Marketing tips Marketing help

Why didn’t I get the contract?

By Jim Connolly | May 13, 2024

Thousands of business owners find themselves asking that question every day. They’ve lost out on a big sale, an important contract or massive project and they want to know why. Why didn’t they land it? Why was a competitor chosen instead?

There are a multitude of reasons why they didn’t get chosen.

Their proposal was very professional. But someone else’s proposal gave 3 recent, checkable examples of exceptionally high quality work.
Their presentation was really good. But the CEO’s best friend personally recommended another provider.
Their meeting with the prospective client went well. But their marketing caused the prospect to assume the fee would be lower, so the prospect hired someone cheaper.

It’s natural for our initial reaction, when we miss out on something, to be externally focused. We tend to look for reasons why another person wasn’t smart enough to see how good we are and hire us or buy from us. That’s certainly how I used to think.

But not any more.

Get picked or chosen

Experience has taught me, that it’s a great deal more profitable to look for ways to improve. To focus on how we can do better the next time and massively increase our odds of success.

We start by replaying every situation where another provider was picked. We then unpack it and look for all possible opportunities to improve.

For example.

Could your opening be stronger?
Do you check for clarity (often enough) before moving on?
Does your proposal, presentation, or sales pitch have maximum impact?
And is it memorable?
Are there enough trust building assets included — enough reasons for a prospect to trust you?
Are you leveraging your contacts?
Do your testimonials inspire confidence and desire?
Could you improve with expert training?
Is your content, proposal, follow-up, etc., professionally written or DIY?

Those are a few of the most obvious places to start looking for ways to improve.

Be an engaged observer

And finally, decide to become an engaged observer. Pay attention to the most effective individuals you encounter, including those who sell their products or services to you or your business. Look for things they do that you can test in your own presentations. Also, look for things they avoid that you can test removing from your presentations. Oh, and when you’re is a situation where someone else is being ‘pitched’ to, observe what you can.

It’s highly probable that you’re just one or two adjustments away from a significant improvement in your conversion rate. So give it a try.

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

Build a better contact network, starting now

By Jim Connolly | April 23, 2024

building business contacts, better contacts

They say it’s not what you know, but who you know that counts. That’s because knowing the right people is essential for business success. It’s also why you’ll never meet a successful person who hasn’t built an extremely valuable contact network. Today, I want to help you build an equally valuable network of your own.

It starts with a question: How many business contacts do you have?

You can easily get an approximate figure by adding together your LinkedIn contacts, your social network followers/friends and the contacts in your address book, etc. For some reading this, the number will be in the hundreds. For many it will be in the thousands or tens of thousands. And for others it will be a hundred thousand or more.

Here’s a far more meaningful question: How many business relationships do you have?

Business relationships are harder to count. These are the people you connect with on a deeper level. Not just numbers on the social networks you use. Not just names in your address book, who you have no real history with.

Vanity metrics

Building more and more contacts can be intoxicating. These contact numbers are often referred to as vanity metricks, because most of the numbers are visible to others, such as our social network contacts, and how many followers or online friends we have.

It’s a way for normal people (like me) to finally be like one of the popular kids at school. Even though we know hardly any of these people, we have the BIG contacts number. Go us!

Business relationship building

The number of meaningful business relationships we have is a lot less public than our vanity numbers, but a lot more meaningful and massively more valuable. With this in mind, how much time do you dedicate each day or each week, to building and nurturing business relationships?

Here’s a tip to help you get started.

I want you to imagine you already had meaningful relationships, with 6 people who are useful and/or influential. Now write those 6 names down. Next, take time over the coming week to learn a little about them and how to get in contact with them. Finally, get in touch with each one, introducing yourself and letting them know how YOU can assist THEM.

[Important] Read this: Bring your seed, not your need.

The number of positive replies you receive will depend on lots of factors. This includes things like, how useful your assistance is to the other person, how effective your initial introduction is, how interesting you make yourself sound, and even how good your timing is, etc.

But if you stick with it, always seeking to improve your approach, you will find yourself building extremely useful, mutually beneficial business relationships, with amazing people.

Plus, they’ll get to see just how awesome you are, and introduce you to their contacts.

How to attract the right kind of attention

By Jim Connolly | April 17, 2024

creative marketing, attraction marketing, content marketing,

Typically, business owners buy advertising in order to get the attention of prospects. Today, I’m proposing you consider an alternative. Instead of buying attention with ads, I’m going to suggest you consider organically 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 and Facebook, etc.
Others pay to be listed in directories.
Then there are those who buy ad space in 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? Well, strangers are strangers. By default, a stranger is far less likely to hire you or buy from you, than someone who knows of you or your business and trusts you.

