Jim Connolly Marketing

We’ll find a way

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There’s something exceptionally powerful in the following 4 word statement, ‘We’ll find a way’.

It’s quite literally transformative. Just consider the impact it has in each of the following scenarios. Then we’ll look at opportunities for you to apply it directly into your business.

  • We’ll find a way: It’s a springboard to growth and development.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a mindset to make your meetings ultra productive.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a sign of your commitment.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s the starting point of every great discovery.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a mindset for removing barriers.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a message that demonstrates your willingness.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s the answer to feelings of hopelessness.
  • We’ll find a way: It’s a preface to collaborations and partnerships.

There are many, many other examples of the powerful impact this phrase can have.

We’ll find a way in your business

With this in mind, here’s something I’d like you to consider.

I wonder how it might improve your business, when you look for opportunities to include ‘we’ll find a way’ thinking; in your conversations, client meetings, sales presentations, social media copy, newsletters, planning sessions, staff training, internal and external emails and project meetings.

As you have probably already noticed, we’ll find a way thinking is one of the most powerful, yet least talked about attributes of the world’s most influential leaders.

So, consider it another tool in your arsenal. Another option. A way to remove blocks that were holding you back. And a mindset that will be invaluable to your business as we enter 2025.

A big powerful idea

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Yes, as 2024 comes to an end, things are changing fast. That’s why today, I’m going to share an idea with you that can help you move forward with confidence. It’s something I’ve used for decades and it has never failed. 

It’s all about the importance of focusing on a big, powerful idea.

Here’s why it will work for you, along with a proven way for you to develop your very own big, powerful idea.

  • Big ideas crush apprehension and replace it with eager anticipation and excitement.
  • Big ideas fill you with motivation. They also provide the energy that’s required to achieve them.
  • Big ideas force you to grow. Every big idea requires you to learn new things, connect with new people and expand your horizons.
  • Big ideas attract the attention of others. People lean forward when they hear a big idea. They want to know more.
  • Big ideas draw people to you who want to be involved. You never have to worry about getting the help you need, if your idea is compelling enough.
  • Big ideas spread. You don’t need to push big ideas. They go from person to person. They have legs. They’re the source of that ‘buzz’ that every thriving business has.

Think big. Plan big. And enjoy the energy, clarity, direction and rewards that come from working toward your big, powerful idea.

The question is, where’s your big idea going to come from? 

Here’s your answer. 

Finding YOUR big, powerful idea

Given that this newsletter is being read by people on every continent, in every industry and with vastly different levels of experience, here’s a ‘silver bullet’ tactic. I’ve used this for decades and shared it with millions of people through my work. It’s a 4 step process I call The 6 Idea Trick. 

Important: Past experience shows that the correct way to use that tactic, is to make time for it. It’s amazingly effective. It will work, but it’s not magic. It requires time and effort. 

Your business is losing a fortune. But your numbers look great

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losing money, small business, small biz, marketing

Photo: Nicola Barts

A company pays a salesperson $125,000 a year.

That salesperson has generated an average of $250,000 a year, for 3 years, in high-profit sales.

He did great.

No he didn’t!

He was terrible.

In fact, he was worse than a waste of money.

And here’s why.

He was losing the company a fortune!

You see, that salesperson left the company and was replaced by a new salesperson.

The new salesperson was also paid $125,000 a year.

And using the same source of leads, over the following 3-years they generated an average of $750,000 a year in high-profit sales.

In the space of 3-years, the first salesperson under-performed by $1,500,000.

Data and information

Too many business owners, and sales/marketing directors, who should know better, make decisions based on data, when what they need is information.

Information is what you get, when someone applies knowledge, experience and context to data.

  • Data will show you that your salesperson is generating a 100% profit.
  • Information does that. However, your information-based decision-making causes you to research the average conversion rate for your industry. It immediately identifies a major problem that’s losing you a fortune. The salesperson is way, way below average and needs training or replacing.

This same data error is made by most small business owners, when they advertise. And it locks them into believing that they need to run ads.

