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Sales Targets: You’re doing it all wrong

By Jim Connolly | April 19, 2023

Much better than I expected

There’s something a lot of business owners get wrong about sales targets. It’s simply this: They usually misunderstand the reason for setting these important targets. And in doing so, they miss all the important stuff. The stuff that helps them achieve spectacular sales results, month after month and year after year.

Here’s why you need to set sales targets, along with 13 examples.

Why sales targets are essential

The reason you need sales targets is to improve the sales effectiveness of your business.

  • Not to motivate you to work harder.
  • Not to motivate you to do more of the same, only faster.
  • Not to treat it like the daily steps target on your smartphone app.

No!

You need to make changes in order to:

  1. Improve your knowledge of the marketing strategies and tactics that work best today.
  2. Improve the quality of prospects you attract.
  3. Improve the story people in your marketplace have, when they talk about your business.
  4. Improve how you measure the sales-effectiveness of your marketing activities.
  5. Improve the commercial value of your contact network.
  6. Improve the experience of doing business with you.
  7. Improve the way your business looks to the outside world. Design, photos, use of social media, etc.
  8. Improve your marketing response rates.
  9. Improve your awareness of the problems your prospects are most concerned about.
  10. Improve the way you handle inbound enquiries from prospects.
  11. Improve how visible you are to your target market.
  12. Improve the number of advocates your business has.
  13. Improve your marketing decision making.

And carry on improving, until you get the maximum return from all your marketing and sales efforts. When you do, you’ll start to benefit from compound marketing. Compound marketing does for your sales results, what compound interest does for your money. It grows at an accelerating rate.

When it happens, your business will experience exponential growth. So set those sales targets, and let them inspire you to make the improvements required. You have everything to gain.

How to know if your next business idea is a winner

By Jim Connolly | April 12, 2023

winning idea, next idea a winner

So, how do you know if your next business idea has the potential to succeed?

One way to get a very good steer in the right direction, is to share the idea with a select group of people before you launch it. These should be people you trust, and whose opinion you value. They should also be the kind of people your product or service is aimed at.

Then, observe what happens

– If those people ask you if they can tell their friends about your idea, or they ask if they can get involved in your idea, you could have a success on your hands.

– If those people smile, tell you your idea is great, but don’t ask you if they can tell their friends, or don’t ask if they can get involved in it, you probably need to improve the idea or ditch it.

In business, when you want to know what someone really thinks, focus your attention on what they do. Actions not only speak louder than words, they tend to speak the truth.

Jim, when will things pick up again?

By Jim Connolly | April 4, 2023

Marketing forward

Here’s what business owners are telling me, in increasing numbers every day.

Our website used to generate regular sales or leads. Now it doesn’t.

Our newsletter used to attract client enquiries. Now it doesn’t.

Our Linkedin, Facebook (whatever) activity used to regularly drive decent traffic to our website. Now it doesn’t.

Our business used to grow steadily each year. Now it doesn’t.

Our future used to look promising. Now it doesn’t.

When things are heading in the wrong direction, literally the only commercially viable option you have is to change direction. To try something better. Something different. Something new. This means either adjusting elements of your existing marketing strategy, replacing elements of your marketing strategy or creating a new marketing strategy that’s designed for the unique economic conditions we all face.

The main challenge here is that everyone, including me, finds the process of change at least a little scary. However, when used correctly, that uneasy feeling can be what drives you and your business forward.

Allow me to explain.

There’s a business maxim I’ve heard many times over the years. You have probably heard it too. “If it doesn’t feel scary, it’s not moving you forward”. In other words, when you’re heading in the wrong direction, you can use fear as your compass, to guide you forward.

And conversely, if you feel entirely comfortable about putting your changes into play, it could be that you’re aiming too low for the kind of improvement you need.

For a multitude of different reasons, these are truly challenging times. And there’s nothing to suggest that things will ping back to anything like the way they were before the 2020’s.

None of us (small business owners like you and me) can tough this one out. It’s a 100%, totally open-ended situation. This means that every day you try to stay as you are, you’re actually going backwards at an accelerating pace, compared to your proactive competitors.

