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What exactly are you waiting for?

January 18, 2021 by Jim Connolly

2021 marketing tips

It’s midway through January, in one of the most challenging years ever for business owners.

The opportunities ahead of you are huge. However, you need to get your plans into action in order to navigate the coming months and come out on top.

These evergreen essentials for business success will help.

  • Don’t wait for permission. You don’t need it.
  • Don’t wait for the perfect time. The time is never perfect.
  • Don’t wait for inspiration to appear. Command it to appear.
  • Don’t wait for the right opening. Create it.
  • Don’t wait for someone to pick you. Pick yourself.
  • Don’t wait for the initiative. Take it.

In short: If opportunity doesn’t knock… quit waiting and build a door.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

Switch off the autopilot and take control

January 14, 2021 by Jim Connolly

2021 marketing tips ideas

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.

Here’s what this means to you and your business, as you navigate the coming year.

Business success is a journey

Small and medium-sized businesses are at even greater risk of this threat.

It happens when a business grows to the point where the owner gets comfortable, stops steering wisely and starts to coast. Decisions are made on autopilot.

The hunger for success, when replaced with contentment, causes a business to plateau. And a business that plateaus soon becomes irrelevant, as their marketplace continues to move forward. The business becomes a dot in the rear view mirror. Growth is sluggish and unpredictable. They work hard, yet spin their wheels.

Here’s how to avoid this 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.

Remember: Even if you want your revenues and profits to remain the same, you still have to develop your business to account for lost clients / customers or new competitors eating into your market share, etc.

Here are a couple of suggestions.

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.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

Exposed: The biggest lie in marketing

January 11, 2021 by Jim Connolly

Marketing ideas

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

Here it is.

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

That’s a lie. 

And here are 30 examples to prove it

Whether these business owners know it or not, they are marketing their business all day every day. That’s because everything in business is marketing.

Here are 30 examples.

  1. The eagerness you demonstrate for helping your clients or customers.
  2. The cleanliness and age of your company vehicles.
  3. The way you speak: From the words you use to the warmth of your welcome.
  4. The experience you give your clients or customers, which they share with their friends.
  5. The way you handle phone calls.
  6. The causes that you or your business publicly support.
  7. The prices or fees you charge.
  8. The type of offers you use to attract new clients.
  9. The range of services you provide, especially in relation to how similar they are to what your competitors offer.
  10. The confidence you inspire in others when you connect with them.
  11. The way you respond to email enquiries, both in the speed and tone of your response.
  12. The content you use on your website.
  13. The places you choose to advertise.
  14. The type of advertising messages you use.
  15. The groups your business belongs to.
  16. The energy you have for your business.
  17. The way you connect with people on social networks.
  18. The time it takes you to make a decision.
  19. The quality of the photos and other graphics you use.
  20. The type of clients or customers you choose to work with.
  21. The type of clients or customers you choose not to work with.
  22. The leadership you demonstrate.
  23. The guarantees you offer.
  24. The flexibility you show, when a client or customer has a unique challenge.
  25. The professionalism of your marketing copy.
  26. The working atmosphere you provide.
  27. The way you communicate with your clients or customers.
  28. The way you handle problems, both internally and external (client) problems.
  29. The regularity with which you achieve deadlines.
  30. The way you and your team dress.

It’s all marketing

Everything your business does (or fails to do) 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.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, Professional development

A valuable business lesson from Starbucks and Instagram

January 7, 2021 by Jim Connolly

Marketing blogs, thrive

In today’s post, I’m going to share a strategy with you that’s used by the world’s most successful businesses. I’ll also show how I use it and explain why you should too.

I’m referring to operating your business with a focused and agile mindset. Those words almost sound like opposites. But they’re not. And in business they work together beautifully. Here’s how focus and agility work together.

  • You need to know what it is you want to achieve from your business and stay focused on it.
  • However, you also need to adopt an agile approach regarding how it happens. Then, as new feedback and opportunities come along, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. This is always sound advice, but in 2021 it’s essential.

In short, you remain both focused and agile.

Here are a couple of well-known examples, along with how I use the same strategy.

You couldn’t buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks

It’s hard to believe today. But it’s true. Starbucks had been in business for several years (and had already opened its first 5 outlets), before they sold a cup of coffee to anyone. Prior to this, Starbucks sold coffee beans. Agile thinking allowed them to identify a new opportunity, when they noticed how customers enjoyed sampling their coffee beans in-store.

Starbucks’ focus remained the same: to build a successful coffee business. However, their approach changed.

Instagram used to be a check-in app

Instagram started life in 2010 as a check-in app called Burbn. The developers decided their app was too similar to Foursquare, so they pivoted. All their efforts were switched to the photo-sharing component of the Burbn app. Instagram was born.

