Jim's Marketing Blog

I’d like to share something with you today, which you really need to know about. It’s that important. If you have noticed a sudden or gradual drop in business, this could well be what’s caused it.

It starts with understanding a basic truth of business: When you begin to find it harder to attract new clients or your sales numbers are down, there’s always a reason. Everything in business happens for a reason. As scientists say, every effect has a cause. The challenge is identifying the cause.

Here’s one major reason why your business may be struggling, along with exactly what you need to do about it.

Where did all our sales and inquiries go?

Remember yesterday, how I mentioned a new client I’ve just started to work with? Well, her competitors will soon see a significant drop in the number of high quality clients they attract.

They will wonder what’s happening; totally unaware that my client has just hired someone with an international reputation for his marketing results. Her competitors are unable to market against me. My client will win. And she will win big. The last client I worked with in her profession saw an increase of over 370% in revenues and a higher increase in profits.

Which is it to be?

Every business owner faces the same decision. I think the answer is blindingly obvious, yet many business owners find it so hard that they completely avoid it.

The decision is:

1. Do you become the victim that’s losing business daily to better marketed competitors?
2. Alternatively, do you become the business that thrives, because you invested in marketing that your competitors can’t possibly compete against?

[Note – Failing to answer that question is exactly the same as choosing option 1.]

Choose wisely.

I started my business 20 years ago today. Here are 7 valuable lessons I learned along the way, which I wish I’d known at the start.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Don’t focus on closing sales. Instead, focus on opening relationships. You do better work when you see the acquisition of a new client as the opening of a relationship, rather than the close or end of a process.
2. Consider firing your worst clients or customers. It will lower your stress. It will also give you more time to delight your best clients. Delighted clients stay with you for longer and are a wonderful source of referrals. They also tend to refer other great clients, [birds of a feather and all that].
3. Customize the service you provide, so that it’s a reflection of your unique approach to business. This makes your business one-of-a-kind. I did this and no longer have competitors. More marketing professionals hire me than any other profession.
4. Open your mind to new information. Things change. People change. If your opinions and views remain static, you will make bad decisions.
5. Get the best accountant you can afford. I tried to save money with a cheap accountant in the early years and lost thousands as a result.
6. Keep your body active. Do some kind of activity for at least 30 minutes every day. As Leonardo da Vinci said: “Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind.”
7. It makes sense to outsmart your competitors. It makes even more sense to outCARE your competitors too.

I hope you find these useful. More importantly, I hope there’s something here you can learn from my experience, rather than learn the hard way.