My best advice for selling to more ideal clients
Nedra Rezinas from Veritas Web Design wrote in this week with this question (and she agreed to let me share it with you): Hi Brad, What do you think is the #1 thing that helps you the most with your marketing? I’m working on putting together some marketing habits and wanted to reach out to people I respect (like you!) - here’s what I have in mind for myself: sending 5 hand-written notes a week or contacting 5 people a day or taking clients out to lunch. What’s the one thing that’s helped you get clients and has been effective? I thought this was a great question. Here’s what I wrote back to her: When it comes to business development, the first thing to remember is that the only thing … [Read More...]
Focus means letting go: What to do with smaller clients who no longer fit?
We talked previously about focusing on higher value clients as a way to grow your business and make more money. But successfully implementing this strategy has a catch, you have to let go of lower value clients to make room for the higher value clients we want to attract! For some folks letting go of past clients, even small, unprofitable ones can be difficult. We worked so hard to get them! We’ve built a relationship with them. Some of these clients have been with me for years... All true. But they are holding you back now. One way to look at your business is that it’s a method for turning your time into money, and those smaller clients that got you started are taking up too much of … [Read More...]
Focusing on higher value clients
Remember my list of ways to make more money? The one that the most folks told me they wanted to hear more about was focusing on higher value clients (and firing your lower value clients). I can see why this idea is attractive — it’s conservative and low risk — but also has the potential for a big payoff. So let’s dig in. Who are your high-value clients? We need to figure this out first. To do so, follow these steps: Step One: Pull Sales Data by Client. Go into QuickBooks (or whatever software you use) and export a report of sales by client (choose “columns by month”) for the last three years into Excel. Once you’ve got that report, create a total column that sums the sales from all … [Read More...]
You’ve already done the hard part…
I know that running and growing your business is difficult. It can be a slog, like running in quicksand. You are working hard and not making the big bucks (yet). We’re on a journey to change that, but we need to take a minute to look at the map. Looking Back Now that we’ve bought ourselves some time, it’s worth it to take a quick look back to when you first started your business. Do you remember what that was like? Remember the fear and uncertainty? Remember how everything was new, and you had to learn everything for the first time? What was it like to make your first sales call? To send your first proposal? Do you remember the day you hired your first employee or contractor? What was … [Read More...]
How to do less work so you can make more money (Part 2)
If you own a business, you are on a mission. You have some way in which you want to dent the universe, something that’s going to make life better for your clients, and your community, and make you some money in the process. For most business owners the thing that holds them back from getting more done is simple — they are too busy — they are out of time. In my last missive, we talked about saving time by getting other people to do things that you are doing now. But there’s another way to get things off of your plate to buy more time to do the things that only you can do. You can automate them! Automation has the added benefit that the computer never quits or gets sick or needs a day … [Read More...]
How to do less work, so you can make more money (Part 1)
If you are committed to making more money this year, it’s imperative that you get control of your time. You are going to need to invest time in making changes, and that means letting go of some of the things you are doing now. When I bring this up with business owners, I usually hear about how busy they are, how hard they work and how little time they have to invest in something like this. But you are different, you know how important this is and are committed to making the changes you need to make more money, so I’m not going to hear those excuses from YOU. Let’s tackle that “busyness.” If I sat down and reviewed what you are doing all day, I bet I'd find a mix of things you are … [Read More...]
19 ways to make more money in your business
Now, are you ready to get to work making more money? I expect you are! So here goes...you may not make money this year the same way you made it last year. In fact, if you want to make more money this year than you did last year, you are likely going to have to do it a lot differently. Said a different way, you can't keep doing the same thing, and expect different results. As business owners we are so close to our businesses. We have our nose to the grindstone and it's hard to pull back the lens to see different ways of doing things. So I brainstormed a big list of the most effective ways that I’ve seen business owners increase their income (in no particular order). 19 Ways to Make … [Read More...]
Why you may NOT want to make more money this year
We're going to talk about, and work on, this process to help you to make more money for a while. But this might not be the perfect time in your life to do that. So before we get deep into this, I want to stop and check, are you all the way in? Even if you want to make money, there might be some good reasons why this year might not be the year that you make that leap. To make a big jump in your earnings is going to mean significant changes in how you think, how you work, and how you see yourself. It’s going to take a lot of your mental and emotional capacity — and some years you don’t have that to give. You can’t always grow fast Here’s a chart of my company’s trailing twelve-month sales … [Read More...]
More money clarity, HOW MUCH do you want to make?
On Thursday, we talked about how stupid money is. If you didn't read it, or if you didn't do your homework, click through and do that homework now. It will make this conversation a LOT more meaningful. You remember we talked about how most people don’t really want money. We want what money brings, enables, or means to our lives. I asked you to write down why you work so hard and what more money would mean to you? Today we're going to take it a step further. Let's get even more clear. Let's answer the question, “How much?” How much money to do you need to earn in 2019 to be able to get the things that you want money to bring you? I’m not talking about living expenses! How much do you … [Read More...]
Can we talk about making more money?
In the almost 20 years I’ve been working with business owners one of the most frequent desires/needs/dreams/goals that I hear from business owners is that they want to make more money. So, I want to have a real talk about making more money. Maybe it’s crass, perhaps it's too straightforward — but it’s on your mind (and mine) so let’s talk about it! Do you want to make more money in 2019? Is that a goal of yours? If it is, I’d like to help you with that goal. It is my firm commitment to everyone in this conversation that I will do my best to help you make more money in 2019. But, before we get all fired up about taking over the world, I have a question. If it really is a goal of … [Read More...]
Do I have to do numbers to run my business?