  • They run the ads and data shows an ‘X’ percent profit is being achieved.
  • They then look at ways to further increase that profit figure, with better written ads, better timed ads, better designed ads or placing ads on different platforms. This is an extremely limiting approach.

The business owner using an information-based approach, would look at the ad data. THEN, seek out one of the massively more profitable, massively more expensive options.

They’d examine the profitability of investing in email marketing, joint ventures and endorsed relationships, etc.

They’d discover that JUST ONE, successful Endorsed Relationship campaign can generate far more high-profit income for them in a week, than your business usually generates in a year. No ads required. Ever.

In short, you can’t make informed decisions without information. Data is just a single component. And using it by itself, can ruin an otherwise great business.

Closing the sale?

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sorry closed wooden board at entrance
Photo by Mathias Reding on Pexels.com

When I started out in sales and marketing, it was all about closing the sale.

In fact, good salespeople were often referred to as good closers.

Decades later, I still see sales recruiters asking for candidates who have a proven record of closing.

Here’s why you need to be extremely careful, before using any of the countless closing techniques and tricks.

Closing for business?

The challenge with the closing mindset, is that it positions the prospective customer as little more than an obstacle. A barrier between you and the sale. A hurdle to be overcome. It’s little wonder so many closing techniques are based on aggressive, psychological tactics.

Here are a couple of the worst, widely used examples today.

  • The silence close. This is where a series of long, uncomfortable silences are used at key points in the sales process. The person selling uses this discomfort to exert the maximum mental pressure on the prospective client. It’s borrowed from interrogation techniques!
  • Assuming the sale. This is where the person selling literally ignores the prospect’s lack of interest and acts as if the prospect has agreed to make the purchase. They just start asking for the delivery address and a suitable date. When/if the prospect objects, the salesperson responds with a series of why? questions, further pressuring the prospect.

In a nutshell, the focus is on outmanoeuvring your opponent. It’s them against you. A confrontation.

Here’s a very different approach, along with why I strongly recommend you use it.

Opening

I built my reputation in sales by adopting the total opposite approach. Instead of focusing on closing, I focused on opening. And I made a fortune.

Opening?

Yes. Opening relationships and opening opportunities. I found the idea of closing to be self-defeating. I discovered that you can achieve a great deal more, by opening relationships with people. This means taking time to listen to them. And then learning about their challenges and what they want or need. If our marketing is targeted correctly, we’re automatically only speaking with people who are our ideal profile of client.

When handled correctly, and preceded with effective marketing, this means there’s no need to close anything or close on anyone.

The whole process becomes a natural, flowing conversation, where we seek to help people overcome a challenge, with the products or services we provide.

It’s an effective, rewarding and professional way to achieve amazing sales results, and build masses of high-value relationships that last.

Too passive?

No way! This approach may sound passive, but consider the people YOU like. The people you trust. The vendors you’re already purchasing from. Are they pushy? Are they confrontational? No! That’s because we avoid people like that. Conversely, we’re attracted to those who respect us and are open and honest with us.

We trust people who are open and honest.

We buy from people who are open and honest.

We value people who are open and honest.

We recommend people who are open and honest.

In short, the more open we are, the more opportunities we’re open to, the more sales we make and then, the more referrals we receive.

Achieve high impact sales, with minim effort or budget

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Marketing, business advice, get moving

Small business owners have limited resources to dedicate to marketing. This should not be a barrier to success. Far from it. Here are some high impact marketing ideas that require very little time, and little or no marketing money.

Allow me to explain.

When you find yourself with limited resources, the key is to focus on doing less, but doing better. However, lots of small business owners find they spend a lot of time and/or money on marketing, for relatively little reward.

The most common example is social media marketing. Yes, it can work. But I can’t think of a less effective, yet more demanding and stressful option. There are small business owners who regularly spend their valuable time, feeding content black holes like Instagram, LinkedIn, TikToc, etc. Other’s pay ‘social media managers’ to do it for them. There are much better, easier, faster, free-of charge ways to achieve vastly higher sales results.