So, use your compass. And embrace the changes you know you need, even if they are a little scary.

Married bachelors and 3-sided squares

By Jim Connolly | April 2, 2023

marketing, prospecting

You’ll never meet a married bachelor. You’ll never find a 3-sided square. And you’ll never build the right kind of business, with the wrong kind of people.

  • If the wrong kind of people work for you, they’ll ruin your business.
  • If the wrong kind of people hire you, they’ll ruin your business.

The solution seems simple. Decide exactly who the right kind of people are for your business. And then intentionally hire, and market to, the right people.

The tricky part? Saying no to the wrong kind of people!

That’s why the best time to hire someone is before you desperately need a position filled. And the best time to choose a new client, is before you desperately need a new client.

It’s that easy.

It’s also that difficult.

Either way, it’s absolutely essential.

Get connected and prosper

By Jim Connolly | April 1, 2023

customer experience, marketing, word of mouth

As you start the second quarter of 2023, I have a suggestion you might find really useful. Why not connect with some people?

For example.

  • The people you know, who could help you to reach someone you’d like to meet with.
  • The people you know, who will give you their honest opinion on that idea you have.
  • The people you know, who always leave you feeling energized after you speak with them.
  • The people you know, who need your help or support right now.
  • The people you know, who have successfully duplicated their business model in a new location, and opened up a whole new marketplace.
  • The people you know, who you haven’t connected with in a while and you should catch-up with.
  • The people you know, who would make great Joint Venture partners.
  • The people you know, who are experienced at dealing with a challenge you have.

Your list

Your list of people will be different from the one above. And your list will change, as your situation changes.

For example, my wife is an author. Her list changes radically, when she gets the publication date of her next book. It changes again, when the publicity for that book starts. And again, when she starts research on a new book.

The key thing is to set time aside when required, to focus on the people who could help you, and those who you might be able to help.

Their list

As you know, there are people out there who rely on you for various things; both in business and life in general. You’re on their lists, even if they don’t have written lists. The myth of the self-made success is exactly that… a myth. None of us can do it all by ourselves.

So get connected. And prosper.

What really matters

By Jim Connolly | March 27, 2023

Stalling tactics, marketing tip

It doesn’t matter what brand of laptop or phone you work with. Leonardo da Vinci used a quill and parchment. Einstein used a pen and paper, plus a chalkboard.

It doesn’t matter how motivated you feel. You don’t wait for inspiration to appear. You command it to appear.

It doesn’t matter what negative or peevish people tell you. Great ideas are not anointed!

It doesn’t matter if others can’t see your vision. Steve Ballmer famously laughed on camera, when interviewed about Apple’s first iPhone. He said no businessperson would use a phone that didn’t have a hardware keyboard.

What does matter

What matters, really matters, is that you get started.

This means taking the first step, despite being fearful, tired or nervous… rather than waiting for that mythical perfect time to arrive.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.

Unconsciously, we develop stalling tactics and end up standing in our own way. We need to identify the things that cause us to stall, and call them out for what they are (excuses). When we do, we’re free to get started.

Free to unleash our full potential.

The retailer who’s killing his business

By Jim Connolly | March 24, 2023

marketing content, copy

There’s a powerful marketing lesson I’d like to share with you, from my own personal experience.

I visited a store yesterday morning. In the space of just a few minutes, they damaged their reputation and lost at least 2 customers instantly. They will almost certainly have already lost more by the time you read this, as the story has now surfaced on a local Facebook group.

Here’s what happened.

I was standing in line waiting to buy a new razor, at a local, independent store. A customer in front of me was trying to exchange a faulty hair dryer she’d bought from them. The hair dryer was, apparently, 2 days past the store’s return policy. The customer tried to explain that she’d just returned from a 14 day business trip and couldn’t return it sooner.

The guy at the store wasn’t interested. He just kept loudly telling the customer there was nothing he could do. The customer left the store, vowing never to return. I put my purchase back on the shelf and decided to buy a razor elsewhere.

