To make this year your most successful in business yet
Do you like to start the new year by setting some goals and creating a business plan?
Typically when I speak to business owners, their goal is usually something like this:
“Increase sales by 20%”
And then they continue working on the same kinds of activities as they did last year.
Things like: posting on Instagram, running giveaways, maybe doing some Facebook ads or boosting posts.
When those activities fail to deliver the desired effects on growth, they then run a discount or sale promotion to bring some dollars in the door.
Sound familiar?
As Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
Yet so many of us continue to do the same things in our business and wonder why we’re not getting the results we desire!
Here’s my 5 tips to figure out what to focus on in your business
1. Are you getting a return on effort?
Let me ask you an important question: do you know which of your current activities actually generate results?
And on the flip side: of the activities you are doing, do you know if you are wasting time doing things that give you little to no return on investment (ROI)?
So many times I speak to business owners spend hour upon hour on tasks that have little impact on sales growth. And on top of that, they have absolutely no idea that this is the case!
As Dr. Phil says, “You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge!”
How to identify your most effective marketing activities
Tip: Write a list of all the sales and marketing activities you spend time on, and then see if you can work out what results you got from those activities. Once you figure out the things that work – do more of that and less of everything else!
2. Can you guarantee results on your marketing spend?
Are you only willing to spend money on marketing or advertising if you can be 100% sure you’ll get a return on that investment?
I see many business owners putting a lot of time into free marketing activities because they’re scared to spend money, afraid they won’t get a return on that investment.
You definitely don’t need do ALL the different marketing strategies in your business. You don’t even need to be on all the different social media channels!
But you DO need to pick one or two marketing strategies that work for your business model, and learn them thoroughly.
And here’s the thing. Even if you pay an expert or consultant, you cannot ever expect to get brilliant results straight out of the gate. You have to give yourself time to implement, test, review and tweak.
How to ensure you get a return on marketing investment
Tip: Record your starting point before you undertake any new marketing activities (for example, if you’re going to invest in Facebook ads, how many website visitors are you getting before you start?). Then record the results you get during and afterwards, in terms of increased visitors and sales, to see what impact your efforts have.
3. What drives sales and profit growth in your business?
The basic concept of business is relatively simple – you sell a product or service for a certain price. To grow your business, you need more customers to buy that product or service.
In order to influence that growth, you need to identify what factors drive that growth. For example, if you own an eCommerce store, what things influence your website revenue and profitability?
If you can work out the root causes of your results, then you can focus your efforts on those things.
How to work out your key business drivers
Tip: Start by listing all the different ways your customers buy from you, and next to that, identify what are the instigators for each source of customers. For example, if you sell on your website, the sources would include email, social media, search engines, other referring websites. If you sell wholesale, the source is likely to be the number of sales calls you make.
Then, take it a step further by listing all the other factors that influence profits, such as average order value and repeat purchase frequency.
Businesses with a plan outperform businesses with no plan by more than 60%!
4. Answer honestly: Are you sabotaging your own success?
I remember years ago, I used to explain away my lack of achieving goals by saying to myself, ‘I need to do X, Y or Z before I can expect to see growth’.
And that X, Y and Z usually meant ‘I need to do all the marketing things’ or ‘I need to be doing everything my competitors are doing’. Or even, ‘I need to have this fancy expensive marketing application in place before I can expect bigger results’!
But all this does is give yourself permission to stay where you are, spinning your wheels and not achieving the growth in sales and profitability that you crave.
Tip: Sometimes it’s hard to get out of our own way! If you find yourself constantly thinking, ‘I’ll be happy when I achieve X, Y or Z’, or ‘I’ll feel successful when…’
Then it’s time to take Step 5!
Find an accountability partner, coach or mentor to help keep you focused on the things that matter so you can grow your business consistently.
5. Get a Coach
Running a business alone can be a daunting, isolating experience at times…
How do you come up with ideas? Problem solve? Decide what strategies to implement? How do you stay motivated and productive?
Staying focused on the RIGHT tasks is hard enough when you work solo. Especially when we’re wearing ALL the hats in the business!
We’re the designer, the marketer, the sales-person, the book keeper, the logistics person and the legal eye. (Quite frankly, it’s amazing we don’t all end up with split personality disorder sometimes!)
“Should I hire a coach?”
It’s a question I get asked a lot. And, if you’re ambitious, you have a goal to achieve and you’ve never done it before? The answer is always YES!
HUMANS NEED COACHES.
If there’s anything you want to achieve in your life and you don’t know exactly how to do it, get support!
Here are just a few reasons to say YES to coaching:
1?? You’re not seeing the results you want. Hey, I understand! It happens to everyone. A coach has the skill and knowledge to get you over the humps – just like any professional has a deeper well of expertise than most people have.
2?? You have a specific goal in mind. Do you want to generate automated revenue? Grow a million dollar brand? Develop new products? Build a team? A coach will help you focus on achieving your dreams.
3?? The world of eCommerce business can be overwhelming. Maybe you’ve been trying to figure out the whole online business thing for a while, but you wonder if your products or brand really have potential. If you have what it takes to build a profitable business. A coach can help you get clarity and momentum.
4?? Accountability. If you know your coach is there waiting for you, that’s extra incentive to get to show up. Sometimes when we’re alone, it’s easier to procrastinate and stay stuck where you are.
An athlete wouldn’t dream of attempting to make the Olympics without a coach.
And it’s the same for entrepreneurs tackling the unknown in their business.
Question: Where are you struggling? What area of your business could you use some guidance, support, & accountability in?
Work with me
Getting the eyes of someone who has experience and qualifications relevant to your endeavour can accelerate your path to success. Take advantage of their experience across many different businesses.
If you are searching for that someone to push you through the tough spots, to guide and course-correct you and correct your technique along the way to ensure you are doing the best you can, it may be time to get a coach.
This is a great time to check out our Coaching programs for eCommerce brands. I’ve created this so my team and I can push you along, guide you, correct your technique and help you to just keep going.
Book a free strategy session to find out more or see if we’re a good fit to work together:
Updated: 20th January 2023