Here’s a high impact example of what I mean.

It’s an idea that came to me while enjoying a coffee. And it took the coffee shop owner just 20-minutes to deploy. Today, over a year later, it still gets regular customers from various social media networks, without the coffee shop owner having to invest time on any social network. Read how I did this, here.

Here’s another example.

Attract customers on YouTube… without a YouTube channel

You can achieve high impact results from YouTube, without even having a YouTube channel. And not just results, but results that will put you, your business, products or services in front of thousands of targeted viewers.

No advertising required.

No money required.

Just a high impact marketing idea.

You’re an expert in your area of business. YouTubers who interview, or chat with experts in your business niche, struggle to find enough high-quality people to speak with. This is especially the case with YouTubers who have well-established channels.

Here’s how to start. Email the show’s host with an introduction or call them. When one of them invites you on their channel, you will be swapping your stories or expertize for exposure. So, for their part, the host will let their viewers know who you are and how to contact you. Once you’ve appeared on a number of channels, invites from other show hosts will start coming to you. Remember, YouTubers have the trust of their viewers. Their positive words about you and your services or products, can have off-the-charts sales results… short, medium and long-term.

In short, there are a lot of ways to massively increase your sales or attract new clients, without spending your valuable time or money. You do not need to buy ads, pay social media managers or dance the social media dance.

So please, aim for high impact instead, my friend.

Keep the good. Lose the bad!

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marketing review, small business

A friend of mine regularly appears as an expert on business programs. She called me with a question. It’s a question about a foundational truth of all business success and I think you’ll find my answer useful, so I’m sharing it with you.

Okay. Here’s my friend’s question.

I need a piece of business advice, which would work as a very short sound bite. I’m live on TV in just under 30 minutes. Can you help?

Fortunately, I had been working a few days earlier with one of my clients and shared something, which he found really useful. I figured it might be what she was looking for. She loved it. She used it. And it worked perfectly.

It was this. “Hold on to what’s working and let go of what isn’t”.

Allow me to explain.

Holding on and letting go

Much of what we do as part of our day-to-day business is habitual. At least to a degree. Here are just a few common examples.

  • We have certain service providers we go to for particular challenges.
  • We have a familiar set of business strategies, which we’re comfortable using.
  • We rely on specific people for professional, expert advice.
  • We use a pretty fixed selection of software and hardware for certain tasks.

Over the years, these providers, strategies, people and technologies become a key part of how small business owners operate their business.

However, the most successful business owners use a different approach.

They keep their eyes open for better alternatives all the time.

They know that meaningful improvement is only possible by reviewing what you do, holding on to what’s working and letting go of what isn’t.

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Is it working or not?

It’s only natural for us to feel comfortable with what seems to be working. And after all, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it! The thing is, we can only be certain that something isn’t broken if we check for better alternatives.

Here’s a recent example. Organic SEO was a very powerful form of marketing. Is this true today? For millions of business owners the answer is a resounding ‘no!’. Since Google’s AI Overview was announced on May 14th 2024, organic search results have been pushed way, way down their search engine results page.

Google’s AI Overview is also answering the very questions people used to visit your website for. So, you could be the number one organic result and see a fraction of the traffic you used to receive.

And what about the assumptions we make?

For instance, consider the assumptions we make about the market we serve. Are these assumptions working for us? If not, we need to let them go and make better, informed decisions. This is especially the case if we’re seeing a drop in sales or marketing results.

Changes

With very few exceptions, people have significantly changed how they spend money and invest. The pandemic, followed by the economic fluctuations since, has radically altered priorities. Small business owners today, who are marketing similarly to the way they did back in 2022, are not even close to what their prospects need to hear from them two years later.

Why not take some time to review the things you’re currently holding on to. Especially those you haven’t changed in recent years. Make sure they’re still the best option for you.

Check if they’re still optimal.

Then hold on to what’s working and let go of what isn’t.