A better approach leads to a better result for everyone

The guy at the store was wrong when he said there was nothing he could do. There were a number of useful things he could have done.

  • He could have listened to the customer as she explained her situation. Instead, he chose to avoid eye contact.
  • He could have looked at her passport, when she showed him the stamps that proved she returned to the country yesterday. Instead, he chose to look away, rolling his eyes.
  • He could have spoken to the customer with empathy. Instead, he chose to keep repeating the same mantra, over and over.
  • He could have been flexible because of the customer’s situation, offering her a working hair drier or maybe a discount on a second one. Instead, he chose not to.

And he could have turned the customer’s problem into a positive story.

He could have given her a remarkable customer experience, which she would share with her family and friends. After all, he’d sold her a defective product and her passport stamps (which she showed him) proved she’d been out of the country until the previous day.

Instead, he chose to give the customer a very poor experience. The kind of experience she has since used as a warning, via a popular local Facebook group. When I last looked, her story had almost 100 reactions, with comments from others who’d had similar experiences.

All this is happening, when the store had a great opportunity to delight a customer and give her a positive story to share. It would have cost them pennies.

Small business should play to our strengths

As an independent business, they had the flexibility to deal with that situation in any way they wanted. And that’s exactly what they did. Whether the guy who served the customer was the owner or an employee, it was clear that they operate a rigid returns policy.

Certainly, the retailer needs to avoid customers taking advantage of them. However, it was very clear that this customer was an exceptional case. This is the exact kind of situation, where a small business can use their agility and win a client’s goodwill and loyalty. It’s a golden marketing opportunity. (I wrote this piece explaining why everything in business is marketing that you might find useful).

Our customers will talk about us, regardless. It’s the way we look after them that determines the kind of story they share.

Let them make you better, not bitter!

By Jim Connolly | March 22, 2023

marketing, usp, different

There’s an old saying that tells us, let your past make you better, not bitter.

Business owners should use a revised version of that saying, let your competitors make you better, not bitter.

I’ve worked with thousands of business owners over the years and noticed a strong tendency, for them to drastically underestimate their competitors. This then creates bitterness, especially toward the most successful of their competitors. It seems totally unfair.

I get to see both sides. And there’s always a reason why one business is ahead of the pack.

  • They market their services extremely effectively.
  • They offer an outstanding service.
  • They offer a unique variation of a service.
  • And some do all of the above, plus more.

The most useful place to look when our business is struggling against competitors, is the mirror. We’re either failing to market our business as effectively as they are, (or / and) we’re offering a less valuable service. This means we either need to improve our marketing, or we need to improve what we do. Preferably both.

It isn’t luck.

It isn’t magic.

It is fair.

And it produces predictable results. Every. Single. Time. But only if we care enough to do it correctly.

A genius marketing idea from a 19th century artist

By Jim Connolly | March 21, 2023

Back in the 1800’s, Edgar Degas said: Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.

The same is true of great marketing

Successful marketing paints a compelling picture in the mind of a prospective client. It doesn’t list a series of facts or features. Instead, it talks directly to the needs and wants of your clients. It paints a picture of how you can help them. It illustrates how you’re passionate about helping them. Everything is rooted in what’s best for them. Everything.

Ineffective marketing paints a picture of the provider. It’s all about their business and the products or services they offer. It’s dry. It’s dull. It’s forgettable. And it fails to motivate people to take action.

The message, my friend, is simple. If you want to attract better clients, paint better pictures.

Have an unfair advantage over your competitors

By Jim Connolly | March 20, 2023

unfair advantage

Today, I’m going to give you an unfair advantage over your competitors.

I was just 29 years old when I started my first business. So I made darn sure to seek out as much advice and as many tips as possible, from those with lots more experience. That’s when I discovered what I’m about to share with you.

It’s so effective, I’ve used it with great success ever since!

It came from my first accountant, back in the 1990’s. He suggested I work 1-hour a day longer, than the average for my profession. This is what he himself did, and it gave him what he called “an unfair advantage” over his competitors.