Buying ads also 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 a competitor is outbidding them for the most important 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 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 about the local accountancy firm, which provides a series of monthly classes to help first-time business owners avoid common mistakes.
I’m also thinking of that fantastic recent example, where a small business that ‘doesn’t do social media’ is a social marketing star in their local area. Read it here: This creative marketing idea costs nothing and is super effective.
And the art supplies store, which hosts crafting evenings or talks from local artists.
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 their families, friends, colleagues and general contacts.

And the connection to that community doesn’t belong to an advertiser, 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 since the 1990’s. So yes, I strongly recommend you seriously think about it.

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You don’t need more awareness. This is what you need

By Jim Connolly | April 15, 2024

When a business owner is failing to get the sales they need, increased awareness is almost never the issue.

Think about it.

If all they needed was increased awareness, they could just advertise their product or service correctly. Depending on their advertising budget, they could reach thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions of prospects. And fast.

It’s far, far more likely they have a different problem.

Most commonly, it’s one or both of the following.

It could be that too few people who are aware of (whatever they sell), are motivated enough to buy it. In this case, the business owner needs to figure out how to inspire prospective clients or customers to take action.
It could also be that too few people who do buy it, are impressed enough to tell their friends or become a repeat customer. In this case, the business owner needs to improve their product or service. They need to make it highly referable. Something worth talking about.

Now what?

The first challenge is to identify and accept the actual problem. Acceptance is by far the hardest part. In my experience, once the problem has been accepted by the business owner, they’re 90% of the way to resolving the whole issue.

The second challenge is correcting the problem. And that’s massively easier. There are lots of proven ways to quickly and inexpensively put things right.

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How to know what your prospects REALLY want from you

By Jim Connolly | April 8, 2024

Here’s what we’re told. The key to business success is to give the marketplace what it wants. That sounds easy enough.

We ask them what they want.
We provide them with what they want, and we do this to the best of our ability.

The trickiest part there is step one. That’s because history assures us that people tend not to tell us what they actually want.

Some will tell us what they think we want to hear.
Some will tell us what they think makes them look smart.
Some will tell us what they think makes them look considerate.
And others will tell us what they think makes them look edgy, unique or creative.

If we really want to know what people think, we need to study what they do. Their actions speak louder and with greater accuracy than their words. That’s worth taking into account, the next time you’re tempted to survey people.

Here’s an alternative approach.

Try this instead

Social media provides you with a wonderful way to see where the attention of your marketplace truly is. You can see what they’re excited about, what they’re worried about, what they’re investing in and what their challenges are, etc.

This can give you valuable feedback, equipping you to make better decisions and spot new opportunities.

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

How to lower the risk & make more sales

By Jim Connolly | March 26, 2024

risk reversal, risk reduction, marketing, risky

One of the most effective ways to increase sales, is to lower or remove the perceived risk attached to buying from us or hiring us. It’s easy to see why. Let’s face it, we’ve all paid for a faulty product or poor quality service at some time. So today, I’ll share some ideas with you on how to make more sales, using risk reduction and risk reversal tactics.

Let’s go.

Risk reduction

A proven way to reduce the risk, is to offer a free sample of your product or a free trial of your service. Combine that with relevant, recent testimonials from delighted customers to further reduce the perceived risk. And if you have been trading for a long time, include that prominently in your marketing to reduce the perceived risk even more. If you have any relevant awards include them, too.

A word of caution. There are lots of risk reduction tactics out there, which actually increase the perceived risk. I’m referring to free samples or free trial periods that come with caveats. The prospect sees all the strings attached, rolls their eyes and moves on.

Risk reversal

Risk reversal is when you take all the risk, and not your prospective customer. Hiring you or buying from you is now risk free. The prospect has literally nothing to lose. And as you’d imagine, it’s a spectacularly effective marketing tactic.

However, risk reversal is only suitable for certain types of product, and certain types of service. The following example may help you decide if it will work for you and your business.

This is a very personal example, because I offer risk reversal myself for this service. It’s simple. The service is based on a 2-hour meeting with me. At the end, I ask if they received great value. If they say no, I give them their money back. It works, because I only accept clients who I know for certain I can provide outstanding value to. That’s why I’ve never had a refund request.

In short, risk reduction and risk removal are powerful marketing tactics. They help to lower or eliminate a major barrier between you and the prospect, making it massively easier to buy from you or hire you.

Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels.com

Increase your prices. Boost your sales!

By Jim Connolly | March 20, 2024

Your pricing is a critically important part of your marketing. And today, I’m going to recommend some of you consider increasing your prices or fees.

Here’s why a price increase could be just what you need.

Why so low?

When your marketing positions your product or service as high-quality, your prospects expect your price to be within that high-quality price range. They expect value for money, and when your price is too low, they begin to question the actual value — why so low? Today, this pricing error will see small businesses everywhere missing out on sales or new clients.

It’s a serious error that often creates a negative spiral. It looks like this. Their lack of sales causes them to further lower their prices, which makes things worse. So they try another price drop in an attempt to get ‘some’ money in. That’s unsustainable.

