Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Give it away

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give to receive, jim connolly marketing

Here’s a very quick tip, which can dramatically improve things across your entire business.

As someone who has mentored thousands of people over the years, I’ve found that the reason a business isn’t doing great, is often because the business owner isn’t feeling great. Perhaps they don’t feel as motivated, confident or inspired as they would like to be. 

The reason this matters is that our feelings guide our decisions, and our decisions guide our actions. These actions are what determine our results and therefore the success of our business. 

I’ve discovered that the fastest way to genuinely become motivated, confident, inspired (or experience any positive feeling), is for you to give these feelings to others.

Allow me to explain.

My epiphany

I noticed that whenever a client or friend came to me because they were, for example, lacking motivation, and I started to build up their motivation, it always left me feeling massively more motivated.

Then I noticed the exact same thing happened when I helped people feel more confident, inspired, courageous, resourceful, optimistic, fired up or anything else. I would immediately feel radically stronger in whatever area I’d helped them with.

I shared this idea with others and found they had identical, or very similar experiences to mine. 

Here’s what makes this so powerful.

When you give these amazing feelings to others, you become a source of the very thing you give. And it’s an endless source. Because as long as you keep giving, you’ll keep receiving.

It’s a simple technique, which can strengthen the core of everything you do. And you can access it as often as you want to. I use it daily.

Interestingly, this process works regardless of how you do it; face-to-face, Zoom, phone, email, one-to-one / a group of people, social media, podcast, blog post, a handwritten note or any other form of communication.

The next time you want to think more productively and make better business decisions, identify the key feeling or feelings you’re lacking in. Then give others those same feelings.

Don’t wait for motivation, energy, confidence, creativity, calmness or anything else to arrive. Give it away and make it appear.

It’s a wonderful way to enrich yourself, and by extension, enrich others.

The false assumptions that destroy your results

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Marketing tip, advice, ideas

Your sales numbers aren’t adding up. You know you should be attracting more clients. But something’s clearly not working. The culprit? A good place to look is false assumptions.

When marketing campaigns fall flat or client acquisition stalls, we naturally look for tactical fixes. But the real problem often runs deeper. It’s not that your execution is wrong. It’s that your entire approach is built on faulty premises.

I’ve seen this pattern countless times. A business owner pours energy into strategies that feel logical, but rely on assumptions that simply aren’t correct.The numbers can’t add up when the foundation is flawed.

Let me show you exactly what I mean, with a common example that might sound familiar.

Failing to check the source

Small business owners are often poorly advised. If they wrongly assume the advice is correct when it’s false, and then follow the advice, they’ll lose money, waste time and miss opportunities.

The golden rule here is to always check the source of advice, before you act on it.

For example, if a sincere friend or contact gives you marketing advice, make sure they have the marketing background required. As Jim Rohn used to tell us, ‘sincerity is not a test of truth. It’s possible to be sincerely wrong!’.

Equally, before you pay for advice from a marketing provider, check them out. As you may have already discovered, there are plenty of ineffective marketing providers out there.

The easiest way to check a marketing provider out is to look at how they market their own business.

  • Effective marketing providers attract clients via referral and reputation; so people already know us and our work long before they hire us.
  • Ineffective marketing providers are unable to attract enough clients or get enough referrals. You find them at networking events hunting for clients or on Linkedin pestering people for leads. That’s a huge red flag.

Here’s another cause of false assumptions.

You don’t need more leads

Imagine the following scenario.

A small business owner urgently needs more sales or more new clients. However, they make a false assumption. They wrongly assume they need more sales leads or client leads.

Their focus is now on lead acquisition tactics, when it should be on sales acquisition tactics or client acquisition tactics. As a result, they get leads, maybe lots of leads, but too few additional sales or new clients. In short, they got what they went for, leads, but they went for the wrong thing.

For those who don’t know, in almost every case, you will attract clients or customers massively faster without spending time or money on lead acquisition or advertising. Only after direct, faster, highly profitable options have been deployed would I ever consider lead generation.

What next?

When it comes to marketing your business, make it a habit to never assume anything. Check your sources. Ask relevant questions. If you do, you will dramatically increase your chances of finally getting the results you deserve.

Here’s how the best paid service providers earn the highest fees

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marketing, service providers

If you’re a service provider, your income is based on just 2 things.

1. The value you bring. This is what determines how much your clients pay you. Between the best paid and the lowest paid, there can be a factor of hundreds and hundreds of percent. Here’s an example I have used many times. My friend hired a photographer for a product shoot in London. The person he hired charged £17,000 for the shoot. The lowest quote for the same shoot, on the same date, with the same remit, was just over £900.

