Hello again my friend,
Growing a business is not very complicated.
There are only 3 things you can do to grow a company. Yet most of us find ways of cocking it up. (You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to use the term “cocking it up” in a sentence.)
Today I want to share these three things with you. But I know, based on a survey I asked you to take on monday, that 30% of you don’t own a business….yet.
You also told me that the number one thing you’re struggling with right now is creating the product or service you want to sell.
Well I’ve got good news! Next Tuesday I’m holding a free web class where I’ll show you exactly how to create and launch your first product.
Just go here and register: https://www.stapletonagency.com/survey-results
Now let’s talk about growing that business.
As an entrepreneur you’re asked to do a lot. You’re likely the CEO, secretary, support specialist and janitor for you company.
Some of the stuff you do well, the rest you muddle through. You’re likely very good at whatever your “thing” is and bad at everything else.
Take me for example. I suck at the minutia of business. Making sure bills get paid, handing accounting, taxes and schedules are NOT my thing. The good news is, none of those things make me any money so I farm most of that work out to other people.
You are probably not that lucky. But if you spend too much time on stuff that doesn’t bring in revenue your business will suffer.
If you’ve been struggling to grow I guarantee you are neglecting one of these three things.
1. Get more customers
This is the most obvious one. If you get 10 new customers a month, the simplest way to grow is to get more. Easier said than done right? Well that’s why I get paid so much money. I help entrepreneurs solve the most difficult problem they face. How to find a prospect and turn them into a customer.
If you master this one skill your revenue will explode. But it’s also very expensive. For most entrepreneurs it is the most costly part of their business. So in addition to getting more people to buy we also want to…
2. Get them to pay more
This is where all that fancy “branding” stuff comes in.
In any business you have intrinsic value (that’s the basic utility of your product or service) and what I call ISU value.
There is only so much you can charge for intrinsic value. A bottle opener for example, get’s the top of your beer. A very useful tool. But there’s a limit to what you can charge for that utility. I checked Amazon and you can get a nice, stainless steel one for about 7 bucks.
ISU value however, is limitless. ISU stands for “Intangible, Subjective & Unique” It’s the value above and beyond the utility of a product or service.
Again let’s use our bottle opener as an example. As I said you can get a nice one on amazon for less than 10 bucks. But if you coat one in a thin layer of silver and slap a Tiffany & Company logo on it you can sell it for $375.
Thats a 5000% increase!
Your reputation (your brand) matters a LOT. Your personal and corporate brand is what provides you the greatest price elasticity. It’s why I spend so much time working with clients on it.
If you’re not a brand you’re a commodity. Commodities compete on price alone. That is not a place you want to be. So don’t neglect your reputation.
Now – If you’ve built your brand, raised your prices and mastered the skill of customer acquisition there is still one more thing you can do to grow your business.
3. Get you customers to buy more often
You can do this several ways. You can create a subscription that bills monthly, turning customers into repeat buyers by default.
You can create multiple products at different price points giving your customers the chance to buy again and again.
And you can set up bonuses and discounts for customers who hit certain thresholds. For example, let’s say the average cart value on your website is $28. You could offer customers a 10% discount or a free bonus when they spend more than $35.
Even after the discount you still net $3.50. That’s a 12% bump in your average cart value. If you sell to 100 customers a month that little trick increases gross revenue by 25%!
That’s it, that’s all you can do. Seems simple enough but if you own a business you know the devil is in the details. Knowing what to do and being able to execute are two very different things.
That’s why I’m here. To help you with the details. If you have a business and you need some help making it grow I’d love to take a crack at it. Just fill out this short form for me and we’ll hop on call.
Talk soon,
Jason
English