If you suspect you could be undercharging, here’s a suggestion. Take a balanced look at the value you bring to the marketplace. Clearly state that value in your marketing. Then set a price that reassures prospects, while also representing outstanding value for money. And finally, measure the results.

In case it doesn’t go without saying, this advice is general. It’s not intended for everyone. In my experience, small businesses are more likely to be undercharging than overcharging. Though obviously not all of them. Some small business owners reading this will already have perfect pricing. Others will be pricing too high.

However, if you have reason to believe you could be undercharging, you should absolutely consider an increase.

Photo by Teuku Fadhil

Why you need a story. From the original Mad Man

By Jim Connolly | March 18, 2024

Someone asked me why her business needed a story. She thought it was, “a load of trendy nonsense”.

When I answered her question, she emailed me back to say it had changed her perception completely. She said it would improve her approach to marketing forever.

So today, I decided to share my answer with you. I hope you find it just as useful.

Why your business needs a story

My answer begins with a quote from advertising legend, David Ogilvy. Ogilvy was the inspiration behind the hit TV show, Mad Men.

Here’s what he had to say.

“There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same”. “[…] The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit”.

That message isn’t new. It was written decades ago, as you can tell from the examples he uses. But it’s even more valid in 2024, than when Ogilvy shared it.

Think about it. Apple’s iPhone is the best selling mobile phone in the world, despite being one of the most expensive. It doesn’t have the best display, the best camera, the best signal reception or the best battery life.

But it does have the best story.

Emotions drive decisions

Your prospective clients or customers are motivated by emotions, far more than logic. The way they feel about you and your brand, is what will drive their decision to hire you, buy from you and recommend you. And it’s your story, which determines how they feel about you. (I explain why in this post, Does your business pass the coffee shop test?, which you might find useful).

Build a story, my friend. A story that people will embrace and share.

Is it easy? No. It takes a little creativity.

Is it possible? Yes. Very possible.

Is it worth the effort? Absolutely.

This creative marketing idea costs nothing and is super effective

By Jim Connolly | March 8, 2024

creative marketing, low budget marketing, free marketing ideas

It’s a simple marketing idea. It costs you nothing. And I’ve seen it work extremely well. Moreover, it works for a diverse array of retailers and service providers.

Creative marketing in action

I had a creative marketing idea around 6-months ago. I wondered what might happen, if my friend added a word of the day to the specials menu board that’s behind the counter of her coffee shop. A word that’s interesting, funny or quirky.

I gave her the first word to get her started. It’s a word I have a close attachment to: Balter. To dance clumsily, with enthusiasm.

Anyhow, a month or so later she called me with an update.

Her customers started talking about the word of the day almost immediately.
Soon, she and her team noticed customers who previously only spoke to them when placing their order, started speaking with them about that day’s word. That’s better customer engagement.
Then, some of their customers started taking photos of the word of the day (which is intentionally written on their specials menu board) and sharing it with their friends via social media

So, that’s free organic publicity for their specials menu, which now gets spread locally across social media, resulting in new customers, many of whom do the same. Social media is working for the coffee shop, without investing time or money on social media

Pretty good, eh!

I have now shared this idea with other business owners, who gave it a try. Again, the results have been similar, but only for retailers who have premises or service providers who have clients or prospects visit their premises.

Will it work for you? There’s only one way to know for certain. Give it a try.

Photo by Masud Allahverdizade on Pexels.com

Better clients, bigger fees and NO competitors

By Jim Connolly | February 20, 2024

less competition, higher fees, better clients

Are you struggling to get noticed by great prospective customers? Are you attracting too many price-sensitive enquiries? If so, you’re not alone. This easy to fix issue is one of the most common in marketing.

Easy to fix?

Yes. We know exactly why it happens and how to fix it.

Here’s what you need to know, along with 10 examples to get you started.

Here’s why the problem happens

When competing products or services seem similar, price becomes the obvious way to determine value. As such, there’s little, if any, motivation for someone to pay more. In this common scenario, the lowest price looks like the best deal.

Sure, they “may” go for the 2nd or 3rd lowest price, hoping to insulate themselves from scammers or low quality goods or services. The key thing is that at this point, they’re price shopping. And you’re now competing on price.

Here’s how to fix it — including examples

A proven way to totally overcome this problem, is through developing something I call meaningful value.

Meaningful value is when you take what the marketplace expects from someone in your industry, and then improve upon it in a radical, meaningful way.

By default, any product or service with meaningful value has to be radically different from what’s expected. That’s what gives it meaning and elevates it from being average. This automatically places you in a unique position.

A position, where everyone is talking about you.

A position where a growing number of people know your name or the name of your business.

A position, where you’re no longer competing on price, because your offering has no comparative competition!

What might this look like?

