Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

How to avoid an ongoing cash flow crisis

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cash flow crisis, avoid cash-flow problem

A reader emailed me this morning, about his latest cash flow crisis. He asked me for some advice on how to overcome it. I promised I’d answer here, as it’s a very common problem for a lot of business owners right now.

My reader put his problem like this: “I need to sign-up 5 new customers by the end of December, to avoid another cash flow crisis”.

Here’s my advice, which is relevant to almost any business owner with an on-going cash flow problem.

The wrong focus blocks cash flow

In my reader’s case, if he does focus on getting those 5 new customers, there’s a reasonable chance he will make it happen. Or come pretty close to making it happen. I don’t have any details about his business. But I do know that in business, we tend to get what we focus on – good or bad.

So, whilst there’s a good chance that he will be motivated to get those 5 new customers, if he does get them, he will have also just planted the seeds of his next crisis! That’s because those 5 new customers will simply buy him some time until he’s in the same position again.

Here’s a far better way forward. It’s based around 2 adjustments that can radically improve your financial situation… and your life!

1. Fund your business correctly

Cash flow can be resolved relatively easily. But only after you understand that on-going cash flow problems are rooted in the way you feel, think and act regarding money. When you overcome this block, the cash starts to flow like never before.

Your accountant will be able to explain how successful business owners fund their businesses correctly. If you don’t have an accountant, ask your financial adviser or business banking manager. It’s extremely straightforward.

2. Set exciting, compelling sales targets

Always, always set motivating targets that correspond with a thriving business. The kind of epic targets that will lead you to a massively better quality of life. Never set targets that merely help you to scrape by.

Here’s why the right type of targets are critically important for you and your business.

  • Targets that inspire you to thrive are exceptionally motivating. They also cause you to make decisions based on what you want. They bring energy, ideas and confidence. Confidence that encourages others to buy from you, hire you and believe in you. These combine to dramatically improve your results. And fast!
  • Targets that are about surviving your latest cash flow crisis are motivated by fear. And even if you hit the target, you’re still in a precarious situation. You just scraped over the line. And you’re left waiting for the next cash flow crisis, because your underlying problem remains. So, you end up with anxiety and stress, regardless of whether you hit the target or miss the target. That’s a self-defeating loop, which makes it impossible to build a successful business.

In short, a poorly funded business, focused on trying to stay afloat, is guided by fearful, short-term thinking. It has an extremely limited horizon.

The answer is to resource your business correctly. And set exciting targets that motivate you to build a financially powerful company.

Marketing 101: Styles make sales

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styles make sales, selling style, marketing

In today’s post, I’d like to share how a simple idea can help you develop a massively more effective way to sell your products or services.

Styles make sales

When I started out in sales and marketing, one of the first things I learned is that styles make sales. It works something like this.

Certain salespeople have a style of selling that is very effective with certain prospective customers. Conversely, if a salesperson’s style is at odds with a prospective customer’s buying style, the salesperson is less likely to get the sale.

In the companies I worked for back then, there were large and diverse sales-forces. A sales manager would look at the data they had on a prospect, then try and match our styles to the prospect’s profile.

I know you’ve spotted the challenge here.

As a small business owner, you don’t have that same abundance of salespeople to mix and match to the prospect’s buying style.

Sometimes the salesperson is you.

This begs the question: How do you sell effectively to prospective clients or customers, who have a buying style that’s different to your sales style?

The answer is to align as closely as you can with what motivates them.

How?

Develop your own ‘styles make sales’ model!

Here’s a quick look at how to get yourself started.

Before you begin your pitch or presentation, spend a little while asking the prospective customer a few informal, pre-prepared questions that require useful answers.

For example, you could ask questions, where the replies will indicate whether they are more (or less) influenced by facts, figures and graphs… than by stories, feelings and pictures. Then, match your presentation style to their preference.

As your presentation continues, look and listen for other signals from the prospect, which indicate that you’re on (or off) the right track.

Ultimately, you’ll need to create several easy to answer questions, which uncover your prospect’s buying style. You’ll also need to park the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to sales, if that’s what you currently use. Spend the time required to get this right. It’s worth it.

What’s the pay-off?

It’s huge.

If you get it right you’ll enjoy the rewards of having a fluid presentation model, which matches the motivation your prospects need, in order to buy from you.

Just think what that would do to your sales figures, my friend.

Your sales figures. Going up!

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elevator pitch

Did you know that you can increase your sales in multiple ways, by using a great elevator pitch? Well, you can. It will work for you online and face-to-face. It will open doors for you and help you get noticed. It will help you be remembered by prospective clients or customers, too.

Here’s how you and your business can benefit mightily from this powerful, often misunderstood marketing tool.

It’s not actually a pitch

There are lots of variations, but a common definition of an elevator pitch will go something like this.

A sales pitch that can be delivered in a short period of time [the time it takes to ride an elevator].

That is incorrect. It’s a narrow, literal interpretation of what an elevator pitch is. You are never going to sell anything of value to a stranger in 20-30 seconds. What you absolutely can do, is give a compelling introduction to someone, which will motivate them to want to know more.

In other words, an elevator pitch is a pre-pitch. It’s a short, well-crafted message that inspires the person(s) listening to become interested. Interested enough to give you more time, where you can actually pitch your service or products.

Why you need an elevator pitch

Here are the core business benefits of having a short, well-crafted sales message.

You’ll create a great first impression, fast

When you connect with a prospective client for the first time, you need to be able to make a positive impact quickly. This is true whether it’s face-to-face or online. A motivating elevator pitch will allow you to do exactly that. People are busy and your pitch will ensure they hear what they need to know, with clarity and without delay.

