Jim Connolly Marketing

Small adjustments. Low risk. Amazing sales results

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From a sales and marketing perspective, which of the following do you think gets the best results?

  • A sign on your customer entrance that says “We’re open”, or a sign that says “Come in”?
  • A message in your marketing, which gives your “opening hours”, or a message in your marketing that gives your “drop-in hours”?

The second option in both those examples always performs better (sometimes by factors of hundred’s of percent) in tests.

There are 3 important points from that short exercise.

1. Small adjustments can produce massive improvements

Minor adjustments to your sales or marketing can create breakthrough results.

In the above examples, tiny changes to the text were made. However, by increasing the number of prospective clients (or customers) who take action, those changes can result in a very tangible, positive impact.

For instance, a client of mine made a change I suggested, live on our first Zoom meeting. He was able to see a clear, measurable improvement with a tiny textual change to a call-to-action button on his website that same day. He then rolled it out to all his relevant pages the following day, with equally outstanding results, but this time across his entire range of services. We tested, measured and adjusted until he squeezed out close to a 175% increase in the click-through rate from those pages, to his sales pages.

Test, measure and adjust?

Yes.

If you’ve followed my work for any period of time, you’ll know that every marketing adjustment you make needs to be tested and measured.

  • Tested: Put into play in a real world setting.
  • Measured: Results compared against past performance. If it improves things, you keep it and then seek to further improve it with your next adjustment.

That process is then repeated until you see no further measurable improvement. Then, you move on to the next marketing element to adjust and improve.

2. Low risk

The type of subtle adjustments I’m referring to here, either cost nothing or very little for you to put into play. This means they can be deployed quickly.

So, you now have the freedom to make adjustments to each part of your sales and marketing. In fact, that’s exactly what EVERY professionally marketed business already does.

3. One size does not fit all

Different marketing adjustments, tactics and strategies work differently in different industries. And even within the same industry, there are dozens and dozens of things that will determine how effective any change to your marketing will be, for your specific business.

Some of the most common factors include.

  • The profile of client you sell your products or services to.
  • Your pricing; whether it is higher, lower or around average for your industry.
  • How well, or poorly, any changes you make, work alongside your current branding.
  • Your location.

Small, low risk adjustments that are specific to you

You don’t need to make major changes.

You don’t need to spend major money, it usually takes just a little of your time.

But you do need to find out what works best for you and your business.

You can waste a massive amount of time focusing on the wrong things to adjust. You can waste even more time, making the wrong adjustments. And in both cases, you’ll be leaving a potential fortune on the table.

This is one of those areas of marketing where it makes no sense to dabble with it yourself, unless you absolutely have to. So, if you can afford to invest in expert marketing help, do.
Note: I explain why in more detail here.

When done correctly, this strategy will give you a huge spread of improvements that will combine to increase your sales. It’s a proven, low risk, highly effective and exceptionally robust way to grow your business in any economy.

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

What is sub-scratch and why must you eliminate it?

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What is sub-scratch and why must you eliminate it?

You’ve never heard of sub-scratch before. That’s understandable. It’s a term I created. Here’s how I explain it to clients, and why you need to AVOID it.

Starting from scratch / sub-scratch

  • Starting from scratch is an opportunity to start anew. It frees you to build a project on a clean, clear foundation. And it’s extremely underrated.
  • Starting from sub-scratch is the exact opposite. It’s what happens when you start work on a project, which is already broken. You need to pick up the pieces and erase the damage before doing anything else.

I was prompted to write this, after learning about the following, recent sub-scratch example.

A business owner wrote, and sent, a very pushy marketing email to everyone in a local business directory. None had requested the information. She then discovered that she and her ‘spammy email’ were being trashed in the local Facebook business group. The business owner then posted confrontational responses to some individuals in the group, making things even worse. By choosing to dabble with the initial marketing that caused the problem, then dabble with the PR required to mitigate the problem, she’s seriously damaged her reputation within her target marketplace.

My expensive sub-scratch mistake

I made my own sub-scratch mistake well over 20 years ago. It cost me a fortune. I still cringe when I think of it. I had a financial investment decision, which I was maybe 80% sure I knew the answer to. Rather than hire a professional Financial Advisor, I dabbled. I asked a wealthy friend and he agreed I was right. So, I proceeded. I was wrong and so was my friend. It ended up losing me thousands. I still needed to hire a professional Financial Advisor, but she needed to unpick my DIY financials, before building me a solid foundation.

As small business owners, you and I need to make sure we don’t create sub-scratch problems. We need to be very intentional about the things we absolutely know we’re able to do, and those things where we lack the knowledge required. It’s always more effective and far less expensive, to hire an expert at the start, rather than afterwards.

Photo by Francisco De Legarreta C. on Unsplash

Much better than I expected!

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better than expected, exceed expectations

Think about it. When you’ve delivered a project for a client, you want them to say to themselves, “this is much better than I expected“.

