Jim Connolly Marketing

Outsmarting your competitors is not enough. Here’s the missing ingredient

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content marketing, trust

Every business owner knows that it’s essential to outsmart their competitors.

However, the most successful business owners add something extra to the mix. It’s a missing ingredient that makes all the difference. They outcare their competitors, too.

For example.

  • They care more about the success of their clients than their competitors do.
  • They care more about building great client relationships than their competitors do.
  • They care more about delivering on promises than their competitors do.
  • They care more about improving industry standards than their competitors do.
  • They care more about assisting their marketplace than their competitors do.
  • They care more about making great contacts than their competitors do.
  • They care more about quality than their competitors do.
  • They care more about service than their competitors do.
  • They care more about meeting deadlines than their competitors do.
  • They care more about ethics than their competitors do.
  • They care more about connecting with people than their competitors do.
  • They care more about professionalism than their competitors do.
  • They care more about their marketing than their competitors do.
  • They care more about leading in their industry than their competitors do.

It’s hard to think of a more mutually beneficial, effective and future proof way to succeed in 2021 and beyond.

Finally, from my home to yours, I’d like to wish you and your family a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

11 Urgent and important things you need to focus on for 2021

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marketing 2021

In no particular order.

  1. Have you considered firing your worst clients? Bad clients are a source of stress, frustration and unhappiness. They zap your energy too. The time wasted on bad clients can then be invested in delighting your best clients even more.
  2. Do your business goals for 2021 fill you with excitement? Are they all about thriving, or simply surviving? If you miss a thrive goal by 25%, you’ll still have a great year. If you miss a survival goal by just 1%, you’re broke. Set goals that inspire you to succeed.
  3. What was your biggest business challenge in 2020 and what can you learn from it? Whilst this year has produced a number of unique challenges, it has also exposed lots of historic weaknesses. Some of the most common include; an unwillingness to adapt, insufficient financial reserves, piss-poor marketing and fear of investing in yourself / your business. Those who don’t learn from past mistakes tend to repeat them.
  4. If you stopped trading tomorrow, how tricky would it be for people to find a suitable replacement? Your task is to be as close to irreplaceable as possible. Learn more about becoming irreplaceable here.
  5. Have you looked at opening your services up to a global audience? If not, now is a good time to consider it. That’s because proximity is no longer geographical for many service providers. For example, my 3 newest clients are based on 3 different continents. One of the big lessons from 2020 is that people are happy to work with you remotely. I’ve worked this model for over 15 years and can’t recommend it highly enough.
  6. What are the biggest hurdles to your success right now, and how do you plan to remove them? A business problem can only persist with your consent… passive or active. EVERY challenge you’re facing right now has already been overcome successfully by hundreds of thousands of business owners. There are experts in every area of business, who have the exact answers you need. Talk to them!
  7. How can you reduce or eliminate the feeling of risk that’s associated with hiring you or buying from you? There are a lot of fearful people out there right now. Figure out how to help them feel more secure. This will remove a major block to hiring you or buying from you.
  8. What’s the biggest opportunity for your prospective clients in 2021 and how will you help them benefit from it? Help your clients see all the amazing rebound opportunities on the horizon. And if you work in business development as I do, use your skills and vision to help them benefit from these opportunities.
  9. Is your marketing useful or does it read like a sales pitch? People hate being sold to. So stop pitching them and make your marketing so useful, that prospective clients would miss it if you stopped.
  10. Have you considered offering a premium version of your services? There’s an extremely profitable segment of every marketplace, who are eager to pay more for ‘that certain extra’. Here are some useful tips.
  11. Is your business providing you with the lifestyle you want? If not you will either need to lower your expectations or work on growing a better business. I recommend the latter. Rekindle that motivation you had when you started your business. And stop settling for less.

How Jess turned Marketing Tip number 9 into a success story

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marketing ideas, business development

Something spectacular happens, whenever a good idea is combined with the action required to deploy it. Here’s an example along with some tips on how to make it work for you too.

I was prompted to write this, after receiving an email from a reader called Jess. She explained that back in June, she read the marketing tips section of my blog.

One of the tips really spoke to her.

So, Jess decided to deploy it. It’s marketing tip number 9.

Her email was to thank me for the tip as it really helped her business, slashing her marketing spend and increasing her sales numbers at the same time.

An idea by itself

An idea by itself, even a great one, is of zero value. After all, if we’re just 1% away from switching the light on, we’re still in the dark. The best demonstration of this, is the so-called eternal student. They love to learn, but simply collect knowledge without ever putting it into action. These are the people that former US President Calvin Coolidge famously referred to, when he said; “The world is full of educated derelicts”.

Without Jess pondering that idea, then deploying it, she would never have enjoyed the results. That’s why as a marketing mentor, I work with clients to fully equip them to succeed; with the knowledge required, along with the ability to motivate themselves to deploy the plans we make. It makes all the difference and unlocks their potential.

