There’s a common challenge that comes up in small businesses after a while. It’s one I faced when growing my own small businesses, and I see it time and time again with the business owners I work with.
How do you grow your business whilst working in your business?
Where do you simply find the time?
And if you’re having to outsource, where will you find the money?
Here are some tried and tested concepts that will help you overcome this challenge and help you take your business into its next frontier.
IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU
I need you to realise that all the hard work, effort, and time you put in means NOTHING if you don’t bring any new sales into your business.
I know this might sound harsh but focusing on sales will make your business thrive.
We do that by changing our mindset to focus on sales being a GREAT thing. We LOVE bringing new business in and engaging with new customers.
Many business owners don’t enjoy sales and they think of it as something dirty, hiding in the corner. I totally get why you might feel this way, and that’s because most businesses sell badly!
Get your mindset in a different place – we’ve got to think of sales as a good thing. We want to drive new leads, we want to meet new people, and we want to serve new customers!
Changing your sales mindset is essential to being able to focus on the growth of your business.
PRIORITISE TIME IN THE DIARY FOR SALES
Once you have the right mindset and realise sales is something you need and want to do, it’s important to MAKE TIME for this.
You should be putting a minimum of 1 hour a day aside for this. Ideally, it should be 7 -10 hours a week.
Consistency is key! The action of prospecting should include:
- Making calls to targeted customers you can help.
- Reaching out on email or social media to engage with prospects; and
- Creating some content you can share, perhaps a guide on how to solve some problems for your prospect’s industry.
Doing this on a regular basis allows you to engage with new potential prospects and bring new leads, which hopefully end up with new customers for your business.
Sales must come first.
It must be the most important thing in your diary.
Start putting time aside and you will soon see the results.
KNOW YOUR VALUE
Do you know your own value? Your own worth?
Are the tasks you are doing in your business represented by your value?
If they aren’t, they can be delivered by somebody else.
Here is a simple example: If you’re offering consultation for £800 a day, then in an 8-hour day, your value is £100 an hour. If you’re doing tasks (like admin or social media) that you could outsource for £20 an hour, then there’s an £80 gap between your value and those tasks. Outsource them! Instead, focus your time on prospecting to bring the next £800 in.
TOP TIP: Write down all the tasks you’re doing in your business. Determine their worth and decide if you should outsource them. Take decisive actions so that you can focus on activities that will drive your business forward!
I know what I am good at and what I am able to do. The things I am not the best at, or that would take a really long time to complete, I outsource these tasks. I know my own value and focus my time on speaking to prospects instead.
Doing this will free up your most precious resource, YOUR TIME, and give you more opportunities to focus on the areas where your business needs you most.
USE EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Using your existing customers can support and help you to win new business. You can do this by digging deep into your customer’s problems, challenges, and worries they are facing. Be aware of their issues and use this knowledge to help with new prospects who face similar issues.
Another way is to gather testimonials that you can use to show potential customers.
HELPFUL TIP: Write out the testimonial for the customer and then get them to approve it, this will save time and make the process quicker and smoother.
Don’t be afraid of using your existing customer’s experiences and testimonials to help you when engaging with new prospects.
SAY NO AT TIMES
Don’t just accept any business for the sake of money. It can cost you more time, which will stop you from growing. Say NO and price up projects properly to make sure they are not going to cause you more issues down the line.
Also start saying no to existing customers. We have probably all been there when people ask, “can you do more work on this project please?”. We naturally want to say yes as we want to please people, but in actual fact, it means we have more work to do which impacts our bottom line and our prospecting time.
The reality is you can grow your business whilst doing, but you need to have disciplines in place. Saying NO (when it’s the right time to say no), will put you on a great path.
CLARITY
Let’s use McDonald’s as an example. They’ve achieved the status of being one of the biggest global brands in the world, not because their burgers taste amazing, but because of their consistency.
When you walk into a McDonald’s you know exactly what you’re going to get. Customers will go there time and time again because they know the process and exactly what to expect.
Adopt a similar model in your business so that your customers know what to expect from you and are comfortable with your product or service.
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