2. How well you market the value you bring. This is what attracts the attention of your prospective clients. It’s what communicates your value in a way that motivates people to hire you.

Each of those areas can be improved. And by focusing on both areas, they leverage one another. When this happens, it radically improves everything for you.

Compounded for spectacular results

That’s right. You get the financial reward of charging 5x, 10x or whatever. Plus, you’re also attracting more clients. These combine and compound. The results are transformational.

The best part (other than the massive financial rewards)? All of this is possible, by focusing your attention and activity on just 2 things.

Business owners who work on those areas correctly, don’t just improve their results. They dramatically improve everything about their business and their financial future. This isn’t marginal gains I’m talking about. It’s life-changing. You know what always amazes me? Most service providers reading this will find it compelling, or at least very interesting. And they will do nothing.

Consider this for a moment.

Think about how amazing things would be for you at the end of 2025, if you decided now to do something, so you can correctly apply those 2 ideas.

You can do it.

How do I know?

Because I’ve literally lost count of how many people I have seen go from charging average and below average fees, to charging vastly more and enjoying all the benefits that brings.

Hard work isn’t enough (here’s what is)

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marketing, hardworking, momentum

One component of successful marketing, is knowing what needs to be done.

A second component of successful marketing, is to put that knowledge into action.

And an essential third component of successful marketing, is to keep on doing what’s required. Once things start moving, they need to keep on moving. Lasting success requires an ongoing effort. Continuous forward movement. 

Marketing momentum: the mover of mountains that’s easy to lose

Marketing momentum is where your intelligent activity (doing the right things, correctly) combines, to attract the results you want. For example, an increasing number of; sales leads, sales conversions, client enquiries, new clients, proposal requests, bid requests, client referrals, new subscribers, media requests… exciting times for sure. 

Here’s the reason I’m sharing this with you: once you’ve created marketing momentum, that momentum must be maintained and sustained.

  • You need to keep actioning your ideas.
  • You need to carry on looking for great opportunities.
  • You need to turn up again and again and again.
  • You need to consistently review and increase your targets or goals, as old ones are achieved.
  • You need to remain dedicated to improving how your business operates.
  • You need to keep working your plans.
  • You need to carry on delighting your clients.
  • You need to stay on the lookout for people who can improve your business.
  • You need to repeatedly make big, exciting promises and then deliver.

Doing all of the above is easy at the start, especially if you have an existential need for more clients or more customers.

But when all the important marketing numbers are moving in the right direction and things are going great, finding the motivation to keep your marketing momentum moving forward can become harder. And momentum soon fizzles out when left unattended.

This is something I work on regularly with new clients. Interestingly, very few ever think it will be a problem for them. This is largely because when people hire me, they do so when they’re looking for fast, massive increases in sales and financial results. They’re in the ideal mindset for creating momentum.

But.

As things start to improve, with exciting results moving all their important numbers in the right direction, almost every client I’ve ever had unconsciously thinks they’ve now arrived. That this new level of success is a destination. Irreversible, so long as they work hard. 

They forget they were already working hard before hiring me… and hard work didn’t produce the results they wanted.

Hard work by itself is not enough for ongoing success. So, ride the wave of momentum and keep moving forward.

Make your marketing totally unmissable. Here’s how!

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marketing tip, unmissable marketing

What do the following have in common?

  • The trailer for a movie, which is part of a franchise you really enjoy.
  • A radio interview with a musician, whose music you’ve always loved, talking about their new album.
  • A Facebook post from an author, whose books you collect, announcing their new title.
  • A newsletter from a brand you like and trust, announcing an exciting new product.

The answer is that they are all examples of marketing you value. Marketing you wouldn’t want to miss. Marketing that doesn’t even feel like marketing.

How to create unmissable marketing

So, what was it that made those marketing examples unmissable?

  1. You gave permission for the marketing message to reach you. You tuned into the TV station or radio channel. You liked them on Facebook. You subscribed to their newsletter.
  2. The product being marketed (movie, album or book etc.), is something you’re interested in.

The key words there are permission and interest.

Here’s why!

Without your permission, the marketer is being a pest. No one wants to be pestered with unsolicited emails, off-target advertising or unrequested social networking messages.

Without your interest, the “offer” is just another annoying, time-wasting, badly targeted sales pitch.

Making YOUR marketing unmissable

Here’s a proven method I’ve used with clients that keeps on working.