A service that comes with a 125% money-back guarantee.
A product that’s provably safer than anything in its category.
A product that’s 50% lighter than the industry leader.
A service that’s designed from the ground up, around the unique needs of each client.
A product that’s the only one in its class, to be made from 100% renewable sources.
A product that’s part of a numbered, limited edition.
A service that’s 3 times faster than the industry leader.
A product that’s far longer lasting than anything in its niche.
A service that’s massively more extensive than anything else available to your marketplace.
A product that’s clearly the most energy efficient in its class.

Those ideas are just food for thought. They’re simply examples to demonstrate the ‘base line’ required, for your products or services to stand out as being of meaningfully more value, than your marketplace expects.

Be sure to invest the time and effort required, to create something special. Marginal improvements have marginal impact. They won’t elevate your offering to the point where you have no comparative competition.

Go on. Let your creativity run wild. And aim for maximum impact.

Photo by Robert Katzki on Unsplash

A wonderful opportunity or a nasty problem?

By Jim Connolly | February 15, 2024

be prepared for success, wonderful business

Things can improve exceptionally fast when you own a small business. Often so fast that they catch the business owner unawares. And a wonderful opportunity is replaced with a nasty problem.

I don’t want that to happen to you.

So here are some common things you should consider preparing for.

Talk with your bank manager, in anticipation of a future, major project. Make sure you have access to the cash flow required, for what can be a sudden, huge spike in your outgoings.
Contact your suppliers. Find out how quickly they can scale up if you have a sudden, vastly higher demand than usual.
Keep your financial information up-to-date, clear and detailed. You’ll then be in the best position possible, if a serious party asks about acquiring your business. Keeping detailed information makes everything transparent. This encourages trust and can help you get the best price.
If you’re hoping to go ‘viral’, contact your web host to make sure it has the capability to handle huge volumes of traffic. I’ve seen what happens when a server can’t cope, and masses of valuable sales and enquiries are lost. [I use these and they’ve been extremely reliable for years].
And get some media training, before you need it. Learn how to speak on camera, how to talk with clarity and how to overcome any fears about there being a huge audience.

You get the idea. Be ready in advance.

All wonderful. No problem

The longer you’re in business, delighting your customers or clients and building your reputation, the more likely it is that something wonderful will happen.

So be ready. Get the maximum from the opportunity.

Because you’ve earned it!

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The biggest lie in marketing isn’t what you think it is

By Jim Connolly | February 12, 2024

The biggest lie in marketing is almost certainly not what you’re expecting.

Here it is.

If you ask the average small business owner about marketing, they will tell you the following: “I don’t have enough time for marketing”.

That’s an unintentional lie.

They have the time. And they’re marketing their business all day, every day.

And here are over 30 examples to prove it

In no particular order.

The level of enthusiasm you demonstrate, when speaking about your business.
The way you and your team dress.
The way you speak — from the words you use to the warmth of your welcome.
The flexibility you show when a client or customer has a unique challenge.
The range of services you provide, especially in relation to how similar they are to what your competitors offer.
The eagerness you demonstrate for helping your clients or customers.
The cleanliness and age of your company vehicles.
The experience you give your clients or customers, which they share with their friends.
The way you handle phone calls.
The causes that you or your business publicly support.
The prices or fees you charge.
The reliability your business provides.
The confidence you inspire in people when you connect with them.
The type of offers you use to attract new clients.
The way you respond to email enquiries, both in the speed and tone of your response.
The content you use on your website.
The places you choose to advertise.
The type of advertising messages you use.
The groups your business belongs to.
The energy you have for your business.
The way you connect with people on social networks.
The time it takes you to make a decision.
The quality of the photos and other graphics you use.
The type of clients or customers you choose to work with.
The type of clients or customers you choose not to work with.
The leadership you demonstrate.
The guarantees you offer.
The consistency of the products or services you provide.
The professionalism of your marketing copy.
The working atmosphere you provide.
The way you communicate with your clients or customers.
The way you handle problems, both internally and external (client) problems.
The regularity with which you achieve deadlines.

It’s all marketing

Everything your business does is marketing.

That’s to say, it’s giving people a story about your business. It’s setting their expectations. It’s building confidence in your services or creating doubt. It’s telling the world what your priorities are.

In short, if you run a business, you are already engaged in marketing. And you’re doing it all day, every day.

So, the question is never if you market your business or not. The question my friend, is whether you’re doing it effectively or not.

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Don’t rush the process

By Jim Connolly | February 8, 2024

time lapse photography of brown concrete building

One of the best pieces of business advice I ever received, is just 4 words long. And today I’m going to share it with you, so you can apply it to your marketing. It’s simply this: Don’t rush the process.

I know. Without a little context, it doesn’t sound particularly useful. But over the years it’s helped my clients achieve amazing results.

