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Is it optimal?

February 5, 2021 by Jim Connolly

marketing ideas, business development

A friend of mine regularly appears as an expert on business news programs. She called me with a question. You may find my answer useful, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Here’s the question.

“Jim, I need a piece of business advice, which would work as a super-short sound bite. I’m live on air in just over 30 minutes. Can you help?“.

Honestly, that’s not the kind of thing I would usually be able to do with so little time. Especially as she specifically wasn’t looking for a famous business quote.

Fortunately, I had been working the day before 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 and used it.

It was this.

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

Allow me to explain.

Habits, holding on and letting go

Much of what we do in day-to-day business is habitual, at least to a degree. Here are just a few common examples.

  • We have certain providers we go to for particular challenges.
  • We rely on key people for professional, expert advice.
  • We use specific software and hardware for certain tasks.

Over the months or years, these providers, people and technologies become a key part of how we operate our business.

I’ve found that the most successful business owners review these habits regularly. They keep their eyes open for better alternatives all the time. They know that meaningful improvement is only possible by looking closely at what you do, holding on to what’s working (or what’s optimal) and letting go of what isn’t.

Is it working or not?

The challenge with adopting this approach is that we can get 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.

A laptop you spent a fortune on a decade ago, that’s now too slow, too heavy and has terrible battery-life, didn’t become antiquated overnight. If you’d just carried on using it, assuming it wasn’t broken because it was still powering-up, you’d be at a huge commercial disadvantage today.

The same is true of the providers we rely on. Their service may have been outstanding a year or two ago, but better providers and better-suited alternatives enter the market all the time. In many industries and professions, what was outstanding a few months ago is just average today.

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 decisions with better data.

Why not take some time to review the things you’re currently holding on to. Especially those you are comfortable with, but haven’t reviewed in a long time. Check if they’re still optimal.

If they are, hold on. But if they’re not, let go.

Filed Under: Business Development, Professional development

Stop working for assholes!

February 4, 2021 by Jim Connolly

I was working on a client project when I came across a wonderful quote. It’s intended to be light-hearted, but it contains a spectacularly important message. And rather surprisingly, it also carries a valuable lesson for every business owner.

“Real wealth is never having to spend time with assholes.” – John Waters.

In the speech that quote came from, Waters talks about being rich and how it’s given him the freedom to avoid assholes.

Similarly, one of the many freedoms of owning a business is that you get to select exactly who you choose to work with. As a business owner, there’s no need whatsoever for you to spend time around bad clients (or customers)… assholes, as Waters describes them.

And that message is really important to remember. It’s important because somewhere along the way, many business owners forget that they have total freedom to only work with great people.

Beggars can’t be choosers

Whenever I speak about this with a group of business owners, someone will usually tell me that they have to take whatever comes along. And in support of that factually incorrect statement, they’ll tell me that ‘beggars can’t be choosers’.

I then remind them.

They’re not beggars… they’re business owners.

And that as a business owner, they have to be extremely choosy who they work for. You can’t build a successful business on a foundation of bad clients.

No one wants to work with whatever their definition of a bad client is. The problem is a natural consequence of feeling trapped, because you’re not attracting enough new, high quality clients.

It looks something like this.

  • The business owner identifies a client as a pain in the ass. Maybe the client pays late, is rude, over demanding, unprofessional, whatever.
  • The business owner clearly does not want to work with them.
  • However, the business owner is scared to fire the asshole client, fearing they’ll be unable to replace them with a high quality client.
  • The asshole is then left free to take the joy (and usually the profitability) out of the business owner’s work.

The good news here is that bad clients are not an unavoidable part of being in business. In fact, they’re a must-avoid part of being in business. Bad clients are like poison. They’re toxic to the success of your business and to your mental well-being in some cases.

If this is a problem for you, take some time to describe what your ideal client looks like. Include as much detail as possible. And remember that you’re describing your ideal client. So be really choosy.

Then focus 100% of your marketing on these amazing prospective clients. Talk to their needs, wants and expectations.

You deserve great clients. Great clients who inspire you to do your very best work. Great clients, who recommend you to more great clients.

And shun the assholes.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

Everyone will ignore you

January 30, 2021 by Jim Connolly

Marketing tips

Everyone will ignore you.

And that’s perfectly fine.

Because some people will love you.

The message in those 3 sentences is worth remembering. For example, when you’re creating a new product, working with a designer or putting a marketing strategy together.

Here’s the thing

You can’t appeal to everyone. So focus your business development on some people.

Some people?

  • The kind of people who ‘get’ the way you work.
  • The kind of people who value your vision.
  • The kind of people who will love working with you or buying from you.

It’s the fastest, least expensive and most straightforward way to dramatically improve your marketing results.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

What the past 7 days can tell you about your future success

January 29, 2021 by Jim Connolly

marketing 2021

Today, I’d like to share a profoundly important marketing and business development idea with you, which is often ignored.