  1. Think about the brands you have given permission to contact you.
  2. Write them down.
  3. Next, ask yourself why you did it. Why did you subscribe to their YouTube channel, their newsletter or their podcast? Why did you like them on Facebook or connect with them on Linkedin? Why did you ask them to send you their catalogue or email you their updates?
  4. Finally, see what you can learn from their strategy, which you can adapt, to earn the permission of your prospective customers.

Yes, it takes more effort to create unmissable marketing, than to target strangers with ads.

However, the conversion rate is fantastically higher. There’s no advertising budget required. And you’ll build your very own community of highly-motivated prospects. 

Rapid, massive business growth: With MBRs

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marketing tip, MBR, Mutually beneficial relationships

This is massive.

I’d like to introduce you to one of the most powerful ideas in marketing. It’s an absolute marketing essential, known as mutually beneficial relationships or MBRs.

Here’s how it works, starting with a simple question.

Who already serves your prospective clients or customers, with a service or product that doesn’t conflict with your own?

This is why that question is worth so much to you. Those non-conflicting providers already have the attention and trust of your prospects. An introduction to your prospects, from one of those providers, someone they already trust, can make you a fortune.

Here’s how

MBRs are a cornerstone of success. The effectiveness of the strategy is behind the explosive growth of many of the world’s fastest growing businesses. In my own experience, many of my biggest commercial successes have come from MBRs. And some of these relationships have been producing high-profit income for well over a decade.

That’s because once you’ve built the relationships, they carry on working for you.

With one very important warning.

Mutually means mutually!

Mutually beneficial relationships need to be exactly that.. mutually beneficial. Failing to understand this and get the balance right is the only thing that can stop you. The relationship must benefit the other person in a rewarding way. Just like any relationship, for it to work both parties need to be valued. 

So, determine what you can offer these non-conflicting providers, which will motivate them to help you.

How do you get the motivation right?

You need to fully understand the risk you’re asking a potential partner to take. That person or company will be concerned that they risk damaging their relationship with their clients, if you fail to deliver. Remember, they don’t know you yet.

However, as long as the relationship you propose is beneficial enough for them, and you can convince them of your reputation, you’ll massively lower their perceived risk and increase the odds that they’ll want to proceed.

The potential for you and your business is huge.

How huge?

This huge!

  • When I help my clients build MBRs, I can usually find a couple of dozen industries that are non-conflicting with theirs, yet serve the same people or companies.
  • And each of these industries can have dozens, hundreds or thousands of potential, mutually beneficial partners.
  • And each of these partners can have dozens, hundreds or thousands of customers.

That’s thousands, times thousands of potential new customers, who are already feeling positive about buying from you. Just think about that for a moment. And let it sink in. Then, why not decide to build an MBR.

Decades of experience assures me that you’ll be very, very glad you did.

For next-level success, swap your fears. Here’s how!

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success mindset, winning mindset

The most successful investors buy, while the crowd is selling.

The most successful leaders speak out, while the crowd stays silent.

The most successful CEO’s make decisions, while the crowd makes excuses.

I could list dozens of examples like those above. But you already know the pattern well. We all do. Including those who choose to follow the crowd. So, what causes people to follow the crowd, knowing it will damage their business, and how can you avoid it?

I’m glad you asked.

The power of fear

The reason small business owners choose to follow the crowd, is fear. They fear stepping out of the crowd, more than they fear limiting the success of their business. Fear is, after all, an exceptionally powerful motivator. Even when the fear is working against them and their business.

Can someone overcome that kind of irrational fear?

Yes. Absolutely.

Here’s one technique that works extremely well.

Swapping fears

What you do is swap your fears, so fear motivation is propelling you forward, rather than pushing you back. It’s about using fear the way it’s intended, to protect you and help you.

For example, you decide to attach massive fear to wasting your life in an underperforming business. That’s a very real and fully-rational fear to have. Such businesses are always dangerously close to failing, as they lack the financial clout and robustness of a successful business.

Does that work for everyone?

No, not everyone.

Some small business owners have become too comfortable with just getting by. It’s unintentional. They start off in their business with big plans and dreams of a better life. But over time, their plans and dreams slowly fade. They begin to settle for less than they want. They lower their lifestyle choices to offset their underperforming business. It’s heartbreaking and it’s 100% avoidable. They know it’s avoidable too, which creates additional stress.

However, for those interested enough to summon the courage — interested enough to leave the crowd and show the world what they’re truly capable of, it can produce life-changing improvements.

