Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

What everybody needs to know about being first

June 3, 2017 by Jim Connolly

We remember Roger Bannister today, because he was the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.

Apple became the world’s most valuable company, largely because of profits from the iPhone; the world’s first smart phone. (Here’s the original iPhone press release.)

There are 2 useful lessons here:

When you are the first to do something, it’s remembered for a very long time. We remember Bannister, even though Australia’s John Landy broke Bannister’s record just 6 weeks later. Landy was faster, yet remained relatively unknown because he wasn’t the first person to go sub 4 minutes.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. The first iPhone was really buggy. It even lacked a basic copy and paste facility for over a year! However, it was extremely useful.

This begs the question

What product or service could you be the first to create for your marketplace?

Fortunately, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. For example, a service which is common in another industry may be unheard of in yours. It just needs to be new to your industry, profession or marketplace.

And it absolutely doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be useful.

Agile Thinking: A new mindset for a new landscape

June 1, 2017 by Jim Connolly

Business is changing. Moreover, business is changing fast! This is great news for agile thinking business owners, who embrace the opportunities. However, it’s not such great news for business owners who are working in 2017’s rapidly changing environment, with a 1990’s approach to business.

In today’s post, I share some ideas on how you can benefit from the new opportunities around you. First, I’d like to demonstrate how things have changed and why we need to apply a new mindset, to the new landscape.

A new mindset for a new landscape

Many of the world’s most influential businesses were unknown 20 years ago. Some, such as Facebook and Twitter, weren’t founded until the mid 2000’s.

That kind of global growth was previously unthinkable.

What’s more, billion dollar companies that lead their industries have been started by relative unknowns, in very untraditional ways.

Here’s a great example. Writing in Techcrunch, Tom Goodwin summed up the new age of agile business:

“Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.”

Tom is right. Something interesting is happening. None of those achievements or business models were possible until very recently. The game has changed. And it has changed for ever.

The age of agile business

When I look at small businesses, they tend to fall into one of the following 2 broad categories: They are either dinosaurs or agile progressives. That’s to say their approach to the agile business landscape means they are facing extinction or facing unparalleled success.

Armed with a laptop and an idea, there’s very little an agile business cannot achieve.

The new business landscape allows an agile small business owner to have an idea in the morning, and put that idea into play before the end of business that same day.
Using social networks, we can listen to what our marketplace wants and provide that want. No more guess work. You can get it right every time. And in a fraction of the time.
Instant access to data, means research that took weeks or months can now be done in days. And at a fraction of the price.
With a great marketing email and some email software, a struggling business can generate a fortune in sales… and fast!
With the correct strategy, anyone can develop their own community. I reach thousands of people every day, many of whom are prospective clients, without spending a penny on advertising or promotion. You can too.
If you have a great business idea, you no longer need a bank loan. Thanks to Indiegogo, Kickstarter and others, you can use crowdfunding and get exactly what you need.

In spite of all that potential, many small business owners operate their businesses with a 1990’s mindset. They lack agility. This places them at a huge disadvantage.

For example:

They try to find customers for their products, instead of finding products for their customers.
They still take just as long to make a decision, even though they can get the feedback they need in a fraction of the time. As a result, their agile competitors have already eaten their lunch.
They use social networks to follow the crowd, rather than lead their marketplace.
They have a website that’s almost an online brochure, when it should be and could be, a lead-generating machine for their business. If you didn’t start work today with leads from your website waiting for you, you should have. Fix it. Otherwise you’re leaving money on the table.
They waste money advertising, when they should be building their own platform.
They waste time, money and energy attending networking groups, like people did in the 1970’s, rather than build their own community.

No matter what industry you are in. No matter where you are. Your potential right now is almost limitless.

This is that golden age of business, which past generations dreamed of. And it’s happened at the perfect time for you. What an opportunity. Grasp it with both hands!

Do this and you’ll never need to sell again

May 30, 2017 by Jim Connolly

Do you sell to prospective clients or do they hire you, instead?

That’s not a play on words. The difference is huge. In fact, the difference is what separates the most successful service providers from the rest.

For example, I haven’t sold my services to anyone in years. However, new clients hire me all the time. My marketing attracts their attention, then inspires them to contact me. No selling required. Ever.

You can do the same.

That’s how successful marketing works

It attracts enquiries from prospective clients, who have a need for your services. And because they’re approaching you for your skills and professionalism, something extremely valuable happens.

They position you in their mind as a professional with the expertize they need. They don’t see you as a salesperson. They don’t see you as a needy service provider pitching them. So, instead of feeling like they’re being sold to, they’re simply having a conversation with you, about what they need. It’s wonderful. It’s zero pressure.

And the difference it makes is huge!

If your current marketing doesn’t regularly attract targeted enquiries from prospective clients, it’s working against you. It’s placing a very low ceiling on your potential. It’s a source of unnecessary stress. Thankfully, it’s also 100% avoidable.

