Marketing tips, marketing help and advice

The art of steering

January 22, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Not long ago, these brands thought they’d arrived. They were kings of the hill.

MySpace totally dominated social networking.
Blockbuster video owned home video entertainment.
Nokia was the world’s leading mobile phone brand.
And Internet Explorer had 94% of the web browser market.

Business success is a journey. The moment you think you’ve arrived, you’re in trouble. And it’s not just the big brands that are in danger. Small and medium-sized businesses are at even greater risk.

This happens when a business grows to the point where the owner gets ‘comfortable’, stops steering wisely and starts to coast.

Their hunger for success, when replaced with contentment, leads to famine, as their business and its services become irrelevant.

Here’s how to avoid this from happening to you.

The art of steering your business successfully

The art of steering a business successfully, begins with accepting that you’re on a journey. And that your task is to navigate your business through the opportunities and threats ahead.

Learn to identify the danger signs. This might include: Too many months or quarters of weak growth. Too long a gap since you last introduced a new product or service to your portfolio. Too few referrals. Too little awareness of new competitors or new trends.
Learn to spot genuine opportunities. This might include: Identifying gaps in your market. Finding ways to increase the value of your service. The introduction of new products for your existing clients. Seeking out new markets for your existing products. Improving your overall marketing strategy.

My first business mentor used to say that the reason so many businesses fail, is that failure is incredibly subtle. It’s seldom the result of one cataclysmic event or decision, but lots of small, daily errors repeated.

The way to avoid this is to grab the wheel of your business and embrace the art of steering. Fire your autopilot and take control.

A few notes you may find useful

January 20, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

I jotted a few notes down during this morning’s Pick My Brain client session. I hope you find them useful.

How many of your activities today will help make your business stronger in 12 months time?
How many of your daily business activities have you assessed recently: Either to check that they’re still relevant or still the optimal way to achieve your business goals?
How many of your hours today will be spent responding, rather than initiating?
How many times have you checked your phone notifications in the last 30 minutes?

Whilst the notes were for a specific business owner, they could be of wider interest. Especially for those of you, who are finding January 2020 is already looking a lot like January 2019.

So, what’s inside the box?

January 17, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Today, I have something different for you. It’s a simple, yet powerful technique I often share with business owners. By the way, this leads on nicely from my previous post. You can read it here.

I want you to imagine for a moment that you’re sitting with a potential client or customer. Between you is a table. And on that table, you place a box.

You explain that the box contains something of truly great value.
You tell them that other people are using it, and they love it so much that they recommend it to their friends.
You then tell them that once they have it, they’ll wonder how they managed without it.
And then you explain that the price for what’s in the box, is way below what it’s worth.

Finally, you ask them, “Would you like to see what’s inside the box?”

Their eyes widen as they lean forward and say, “Yes please!”

This begs the question: What’s inside the box?

As a business owner, your task is to develop a product or service for your clients, which fits inside that box. The only rule is that in order for it to fit, your product or service needs to be able to deliver on the 4 points above.

Why bother?

It changes everything. If you take the time to get it right, you’ll find yourself speaking with highly motivated potential clients. People will need very little encouragement to hire you or buy from you. Plus, your existing clients will be eagerly telling their friends and contacts about your services and your business.

Make no mistake, this process requires creative thinking. And it takes guts, too. Why? Because whatever you decide to place in the box, will by default, be different from what your competitors are doing. And it takes courage to stand out, to zig when everyone else zags.

Is it worth it?

In my experience, (both with my client’s businesses and my own) the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. It’s easier, more profitable and far less stressful to have products or services that pretty-much sell themselves.

Frequency

January 15, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Here’s a quick idea, to help you attract the attention of prospective clients AND motivate them to hire you and recommend you. It’s all about one word. Frequency.

Allow me to explain.

I was prompted to write this after 2 emails I received.

The first was from a long time reader (Sophie). Sophie got in touch to find out why I hadn’t published quite as many posts recently.
The second email was from a former reader. He emailed to say he’d unsubscribed from the blog, because I publish too often.

Here’s what this has to do with growing your business.

Frequency

Clearly, I’ll never be able to keep everyone happy with the frequency of my posts. For some it will be too little and for others, it will be too much. If I keep Sophie happy, I lose Rick. If I keep Rick happy, I lose Sophie.

So, here’s what I do.

Rather than try and get the frequency right for everyone, I use a different kind of frequency. A frequency that works. Every. Single. Time!

More importantly, it’s the kind of frequency, which YOU can use to attract more clients or customers and build your business.

The other type of frequency

There’s another kind of frequency. The kind radios use. If you tune your radio into the same frequency as a radio station, you receive their signal. You’re (literally) on the same wavelength as them.

When you’re on the same wavelength as your marketplace, you’re in harmony with them. And they’re in harmony with you. Sophie and I are on the same wavelength. If you’re a long time reader, you and I are on the same wavelength, too.

In short: I write for you and Sophie.

Now, that won’t be the right frequency for everyone. But I don’t write for everyone. And there’s a very good reason why. It turns out you can’t keep everyone happy. And the harder you try, the weaker your signal becomes. Before you know it, no one’s on your wavelength.

Though I used the example of blogging for this post, the exact same strategy works for every kind of marketing.