When you first start your business, it’s important to “follow your gut” because you don’t have any track record and your numbers don’t point anywhere. Your “gut” is your true north. In the fog and confusion of a start-up, you need something “steady” to hold onto, and your gut instinct is as close as we get to a North Star. As your business starts to grow but is still small, you see every invoice, you sign every check; you are likely able to continue to assimilate all the data in your business just because you see every data point. You don’t need fancy spreadsheets; your gut is still pretty well educated because you know every data point. As your business grows, it gets harder, by the … [Read More...]
Step-by-step guide to building your own crystal ball (or Budget)
We’ve been talking this week about the value of building a budget for your business — today we’re going to do it. If you didn’t download my magic budget spreadsheet, you should do it now. My budget spreadsheet builds your profit and loss statement for the next year by predicting the sales and expenses for each month of the year. Then, every month, you can compare your actual performance to the budget and see where things are getting off track. Start with Past Performance Export your Profit and Loss Sheet (P&L) from Quickbooks (or whatever accounting package you use) for last year, ask for columns by month. Your P&L lists all your income and expenses for the year and helps you … [Read More...]
How to know what you can afford to spend?
On Tuesday we talked about my magic spreadsheet that helps answer all kind of questions for my clients. It’s like a crystal ball that reveals the future! But I have trouble getting clients to take it seriously — they frequently avoid engaging in creating one, and once built, it can sit unused. Why? Well, here’s what I've heard. My business just isn’t predictable. Some business owners tell me that their business is too unpredictable to be able to forecast. “Brad, I just don’t know how many clients I’m going to win this year!” When I hear this, I’m genuinely scared for this business owner. If you have no way to predict your business, then you should go to Vegas and throw it all on … [Read More...]
My “magic” spreadsheet…
What if I told you that I had a magic spreadsheet? What’s magic about it? It is like a crystal ball for your business--you can use it to see the future! My spreadsheet can tell you: How much money you are going to make this year. So you can plan your personal budget -- When you know how much your business is going to make you can predict your personal income and spending. Can you take that summer vacation, or not? How much you can spend on rent, for travel and other expenses. I see small business owners worry about taking on a new lease, or sponsoring that big industry conference, or hiring a new person. My spreadsheet can tell you how that investment will pay off in your … [Read More...]
Want better clients? Charge more!
Early in my consulting career, I noticed I worked very hard every day but did not make as much money as I wanted to. Not a great place to be on any level - especially as a single Dad raising children! So I took a day away from the business to think about this problem. One of the questions I challenged myself to answer was, “Would I do this work even if no one paid me? If I won the lottery would I keep doing this?” After some self-reflection, I decided that I would, but I would make some changes to how things ran. If no one paid me I'd only want to work for the clients who had really big problems, challenges they couldn't overcome without my help. Plus, I wanted to work with clients … [Read More...]
More people, more problems: Grow WITHOUT hiring more staff
As we discussed on Tuesday, it’s almost impossible to balance supply (people) with demand (client work) in a service firm. So how do you grow your firm without going through that see-saw? Here are 4 ways to grow your business without adding more people. 1. Stop Overdelivering. Yes, if you ask them, your team will tell you how busy they are. If you keep time sheets they will show that they are working 40 - 45 hours. But are they really busy? Or are they putting that 3rd and 4th revision into something that was fine after 2? Are they responding to that long chain of emails from the client instead of picking up the phone? The only foolproof way to tell that the team is really busy is if … [Read More...]
Do I need to hire more people?
What if I told you that the job you've chosen as the owner of a service firm is to balance a see-saw? A see-saw between your staff and your sales. The way service firm businesses work is that if either end of the see-saw touches the ground your business has brewing problems. But, both ends of the see-saw change every day! Yes, sometimes they change based on actions you take (you close a deal or you hire a team member), but they also change based on things out of your control (someone quits, your client extends a contract, or starts a new project). So the see-saw moves up and down while you rush around in an attempt to keep it balanced. Too Much Staff, Not Enough Work All service … [Read More...]
Who does YOUR performance review?
This week we’ve talked about evaluating the performance of our team and having difficult conversations when needed. Now its time for the hardest evaluation question... Who has difficult conversations with YOU? Business owners wear a lot of hats! First and foremost, you are the CEO! You set direction, manage performance, and guide the business toward profitability. But you’re also the owner of the business, which is classically different from the CEO. It’s your money invested here so it is your job to evaluate the CEO and leadership team. Have they earned a good return on the money and talent invested with them? Think of it this way... If you owned stock or had another … [Read More...]
How to correct issues with problem employees
One business owner replied to last week’s email about courage with this question: My fear is I just don’t want to confront people and tell them they are fired which I’ve never done in my business. I remember watching The Apprentice and admiring the way Trump fired people. Back then, I was not even in business, but when I watched The Apprentice I thought to myself, “I can never fire people like that”. Now I that I own my own business, I still can’t do it. If you’ve had employees like we talked about on Tuesday then you know why it’s important to be able to fire people! But you’re not alone, even with behavior like that I had to coach business owners through feeling OK to fire … [Read More...]
Employee Headaches: You dodged a bullet on these!
I work with a lot of different businesses which means I get a ringside seat to all the ups and downs that business owners experience. And there’s no greater source of ups and downs than the nutty employee stories I've seen. You may think that you've hired some bad apples, and maybe you have, but hopefully you've never had any experience like what some of my clients have! So enjoy a few of the best doozies from the field today. I hope they make you smile and you find comfort to know that you're not alone in the craziness you may face. Employee Ghosting A business owner arrives at the office around 9:30 after attending an early networking event. As she gets on the elevator she bumps … [Read More...]