Preparation

It takes time to develop a great elevator pitch. By the time you have it down, you’ll know it by heart. And because it’s a short message, it’s also an easy message to remember. That means it will stick. It also means that whenever you’re in a situation, where someone asks you about your business, you’ll have the perfect answer to hand.

And that’s not all. The feeling of being prepared and knowing you have a powerful message to share, boosts your confidence. And that confidence is then transmitted to whoever is listening, which makes your message vastly more compelling.

How to write your elevator pitch

I strongly recommend you don’t write one from scratch by yourself. Instead, find a free one from a credible source online and refine it, so that it’s directly relevant to you, your services or products. There are hundreds of free examples and templates for you to choose from via your search engine of choice.

Why refine an expertly written elevator pitch, rather than write your own? The toughest form of written marketing is what’s known as writing short. Even professional copywriters struggle with writing short. That’s because you have very few words and every one of them needs to count. You’re trying to motivate, educate and leave a powerful first impression, within those tight confines.

If at all possible, find an industry-specific example to refine. That’s because a different approach is required for every industry. Here’s what I mean. The pitch used by a family law firm will need to be different from that of an oven-cleaning franchise. The pitch used by that oven-cleaning franchise will need to be different from that of a private school.

It’s reasonably easy to create an effective elevator pitch and the benefits massively outweigh the time it will take you. Start with a good quality example or template to work from and you’ll be good to go in no time.

Move your customers from something, to something

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Today, I’d like to share a very powerful marketing strategy with you, which few, if any, of your competitors are aware of.

marketing, usp, different

As you know, every business provides a product or a service. And that product or service solves a problem for the customer. In order to solve their problem, it needs to create a change. To move them from (something) to (something).

For example.

  • From broke to wealthy.
  • From discomfort to comfort.
  • From bored to entertained.
  • From confused to clear.
  • From worried to confident.
  • From struggling to succeeding.
  • From vulnerable to safe.
  • From lonely to connected.
  • From loss to gain.
  • From ignorant to informed.
  • From stressed to relaxed.
  • From lost to guided.

Here’s the part very, very few business owners get right.

You need to figure out the change your prospective customers are looking for. Their ‘from what’ and their ‘to what’.

Warning: The biggest danger here is believing the answer is obvious.

It almost never is

Seriously.

For instance, NO successful coffee shop focuses on changing you from thirsty to quenched. None of them.

They change you by creating an attractive atmosphere. An atmosphere, where you can go from stressed to relaxed, or from tired to restored, or from lonely to connected, from stuck to creative or from bored to entertained.

The world’s top coffee shops know this. It’s what their marketing focuses on. It’s why we see very little emphasis placed on the coffee beans used, yet huge emphasis placed on the welcoming, positive atmosphere.

The improvement this shift in your focus will make is almost impossible to overstate.

Here’s another example.

The world’s most expensive restaurants don’t focus on taking you from hungry to full. You can go down the street and get the same number of calories from a burger joint for pennies. Instead, these restaurants focus on their exclusivity. They take you (and your guest) from feeling normal to feeling like a star.

How this relates to your product or service

Determine what change or changes your prospective customer is truly looking for.

Focus on the ‘from what’ part. Your marketing message needs to meet them right there. It needs to talk to their current situation. It needs to address the discomfort they’re feeling. This means your message will be on the very same wavelength that they’re on. This dramatically and profoundly increases the sales impact of your marketing

Then focus on the ‘to what’ part. Your marketing needs to illustrate how your product or service transitions them to their end point. To the very thing they desire.

This marketing strategy is designed to directly address the wants (or needs) of your prospects and position your products or services as the answer. Almost no small business does this and amazingly few medium-sized businesses.

I strongly recommend you consider adding this strategy to your 2023 marketing plans.

Seek context before you move on

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You heard what the customer or client said, the words they used. That doesn’t mean you also know what message they were trying to convey.

In our normal conversations, this is no big deal most of the time. But in an important conversation, it can create major problems.

Imagine someone tells you their business grew by 15% last year. They might want your congratulations. Equally, they might want your commiserations. Without clarity regarding the context, your reaction and response could be way off.

Always get the context before you respond.

Have you seen what those liars are saying?

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marketing liars

Have you ever looked at the marketing promises made by your competitors?

  • Your most unreliable competitors will promise to deliver on time, every time.
  • Your lowest quality competitors will promise premium quality at low prices.
  • Your least competent competitors will promise a highly professional service.

And they’ll all have testimonials. Testimonials that are often the opposite of what a real client or customer will experience from them.

It’s horrible. It sucks. But it makes sense

After all, they’re hardly likely to admit that working with them or buying from them is a total nightmare. You see, the mindset that says it’s okay to produce low quality work and charge over the odds for it, has no problem being dishonest in other areas of their business.

What does this have to do with you?

Everything!

It has everything to do with you. And here’s why.

Your prospective clients or customers have been lied to before. This means the claims you legitimately make in YOUR marketing will only be treated seriously, if you back them up.

Here are a couple of tips to help you make the truth of your marketing a lot more believable.

One way to add credibility, is to link from your website to external (preferably independent) sources. For example, link from your website to external reviews or positive press / media coverage on news sites. Similarly, if you’ve been accredited by a respected organisation, link to the page on their website, where you’re mentioned.

Another way to add credibility, is to show up regularly with useful information, via a newsletter, a blog, a podcast or on social networks. By providing genuinely useful, informed advice, you demonstrate your knowledge. You also have an opportunity to show your personality. By demonstrating your knowledge and allowing your marketplace to get to know you, you create a potent marketing mix, which helps build trust.

Please don’t just find this advice interesting.

Do something with it.

When the economy is in bad shape, people think a lot harder before making any investments. This includes investing in the services or products you provide. Showcase your credibility and make the decision to invest in you as easy as possible.