I did as he suggested and the results were amazing.

Your unfair advantage

Here’s how it works, in just 3 steps.

  1. I’m an early bird, so I chose to start work an hour earlier than others in my profession. You can equally add your hour to the end of the day, or add 30-minutes to the start of your day and 30-minutes to the end.
  2. I would finish around the same time as them, so I just worked 1-hour more.
  3. The pay-off: Over the period of a working year, this gives you an additional 6 weeks (based on the typical 40-hour working week). That’s an amazing one and a half months worth, of extra, highly-productive time, to produce, create and deliver for your clients or customers.

The positive impact on my results came fast and were easy to measure.

But that’s not all.

You automatically get another unfair advantage

Yes, it genuinely helped me get a lot more done. But it helped in another way, too.

By knowing I was working while my counterparts were not, it provided me with an instant, mental advantage. It made me feel that I was more committed, more motivated and more driven than them. This may not have been true, but the inspiration it gave me, and still gives me today, is absolutely true.

If you’re in a tight spot right now or just want to give your business a sustainable, measurable lift, I strongly recommend you give yourself this unfair advantage!

Get more referrals with this simple idea

By Jim Connolly | March 17, 2023

marketing, referrals, word of mouth recommendations

Give this a try.

  • Think of some amazing things, which you would LOVE your marketplace to be telling their friends about your business.
  • Write those amazing things down.
  • Next, put a plan together of what you will need to do, in order for your marketplace to say those amazing things.
  • Finally, get to work on your plan.

This is a switch of focus, from the vast majority of advice on getting referrals.

Most referral advice is about how to motivate others to recommend your services or products to their friends and contacts. How to change their behaviour.

This advice is focused on you taking direct control. It’s about you crafting an experience, which makes people want to recommend your services or products.

People are naturally hardwired to communicate with each other. When we give our marketplace an experience worth talking about, that’s exactly what they do.

The wonderful thing about this, is that it means your referral stream is always, always under your direct control.

Suddenly it smashes you in the face!

By Jim Connolly | March 16, 2023

Jim Connolly marketing, fix your marketing

Marketing tactics and strategies seldom fail overnight.

Instead, they become a little less effective over time. The decrease in effectiveness is usually so gradual that for weeks, often longer, you hardly even notice it. Then you look at your sales leads, your upcoming sales meetings and your sales figures and the reality of the situation kicks in.

Your marketing is no longer effective and you’re about to feel some real pain, unless you resolve things.

One guy went 5 months without a sales lead, before he contacted me. He said, and I believe him, that he hoped it was just a long blip, and that things would pick up ‘next week’. It was only after his bank refused to increase his lending that he reached out for help.

That months-long period is how marketing problems usually manifest themselves. There’s a slow, very gradual decline in results. Then suddenly the numbers punch you in the face. It’s at this point, where most business owners will take action.

Other business owners do things differently.

Here’s what I see regularly, with new clients. They have been keeping an eye on their marketing and the results generated. They then paid extra attention as soon as they saw a negative pattern emerging. The moment they believed there was a bigger problem ahead, they contacted me.

So, why do most small business owners hesitate?

There are a number of reasons behind the decision of some business owners, to wait longer than others, before proactively taking control of their problem.

Here are the reasons I hear most commonly from new clients.

  • Some are sat on a fat bank account, which decreases their hunger to fix things. They’ll try to ride it out.
  • Some hate the idea of change, so leave it as late as possible.
  • Some have far less motivation or need to make money, as the vast majority of their family income is from their life-partner, wife, husband or parents.
  • Some have a well-paid job and their business is really just a hobby or pastime.

It boils down to different circumstances and different attitudes.

Whatever your current situation or mindset, marketing problems are easier and faster to resolve, the sooner you get started. Because the moment you start doing the right things correctly, you change the direction of your business.

How to get your prices right: High, medium or low?

