What was outstanding last year, isn’t outstanding today. And what seemed like great value, now isn’t. As a result, people’s expectations are constantly rising.

This is great news for that tiny minority of small business owners, who continuously seek to raise the bar.

But not for the business owner, who thinks it’s okay to just work hard doing the same old things, the same old way.

There’s real power in thinking big. For a business owner, it looks something like this:

• Thinking big leads to big plans.
• Big, exciting plans are motivating. They motivate us to take action.
• When we take action, we make things happen.
• And because the things we make happen are big and exciting, we make truly meaningful progress.

If you’re not feeling motivated, if you’re not making big exciting plans, if you’re not seeing meaningful progress — Start thinking BIGGER.

Have you launched a new product or a new service, only to be disappointed by the interest you attracted?

If you have, then today’s post is just for you. It will explain why this often happens, along with some ideas on how to make your next launch a success.

Danny from New York emailed me with a great question. His accountancy firm launched a new profit improvement service 5 months ago. They contacted existing clients and also advertised it to the local marketplace. Very few people have expressed any interest. He wondered why.

A common and costly mistake

I took a look at the marketing his firm used and was quickly able to identify a common mistake. A marketing mistake that many small business owners make.

It’s all about how ineffective (and potentially damaging) the word “new” is, when marketing something.

Sure, when you’ve just created or launched something new, you’re excited. You may even have a lot riding on the success of the new product or service. However, that newness is only exciting to you.

As far as the marketplace is concerned, something that’s new isn’t necessarily that interesting. In fact, newness can carry huge drawbacks, which will turn people away.

For example.

1. To a lesser or greater degree, a new service is going to feel like a risky bet. And your prospective clients hate risk. They want peace of mind. This is the opposite. At best, it’s a bigger gamble than the more established alternatives.
2. A new service is never the best. That’s because, by default, it lacks all those improvements that only come with time. It lacks the robustness of a more mature, proven service.

There’s nothing wrong with introducing something new. Far from it. Just don’t assume that because something is new, your marketplace will be interested in it or attracted to it.

Instead, you need to combine the fact it’s new, with additional benefits.

Benefits that your marketplace will find attractive. Benefits that reassure them. Benefits that are compelling. Benefits that are motivating. Benefits that will inspire them to want to know more, to hire you or buy from you.

Here are some proven examples you can use.

Our new (whatever) service provides you with:

• a faster way to.
• a safer way to.
• a greener way to.
• an easy way to.
• a friendlier way to.
• an enjoyable way to.
• a guaranteed way to.
• a more stylish way to.
• a relaxing way to.
• an ethical way to.
• a proven way to.
• an exciting way to.
• a cost effective way to.

In summary

Newness by itself has limited marketing power. You need to combine it with compelling, client-focused benefits. This will make it massively more attractive.

And always be mindful when launching a new service, that it will be perceived as somewhat risky. So, give people the reassurance they need. Provide guarantees. And if a risk-reversal is possible, use it. If you’re not sure what risk-reversal is, I use it here. It’s extremely powerful, because it makes hiring you a zero risk.

Keep these ideas and suggestions in mind, for your next (or current) launch. Because “new”, by itself, isn’t that attractive.

Today’s a very special day for you and your business. I’ll explain why (with 100% certainty) in today’s post.

Okay. Let’s go!

There’s no question about it, the marketplace needs providers from your industry.

As a business owner, the question is, why do they need you specifically? After all, your prospective clients can find dozens of alternative providers, on Google, in seconds.

Here’s the thing: The most successful business owners set themselves apart from the rest. They focus on being directly relevant (and thus highly compelling) to a profitable section of the marketplace. They may be the fastest provider, the cheapest, the most expensive, the most fashionable… whatever. The key here is that they’re not like the average provider.

They pick a profitable slice of the marketplace. Then they focus like a laser on being directly relevant to that niche.

The average provider doesn’t do that

So, they’re forced to compete for business against all the other, average providers. And that’s a really tough way to try and build a business. Here are just a few reasons why.

• You have too much competition.
• You struggle to get your business noticed.
• You get too few enquiries.
• You get too few referrals.
• You attract fee sensitive clients.
• You have to pay for advertising.
• You have to network.

In short, you have to do all the soul-destroying things the average business owner does.

Yes, there are average providers in every industry. But I know for certain that you don’t want to be one of them. (I’ll explain why I know for certain in a moment).