Their agile thinking allowed them to identify an opportunity for a filter based photo-sharing app. They ran with it. And just 2 years later, the app was acquired by Facebook for approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares.

The founder’s focus remained the same: to build a successful app. However, their approach changed.

I could have used examples from Suzuki, which used to manufacture weaving looms. Or Nintendo, which has previously sold instant rice, vacuum cleaners and even offered a taxi service. And I could have mentioned how Twitter was born from the ashes of a podcast sharing app called Odeo.

But that almost misses the point.

The point is that it’s not only billion dollar companies that use a focused and agile approach. There are businesses of all sizes, achieving breakthrough results from the exact same strategy.

Including mine.

How I use focus and agility

I started my business working as a marketing consultant, who visited clients at their premises or at my offices in London. When I relocated to a tiny village in the countryside in 2002, I quickly decided I didn’t want to waste hours every day travelling. So, I switched to working remotely. Initially I used phones, then switched to VoIP and now video.

Not only did this mean zero time wasted on travel, it also cut my overhead by around 98%! Plus, it opened up the whole world to my services. For the past 19 years I’ve worked globally, in over 40 countries, (as well as every state in the United States).

My focus remained the same: to build a successful marketing business. However, my approach changed.

Whatever line of work you are in, there are massive gains to be made by embracing a focused, agile approach to the development of your business.

It’s also worth remembering that the world is changing at an ever increasing pace, accelerated by the pandemic. An agile and focused approach is now absolutely essential. Not just to thrive, but to survive.

Stay safe.

Stay focused.

Stay agile.

Filed Under: Business Development, Professional development

How to start 2021 with the right mindset and stay on track

January 4, 2021 by Jim Connolly

Today, I’m going to share an extremely powerful business idea with you, along with an amazing technique to help you grow your business exponentially in 2021 and beyond. This information could be exactly what you and your business needs, so please take time to read it.

Let’s go.

Every business owner experiences highs and lows. Seasons of success and seasons of frustration. Here’s something we know for sure: As you face the opportunities ahead of you, your overall results are determined by how you navigate these ups and downs.

When times are good

When things are going great it’s easy to feel confident, calm and assured. And with those positive feelings guiding your decision making, you perform at a far higher level. You also inspire confidence in others and find it easier to motivate them to hire you, buy from you or recommend you.

After all, when was the last time you hired or recommended someone, who you had no confidence in?

You’re on a roll.

When times are tough

It’s harder to feel confident when times are tough. You’re no longer on a roll. Your focus naturally switches to the problems in front of you. You consider the worst case scenarios and how you would cope. A negative cycle is created and stays in play, until you regain control of your mindset.

Usually, this mindset shift is the result of an external factor.

Today, I’d like to show you how I intentionally, deliberately and VERY quickly get my mindset back on track. It’s a technique that you are able to use and because it’s based on facts that you know are 100% true, your mind is fully able to accept it.

It’s based around your past experiences.

Consider the following 5 facts for a moment:

  1. You are just one email away from a great client inquiry. Just as you were the last time it happened.
  2. You are just one idea away from a life-changing breakthrough. Just as you were the last time it happened.
  3. You are just one phone call away from converting an enquiry into your most valuable client ever. Just as you were the last time it happened.
  4. You are just one decision away from an amazing opportunity. Just as you were the last time it happened.
  5. You are just one conversation away from your largest ever order. Just as you were the last time it happened.

NONE of those are Pollyanna thoughts or wishful thinking.

They’re facts.

Facts you know to be true, based on what you have already experienced.

These real world opportunities and many, many others can happen for you at any time.

The key is NOT to just wait for things to improve. You can greatly increase the speed and frequency of these opportunities, when you focus on the steps required to make them happen, rather than focus on what you fear.

Here’s how I did it.

  • When I came up with this idea, over 20 years ago, I needed to regularly remind myself of those 5 facts.
  • So, I wrote them down and kept them visible.
  • I read them and reread them.
  • My mind quickly accepted them, because each one is provably 100% true.
  • After a while, I didn’t need to intentionally remind myself. My mindset automatically worked from that spectacularly effective perspective.
  • It’s been that way ever since.

And that’s what I want for you my friend.

I want you to give yourself the best possible advantage to absolutely thrive in 2021. I want you to succeed more than you’ve ever succeeded before.

And I want you to achieve beyond anything you’ve ever achieved before.

Filed Under: Business Development, General marketing, How to, Professional development

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

January 1, 2021 by Jim Connolly

content marketing, trust

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

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

For example.

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

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

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

Filed Under: Business Development, 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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