By Jim Connolly | March 13, 2023

how to set prices, get your prices right

One of the best things about owning a business or directing the path of a company, is that you have the freedom to adapt and improve as things change. With this in mind, I’d like to share an idea, more of an opportunity really, with you. Something you may not have considered before.

It’s all about which segment of the market you should serve and how to get your prices or fees right.

High priced, medium priced or low priced?

Long before the current economic turmoil. Before the pandemic. In fact, for decades now, here’s what we have seen.

High priced, quality brands are doing really well.

Low priced, budget brands are doing really well, too.

The average priced, average brands are struggling.

Yes, those are general observations. But the core message is loud and clear. It’s a lot harder to sell an average priced, average positioned product or service. Average prices (or fees) are too expensive for those with limited budgets. Average prices are of no interest whatsoever to those who demand the best possible products or an exclusive, premium service.

Why then, is the middle ground where the great majority of businesses land?

Obviously, most new businesses set their prices where they feel they have the best chance of making sales or attracting clients. In my experience, they’ll start off a little higher or a little lower than whatever the average is. By default, this means most businesses begin life within the average price range. And that’s where most of them will remain, adjusting prices roughly in keeping with their similarly priced competitors.

Are your prices or fees pitched correctly?

If you’re currently serving that highly competitive middle ground, and you’re finding it hard to thrive, I’d like you to consider leaving it. (I wrote this helpful piece about how to leave the middle ground that you may find useful).

I’d like you to think about one of the following alternatives.

  • Embracing the opportunities that come from serving the high price, high end of your industry or profession.
  • Or embracing the opportunities that come from being a successful, budget provider.

By the way, there are huge opportunities at the budget end of things, if you get the balance right.

Poundland, a budget retailer in the UK, generated revenues of over $1.5Billion when its most recent figures were announced. Similarly, service providers who are able to put robust, highly optimized systems in place, can make a fortune whilst charging significantly lower fees for their services. I’ve seen this low-fee model work extremely effectively, many, many times.

So, should everyone reading this reposition away from the middle ground?

No. It totally depends on your answer to the following question.

Did you intentionally chose the middle ground?

Over the past 25 years, I’ve found that business owners tend to naturally gravitate toward the middle ground and average pricing. Very few of them intentionally set out to be there. It just happens. The reasons are many and varied.

My suggestion is that it’s a good idea to consider your options. All of them. Is the segment of the market you find yourself serving today, taking you where you want to be in the next 5 or 10 years?

  • If it is, then you’ve landed in the right place.
  • If not, then examine the opportunities open to you, serving one of the other segments.

In short, make sure you intentionally choose where you set your prices or fees. Determine what part of the market you are most likely to succeed in. Many business owners ‘happen upon’ the right segment, others happen to get it wrong. We need to be smarter than that and deliberately decide for ourselves.

They lied: You don’t pay the price for success

By Jim Connolly | March 6, 2023

pay price for success, pay price failure

As a business owner, you never pay the price for success. However, you do pay a hefty price for failure.

The price of failure is being paid daily, though most business owners are blind to it until they get the bill at the end.

For example.

  • You pay the price for missing opportunities.
  • You pay the price for failing to adapt to the evolving needs of your marketplace.
  • You pay the price for refusing to invest in marketing.
  • You pay the price for ducking the important decisions.
  • You pay the price for wasting time. Your time and the time of others.
  • You pay the price for being risk-averse.
  • You pay the price for knowing more about what’s happening on a reality TV show, than what’s happening in your industry.
  • You pay the price for being too similar to your competitors.
  • You pay the price for giving your attention to the notifications on your phone.
  • You pay the price for pessimism.
  • You pay the price for applying free, general business development advice to your specific business problems.

Thankfully, the opposite is also true.

You enjoy the rewards of success

For example.

  • You enjoy the rewards of a wise decision.
  • You enjoy the rewards of turning an opportunity into an absolute gold mine.
  • You enjoy the rewards of building a great, professional reputation.
  • You enjoy the rewards of growing a powerful marketing asset.
  • You enjoy the rewards of building a wonderful network.
  • You enjoy the rewards of expert advice that earns you a fortune.
  • You enjoy the rewards of knowing, and witnessing, that you’re on the path to success.
  • You enjoy the rewards of owning a business, which gives you and those you love a great quality of life.