Don’t rush the process (with context)

Business owners tend to be a pretty motivated bunch. We have to be, right? Not only are we motivated, we also believe in the value of our product or service. When you combine motivation with belief, you create a potent mix. An essential, high energy blend that keeps us moving forward and inspires us to persist even when things are tough.

And that’s great!

However.

Sometimes that mix of belief and motivation can work against us.

Really?

Yes, really.

For example, we speak with a prospect and immediately see that our product or service is the perfect match for them. We know we can provide exactly what they need. So we’re eager to help them make the right decision.

Here’s the thing.

There’s a thin line between encouraging someone to make the right decision, and rushing someone to decide.

When that line is crossed, it seriously damages how the prospect feels about us. It quickly lowers their confidence, creates uncertainty and makes them feel extremely apprehensive.

How to avoid this, before it happens!

Based on almost 30 years of experience and observations, I’ve found that this is most likely to be a problem during the follow-up process.

You need to be very mindful regarding how soon and how often you follow-up with an email or call. That’s because there isn’t a universally ideal time or frequency. Different industries and different cultures have different expectations. So, you’ll need to test and measure. Take into account things like the size of the decision your prospect is making financially, plus the number of people involved with the decision-making process, the size of the overall risk, etc.

Don’t rush the other processes

Obviously, the ‘don’t rush the process‘ advice has much wider utility than the example I’ve mentioned here.

Important note: Don’t confuse rushing the process with being appropriately proactive. There are times when we need to be swift. To move quickly. Most opportunities in life and business come with a use-by date. If we take too long, we’re often too late.

The advice is don’t rush the process.

Fast is fine.

Too fast is rushing.

I hope you find this idea useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with it.

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How to access proven marketing ideas

By Jim Connolly | February 3, 2024

Today, I’m going to show you how to access an endless supply of powerful marketing ideas. And that’s not all. You will have already, personally seen them working, before you even use them! It’s a process I call engaged observation and it can massively improve your sales results.

Here’s a very quick example of how engaged observation works. It can be applied to every type of marketing. However, here I’ll show how you could apply it to improve your social media marketing results.

Engaged observation example

The next time you’re scrolling through LinkedIn, Facebook, X, etc., and notice that you’ve stopped to read one of the posts, as an engaged observer you would look for what it was that motivated you to stop and take notice of that post.

Perhaps it was the kind of image used.
It might have been the audio.
Maybe it was the relationship you have with the person or brand posting it.
It could have been the headline.
Or the topic of the post.
And it may have been something totally different.

Whatever it was, you personally witnessed its effectiveness when you were motivated to stop and give it your attention. You know for absolute certain that it works.

Once you’ve identified what attracted you, for instance the kind of image used, you have a starting point. You now have an opportunity to improve your marketing, based on what you experienced. In this example, you can try using a similar kind of image. Then, test and measure the results.

Engaged observation can be used on anything, where you have been motivated to take action. For example, ask yourself:

What motivated you to fill in the enquiry form on a website?
What motivated you to spend more than you had budgeted on a new product?
What motivated you to try a new brand of shampoo?
What motivated you to add more items to an online shopping cart?
What motivated you to believe the product reviews on a certain website?
What motivated you to listen to a whole advertisement, rather then press skip?
What motivated you to hire your last adviser, coach, trainer or consultant?
What motivated you to try a different restaurant?
What motivated you to click on a call to action link/button?
What motivated you to tell your friends about a service provider or brand?
What motivated you to subscribe to a newsletter you receive?
What motivated you to call a particular service provider for a quote?
What motivated you to trust the last service provider you used?
What motivated you to buy the latest book, from an author you’ve never read before?
What motivated you to switch to your current phone network?

Behind each of those actions is a motivating factor. Something that inspired you to take action. Something that could inspire your prospects to take action. Something you can identify, adapt, test in your own marketing and measure the results.

Each time you use engaged observation, instead of starting from scratch with a new marketing tactic, you start with something you know is effective. This saves you time and helps you get it right, faster.

What I’ve done here, is show you a tiny number of examples, to open your mind to the huge number of marketing improvement opportunities open to you.

I hope you find it useful. Because if you use it correctly, it can profoundly improve your sales results.

Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

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

By Jim Connolly | January 22, 2024

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

Here’s a better way to grow your business

By Jim Connolly | January 19, 2024

Photo credit: Bruce Mars

There’s a better way to market your business. I’m going to share it with you today. Read this short message to the end, because it is not what you think it’s going to be.

Agreed?

Let’s go!

For your marketing to succeed, you need to focus like a laser on your major business growth goal or goals. For this exercise, your business goals should be expressed in numbers.

For example: To increase your sales in 2024 by 200%.

That goal becomes your focus. Because as you’re about to find out, that focus is what leads you to making the right marketing decisions. It guides you toward engaging in the correct marketing activities.

But first, there’s a problem you need to overcome.

When I speak with, and receive emails from small business owners, the vast majority are focused on improving a part, or parts, of their marketing. Things like.

