Small business owners come to me regularly, asking for something they don’t want and they don’t need. I’m sharing this with you, because it’s a symptom of a problem and you’re probably making it, too!
Here it is. Plus how you can avoid it.
First, here are some examples of dangerously misleading statements. I see these pretty-much every day from small business owners.
- I need more leads for our sales team.
- I need more enquiries from my website.
- I need more social media followers.
- I need more traffic to my website.
They’re wrong!
One hundred percent, provably wrong.
More sales leads, additional client enquiries, bigger social networks and more website traffic are not their desired outcomes. That’s because they’re not end results. What business owners actually need, is more customers, higher profits, bigger contracts, higher revenues or more sales, etc.
The challenge with searching for the wrong thing, is that it will lead you down the wrong path. You’ll ask the wrong questions, get the wrong answers and end up with the wrong outcomes.
Start with the end in mind
This means you need to decide what your desired outcome is. In other words, determine exactly what you need your business to achieve. Focus on your desired end point and NOT on a particular process or marketing strategy.
Here’s an example of exactly what I mean.
I was thinking of a business owner earlier, who decided to start with the end in mind. Sarah identified a contact who owned a business that offered a complimentary, non-conflicting service to hers. They agreed to do some joint ventures. Sarah achieved 7-years worth of business growth in just 11 months. Previous to using this idea, she’d wasted years doing what everyone else does.
Start with the end in mind. It will help you get your marketing on the right track and ensure you’re aiming for the correct targets.