You can choose to be meaningfully different from the average provider. You can make building your business so much easier and massively more rewarding. You can move your business away from the over-crowded average section of your marketplace. You can work with better clients, earn better fees and build a spectacularly better business.

Here’s the challenge.

You also have the freedom to stay where you are

And the average business owner will do exactly that. They will work too many hours. They will earn too little. They will decide to settle for less than they’re capable of.

But that’s not for you. I know for an absolute fact that you’re not average and that you want more from your business.

How do I know this about you, with 100% certainty? I know because you’re right here, right now, reading this!

You’re looking for ideas, guidance, clarity or answers. Maybe all of those things. That means you’re ready. It means the desire is there.

Don’t waste it!

Why?

Because this could be the defining day for you, which every successful business owner has. It’s the day where they decide to be the best they can be. To explore their potential. To finally find out what they’re truly capable of. It’s the day they choose the right path. The day they take action to build a business that excites and rewards them on every level.

I know that’s where you are right now. You’re ready. But more importantly, I hope you don’t waste this moment. Decide now to make this your day.

You can’t cook an delicious meal with low quality ingredients.

You can’t construct a high quality building with low quality materials.

And you absolutely can not create a successful business, with low quality clients.

Work exclusively with the best clients

The definition of a truly great client will differ somewhat, depending on your industry. However, in general, the best clients are those who give you the freedom to do your best work. They pay you what you’re worth and they pay you on time. They are professionals themselves, so they value your professionalism.

Whilst every human being is created equal, their value to you as a client varies massively. Some are outstanding. Others are not just of zero commercial value… they’re of sub-zero value to your business. In other words, your business is worse off because of them. This includes clients who are late payers, insulting to you or your team, over-demanding, unreliable or dishonest.

This is why you have to be highly selective who you choose to work with. When I share this advice with young business owners, I often get the same reply.

“I hear what you’re saying Jim, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

I remind them that they’re not beggars. They’re business owners. I explain that if they think they can’t afford to turn low value clients away, it’s only because they haven’t seen the huge cost of working for low value clients.

No one sets out to attract low quality clients. It’s simply what happens, when a business isn’t using an effective, focused marketing strategy. Instead of regularly attracting high quality, targeted enquiries from their ideal profile of client, they get sporadic enquiries from a mixed bag of clients.

In short, their ineffective marketing leaves them feeling forced into accepting low quality clients. And that cycle continues, until they choose to take the marketing of their business seriously.

Make 2018 the year you refuse to settle for less than you deserve. Take your marketing seriously. And give yourself the freedom to work exclusively with great clients.

Debbie is a freelance trainer. She emailed me with a great question. I said I’d answer it here, as I know many of you will find it useful.

Debbie wanted to know what to do, when someone enquires about her services… then says they don’t have a budget or almost no budget.

Here’s why it happens and how to totally overcome it.

Costs and investments

If a business owner tells you they have no marketing budget, or just a small marketing budget, there’s a reason.

It’s simply this: They believe the service / product you provide is a cost and not an investment.

Think about it.

• When a business owner encounters a worthwhile investment, they invest.
• When a business owner encounters a cost, they limit or avoid expenditure.

When I explain this to young entrepreneurs, I put it like this:

If Bob says, “I’d invest more in my marketing, if only my business was doing better”, we know Bob’s got things the wrong way around. Nothing in the world works like that. The world works through cause and effect… not effect and cause.

That same guy wouldn’t go to the gym and tell the fitness trainer, “If you transform my body, weight, fitness and health today, I promise I’ll come here regularly for the next 12 months and work really hard”.

So what’s behind this bizarre mindset?

Knowing and accepting are 2 different things

Every business owner knows the difference between an investment and a cost, on an intellectual level. However, many haven’t accepted it on an emotional level. And it’s a long, frustrating, usually fruitless task to try and convince them, when they just don’t get it.

If you have a lot of spare time and a great amount of patience, you could try and change their mindset. I don’t recommend it, though.

You see, even if you manage to change their world-view. Even if you manage to get them to pay you. You’ll almost certainly end up regretting it. In my experience, the end result will be a fear-focused client, who’s a complete pain to work with.

There’s a better solution

Much better in fact. The solution is to attract so many high quality enquiries, that you don’t have to waste time dealing with people who are not willing, ready or seriously interested in what you offer.

So, focus exclusively on marketing to your ideal profile of client. Do this correctly and you’ll build a great business, doing your best work for wonderful people.

In short: If you want to stop attracting low quality clients, you need to stop using low quality marketing.