Photo: Olena Bohovyk on Pexels.com

It works better than advertising

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marketing tips, better than ads, google ads, facebook ads, linkedin ads

Typically, business owners buy advertising in order to get the attention of prospects. I’m proposing you consider an alternative. Instead of buying attention with ads, I’m going to suggest you consider attracting attention.

I’ll include some examples of how this works, and I’ll explain some of the huge advantages of organically attracting attention.

Let’s go.

Here’s what we know about small business owners who want to be seen.

  • Some of them pay for ads on Google, Linkedin, X and Facebook, etc.
  • Others pay to be listed in directories.
  • Then there are those who buy ad space in targeted publications.
  • And some buy radio ads or pay to sponsor podcasts, etc.
  • Or they do a combination of the above.

In those examples, the business owner is connecting with strangers and paying a fee every time. That’s a flawed combination. Why? Buying attention though ads leaves you exposed to the threat of a better funded competitor who will outspend you. I often hear from small business owners who have been priced out of online advertising, including Google Ads, because better funded competitors are outbidding them for the most important placements, words and phrases. And that half page ad you run in a publication, becomes vastly less effective when a competitor decides to invest in a double-page spread for the next 6-months.

If you’re tired of paying ever increasing fees to interrupt strangers or you want to avoid being vulnerable to a better funded competitor, it’s time to consider a different approach.

An attractive alternative

Some business owners attract attention organically, build their own community and nurture their own long-term relationships with prospects. This leads to sustainable growth for the business owner, with increasing, not diminishing, returns.

Can you give me some examples, Jim?

Yes.

Here are a few that came to mind immediately.

  • I’m thinking of that wonderful example, where a small business that ‘doesn’t do social media’ is a social marketing star in their target marketplace area. Read it here: This creative marketing idea costs nothing and is super effective.
  • I’m also thinking about the local accountancy firm, which provides a free, Zoom class every 6-weeks to help new business owners avoid common mistakes.
  • And the art supplies store, which hosts crafting evenings or talks from local artists.
  • Then, there’s the author who speaks at events, which compliment the author’s genre. They not only sell lots of books on the day, they also add lots of newsletter subscribers. This further builds their community. Win win.
  • Naturally, I’m also thinking of my fellow content creators, who, like me, freely publish useful ideas to the market they serve.

In those examples, the business owner is growing a community of prospective clients or customers. They’re building their very own marketing asset and it increases in value all the time. Their community organically spreads the word, telling friends, colleagues and contacts.

And the connection to that community doesn’t belong to an advertiser or a social network. No. It belongs to YOU the business owner!

Yes, in each of the above examples you’d need to invest some of your time.

However, that modest investment is building you your very own, extremely valuable community. A community who will get to know you, trust you, recommend you, hire you and buy from you.

How do I know?

I know because I use this approach and haven’t paid for advertising in 30-years. So yes, I strongly recommend you seriously think about it.

It’s the most valuable question in sales!

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closing the sale, closing, feedback

If you want to get really good answers, you need to ask really good questions. What I’m going to show you today is maybe the best question in sales. It’s a fantastic question you should ask when presenting to a prospective client or customer. A question that will help you massively increase your conversion rate.

Here it is. Just before you finish speaking with a new prospect, ask them the following.

“Are there any questions you would like me to have asked you?”

Usually, small business owners would ask the prospect if there’s anything else they’d like to know or if they have any questions. If the prospect was not particularly motivated to hire them or buy from them, they’ll usually just say ‘no’, as a way to wind the meeting down.

At that point, the small business owner would have lost the sale.

However, when you ask, “Are there any questions you would like me to have asked you?”, their focus shifts. And you open a door.

Prospects who were not particularly motivated to hire you or buy from you, will now use your question as an invitation to tell you what their issue is. This is especially the case if they were unhappy with something important to them, which you missed. As long as you provide a good enough answer, (which starts with you thanking them for such a great question), you’ll win that prospect over.

Obviously, this idea will work better with some prospects, some situations and in some industries, than others. 

But I have seen enough examples over the years, both personally and from clients and associates, to confirm it is extremely effective at turning a lost contract or sale into a done deal. Give it a try and see just how many additional sales you make.

Grab. Focus. Urgency: How to vastly increase your sales

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marketing motivation, deadlines, sales

When it comes to making sales or getting clients, deadlines are extremely effective. That’s because deadlines tap into one of the strongest motivators in business. The principle of scarcity.

Here’s what makes deadlines such a powerful marketing tool.

  • They grab attention.
  • They focus the mind.
  • They create urgency.

