4 Ways You Are Screwing Your Sustainable Profitability And Growth

I was in a generous mood, so offered to mentor and train my mastermind of business owners, business development managers, professionals and people passionate about personal development for free.

I like to do this once in a while to show my loyalty to them. Give them a little love, kick up the butt into positive action, and ensure they get the results they want this month, quarter, and year. It can be all too easy in business and your career to buckle down and not look at all as to what you really need help with. And what’s not progressing as it should.

So I helped them with everything from awkward employees and dodgy contracts through a lack of momentum and poor sales (and profit).

I had some Insiders happy to share their issues or obstacles in the confidential mastermind group and thought I’d share some key similarities to the issues the business owners and professionals faced.

I started by sharing the below with the Insiders so they can be mindful of how they work, think and act. I pointed out that this was not a “you’re rubbish” thing.

We all have unique ways of working that don’t serve us well and we can all learn how to make it work better. I shared that as an example I’ve the attention span of a gnat, it’s why I speak fast, have high energy and need time to recharge away from humans. I used to try and fight that but I’ve learnt this attention span means I can also think about a ton of things at once. This means I can consider how the receptionist feels while also considering the impact to the COO and the business.

It’s how I can look at your business and come up with 30 fast solutions that will increase profit and improve the business in a short amount of time. My mind works so fast!

It was so much fun working from one Insider business to another over many hours, although I did briefly send the top Liverpool solicitors to the wrong Insider! (See a flaw, but hey ho, I own them!)

So let’s look at some glaring issues that impact on small businesses and professionals that I saw repeated on the Insiders this week;

1. Lack of a full roadmap / marketing strategy /sales funnel /call it Sid for all I care, but the ways you get the right people to see what you do and how you can help and the process(es) that makes them go from stranger to “Oh, yes, please, I want to buy.” It has to be laid out. Excel spreadsheet, mindmap, written-out old school, pictures—I don’t mind how you do it, but imagine your business grows and someone comes on board to do this for you. Could they step in your shoes seemlessly? If I found your site by accident and left it again, would you have set calls to action that made me sign up to a newsletter, social media or want to ask you something? Remember you can’t dictate when someone buys but you can have a say who they buy from!
2. Consistency. I know many have many hats to wear because of family, illness, commitments, etc., so own them. Don’t try to be superhuman; create a business model and marketing strategy that help you. That does not make you feel guilty or like a failure. At the start of the year I was so ill I could hardly get to the bathroom thanks to a nasty Lupus flare, however I still make a good few thousand every month without fail. Don’t fight who you are; work with it. So let’s make plans, pricing structures, products and services etc. that work with you. What are you beating yourself with that doesn’t serve you well? How do we look at your mindset and beliefs and how they impact consistency?
3. Follow up. There are a million people doing what you do, so how am I going to remember you? How will you ensure that when I want a left-winged, flying butt widget, I remember you selling those? What sales process could you create? For instance, if you sell something at a low price to someone, if they increase their sales by 20%, you will give them a 10% discount on a workshop. At that workshop, you then give them 5% off for a friend next time. See how the process grows and continues? I’d also make sure they were tagging the company in images on Instagram and Facebook, and then the best tag gets a prize, discount, or event for free. There’s many ways to ensure follow-up is effortless. It starts with factoring it into your plan.
4. Trying to sell to the wrong people. You really need to know who is buying and why. That gives you so much information for new business, repeat sales, marketing messages, brand loyalty, SEO, etc. So if you aren’t selling, I’m guessing it’s a number of things. 1. The above 2. Stuff people don’t want, can’t afford, or don’t appreciate would be good. 3. Trying to sell to the wrong people 4. Not being clear on the solution. 5. Weak generic message.

Here’s an infographic to help you remember the key messages we explored this week, don’t forget there’s a mountain of free resources, additional training, support and mentoring on the Insiders.

It was my honour to flip around various members marketing messages, social media profiles, blogs and sites. Looking at your marketing, communication, and products and services and making suggestions. It was totally free; And because I will always prove how much I love Insiders, and I’d do anything for them.

If like me you’ve the patience of a gnat, you can join the Insiders and get 50% off of my courses. In every course I walk you through exactly what to do.

You can see what courses are on offer here.

*Wondering about my confidential mastermind group?
Well, it’s £25 a month, and there are a lot of ways I can then assist you, your team, and your business’s success. You don’t need to own a business; you could just have read my books and want me in your life to support you. That’s cool, too. You can learn more here. Despite the name, we are open to men and women.