Think hard before doing business with people, who make a habit of telling you that you can trust them.
It’s like a new acquaintance telling you that they won’t steal your stuff, when they visit your home.
Why it pays you to invest in others
Business is all about people. As a result, it makes perfect sense to invest in others.
For example:
- Help people to develop or grow.
- Connect people, who can assist one another.
- Inspire people.
- Give people recognition.
- Delight people.
- Share resources with people.
- Encourage people.
Investing in the success of others is one of the most pleasurable and rewarding things you can do.
And if that isn’t enough, a hefty subset of those you invest in, will be motivated to invest in you.
Marketing 101: How to get your timing right
One of the most common mistakes small business owners make, is that they try to force things to happen too soon.
The challenge with wanting things to happen too soon, is that too soon is… too soon!
Even if you are in a hurry, launching your product or project when it is still full of bugs and broken, is a bad idea. It results in you putting substandard work in front of your marketplace. It creates a terrible first impression. It will stop the initial, eager members of your marketplace from returning.
The thing about timing
Regardless of how soon we want to launch something, if it isn’t good enough for our marketplace, it will flop. After all, there’s zero demand for half-assed products.
Here’s the thing: If the farmer harvests her apples too soon, because she’s over enthusiastic, they will still be way too small and taste sour. No one will buy them. Of course, if she waits too long, those apples will turn to slush.
In a nutshell: Too soon is too soon… however, once it’s good enough to ship, ship it!
How to get things done, earn more AND enjoy the process
How much do you value your time and how much do you charge for it?
I mention this, because although we claim to place huge value on our time, many people act in a way that suggests the opposite. The thing is, it’s impossible to build a successful business unless you use your time wisely and charge for your time accordingly!
How to lose time and waste your money
The lawyer who wastes 2 hours trying to repair his IT problem, doesn’t understand the value of his time. He can hire an IT professional for a third less than his hourly fee and get the job done correctly, in half the time.
Instead of using those 2 hours to delight his clients, he’s losing both time and money doing the job himself.
Of course, managing your time is more than just delegating tasks wisely. It’s also about protecting yourself from interruptions, which steal your time and divert your attention.
Losing time and surrendering attention
The business owner who allows themselves to be distracted all day with social network updates and emails, is handing their time (and attention) over to whoever demands it. However, by checking for email or updates at designated times, which suit their work flow, they can get far more done and save a massive amount of time.
How I gain an hour, for pennies!
When I put fuel in my car, I pay a little more for it than I need to. Why? Because the place opposite that charges less for fuel, always has an enormous queue. I can save myself 15 or 20 minutes every week, by going to the slightly more expensive place.
Here’s the thing: The hour or so a month this saves me, costs me pennies (literally). It’s great value, yet the majority of people can’t see it. Instead, they choose to trade their time, the most valuable asset any of us has, for pennies.
Can you spot the mistake here?
Pick any 2 lawyers, designers, dentists, accountants, etc, in your town and their fees will usually be within 10-20% of each other.
Whilst these people claim their time is of huge value, they sell it for average fees. They then end up working too many hours for average clients. That’s the OPPOSITE of how to grow a successful business.
How the most successful service providers do it
The most successful service providers work fewer hours, yet they earn far more than the average service provider.
Why?
Because they choose to offer an exceptional service, doing amazing work for high value clients. These high value clients pay them accordingly. So, they don’t need to work crazy hours, the way ‘average’ service providers do. These service providers place value their time in the truest sense, which means they use their time to do the best work possible – not average work, for average clients and average fees.
In short: It’s not enough for us to say we value our time. We need to demonstrate the value of our time in the decisions we make.
Tip: This will help. How to get more done in less time and improve your thinking.
Are you giving your business the sunshine it needs?
What single investment would result in the biggest improvement for your business?
For example:
- Hiring an exceptional copywriter to rewrite all your marketing material, so people take action when they read it.
- Moving your business to a better location.
- Working to a professionally developed marketing strategy, which lets you build the kind of business you always wanted.
- Getting your website redesigned, so that it looks amazing and instantly gives your business a professional image.
- Improving the customer service offered by every member of your team.
- Hiring a better accountant. One who can help you improve the profitability of your business, rather than just count the beans and keep you compliant.
- Developing a great new product or service for your existing clients.
I’m sure you can find examples, which apply far better to your business, but you get the idea. Now pick one… and put a plan in place to make it happen.
We wouldn’t expect a seed to grow without sunshine. Equally, we shouldn’t expect a business to grow without giving it the resources it needs.
Determination, drive, persistence and the other thing!
Determination, drive and persistence are essential for business success. However, without a strategy they are useless. That’s why toddlers don’t run the world’s most successful businesses!
Doing the wrong things, even with determination, drive and persistence, leads to nothing but frustration. It’s the mistake made by every business owner, who works hard, yet makes little progress.
