CAREER PURSUIT 2021

EXPERT ADVICE - SELF-EMPLOYMENT 45 a mailing to prospects, networking, or maybe telemarketing. Whereas below-the-line marketing is indirect. For example, social media is very passive − this would be classed as below-the-line. The reason why it’s so important to have different marketing streams is because when one falls down, you need to be able to ‘turn on the taps’ with another. The other reason is because people mistake leads with actual sales. The two are very different, but it’s worth having goals for both. Out of ten leads, five will be good. Of those five, two won’t buy from you and one will fall through. This leaves you with two good deals left. That is why only having two in your funnel is a bad idea for a growing business. “But Gareth, my conversion rate is 90%!” Well, it shouldn’t be. A high conversion rate tells me there aren’t enough leads coming into your business. A low conversion rate suggests you are leaking business through a poor sales/acquisition process or strategy. This is why measuring the numbers in your business is so important. Not just the financials (they are important) but every number in your business. Behind every number is a decision, and the more information you have, the better the decision will be. The more numbers you know, the quicker you’ll spot problems. I’ll give you a real-life example. I have a client who sells holidays. One week, I noticed their average value sale was down. This is the average value of every order that gets placed. Some people spend a little, some a lot, but knowing the average is really, really important! It was only down by a little; the business owner hadn’t really noticed. When I asked why, they said they weren’t worried. It was only a small dip, and they carried on. The next week, it was down again. This set off alarm bells. I questioned and dug a bit deeper this time. It turned out his sales reps weren’t selling as many insurance packages as normal. This had a small effect on the financials. It turns out the script the sales reps were using needed tweaking. We were able to put in place a new script, and guess what? Sales went back up to their usual level. One more tweak, and they actually went up. Knowing every number in your business helps you to react quickly when you see problems. It allows you to track the performance of every part of your business, so you are never caught out. In short, the basics of building a business do not change. If you want your business to succeed, you need to pay attention to the fundamentals. It requires your time and effort to understand every aspect of your business. This article gives you a starting point. Five simple, actionable points to take away and implement in your business: 1. Stop waiting for the ‘right time’ 2. Plan your time effectively 3. Keep learning 4 . Introduce more lead generation strategies 5. Know every number in your business Starting a business is daunting and, often, a learn-as-you-go process. However, the more systems you put in place early on, and the more understanding you develop about your business, the better chance your company has of success. I help frustrated business owners put in place systems like this to ensure they can grow their businesses effectively, holding them to account and building businesses that work, so they don’t have to. If this sounds like something you would like to discuss further, email me at garethhughes@actioncoach.com for a 20-minute, no-obligation chat. With any business, lead flow is fundamental. Most business owners I speak to have two or three lead generation strategies. However, for a growing business, you need at least ten.