Attention grabbing

It’s no wonder deadlines grab our attention. People hate to miss out. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is activated the moment we see a deadline attached to something we have an interest in. FOMO grabs a prospect’s attention in a way that isn’t possible, when you don’t attach a deadline to your offer.

Focused

Our mind is then immediately focused on the actual date or time of the deadline. We start to work out the amount of time between now, and the cut-off point. Within reason, the shorter the deadline, the greater the motivation. However, too short a deadline will actually result in fewer sales/enquiries. There’s a balance required. For example, when marketing an event, 1 month is usually too short. But for a flash sale, 48 hours is often too long.

Urgent

The deadline presents us with a limited amount of time to make our decision. This sense of urgency will immediately inspire some people to take rapid action. Others will find the urgency grow and grow as the deadline approaches. Either way, the deadline creates a level of urgency that just isn’t there, when the prospect thinks they have all the time in the world.

So, look for opportunities to add a deadline date or time to your marketing. Then see how all that increased attention, focus and urgency improves your response rates.

Photo by Justin Veenema

Attract. Don’t sell

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attract marketing, marketing tips

It turns out that everybody in your marketplace has at least 2 things in common.

  1. They hate being sold to.
  2. They hate having problems.

Think about it, your business exists in order to solve a problem or a number of problems. Every business does. Therefore, business owners should be approaching prospective clients as a problem solver.

Not as an accountant, courier, retailer, IFA, designer, trainer or whatever. But as someone who can make the prospect’s life easier, less stressful, or both, by solving at least one problem for them.

This means talking to them, instead of pitching to them. It means focusing on their needs, so we get a clear understanding of their problems. Then, explaining how we can help them.

When your marketplace sees you as a source of answers, they’ll regard you as a useful asset. And that changes the whole dynamic of how you do business. You become a vastly more attractive proposition.

Why? Because we’re drawn to those who can help us. Those who can make things better for us. Those who can reduce our stress.

In short, doors that were closed to you when you were trying to sell stuff, will fly open when you approach them as a problem solver. And you’ll find people start hiring you or buying from you, without you having to sell anything.

How to make more sales, in uncertain times

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marketing, make more sales,

As I promised recently, here are some more ideas to help you and your business through the uncertainty of the current economy.

As things change, we need to adjust our marketing to the new wants and needs of our customers or clients. That’s what I’m focusing on today.

Plan with flexibility

Typical marketing plans run for a year and make the mistake of assuming conditions will remain roughly the same. As a result, these plans fall to pieces when faced with a period of rapid change. That’s why your marketing plan needs to have flexibility built in.

I recommend creating 90-day marketing plans, to run alongside your overall business plan. These need to be regularly reviewed and adjusted, based on real-time feedback. What’s working better than before? What are your prospects suddenly asking for? What’s no longer working as well as it used to? You get the idea.

Pay extra close attention to your customers

One of the best pieces of business advice I’ve ever received is this.

‘Your customers will show you where your market is going’.

Customers do this through their actions and their words. Here are some questions to ask yourself, so you can see where your market is going.

  • Have your customer enquiries changed recently?
  • Have your customers’ buying habits or preferences changed recently?
  • Are customers mentioning any new concerns during the sales process?
  • Is there a meaningful increase or fall in customer spending?
  • Have you noticed customers becoming more price-sensitive?
  • Are customers engaging with you differently online, perhaps interacting more through social media, direct messages, or emails?
  • Have your customers started recommending (or requesting) new products, services, or features you previously hadn’t considered?
  • Is there a noticeable increase in customers asking you for personalised or customised offerings?
  • Are there specific fears or uncertainties customers are expressing more often?
  • Have customer priorities recently changed?

Now ask yourself, are there new opportunities emerging, or new concerns emerging, which I need to take action on?

Focus on your new opportunities. Think positive

Rapidly changing conditions often cause stress or anxiety for small business owners. We need to be aware of this, and turn it around. A positive, proactive mindset helps us adapt quickly, confidently, and effectively. That’s exactly what we need right now.

So, focus on opportunities rather than obstacles.

Also, encourage yourself, and your team if you have one, to innovate. Innovating puts you in control. It immediately gives you a lift and causes you to think far more positively.

And remind yourself regularly of the challenges you’ve overcome in the past. You’ll overcome future challenges too, if you use the right approach. In fact, you may well come out of this wiser and wealthier than you were before. I saw this with 100% of my clients during the pandemic.

I hope you found this useful. If you did, share it with your friends.

17 Tips to help you grow a stronger business

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marketing tips, build strong business

Here are 17 tips to help you grow a stronger business. In no particular order.