There’s a price for failure and a reward for success. As a business owner, you have total freedom regarding which you choose.

You would assume that goes without saying. You would assume the answer is obvious. It isn’t. It really isn’t.

Think about it.

The majority of small businesses fail in the first 4 or 5 years. All these business owners were genuinely hoping for success, while unintentionally paying the price for failure. The lucky ones failed fast, without getting into a ton of debt. The unlucky ones went under slowly, which is far more painful.

If you’re not currently achieving the success you want, it’s critically important you commit exclusively to following the path of success. Refuse to follow what the failing majority of small business owners do. It doesn’t work. It can’t work.

Get the expert help you need, so you can quickly get on the right track. Enjoy the rewards for success. Yes, of course I can help. It’s exactly what I do for small business owners, just like you.

How to own a valuable chunk of your marketplace

By Jim Connolly | March 4, 2023

marketing differentiation, stand out, get noticed

All accountants, designers, lawyers, training providers and marketing agencies are not the same. But to look at their marketing, you’d think they were. Of course, this is true of service providers in every industry and profession.

For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client, eagerly looking for a service provider in your industry. Currently, they’ll find themselves faced with what looks like an ocean of very similar businesses.

Then, everything quickly changes

I want you to imagine that a serious competing provider turns up. A provider that’s differentiating themselves in a valuable, meaningful way. They stand out for all the right reasons. And huge change is coming.

Here’s what it looks like every single time this happens.

  • This new provider starts attracting the attention of the marketplace.
  • People start talking about them and the word begins to spread.
  • With so many people saying good things about this new provider, they build a great reputation.
  • They become the default choice, for clients who want more than a cookie-cutter service provider.
  • They soon own the most profitable end of the marketplace: The clients who want something better and will happily pay for it.

Faced with this possibility, you have a couple of options.

  1. You can wait until a competitor like that turns up, targeting your clients and your prospective clients. You’ll be forced into action and you’ll be playing catch-up. This takes the timing out of your control and gives you a bigger, more serious problem to deal with.
  2. Alternatively, you can improve your marketing and become that provider yourself, growing your business with the best clients. You can do it now, so you control the timing and have all the advantages this brings.

Yes, I recommend option 2.

And I recommend you take it sooner rather than later. Opportunities like this come with a use-by date.

Make better decisions

By Jim Connolly | March 3, 2023

make better decisions

A key factor behind great decision making, is to make sure you are working with accurate information.

In a marketing context:

  • You can assume that your marketing copy is as good as it can be or you can split test it. By testing different versions and measuring the feedback, you can improve both your message and your sales results.
  • You can assume that your clients and former clients love the service you provide, or you can ask them.
  • You can assume that your products or service is still better value than your competitors, or you can do some research and see if they’ve upped their game.
  • You can assume that you already get a reasonable number of word of mouth recommendations, or you can compare them to the industry average. Note: I wrote this post about how to get more word of mouth referrals that you may find useful.

You get the idea.

In short, never make a decision without first knowing the facts. Make accurate information the foundation of all your decision making.

Yes. But why?

By Jim Connolly | March 2, 2023

marketing motivation

Yes. I know you want to grow your business. But why? The why part is what makes all the difference.

It looks like this.

  • The decision to grow your business is a ‘what’. It’s what you want to achieve. A goal.
  • More important to your likelihood of success is ‘why‘. The why part is what will motivate you. It’s what gives your goal meaning. It’s the fuel that propels you to achieve your ‘what’.

So, why [specifically], do you want a bigger business?

Allow me to explain.

Every small business owner has the goal of growing their business. And yet, as you know, most small business owners not only fail to achieve their goal, the majority go broke, even in a great economy.

If you’re finding it hard to grow your business right now, take time out to list exactly why you want a bigger business. Include what it will mean in real terms for you and your family. List how it will massively improve your financial security and your lifestyle. The more meaning your why has, the better.