Better email open rates.
Improved SEO.
Linkedin training.
More subscribers.
A better sales funnel.
More effective ads.
A bigger list.
More client enquiries.
A bigger social network.

In this example, the correct marketing activities are not on that list. That’s because small business owners have never heard of them or are unaware how they work. So, they focus on what they have heard of and work hard. By focusing on the wrong thing, they take the wrong action.

Here’s what they need to focus on.

A 200% increase in sales by the end of 2024.

Armed with that measurable goal and timescale, they are free to consider and select the best options. (I list a handful in a moment). As you’ll see, there are lots of massively better alternatives.

Here’s just one example I often use with clients, to achieve far better outcomes, and faster.

Endorsed relationships

You can smash an annual financial goal using what I call endorsed relationships. An endorsed relationship is where you form a relationship with a suitable business owner or company, and they endorse (or recommend) you, your products or services to their customers.

Because their customers trust them, their recommendation can lead to spectacularly high conversion rates. And it happens fast. Of course, in return, you do the same for them. Your ‘marketing’ task is simply to identify and connect with a handful of potential endorsed relationship partners.

Depending on the annual financial goal you have for your business, it’s possible to achieve it with just a few, good, endorsed relationships. Sure, you need to know the correct way to do this, but when you get it right, it’s exceptionally powerful. It also frees you up from being bogged down with marketing. I know, right!

Freedom to grow your business

If you focus on smashing your specific goals, you’re free to benefit from lots of other wonderful opportunities like endorsed relationships. Here’s a handful.

Compound marketing.
Joint ventures.
Prospect bridges.
Becoming a zero competition provider. (I absolutely love this one)
Introducer networks.
… and the other, similarly great ways to transform your business results.

So don’t simply look for ways to improve what isn’t working.

Focus instead on your outcome — your defined, numeric business goals for 2024. Because there are vastly more powerful tactics available to you, which have nothing to do with typical marketing. You’ll then be free to think, plan and grow the business you always wanted. With none of the marketing limitations that have held you back.

Let’s build that new service you need

By Jim Connolly | January 17, 2024

how to, create new service, new product, income stream, small business

I think you’re going to find this really useful. Today, I explain why you really should offer a new service or product to your existing customers. PLUS, I give you some proven advice on how to get started.

If you don’t already know, here’s why you should think seriously about developing a new service.

The quickest, most profitable way to generate additional income for your business, is to sell new services to your existing customers. It’s a lot faster and more profitable, than finding new customers for your existing services.

Faster and more profitable — why?

Because your customers already know you. They already trust you. They have an existing trading relationship with you. And marketing to existing customers costs a fraction as much, making it more profitable, too.

Whenever I share this idea with a new client, they immediately see the potential. After all, these cookies were already smart enough to hire me. They then follow it up with a great question.

“How do we get started creating this new service, Jim”?

Obviously, when I work with one of my clients on this, I work with them to develop exactly what they want and need. However, I thought I’d share some general pointers that you may find useful, if you’d like to have a do-it-yourself shot at it.

Go premium

A useful place to start, is to take a look at one of your existing products or services, and think of ways to add valuable, premium features to it. Something that significantly increases its value to your customers. In every economy, there is a very eager marketplace of people who actively seek out premium products and services. It’s why we have luxury restaurants, clothing brands, hotels, watches, cars, etc.

There’s an additional benefit from going premium. In my experience, those who purchase premium products and services are often far, far easier to work with than any other group.

Express yourself

Alternatively, you could look for opportunities to create an express version of one of your current services, for those who value speed and will happily pay for a new, faster service.

Express services always work best, when you offer a guaranteed deadline. It’s not enough to say you’ll do (whatever) faster. You need to tell them that it will be done/ready by 9am, or in 24-hours, etc.

An all new offering

If you want to introduce an all new product or service, a useful place to start is to look for things that will compliment what you already provide. For example, if customers already use (x) they’ll have a potential need for (y).

Accountants discovered this decades ago. They figured out that their clients would value new, complimentary services from them. So they started offering profit improvement planning, document storage and the development of HR policies for their client’s businesses, etc.

Do some research and if it stacks up, dive in and give it a shot.

Sustainable

You might also want to consider the huge market for environmentally friendly products. Sustainability has become a major factor in purchasing decisions. In some cases, sustainability is a requirement before companies can purchase from a provider.

Developing a product that’s kind to the environment, or finding a more sustainable way to provide your products, makes sense on multiple levels.

Give it a try

I hope those examples offer some food for thought.

Important: Creating a new product or service is especially useful, if you find yourself with a cashflow problem. As you know, it takes time to market your existing services to prospects who don’t know you, then go through the various processes/meetings/testimonials/follow-up, etc. However, the speed with which the type of ideas above can be put into place, offered to clients, sold and invoiced is rapid.