Lead with outcomes
People are buying what life looks like after doing business with you. Don’t sell the process. Sell the improvement.

Simplify the next step
Don’t just tell prospects about your product or service. Show them exactly what they need to do next. One clear action. Make it easy for them to move forward.

Your brand is always doing something
If you haven’t built your brand with intention, it’s still shaping how people see you. Only negatively.

Fit in and disappear
If your offer looks like your competitors’, you vanish. Be specific. Be different. Be seen.

Don’t build your audience on rented land
Social media platforms regularly change their rules and algorithms. They can disconnect you from your community or massively restrict your reach at any time. And it’s put many people out of business. Build an email list. Own your business’ communication channel.

Turn up consistently
In uncertain times, consistency builds trust. Be the business that turns up, follows through, and keeps its word even when others go quiet.

Stop waiting. Start creating
The perfect time won’t come. Build the opportunity yourself.

People buy for their reasons
Not yours. Always start with what matters to them.

You don’t own your customers (or clients)
You borrow them. They’re free to leave. So, keep increasing your value.

Every touchpoint matters
Buyers check you out quietly, behind the scenes. Especially your online personality. Make sure every part of your presence earns their confidence.

Too many low-quality customers
Low quality customers or clients are the unavoidable result of low-quality marketing.

Everything you do is marketing
Yes, everything… look. The way you answer emails. Your prices. Your contracts. How you follow-up. People notice. And they talk.

Use curiosity in your marketing
Give people just enough information to spark a question. That’s how you generate enquiries. Not by trying to answer everything upfront.

Use fewer words
Most marketing copy I see is 70% too long. Cut to the chase before they lose interest.

Don’t lower your fees
Raise your value. People pay for outcomes, not discounts.

Clarity sells. Confusion repels
Make your message short, clear and easy to act on. Too many options? They won’t pick any.

Earn permission
When someone chooses to hear from you, they’re far more likely to listen.

How to increase your prices

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Image represents, How to increase your prices, arrow going up, comic style

Do you need to increase your prices or fees because of the current crisis? Not sure what to do? I’ve put these ideas together, to help you limit resistance to your price increase as much as possible.

Let’s go!

Honesty and openness

Customers are more understanding of a price rise when they hear specifics. For example, tell them your shipping costs have doubled and to maintain the same level of quality/service, you’re increasing prices by (whatever) percent.

Specifics cut to the point. The more real it feels, the fairer it sounds.

Give as much notice as possible

This is important on a number of levels.

  • Short notice price increases give the impression your business is in trouble. This dents customer confidence.
  • Even a couple of weeks’ notice can reduce customer resistance.

You may also find that the advance notice creates a short-term increase in sales. This can provide you with a very welcome improvement to your cash flow!

Reward your most loyal customers

This is the worst possible time to start losing your most valuable customers. Whenever possible, let your best customers keep their current price for a little longer. 

A message like this goes a very long way. 

‘We’re increasing our pricing, but as one of our most valued customers, we’re keeping your rate the same for the next 3-months’.

Being forced to increase your prices is never easy

There’s almost always a degree of pushback. That’s why it’s essential to focus on protecting your customer relationships. Once you know for sure that an increase is inevitable, take action.

It isn’t easy. But the longer you delay, the harder it gets.

On a personal note, I feel for everyone who’s struggling with the current crisis. I want you and your business to come out the other side of this better and stronger. Rest assured, I’m going to try and help you as much as possible.

Your economy

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marketing tips, small business

The economy is general. It’s determined by outside factors.

Your economy is specific. It’s determined by you.

Your economy is what matters. That’s because it is always your actions that determine your economy… and your results.

We saw this everywhere at the start of this decade, during the pandemic lockdowns. There would be businesses in the same industry, in the same towns, serving the same marketplace; one would flourish and the other would fail.

Same restrictions.

Same opportunities.

But massively different outcomes.

Your economy and amazing opportunities

Yes, the 2025 economy is fast moving and increasingly hard to predict. However, every business owner who’s doing the right things for the current landscape will thrive. I know because I work with these business owners every day. We’re working on their economy. We’re focused on the things they can control.

It turns out that’s almost 100% of what actually matters, for the success of their businesses.

Also, remind yourself that every time we see economic uncertainty, the number of new opportunities multiply. So, look for the new needs and new wants of your marketplace. Their needs and wants are begging for you to step in. Bring them your new ideas, new products, new services, new product bundles, new payment options and new packages, etc.

In short, there are opportunities all around you. It’s the perfect time to start developing your economy.

From rags to riches?