You’ll know when your why is optimal.

How?

Because you’ll feel the motivation pushing you forward. When your work has new, radically greater meaning, it improves literally everything you do. Your energy levels go through the roof. Your confidence increases. Your enthusiasm surges. Your decision making improves. Your thinking becomes clearer.

So, go and get to work on that list.

How to crack the success code

By Jim Connolly | February 27, 2023

how to crack success code, crack success code

Hard work gets a bad rap.

Sure, it’s important to work smart.

Obviously, it’s important to work with passion, professionalism and great care.

But without the commitment to do all the work required, we’re dramatically limiting our potential. All the work required, includes the hard work… the kind of work we tend to either put off or avoid completely.

I’ve met countless business owners over the years, who are great at what they do, but lack the work ethic needed for the success they desire. They either fail to work the hours required, or they do the hours, but fail to do the work required during those hours.

I’ve never met a successful person in any field, who lazy-assed their way to the top. Yes, there are some wealthy businesspeople who sometimes forget to tell us they were born rich or inherited a fortune. But those who start from square one and make it to the top, work hard.

We do well to follow their example.

Why?

They’ve cracked the success code!

By doing the hard work, as well as the smart work, soon enough they find they have the resources to hire people [or buy the technology], to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They can then adjust their workload so it suits them perfectly.

The best way I ever heard this approach explained, was by the late Zig Ziglar.

“If you will be hard on yourself, life will be easy on you. But if you insist upon being easy on yourself, life is going to be very hard on you.”

  • It isn’t about over-working.
  • It isn’t about working too many hours.
  • It isn’t about working too many days in a row.

It’s about doing the work required, during work hours. And then enjoying our leisure time. Nothing more than that, but nothing less than that, either.

Let’s take a look at your website

By Jim Connolly | February 23, 2023

website copywriting, web copy

Your website looks great, but you’re not getting the marketing results you need from it. If that sounds familiar, today’s post is written specifically for you. 

Let’s go.

Your site is either working for your business or it isn’t. In order for it to work, it has to do 2 things extremely well.

  1. Prospective clients or customers need to find what they’re looking for, quickly. 
  2. When they’ve found it, your site must motivate them to take the required action. 

That’s where your focus has to be. 

Occasionally you’ll find an amazing designer who totally gets this. But they’re rare in the typical, small business price range. So, you’ll end up with a cool looking website, but the copy / messaging will be ineffective.

Your site’s task is to be a sales generating machine for you and your business. Period. It should be, and it could be, one of your most valuable business assets. 

If your site isn’t delivering a predictable, continuous flow of sales or new clients, fix it. Make the content more compelling. Use words that inspire prospects to hire you or buy from you. 

A good place to start is by finding a new copywriter. This is especially the case if you wrote the current copy yourself. Your new, motivating copy will start working for you as soon as it’s live on your site. It’s one of those areas where immediate marketing results happen. 

This is a powerful, fast-acting improvement you can make to your marketing. Something that can quickly increase your sales figures. So, what are you waiting for? 

A rare marketing opportunity for your business

By Jim Connolly | February 21, 2023

get noticed, make noise, make difference

We rarely find a business that answers their support phone line as fast as their sales phone line.

We rarely find a business that treats customers as individuals, with individual requirements.

We rarely find a business that is willing to demonstrate true leadership in its sector or industry.

We rarely find a business that has the courage to innovate.

We rarely find a business that shows genuine respect for the environment.

We rarely find a business that offers a uniquely valuable service.

We rarely find a business that sets self-imposed deadlines and consistently achieves them.

We rarely find a business that under-promises with its marketing messages.

The opportunity

What’s even rarer, is to find a business doing all [or even most] of the above. When we do, they attract our attention, they earn our custom and they gain our loyalty. Plus, we tell everyone about them. That’s a massively valuable combination.

It’s important to remember that everything your business does is marketing; an opportunity for you to create a powerful, commercial impact.

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Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

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