The answer
If you are following a strategy and it isn’t working, either improve the strategy or replace it with one that works. If you don’t know how to build the right strategy for what you want to achieve, hire someone who does.
Remember: Working hard, for too little reward, is a choice we make. We are free at any time, to start doing the right things, correctly.
Tip: Here’s how to make better business decisions.
Yes, they can afford your fees. Here’s what’s really stopping them!
When a prospective client tells you that they can’t afford your services, it’s seldom what they really mean.
No.
What they really mean is that they think your service is too expensive — that the fee is higher than the value.
Lower the fee or increase the value
The average business owner lowers their fee, in order to be more affordable. The lower their fee, the higher the perceived value. If they lower their fee enough, they will gain lots of low value clients and build a low profit business.
The most successful business owners increase the value they provide. They then make sure that the value is clear to their prospective clients. If they increase the value enough, they will gain lots of high value clients and build a highly profitable business.
BONUS: Here’s a FREE, 3 part series on how to sell your services to the best potential clients, for the highest fees:
How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 1.
How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 2.
How to attract the best clients and the highest fees – Part 3.
Don’t let this mistake crush your business!
There is an extremely common marketing error, which is ruining small businesses. Right now, I’m going to explain what it is and also show you how to avoid it.
I was prompted to write this after being contacted by a personal development coach with a marketing problem. She explained that she’d hired several copywriters over the past year, to rewrite the pages on her website, which sold her products and services. On each occasion, the results were the same. Very few inquiries and even fewer new clients or product sales.
Why didn’t it work?
Simple: The problem wasn’t the copywriting. Allow me to explain.
Focusing on the wrong thing
She told me a bit about her business and it was clear that the problem isn’t the copy she is using. The problem is with the predictable nature of what she offers. Her services sound just like hundreds of thousands of other personal development coaches.
So, when someone sees what she has to offer, there’s absolutely no reason why anyone should hire her, rather than one of the others.
Here’s the thing: If your marketing messages are not generating enough inquiries, clients or customers, it could be a sign you need to invest in creating a better (more valuable) service, rather than a better marketing message.
Market demand
There’s no demand in the marketplace for a provider who offers something, which is just a little better, bigger, smaller, faster or less expensive than the competition. That’s not enough to attract your prospective client’s attention or interest.
As a marketing professional, I spend lots of time with business owners, helping them make subtle changes to what they provide, so that it becomes distinctive and massively more attractive. I suggest you do the same, especially if you work in a competitive industry.
Tip: This will help you. It shows how to make your product or service stand out in a competitive marketplace.
How to be a millionaire. Yes, seriously!
I’d like to share what I believe to be the easiest way, for a small business owner to make a million (pounds, dollars, euros etc).
How to make a million
Mathematically, there are lots of ways to achieve your million. Here are 3, starting with the worst and finishing with what I believe is the best option for a small business owner, with limited resources.
- You can make £1 from a million people. Possible, but incredibly hard. You need an extremely large reach, to connect with the millions of people required, in order to find 1 million who will pay you £1.
- You can make £1000 from 1000 different people. Easier than the first option. It requires a far smaller reach.
- Alternatively, you can make £10,000 from just 100 clients or customers. The balance here is a lot easier for you to manage. If you provide a product or service that has massive value, it’s extremely achievable to attract just 100 clients. Equally, if you’re marketing to the correct type of people or businesses, they have zero problem investing £10,000 in something, which they value enough.
These are not exact numbers. The best option for you may be somewhere between number 2 and number 3. The key is to get you thinking about how to make your next, or first, million.
An achievable, realistic target
Whilst many people struggle to believe they can become a millionaire, everyone in business knows they can attract 100 high value clients or customers, if they use the correct strategy. This totally changes how you feel about becoming a millionaire. Now it’s an achievable, realistic goal.
So, what are you going to create, which 100 people or organisations will pay you £10,000 for? Spend some time thinking about that. Give it the time and effort it deserves.
It could change your life.
Tip: Here are some useful ideas, on how to create a great new product or service.
To improve a business, let go of the Failing Familiar!
A reader asked me a great question earlier. She wanted to know why she isn’t making the changes her business needs, even though she is, as she put it; slowly losing her business.
Here’s part of the advice I gave her. I want to share it with you, in case someone you know needs to hear it:
“Start by accepting just how urgent your situation is. A failing business is unsustainable. The time to act is now… today. What stops most people doing what’s required, is that it means making a big, scary commitment. It means stopping your current strategy, which put you in this situation. It means letting go of the failing familiar.”
The hardest part of turning a business around is making that initial commitment, to let go of the failing familiar. After that, your mindset shifts. You start looking for answers, rather than hoping things will somehow, just improve.
Whilst hope is absolutely essential, it isn’t a business strategy.
Tip: Here’s a heartbreaking email, which every small business owner needs to read.
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