What makes it “profoundly important”? It’s literally (not figuratively) essential if you want to build a successful business and a very bright financial future!

I need to start by asking you something: How many of the marketing tasks you worked on last week, were due last week? Your answer to that question is important. It’s a great snapshot of how long term (or short term) your current horizon is.

The next 6 months, 12 months and 36+ months

It’s natural to focus on making your next sale or getting your next customer enquiry. It’s really important, too. However, it’s profoundly important to come up for air and look to your future. To work on the foundations of your marketing and business development, which will determine your success over the next 6 months, 12 months and 36+ months.

This might include answering key questions like.

  • How can you meaningfully increase the number of sales you make, in the next 6 months, 12 months and 36 months or more?
  • And how can you increase the profitability of those sales?
  • What could you be doing in order to significantly improve your customer retention rate and the number of customer referrals you receive?
  • What valuable, new product or service could you be working on, for your current and future customers?
  • Who are the useful people you need to introduce yourself to now, so you’ll have an existing relationship with them in your medium and longer term? There is a direct link between how well connected you are, and how successful your business will be. There’s more information on this here, (in the 3rd marketing tip).

Today’s important tasks absolutely need to be worked on. But the only way to build a spectacularly bright future, is to work today with your future in mind. To regularly invest your time, thinking, planning and imagination on where you want to be. And to resist the temptation of being so wrapped up in today’s business challenges, that you have too few foundations in place, for the future success and rewards you deserve.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing

Unbelievable results in unbelievable time with unbelievably little effort

January 28, 2021 by Jim Connolly

marketing snake oil

They’re everywhere: experts, claiming to be able to deliver unbelievable results in unbelievable time with unbelievably little effort.

Don’t believe them!

Growth hacking, business hacking, success systems, tricks and shortcuts are everywhere. Not because they WORK, but because they SELL.

A huge subset of the population wants to believe that they can get rich (thin, healthy) quick. They want to reap the harvest, without planting the seeds and tending the soil. They want the rewards, without the effort. They’re looking for magic – something that breaks the laws of cause and effect.

This is why today, we see the marketplace flooded with online gurus selling the 21st century equivalent of snake oil. It’s well-crafted bullshit. Bullshit designed to press all the right buttons, on those who are looking for unbelievable results. And the hungry marketplace laps it up.

The fastest route to success

The fastest way to get from where you are, to where you want to be, is to take the most direct route. To find out what works and do it. It’s about doing the right things, correctly.

Shortcuts to success are nothing more than costly detours. Be extremely cautious of anyone trying to tell you otherwise.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

It’s okay: Even Superman struggled with kryptonite

January 26, 2021 by Jim Connolly

marketing superman

Image: Esteban Lopez – Unsplash

Every business owner has weaknesses.

Every single one of us. Including you and me.

But that’s okay.

After all, even Superman has kryptonite to contend with. He knows that this mysterious substance weakens or eliminates his super powers. So he does everything he can to avoid the problems kryptonite causes, and comes out winning.

Business owners. Not so much!

Unlike Superman, business owners are usually aware of our weaker areas, but unaware of the often serious damage caused by them.

Here are a few common examples of how this looks and why it manages to persist.

  • The business owner who starts too many sales presentations with an excuse for being a few minutes late, may think it doesn’t matter. They’re unaware that every prospective client who values punctuality will feel very differently about it. The business owner will wonder why they never won the contract… and write the prospect off as a time waster. So the problem persists.
  • The business owner who avoids making big decisions until the last moment, may think it doesn’t matter. They’re unaware that leaving things until the last minute means they have fewer options open. They lose valuable time, end up with vastly limited choices, are forced into making a worse decision, and blame it on bad luck. So the problem persists.
  • The business owner who does pretty-much what they’re paid for and very little more, may think it doesn’t matter. Their customers end up with the minimum required, not outstanding value, and seldom recommend them. The business owner then assumes that their customers just aren’t the kind of people who give referrals. So the problem persists.
  • The business owner who thinks it’s okay to develop their business as if it was a Do It Yourself hobby, may think it doesn’t matter. They’re unaware that their DIY approach to systems, marketing, legals, planning, financials and strategy, etc., is making it impossible for them to succeed. The business owner assures themselves they’re saving money, when they’re missing out on a fortune. So the problem persists.

Jim Rohn used to tell us that the reason failure is so common, is that it’s incredibly subtle. The vast majority of businesses tend not to fail overnight, the result of a single, cataclysmic event. It’s the smaller errors in judgement we regularly make, which rob us of the success we want.

That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to what we do and how we do it. Even those things that may not seem obviously important.

No. I take that back.

Especially those things that may not seem obviously important.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

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marketing advice, marketing help Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help business owners to make more sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. You can find out more here.

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