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rags to riches, richard branson, self made, rags to riches story, 2025

This article gives you a behind the scenes look at those rags to riches stories we love. Plus, why they’re not always quite what they seem!

People love a good story. So much so, that facts are often changed in order to make the story more compelling.

Now, with some types of story, it’s unlikely to cause us any problems if the story we hear has been embellished. If that prince was a little less hunky in real life than in the story, it’s okay. Similarly, if the fish Bob caught wasn’t quite as big as he told us, that’s fine. But what if it’s a fact that Sir Richard Branson was actually born into a very, very rich and influential family?

Rags to riches… really?

Where we have a challenge, is when the stories we hear are intended to provide us with a business lesson, yet they have a key piece of information missing. Like the rags to riches stories, which contained no rags!

2 Types of business story

There are 2 types of story, which are commonly highlighted in business books, self improvement seminars and business blogs:

  1. The first kind of story is by far the most popular. It’s where we hear about the kid, who is born into poverty, yet goes from rags to riches. We love these stories, because many of us start off with nothing and aspire to make a success of our lives. As the son of penniless immigrants, I know I found these stories inspirational. They helped me believe anything was possible, even starting from zero.
  2. The second kind of story is also powerful and used as a warning. It’s the story of those wealthy business owners who self destruct.

However, there is a third type of story – a story which is seldom told, because it seems to lack the obvious impact of the other two.

Today, I’d like to salute a third group of people, whose stories don’t neatly fit into either of those 2 popular stereotypes. I’m talking about those who come from a super-wealthy or privileged background, but elect to use it as a springboard for something even greater.

Wealth to extreme wealth

Such is the demand for rags to riches stories that many riches to greater riches stories have been incorrectly retold, usually for the sake of emphasis.

I remember listening to the charismatic Easyjet founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou being introduced on a radio program as ‘a poor kid who did good‘. Stelios politely interrupted the interviewer, to remind her that he was in fact, the son of an extremely wealthy shipping magnate. Stelios’ father gave him £30MILLION to start up his shipping business.

However, our desire to believe that hard working people like Stelios, must have come up the hard way, means these stories often mutate into one of rags to riches.

Sir Richard Branson is no rags to riches story. FAR from it!

Like Stelios, Sir Richard Branson’s success story is often referred to incorrectly, as rags to riches. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sir Richard was actually born into a wealthy, extremely influential family. He is the grandson of The Right Honourable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson and the son of a leading UK barrister. Sir Richard’s story is one of wealth to extreme wealth. His achievements have been impressive, but we gain nothing in learning from his achievements, if we change the facts to make the story sound better.

Back in 2020, Sir Richard Branson’s family home was valued at over $5Million. Even that was a low, pandemic valuation. His parents bought the home in 1963 from a viscountess!

Sir Richard Branson childhood home
Sir Richard Branson’s childhood home

As we all know, many people born into that kind of wealth, choose to sit on their butt or self-destruct. Others spend their lives travelling the world spending their trust fund and then their inheritance, which is their prerogative. Few have done as Branson did (starting at age 16) and put their unearned assets to work for them, to grow multiple successful businesses, in many different industries worldwide. That should be a good enough story, without story tellers inventing a rags to riches beginning to the storyline.

Seth Godin is no rags to riches story

Seth Godin’s business career started with a superb business education at the best place possible. Seth’s late father, the highly-respected businessman William Godin, was the multi-millionaire owner of the largest business in its niche, in the whole USA. This saw Seth educated at the world famous Stanford Business School (see Stanford Graduate School for Business). For those who don’t know, Stanford is regarded by many as the finest business school in the world. Seth’s fellow Stanford students went on to become CEO’s of; Microsoft, eBay, Paypal, Trader Joe’s, Gap, Nike, Wells Fargo, Ford and countless other multinational corporations – plus at least 1 President of The United States. It’s a great place to get a world class business education and build a priceless network of super-influential, super-wealthy contacts.

Seth started his blog with a bang, thanks to super-influential contacts. For example, he wrote his first blog post, sitting next to Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin – a fellow Stanford student. Seth’s story is regularly shared as one of rags to riches. The reality is very different, with Seth enjoying access to many of America’s most influential people and starting off with the support of his extremely wealthy family.

We learn nothing from incorrect information.

Podcasters, influencers, YouTubers, authors and trainers don’t need to pretend these inspirational people grew up in poverty, in order to make their journey an inspiration for us. The stories behind the success of people like Stelios, Sir Richard and Seth Godin, contain lessons we can learn from. My point, is that these stories do not need to be repackaged. They stand up as they are. There’s no need to pretend these inspirational people grew up in poverty, in order to make their journey an inspiration for us.