I hope you’re inspired to examine the huge potential here. Because as I see over and over again with clients, when you get it right, the results can be absolutely transformational.

Photo by Alex Padurariu

Jim, I’ve had enough!

By Jim Connolly | January 16, 2024

“I’ve had enough”. There’s real power in those 3 words.

Think about it.

It’s what we say when we’ve reached a tipping point. When we’re no longer prepared to allow a bad situation to persist. When more of the same is simply not an option anymore. When we know it’s time for action.

“I’ve had enough” is also the precursor of all meaningful, lasting improvement. It’s what every business owner who turned their fortunes around said, just before they changed gears and did what was required.

I was prompted to write this, when I noticed that three of my clients from last year used those words, somewhere in their initial email to me. One even used it in the subject line. “Jim, I’ve had enough”.

Interestingly, in each of those three examples, it was a different issue that motivated them to take action.

One said they’d had enough of the famine and feast cycle.
Another said they’d had enough of making a living and wanted to make a fortune.
And the person who used it in the subject line, said they’d had enough of waiting for things to improve.

Those are different motivations. At least on a surface level. From small business owners of different ages, in different locations and different industries. But they’re unified by a desire for something spectacularly better. United in the belief that more of the same is no longer an option for them.

Often when a business is underperforming, the business owner will focus on improving how they feel about the problem… rather than fix the actual problem.

Some use positive self-talk.

Others keep telling themselves that things will surely turn around next month.

And some try to ignore the seriousness of their situation, hoping it just goes away. Hope is essential. But it’s a lousy marketing strategy.

We need to be smarter than that. The clock is ticking.

If you’ve had enough, more of the same is not an option. Now is the time to take action. Now is the time to start putting things right, so you can look to the future with justified optimism and confidence. I assure you, a few months from now you’ll be very glad you did.

Photo by Suzi Kim

It’s never the money. Here’s why people don’t buy from you

By Jim Connolly | January 8, 2024

Why don’t people hire me, Jim? I get asked that question a lot. Here’s what you need to know, in order to regularly get hired by great clients or sell to equally great customers.

I need to start with a simple question: Can you guess what every single one of your prospective clients or customers has in common?

Here it is:

They can all, easily afford your products or services! All of them. Every. Single. One.

Here’s why people really don’t hire you or buy from you.

You’re attracting enquiries from the wrong people.
You haven’t given them a powerful enough reason to buy from you or hire .
They don’t trust you enough, so they don’t believe your message.

Let’s look at these 3 challenges in a little more detail. Plus, how to overcome them and make massively more sales.

Let’s go!

1. People won’t buy from you because you’re attracting the wrong people

No matter how amazing your products are. No matter how outstanding your services are. You’ll never achieve the results you want, if you’re talking to the wrong people.

Let’s say you provide a premium quality service, which rightly has a premium price tag. If so, you’re wasting your time marketing to the low-fee crowd.

Yes, very occasionally you may be able to change someone’s world view. However, you’re far more likely to sell your premium services, if you market only to those who already value premium service.

The key phrase here is: Market to the unhappy, NOT the uninterested.

In other words, using the above example you’d market your premium service to those who are unhappy with their current situation, and who value a premium service.

It’s never ever about the money. It’s always true that your prospective customers can afford your products or services.

And here’s why.

If someone genuinely can’t afford what you offer, they were never a prospective customer in the first place! Think about it. For someone to be a prospective customer, they need to have the ability to pay you.

So, identify who your ideal prospect is. Then, make that select group of great people the sole focus of all your marketing. The alternative is to do what most failing business owners do, and try to be all things to all people. That approach can’t work. It will drive you nuts and lose you a fortune.

2. People don’t hire you because you haven’t given them a powerful enough reason

This one is huge. No. It’s bigger than that!

We need to start here by looking at motivation. The word motivation comes from a fusion of the words: motive and action.

When the motive (or reason) is powerful enough, we take action. In contrast most small business marketing lacks motivational power. It’s generic. It’s predictable. And as you’d expect, it lacks the impact that’s essential, to inspire people to buy from them.

Why do so many businesses rely on weak marketing that fails to generate the results they need? Having transformed the marketing results of small business owners for more than two decades, here’s what I’ve found. And it’s something I see examples of pretty-much every working day of my life.

It’s the business owner’s attitude to marketing. They’ll happily pay an expert to style their hair, but they’ll willingly risk their financial future with lousy, ineffective, DIY marketing.

They honestly believe that dabbling with their future is safer, than hiring an expert to do things correctly. They tend not to admit it publicly, because in many cases they don’t admit it to themselves. In conversation, you find that this happens when the business owner still operates and makes decisions, from an employee mindset. They see risk in all the wrong places. Unaware that the riskiest thing a business owner can do, is avoid expert help when it’s clearly needed.

However, this is great news if you want your business to thrive.

