road-kill of the business world is the person – often the ex-employee – who thinks because they have a skill they have a business.
Take Jack*, for example. Trained as a coach. Loves helping people. Loves making a difference and contributing and feels great when people get value from what he does. If only someone else could take care of the marketing, he dreams, I’d be able to just get on with what I do best, and that’s coach.
You can cut and paste into ‘coach’ any skilled individual – jeweller, writer, web designer, baker, candle stick maker…
My definition for business is from the dictionary, but it works. A business is a sustainable, profitable sales and marketing machine which knows how to find, entice and keep prospects interested, informed and keen to spend money – repeatedly.
The antidote for Individual-itis – and the path to having a real business – is a dose of Forget-Your-Skill-and-Tell-Me-How You-Sell-It. A double dose would be even better.
| “The cure is to put 90% of all business efforts into sales and marketing.” |
The cure is easy, but not palatable. Business owners with Individual-itis don’t want to hear about it because they’re too in love with their passion for their talent. In fact, they’ve stopped reading because they didn’t like the definition of business.
The cure is to put 90% of all business efforts into sales and marketing.
If they didn’t turn the page before now, they just did. And muttered something about ‘I already knew that’, as they justified the flick of the wrist.
How to Fast-track Not Being Road-Kill in Business
1. Have a Big Idea.
Have a purpose that is bigger than ‘making lots of money’. A vision that inspires people needs more than simply a profit imperative.
Every business must make money to stay in business – but the business that has a vision bigger than that, that people can believe in, follow, and invest in, will make you more money.
The Big Idea, for example, of ‘to change people’s lives’ is more exciting than ‘make money’ to many people. People want meaning, connection and a sense of belonging. They get it when they get to have a piece of organisations that have a vision aligned with their own.
Think of your buying experience at MacDonald’s, Nike, Coke and Westpac. Good or bad, you have an experience.
At The Coaching Institute, the Big Idea is “Everyday people making a difference”. Yes, our clients want to make money as coaches, but The Big Idea is something they can become involved in, invest their time in, and see it grow. They can follow the story as it unfolds as we deliver on our Big Idea.
2. Have a Big Promise.
What do you promise to do for your clients that make you stand out from the crowd”? What can you deliver that sets you apart from the pack, drives prospects to you and gives them a sense of certainty that you are the Real Deal?
The Big Promise should be something you promise a prospect that is EXACTLY what they want and will solve their most pressing problem for them.
For example, at The Coaching Institute, our Big Promise is “Earn your entire course fees back before you graduate or your investment is refunded.” It’s very reassuring to a potential client to know that at worst, they will have got all their money back.
3. Focus on lead generation.
The most crucial role of any business leader is to generate quality leads for the business. The more leads, the better. A business that has plenty of leads can forgive many sins in the business. A business with few leads to convert can forgive no sins, feels constant pressure and ultimately, can’t attract the best people for the team.
At a minimum, you should utilise YouTube, blogging and linkedIn. You should also be submitting articles on your industry, your programs and your Big Idea, every week to online article directories such as www.ezinearticles.com
Your website should be a lead magnet – potential clients must want to stay long enough to give you their contact details. I spoke about this in a previous article and its worth repeating – give your potential clients something of real value in return for their contact details. Don’t try to sell to them straight away; instead give them a ‘money magnet’ as a fair exchange for their details. For example, we give away a free mini-ecourse on coaching, DVD’s, information on coaching and access to classes for free.
4. Set goals and KPI everything to do with sales and marketing.
By setting 90 day, 1 month and 1 week goals, you and your team know exactly where they are heading, what needs to be achieved, what needs to be prioritised and what’s expected of them.
The 90 day goals are the bigger outcomes you want you and/or your team member to achieve. For example, ‘Blog is up and running with 20 posts in place and all comments responded to and integrated into the marketing strategy’.
1 month goals are the smaller tasks that assist with the achievement of the bigger outcomes. For example, ‘Blog in place. 5 posts up.’
1 week goals are the immediate tasks that need to be done to achieve the bigger outcomes. For example, week 1 might say ‘Get blog into place.’
It’s said that what you want to see, you have to measure. We have over 30 KPI’s in our business, seven or so for each department. The Key Performance Indicators is our way of gauging how a department is performing from month to month. It tells us with facts, not emotions, how someone is doing in their role.
In marketing, we measure number of leads, sources of leads, cost per lead.
In sales we measure conversion rates, average dollar per sale, number of sales, how long to make the sale.
In repeat sales we measure number of upgrades, dollar amount of upgrades, timeframe for upgrade.
I have a weekly report that is sent to me first thing Monday morning telling me the performance for all of these indicators. It then becomes a matter of seeing where we can improve, where we’re strong, or where we need to retreat.
5. The best businesses have recurring/residual income.
Too many business owners think that their goal is to make a sale – it is, and it isn’t. The goal is to make one sale after another to the same person, as often as you can.
An ongoing membership program, regular upgrades to existing services or products and new add ons are all part of what you can offer your existing clients to maximise the dollar value of each prospect.
6. Have an ascension model in place.
Following from the previous idea, having the ability to upgrade your clients to more expensive and more helpful programs or products is a key element of the best businesses.
If your prospects and clients love your Big Idea, want your Big Promise and have bought from you, the odds are they will again… and again.
You ‘ascend’ them to more expensive programs that give them more and more access to you, your services, and more importantly, your culture. People love to belong, and will pay to be part of the ‘in’ crowd. The ‘inner circle’ of the elite can be sold at a premium.
| “Developing, focusing on and improving our ascension model has added over two million to our annual turnover in the last year alone.” |
We have four levels to our ascension model, and the best clients, who get the most value, enjoy what we do the most and get the most results are the clients willing to spend the most on our elite MasterMind Group. It’s application only, and attracts people who are willing to learn and apply systems for their businesses that work.
It’s great for me, because I get to work with people who are like me. It’s a win for them too, because they get access to the behind the scenes keys to business success.
Developing, focusing on and improving our ascension model has added over two million to our annual turnover in the last year alone.
Next Steps
If you’ve spent too much time until now organising, designing products and anything else that isn’t sales, it’s not too late – study whoever is focused on sales and marketing and learn – as fast as you can. Be as skilled and excited about sales and marketing as you are about your widget or talent.
Sharon Pearson is founder and CEO of The Coaching Institute, author, speaker and entrepreneur. For more information on How To Run a Successful Business or to receive a CD “How To Succeed in Business When You Know Nothing” for free email timetoact@smallbusinessmastermindgroup.com.au or call 1800 094 927
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