On a more serious note, by repackaging those stories, so they sound like rags to riches, the stories can become toxic. New entrepreneurs often find themselves stuck, wondering why they are not seeing the kind of results that their inspirational, rags to riches role models did; unaware that their role model may have started off with a world-class business education, the most influential contacts imaginable, the support of wealthy family and friends – or all of those assets. For instance, it’s easier to sell a company for millions, when you have contacts who have budgets worth millions, which they need to invest.

In short: Be careful measuring your progress against anyone, but especially people you do not know. Rags to riches stories are often not what they seem.

Tiny tweaks. Huge wins

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small business, marketing tips, business development,

One of the quickest ways to improve your results, is to spot and fix the tiny things that can make a big difference to your business.

Here are some ideas to quickly get you started.

Sham spam

In 2024, I almost lost two, high-quality enquiries from people who became new clients. It was down to what I call sham spam.

Here’s what it is and how to avoid it.

Yes, I know you check your spam email folder. I’m specifically referring to the anti-spam folder on your website, designed to filter spammy messages from reaching you. Genuine business contact form enquiries are sometimes wrongly filtered as spam and you never see them. I learned this one the hard way! It doesn’t happen often, but often enough to justify checking occasionally.

Why not check your spam folder after you’ve finished reading this? It takes very little time.

Customer connections

Regularly make time to connect with at least one of your clients. This incudes former clients. Not to sell them something. Simply to ask how they’re doing and catch up with them. Business relationships become stronger, when they’re based on more than just selling.

Ongoing communication with your clients also helps you to better understand their challenges, their needs and their wants. This understanding makes it easier and less risky, for you to successfully create new services or products.

Pathway planning

If you don’t know where you’re going, every path will take you there. That’s unproductive. It scatters your focus. It leads to dead ends. It’s also why I recommend you plan your days, your weeks and your months in advance.

After all, how can you know if things are going according to plan, if you don’t have a plan?

Flakey forms

This idea takes no time and might stop you from losing important sales enquiries. Go to your website and make sure your contact forms and subscriber forms are working. Often, a form will look perfect when it’s not functioning correctly. So, test your forms by filling-in the required information and make sure everything is okay. It only takes a few minutes, but it could help you avoid missing-out on valuable leads or new subscribers. This is especially the case, whenever you update the software on your website or have any work done on it. 

I hope you found these ideas useful. If you did, remember to share them with your friends.

Working in. Working on

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work your plan, an image of an arrow pointing right, white on a blue background

I shared an idea recently with some entrepreneurs, which I think you may find useful. It’s a powerful, yet very simple difference in how the most successful business owners run their day.

I’ve also included a tip, which you can use to accelerate the growth of your business.

Let’s go!

It starts with an observation

When I speak with business owners who are frustrated with their progress, I find they spend a lot of time reacting. Specifically, reacting to the demands of their customers and colleagues. As such, they spend too little time developing their own business.

This scenario is most commonly expressed in that often-repeated business advice; You need to spend more time working on your business and less time working in your business.

Of course, every business owner needs to respond to the needs of their business. What I’ve discovered is that the most successful business owners respond differently from their average counterparts.

It looks like this.

The most successful business owners remain focussed on their plans. This means they do what’s required for their clients, colleagues etc., BUT they then refocus like a laser on their own plans. They plan their work, and work their plan. As a result, each day brings progress. Some days more than others. The key thing is they move their business forward every single day.

The average business owner also has a plan. However, they find their plans are often derailed by the demands of others. This means that although they start their day correctly, their plans go out the window. They work hard, but make little if any progress on their plans. Before they know it, a day of too little progress becomes a week of too little progress, a week becomes a month… repeat.

What’s the answer, Jim?

The short answer is that we need to plan our work and work our plan. It’s the second part that’s tricky. As I mentioned a moment ago, most business owners have a plan of some description.

The challenge is sticking with the plan, when the day-to-day needs of their business come along.

A valuable reminder

Here’s what worked for me, to ensure my focus always returned to my plan for the day. I set a reminder on my phone, which went off every 3-hours during the work day. When the alarm went off, a message would appear saying work your plan.

Did you notice how the previous paragraph is in the past tense?

That’s because after a couple of weeks, I didn’t need the alarm. I learned to automatically refocus on my plan for the day, as soon as I’d completed an off-plan activity. It’s hard to overstate what a huge, measurable improvement this can make for you and your business.

Give it a try.