Supercharge your marketing

If your marketing isn’t resonating with your marketplace, it’s entirely possible your signal is too weak. This happens when you try to be relevant to as many people as possible.

By being vaguely relevant to as many people as possible, you become directly relevant to no one. And it’s only directly relevant marketing messages that motivate people to take action.

So pick a frequency. Shun the masses. Embrace the community you wish to serve. Focus on them, their needs and their wants. Be generous. And be generous as often as you can.

Pretty soon, you will have a community of people on your wavelength.

People who will value what you do.
People who will miss you when you’re not there.
People who will hire you.
People who will recommend you.
People who will talk about you.

Just imagine how valuable that would be for your business in 2020.

How to be number one in a category of one

January 14, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

It’s tough being a service provider these days. There are so many of us in every industry. Not only that, a prospective client can find lower priced alternatives to us, on Google, in seconds.

With so many competitors, what can we do?

We could try and out-spend them on advertising. Of course, this eats into our profit margins.
We could try being the lowest priced. Of course, this almost eliminates our profits completely.
We could try joining a networking group. Of course, we’d be relying on fellow group members to provide us with leads… the very same people who need to attend the group because they can’t even get enough leads for their own businesses.

There are better alternatives though. And one that works extremely well, is to become number one in a category of one.

It’s the strategy I follow for my own business and one that could be just as effective for you and your business.

Allow me to explain how it works

Let’s imagine you’re an accountant. (You could equally be a mentor, financial advisor, lawyer, designer, trainer, marketing consultant or whatever). Anyhow, unlike your fellow accountants, you choose to work exclusively with creative professionals. This immediately places you as number one in a category of one.

The fact you understand their profession at a super-deep level, sets you apart from the rest.
The fact you understand their terminology and speak their language, sets you apart from the rest.
The fact you understand the threats and opportunities specific to their industry, sets you apart from the rest.
The fact you understand their unique requirements, sets you apart from the rest.
The fact you understand the creative mindset, sets you apart from the rest.
And because you’re set apart from your former competing providers, your prospective clients will see you as massively more relevant to them and their business!

It’s hard to think of a service provider in any industry, who couldn’t transition themselves into being number one in a category of one.

Yes. Including you, my friend.

Energy and business success: The fascinating link

January 10, 2020 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

I have a question for you today. An important question.

The question is this: Does your business excite you and energize you?

Well, it should do.

In fact, it HAS to!

Seriously.

Here’s why

It’s impossible to build a truly successful business, unless that business fills you with energy and excitement.

Think about it.

The energy is what keeps you moving forward. It’s the essential fuel source behind every successful business owner.
The excitement is what the marketplace needs to feel, whenever they have an encounter with you or your business. It’s highly infectious. It’s what inspires people to hire you, buy from you and recommend you.

And that energy can be yours. If you want it.

You see, you get to choose

You can choose to either create an inspirational business, or carry on like 99% of small and medium-sized business owners, in a business you love, which doesn’t love you back.

Small business owners suffer more stress, work longer hours and work harder, than they would do if they were an employee. They work themselves harder than any boss would, with none of the perks of being a salaried employee.

And that’s nuts!

New clients often tell me they would see other business owners, who were brimming with energy, and wonder how those other business owners managed to be so motivated. Usually, they blame themselves for not being self-motivated enough.

Thankfully, they’re 100% incorrect.

ANY business owner can become highly motivated and fully energized. However, it isn’t going to happen, while they’re working in a business that’s zapping their energy or failing to inspire them.

Business owners are intelligent people. They’re not going to feel highly motivated and energized, working in a business that isn’t fulfilling them.

Clarity is the key

All that energy only comes, when you are crystal clear about what you want from your business AND you have a plan for how to achieve it. This massively improves the way you think and feel about your business. That’s because you know what you want, know how to get it and can see progress toward your dream / goal / target. I see the impact this has on my clients every day. I’m telling you, it’s transformational!

And as your thoughts are what determine your actions, your newly-found excitement for your business provides you with the essential energy and motivation you want. That clarity and direction is all that separates you from those supercharged (and highly successful) business owners.

The challenge you need to overcome, if you want to access that energy and excitement, can be summed-up in one word: Settling.

Settling

Some business owners have spent so long with their daily grind, that they unconsciously start to settle for things the way they are. Sure, they hope things will improve. Occasionally, they’ll try something new. But they find themselves with the same core problem. So they (wrongly) blame themselves for lacking the self-motivation or energy.

Pretty soon, they realize January 2020 is starting to look a lot like last January. And last year wasn’t much different from the year before that. It’s little wonder they lack motivation, when they know that January 2020 won’t be the start of a New Year, just another chance to relive the same old year, all over again.

Fact: You are in control

You don’t need to settle for ANYTHING.

You’re the boss. That’s the whole point of being a business owner.

You get to build whatever kind of business you want. You choose how enjoyable your “work” is. You get to decide what you earn, where you work, where you live, the number of hours you work and the quality of your clients. You get to choose how interesting and fulfilling your work is.

You get to choose it all, because YOUR business is directly under YOUR control.

So quit settling, my friend. Decide the kind of business that would REALLY energize you. Then transition to it.