Attracting new clients doesn’t need to be difficult. It’s simply a matter of doing the right things, correctly. Right now, as you read this, there are people, in your industry who are already doing it the right way and enjoying the rewards.

You can too

It starts with the decision to take action. That’s a decision that most small business owners dodge. They don’t want things to remain the way they are, yet at the same time, they’re comfortable. So they put it off, because they just had a good week or maybe they signed up a new client.

Then 12 months later they wonder why their business has spun its wheels for another year!

There’s no need to settle for things the way they are. The expertize you need is out there. You just need to let go of the failing familiar, so you can grasp the rewards that are waiting for you outside your comfort zone.

Are you using this golden strategy? You really should. Here’s why!

May 26, 2017 by Jim Connolly

As business owners, we all need some motivation, encouragement or inspiration from time to time. And I really do mean NEED.

That’s because our feelings direct our decisions and our decisions direct the actions we take. These actions determine the success or failure of our business.

Become a goldmine

I’ve discovered that the best way to receive these feelings (or any feelings), is for you to give them to others. It works like this:

When you give motivation, encouragement or inspiration to others, you become a source of the very thing you need. When you become an active goldmine, you never need to worry about a lack of gold! It’s everywhere.

Get specific. Think about the results you want to see in your business and what you would need to feel, in order to make those results a reality.

Then give those feelings away!

It’s a wonderful way to enrich the lives of others, and by extension, enrich your own.

The day I met Lisa

May 24, 2017 by Jim Connolly

Frankie recently introduced me to someone amazing. “Jim, this is Cid, that wonderful designer I told you about”.

Cid quickly corrected him. “Jim, my name is Lisa, not Cid”.

Frankie then explained why he calls her, Cid:

“Oh, it’s a nickname. When Lisa says she will do something, she does it. Always. And on time. You can Consider It Done. Hence Cid”.

There is always a shortage of people like Lisa. People who we can totally rely upon. People who we can bring a problem to, and know in advance that they will deliver. People who provide that all-important peace of mind, which we value so highly.

All of us could benefit massively from that kind of reputation. And it’s actually pretty easy. Read this.

Free Offers: What every business owner needs to know

May 23, 2017 by Jim Connolly

A lot of people ask me about the marketing effectiveness of free offers. So today, I have a few ideas and a story to share, to help you make better use of them.

There’s a famous saying, which assures us that when it comes to business, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

We’ve been trained to believe that a free offer is seldom really free. That’s because there’s almost always a hidden cost attached.

Why should this matter to you? Allow me to explain.

Marketing with free offers: Scepticism

It matters because your prospective clients are looking for the hidden cost, whenever they see a free offer. And if they find it, they’re primed to wonder what else the provider could be concealing from them.

I was thinking of this yesterday, when I visited a new coffee shop. They had signs everywhere, offering free WiFi to customers. The guy next to me called one of the staff over. He explained that he wasn’t able to access their free WiFi. The owner explained that in order to access it, he would need to set up a free account, giving his name, email address and postal address.

The customer replied, “No way! I thought you said it was free? I already get more than enough spam”.

An awkward conversation followed, with the owner trying to defend her position and the customer saying her free WiFi offer was deliberately misleading. And of course, all this happened in front of the other customers.

That negative exchange will have totally changed the customer’s experience. It will also have changed the story he tells, when he shares his experience with his friends. Instead of his story being about great coffee, friendly service and a relaxing atmosphere, it will be about the argument and how the coffee shop misled him.

The impact of a fake free offer will vary from person to person and from situation to situation. But it will be there. And you need to be aware of it, if you refer to mutual exchanges as free offers.

Free offers and full disclosure

There is a way to partly mitigate the negative impact of the kind of free offer used by the coffee shop. It’s all about providing full disclosure. If you want people to take some kind of action in return for the free offer, make it clear. If you ask for contact details, let people know why – right there, in the same space where you offer the free service.

People respond way, way better, when you’re being open and honest with them. For example, if you ask for their details, tell them what you intend to do with that information. If you don’t plan to sell it on or send them ads from 3rd parties, tell them. Tell them that you respect their privacy.

When free offers are genuinely free

There’s another kind of free offer. One that’s all about building a positive, compelling narrative, for your clients or customers to share with their friends.

If you make a genuinely free offer, with no strings attached, nothing concealed, it creates a hugely positive impression. It also sets you apart from the masses. People will look for the usual, concealed exchange, but it won’t be there. They’ll quickly see that you’re being totally honest with them.

It will instantly improve how they feel about you, your business and the services you provide.

It will help you earn their trust.

And it will directly, dramatically improve the story they tell their friends.

As a business owner, you need to decide what you want to achieve from your free offers. If you’re seeking to earn trust, generate powerful word of mouth referrals and increase your profits, it’s worth seriously considering a genuinely free approach to free offers. Or at least, consider providing people with full disclosure.

Important: Here’s why you should never offer your time for free – Stop offering freebies. Seriously. Stop it!

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