The next 12 months will be your best year ever…if you play the "right" cards. The "right" cards are consistency, articulation, relationships, differentiation, and systems. Add the right mindset and you have a formula guaranteed to bring success.
Consistent effort produces consistent results. It’s important to have consistency in everything you do…your onboarding process for new clients, your marketing, your schedule for direct mail and email campaigns, making in-person contact with prospects at networking events, following up with prospects, engagement on the social media platform where your prospects are engaged.
Articulation of what you do, who you serve, and the transformation that will take place for your customer or client as a result of using your product or service. This needs to be a message that you deliver over and over again in the same way using the same basic verbiage whether in-person or online. If you deliver a clear, concise message to the right market using the right media, then you will have success.
Relationships are key to any successful business. It’s critical to build the know, like, and trust factor for yourself and your business. Find a place to make connections, such as attending networking events and start letting people know what you do. Don't just focus on selling your wares. Show interest in other people. Be a good listener.
Ask this one question every day, “What is one thing I can do today to make a connection with someone?” If you do this, you will contact 250 people a year. Once you start doing this, you will actually make more than 250 contacts because you will start building word of mouth referrals.
Differentiation of yourself and your products and services from everybody else will better position you in a crowded, competitive marketplace. It’s estimated that we are exposed to over 3000 messages every day through radio, television, billboards, online ads, and more. How will you stand out from the crowd? Something must fire an emotional trigger in your prospective client that creates an emotional connection that is essential for them to do business with you.
Here are some ways you can differentiate yourself and your business from the competition: become a market specialist, reposition the competition, provide real value by making them feel like you delivered more than they paid for, develop your personal brand, become an expert in your field. Never differentiate on price. You can deliver more value for the same price, but never discount your product or service.
Systems allow you to expand your business with less effort. Developing and documenting your systems is especially important if you think you may want to sell your business in the future. The three main systems you should have in place are:
- Financial system with a simple way to track income and expenses in your business. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when putting a financial system in place. How much business do you want? What is your main revenue stream? How many revenue streams do you have?
Think about how many clients or customers you need and how much money you want to make. For example, “I want 15 clients that will generate $100,000 in revenue over the next 12 months.” What marketing strategies will you use, and what financial systems will you need to have in place to monitor and track your progress? - Contact management system to properly manage and follow-up with prospects and clients. This is without a doubt the most important tool in your arsenal for marketing your business and growing your customer base.
- Marketing system is another component of your business that must be implemented. Consider your plans for marketing in the coming year. What is your budget? What channels (direct mail, email, landing pages, sales funnels, social media, speaking, in-person events, etc.) will you use for your marketing? What ROI do you expect from each one? Answering these questions will help you develop a solid marketing plan with a system in place to track everything.
Final Thoughts
This email was my attempt to simplify the process of building and growing a business. It's simple, but it's not easy. Business does not have to be difficult, but it does require showing up every day with a strong work ethic and doing the best job you can utilizing the resources you have available.
With the right mindset and a good work ethic, I believe anything is possible for you and your business. With my CARDS™ System, you will dramatically increase your chances of success in the coming year.