When you tell someone about the service you offer, then quote your fee, you want them to say to themselves, “this quote is much better than I expected“.

When someone experiences your customer service, you want them to say to themselves, “this service is much better than I expected“.

Five of the best words in business

There’s REAL power in those 5 words. They’re a sure sign that you’re exceeding expectations. And the most successful business owners strive to exceed expectations, with every interaction.

Here’s why.

They know that by truly exceeding expectations, they’ll retain more clients. They know they’ll also receive highly valuable client referrals. And they know they’ll build an exceptional reputation, too.

The reason the majority of small businesses fail to achieve this, is that it presents the business owner with 2 tricky challenges. When you overcome them, you can benefit from all the advantages of exceeding the expectations of your clients and your marketplace. And that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Let’s start by looking at those 2 challenges and how you can turn things around.

1. Almost every business owner thinks they’re already exceeding expectations

They know how hard they work. They know how passionately they care about their clients. They then confuse their hard work and passion with delivering a remarkably good service.

Working hard doesn’t mean you’re exceeding expectations. After all, you can work darn hard just delivering exactly what your client expects from you! That kind of hard work is merely meeting expectations. Not exceeding them.

How do you find out for sure, if you’re exceeding expectations?

Simple. Just look at the number of referrals your clients give you. This will sound harsh if you’re currently not receiving regular referrals. But in every industry, people proactively recommend the products and services that really impress them. They want their friends to know. That’s how word of mouth marketing works.

Some clients will stay with an “okay service provider” for years, just because it’s easier than switching to a better provider. The provider can wrongly assume this loyalty is a reflection of truly remarkable service.

It isn’t.

When a business isn’t getting a regular stream of client referrals, it’s a sure sign that the business isn’t exceeding what their clients expect from them. And it’s a wake up call. A wake up call to put things right, to up their game, to go from average to remarkable.

At least it should be.

2. It’s harder to exceed expectations than to meet them

Even if a business owner accepts they’re not exceeding expectations, it can be a challenge to figure out what they need to do, to turn things around. Every marketplace is saturated with average providers. And this can make it tricky to get out of that mindset. To see what’s truly possible and blow the lid off the service you provide.

Fear not!

Here’s something I share with my clients, to help them overcome this challenge.

The best way to elevate your own expectations of what’s possible, is to look outside of your industry and beyond your competitors for guidance and inspiration.

For example.

  • Compare your customer service to Disney.
  • Compare your product’s build quality to Rolex.
  • Compare your design quality to Apple.
  • Compare your distribution to Amazon.

Then, look for better ways to deliver your services, based on what you learn from these (and other) examples of excellence. It takes a little effort. That’s for sure. However, it’s a proven way to radically improve your services. A proven way to get people saying your offering is “much better than I expected”.

And I’ve seen it work hundreds of times with my clients, helping them smash their sales targets into pieces. It’s one of my marketing tips for 2024, just as it was for 2004.

What next?

In my experience, it’s the first of those challenges that’s always the toughest.

Even when some business owners know they get very few referrals, they’ll still fail to accept it’s down to them.

  • They’ll say their clients expect too much.
  • They’ll blame their clients for being ungrateful.
  • They’ll tell themselves their clients aren’t the kind who recommend others.

In short, they’ll refuse to acknowledge the problem.

The second challenge is a little less tricky.

It means embracing the edges. And that feels riskier than staying in their comfort zone. But as any entrepreneur, I mean real entrepreneur will tell you, the riskiest thing you can do is cling to the overcrowded middle ground.

Make no mistake, consistently exceeding expectations takes real commitment. And that’s why so few of your competitors will do it.

It’s also why this wonderful opportunity is open to you.

It’s an opportunity to attract the best clients, to attract endless referrals, to retain your clients for longer and build an outstanding business. A business that’s much better than people expected. A business that will thrive in any economy… including this one.

Photo by Jacqueline Munguía on Unsplash

Get reflective: Your unpaid salespeople will do the rest

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marketing, reflective thinking, design, utility

Right now, there’s a motivated sales force out there, who happily work for free and are waiting to tell people all about you and the services you provide.

I came up with this idea 20 years ago, after studying the world’s top industrial designers and commercial designers. It blew me away.

Here’s what I discovered.

One of the attributes of commercially successful design, is that the object needs to be reflective. In other words, it causes us to think about it. To reflect on its utility, uniqueness or beauty.

I’ve found that a commercially successful business also needs to be reflective. A business that’s useful has utility. A business that’s meaningfully different is unique. And a business that runs smoothly is a thing of beauty.

Allow me to explain why this should matter to you and your business.

Your unpaid salespeople are waiting

Designers know that reflective products almost sell themselves.

For instance, my wife bought me some Apple AirPods just after they launched. Their unique look caused total strangers to ask me about them. Their ability to instantly connect wirelessly, inspired me to tell my friends about them.