Try this

With that lesson from Jess in mind, it’s worth pondering the great ideas you’ve gathered over the years, but failed to put into action.

Now ask yourself:

Is there one idea that you can see the value of, which you can start taking action on today?

It has often been said that you’re never more than one good idea away from a massive breakthrough. I disagree. That’s only half the story. It’s what we do with what we know that produces amazing results.

So grab that idea and get moving on it.

If you need some help getting the ideas or putting your ideas into action, read this and send me a note.

I’m really confused

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marketing tips, marketing advice

I’m confused.

Really confused.

Here’s why.

You say you provide a great quality service, but your fees are pretty close to average. You give various reasons to hire you, but your services look a lot like your competitors. And the wording on your website reads just like all the others I’ve checked out in your industry.

Obviously, I’m not reviewing your marketing. But someone is. And that person is (or was) a prospective client.

Today, anyone can check you or your business out in a matter of minutes. It has never been easier for the marketplace to build a picture of you. That’s why it’s critically important to make sure our promises are matched by our marketing.

The instant a prospective client senses a disconnect between what we claim, and what they experience, we lose them. Even if we get a second chance, it’s a huge struggle to repair a bad first impression.

If you’re working hard to provide a high quality, professional service, it’s essential that your marketing is equally as professional.

It’s an easy win.

It’s a huge win, too. Because those people who currently can’t ‘see’ that you’re exactly what they’re looking for, will start hiring you, as soon as your marketing has opened their eyes.

Marketing 101: Never sell to a stranger again

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marketing, content

Smart people speak, because they have something to say.

Dull people speak, because they have to say something.

And the difference between those approaches is huge!

The same is true in business

When smart business owners connect with their marketplace, they have something interesting to share. When the average business owner connects with their marketplace, it’s usually a sales pitch or special offer.

Most small business owners connect with their marketplace when they need something. They need more clients, customers or sales… so they interrupt strangers with a needy message. They have nothing of interest to say.

Yes, the business owner is interested in gaining clients, customers or sales, but that’s only of interest to the business owner.

The marketplace just sees another sales message from a stranger and ignores it.

Here’s a far more successful approach

Successful small business owners do things very differently. They remain in contact with their marketplace on an ongoing basis. They use their newsletters to create and share useful articles. Some also produce videos or podcasts. The point is, they share VALUABLE, USEFUL ideas and information… rather than broadcast sales pitches and needy requests.

This keeps the smart business owner ‘front of mind’ and showcases their knowledge.

But it does WAY MORE than that.

It also causes their marketplace to think of them as a valuable asset to their business. And if a business owner keeps delivering value for long enough, the marketplace will regard them as reliable, too.

So, the business owner is no longer a stranger. They’re a known, reliable, valued source of knowledge.

Now, when the smart business owner DOES have a marketing message to share, it’s received with enthusiasm. It’s received by people who, before they even read it, already know and value the source of the message.

Just stop for a moment and consider this: Think of all the additional clients you’d attract, if the already knew who you were, already knew you were helpful, already knew you were reliable and already knew you were extremely knowledgeable… the next time they need a provider from your industry.

I’m telling you, it changes everything.

I haven’t sold my services to anyone in decades. But small business owners, freelancers, advisers, photographers, accountants, trainers, etc., hire me all the time.

And they always feel like they already know me.

Because they do!

You deserve the same.

3 Surprisingly effective ideas you can apply to your business, right now

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marketing tips, ask better questions, ideas

Today, I want to give you 3 powerful ideas, which you can apply directly into your business. These ideas are based on your answers to the following, equally powerful questions.

Okay. Let’s get started.

1. If your business was perfect in every way, what would it look like? The first step in building a great business, is to know what you’re aiming for. Include everything; from your working hours, revenues. profits and location… to the kind of clients you’d have and how your ideal working day would look.

With this picture of where you want to be, you can start developing a roadmap to take you there.

2. How easy is it for someone to clearly explain the benefits of using your service? The reason this question is so important is this: If people can’t easily explain what you do, they won’t recommend you to their friends.

Develop a short description of why people should hire you. Then, make it a prominent part of your marketing. This fantastic lesson from KFC will help you get it right.

3. What measurable difference makes your service more attractive than the competition? We live in an age where your prospective clients can find 10 alternative providers to you on Google, in seconds. Faced with such intense competition, you need to provide a compelling reason for people to hire you or buy from you.

Every business claims to offer outstanding customer service and value for money. So, if you want to regularly attract clients you need to provide them with something measurably better. Something they can’t get from your competitors. It takes time to come up with a compelling answer to this question. However, the time invested can lead to game-changing results. This post from my archives will help.

I hope you find these questions useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with them.