Really, Jim?

Why?

Because you can massively outperform the vast majority of your competitors, simply by being professional enough to invest in expert marketing help. It’s the easiest win in business. Low risk. Massive return.

3. People don’t buy from you because they trust you yet, or believe your message

For your marketing to work, people need to believe it. They need to trust you enough, to accept that what you’re telling them is true.

Sadly, many sales are lost this way, even though the marketing message is completely true and honest. The provider really is as good as they say. Maybe even better then they say in their marketing.

So, why does this happen? And more importantly my friend, what can you do about it?

Trust is lost when there’s a disconnect between.

What the marketing message says.
And how the prospective client feels.

Here are just 2 very common examples, to explain the point.

Promising an expert service, yet charging average fees. Your prospective clients have been told since they were kids, that when something sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. So they don’t believe it. ‘High quality’ and ‘cheap fees’ are opposite ends of the spectrum. Putting them together creates massive doubt in what you’re saying.
Promising a professional service, yet having an amateur looking brand. It’s like a restaurant serving a delicious meal, but on a dirty plate! It totally destroy trust. And it does so literally in seconds. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You lost the sale or new client needlessly. And you won’t even know.

If you notice anything that could cause a stranger to get a negative impression of your business, fix it. And fix it correctly.

Why?

Because while it’s broken it’s losing you money and opportunities. While it’s broken, the lifeblood of your business is broken. And to ignore it is like ignoring black smoke bellowing from the back of your car, hoping the car will ‘just get better’. When in reality that car will soon grind to a halt.

Summing up: Why people don’t buy from you

Those 3 examples of why people don’t buy from you are easy wins. They’re easy, because with the correct approach, they can easily and quickly be overcome, allowing you to blow the lid off your potential.

What you can’t do, is carry on as you are in 2024 and expect things to magically improve. You’d think that goes without saying, right? Yet time and again, we see small businesses that still face ongoing struggles, for years and years.

Here’s just one example, from an email I received.

The guy who wrote to me is in his late 60’s. He’s worked hard all his life. He told me that he’d never made any “real money” and that he kept waiting for things to improve. With some expert help, he could have quit working decades ago and been very comfortable now. However, he explained that he still needs to work in order to pay the bills. It’s heartbreaking, because it’s easily avoidable.

As Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In business we simply say, “more of the same leads to more of the same”.

In short, if you want massively better marketing results, financial security and everything that goes with it in 2024, you have to improve things accordingly.

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20

Wave goodbye to missed opportunities

By Jim Connolly | January 5, 2024

Today, I’m going to show you a powerful way to take action at the right time, every time.

Waiting for the right time is always the sensible thing to do. The challenge is that we only know if we’ve acted at the right time, when we look back and join the dots. That kind of certainty is rear view mirror stuff. And it’s a key reason why small business owners miss out on fantastic opportunities.

The problem

Usually, when a small business owner tells us they’re waiting for the right time, they’re unintentionally stalling.

Unintentionally stalling?

Yes, of course!

They’re not intentionally stalling. They’re very seldom even aware of it and the waiting is a source of frustration to them. They’ve simply set the bar so high for what ‘the right time’ means to them, that it never seems to happen.

However, even though the stalling is unintentional, it still means decision making is extremely difficult; especially big or tricky decisions. These important decisions are the kind that determine the success or failure of a business. This dramatically limits their business results, as business opportunities are missed and problems that needed to be addressed get worse.

Resolving the ‘right time’ challenge

The reasons behind setting our bar too high are many and varied. They range from fear of loss at one end, to fear of success at the other. Yes, many people fear the perceived problems they associate with owning a bigger, more successful business.

One thing we can all do is learn to identify if we have this challenge, if we too are accidentally setting our ‘right time’ bar too high. Identifying we have this challenge is the key to overcoming it. Thankfully, it’s really easy to do.

Here’s a quick overview.

Think of a decision you’ve been putting off. One that you’re waiting to act on, until the time is right.
Next, write down what the right time would have to look like, in detail, for you to do whatever you’re currently putting off.
Finally, you need to honestly determine exactly how likely it is, that those things will all fall into place, in the correct order, when you have the money, stability and time required.

If you fully believe you will be in that ‘right time’ scenario in a timescale that means you won’t have weakened the opportunity or missed it completely, you’re not stalling.

If you believe the likelihood of all those variables connecting the way you want, in a reasonable timescale is low or non-existent, you’re stalling.

Overcoming this issue has always been important for small business owners. However, with 2024’s economic uncertainties ahead of you and your business, it’s absolutely essential. I work with small business owners every day, whose businesses are now perfectly suited to navigating the road ahead. They’re going to absolutely crush it this year. I recommend you do the same.

In short, the commercial risk of stalling has never been greater. So take a look at that 3 step process. If you believe you’re stalling, call it out and make the decisions required.

Photo by tom coe