Just by owning them and using them I became an unpaid salesperson for the product.

Take a look at your products, services or business model and look for ways to make things more reflective. How many unpaid salespeople are there, who’ll spring into action as soon as you give them something reflective to share with their friends? Give it a try and find out.

Photo by Maria Fernanda Pissioli on Unsplash

Is it time to expand? Maybe. But read this first!

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expanding your marketplace

This could be the right time to expand the marketplace you serve.

It really could.

But often when a small business owner explains their scenario and asks for my advice, the solution is not to expand. Their existing marketplace tends to be more than big enough.

Usually, to get the business results they want, the answer is for them to make their prospects more interested, more engaged and more reliant on the products or services the business provides.

How?

Here’s a quick overview of what this might mean for you and your business.

  • It means greatly increasing the value of your services or products.
  • It means looking at every detail of what you provide, for opportunities to improve it.
  • It means developing new, high-value, high-profit products and services for existing and prospective clients/customers.
  • It means getting serious about your marketing.
  • It means creating an inspiring wow! factor for your services, products and brand. Creating something so compelling that it attracts attention, attracts buyers, attracts referrals and attracts word-of-mouth publicity.

Now what?

It depends

If you’ve deployed this process already, and seen a significant increase in your market share, then look to expand your marketplace. The work you’ve already done in maximizing the sales potential of your business, will make the expansion spectacularly more effective.

However, if you haven’t already given your services, products and brand this type of radical review AND implemented the improvements, do that first! Then, expand your marketplace.

Is it easy?

No, of course not.

The rewards are huge and the work required is considerable. Don’t believe anyone who says you can have it all, with growth hacks and tricks. That’s bullshit.

Is it possible?

Yes, of course it is.

People in your industry, have already optimized the sales potential of their business and successfully expanded in to new markets.

Will you do it?

Only you can answer that.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Make this your superpower. Use it today!

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enthusiasm, marketing, viral

The exceptional effectiveness of what I am about to share with you will start working today. There is only 1 caveat.

  • Take a few minutes to read this to the end. At least twice! Most people wrongly assume they already understand this… or they skim read this once, then miss out on a fast-acting, long-term improvement to their business.

    Today, I’d like you to consider your answer to the following question.

    How genuinely enthusiastic are you about your business?

      People can tell almost immediately if you’re enthusiastic or not. And your level of enthusiasm is visible to everyone in everything you SAY and DO. It’s in the confidence and clarity you show to your prospects; both verbally and in your marketing. It’s in the motivation, optimism, confidence, positivity and inspiration that radiates from you regarding your products, your services or your art.

      Enthusiasm improves everything

      When you speak, write, or act with enthusiasm, people feel more positively about you. Enthusiastic business owners exude confidence, which is crucial. Think about it, we only hire people or buy from them, if we have confidence in them.

      When you speak with enthusiasm, people listen more attentively. They’re drawn in. You notice their body language change, as they lean forward because they’re paying attention. And this happens in seconds.

      All these benefits of enthusiasm, and more, combine to create an immediate, positive impact. In a moment, I’ll give you 10 important ways that this can help you greatly improve your results.

      A lack of enthusiasm destroys

      When genuine enthusiasm is lacking, [or even worse, fake], people notice immediately. You’ve lost them. Because your lack of enthusiasm is talking louder than the words you use. Now, this has always been extremely important. Today, when your prospects are looking for more reassurance than ever before, that lack of enthusiasm is fatal.

      A lack of confidence also emboldens your enthusiastic competitors. It gives them even more enthusiasm that if they keep-on-keeping-on, they’ll own what could have been your corner of the market.

      Unleash your enthusiasm

      Here are 10 ways you can improve your results, by letting your enthusiasm shine through everything you do.

      1. It will generate more sales, as you ‘transfer your enthusiasm’.
      2. It will improve perceptions of you, your business and the service you provide.
      3. It will encourage the people around you. This super-valuable trait is common to every great leader.
      4. It will inspire confidence in you and what you do.
      5. It will attract opportunities that you wouldn’t have previously been offered.
      6. It will attract the best clients, too.
      7. It will position you in the marketplace, as ‘one to watch’.
      8. It will energize you and everything you do.
      9. It will motivate people to recommend you to their friends.
      10. And it will make you happier with your business, which further boosts your enthusiasm and amplifies all those great benefits.

      Okay. So, not everyone reading this is brimming with enthusiasm right now.

      Let’s look at that.

      What if you’re not feeling enthusiastic?

      Think of it like this. You’re the business owner. So, you’re in control.

      This means you have the freedom, starting right now, to build a business that enthuses you. A business that excites you on every level.

      Remember: You choose where you work. You choose who your clients or customers are. You even choose what you charge. This means you get to decide where you work, who you work for and how much money you make.

      So, if your current business doesn’t cause you to feel enthusiastic, improve it until it does.

      You can do it. That’s for certain. I know, because I see it happening every day with my clients.