New is shiny and alluring, a siren song of untapped potential and unexplored possibilities.
No wonder when business owners want to make more money, we latch onto the idea that we need to create something new–a new product, a new service, a new offer.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to grow your business.
If you always intended to expand your product line or introduce a new way for clients to work with you, then, by all means, polish your shiny new thing and share it with the world. I can’t wait to see it!
But if that isn’t you and the trajectory you want for your business, please don’t buy into the idea that doing more is the only way to grow your profit margin.
How to Embrace Growth Without Reinventing the Wheel
If you want to make more money, instead of starting from scratch, try revisiting these fundamental questions:
⇒ Who do you serve?
⇒ What solutions do you create?
⇒ What results do you produce?
⇒ Are you pricing your products or services appropriately compared to the ROI you deliver for your clients?
You might think these are basic questions, but they hold the key to unlocking your company’s full potential. One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is not revisiting these questions every year, if not every six months.
Making More Money: Revisiting the Fundamentals
You’ve been in business for long enough to have served a multitude of customers. Unlike at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, you have data now – and knowledge is power.
The question is: Are you using that power to finesse and fine-tune your offerings?
Instead of starting all over with a shiny, new, unproven product or service, you would be better off sharpening your current offer, adjusting your pricing, and clarifying your results to make it easier to find and sell to new clients. Plus, you’ll make it easier to get referrals from past and current clients at the same time.
The Spreadsheet of Success: Increasing Revenue Step by Step
I’ve taught this technique to all my coaching clients – that’s hundreds of business owners over the last decade alone. Today, I’m going to teach you how to dive deep into your data to create a spreadsheet of success that will help you fine-tune your focus and increase your revenue.
I use this technique to help my clients create clarity and opportunities to grow their companies, and I’m sharing it with you so that you can expand your perspective and start making more money.
If you can’t do this exercise right now, schedule some time over the next week to sit down with your data and zero in on your most profitable opportunities.
STEP ONE
Pull up your sales history and rank your clients by the lifetime amount of money they’ve spent with you.
STEP TWO
Create a spreadsheet of your top 20-30 clients. Put their names in column A and their lifetime spend in column B.
STEP THREE
Create columns to track the client demographics that impact your sales. It could be age, gender, location, title, company size if you’re B2B, or family status if you’re B2C, etc.
STEP FOUR
Once you’ve entered your client demographic information, create a column for each of the following questions:
- What problem was your client trying to solve when they hired or bought from you?
- What did you sell them?
- What results did you deliver?
- What could they do after that they couldn’t do before?
- What was the value of that result to them? (Did it save them money, time, health, etc.?)
Use these questions to quantify the value you deliver to your clients from their point of view. You might have to call them and ask them. You may have to send out client surveys. Or maybe you’ll need to dive deeper and sort through old data to find the answers you need, but this information is critical in determining what steps to take next.
Clarify Your Next Steps: Comparing Preconceived Notions with Proven Data
After collecting your data, you can start to see what results you are actually best at producing and who benefits most from the solutions you’re creating.
You might think that the answers will be the same as when you started your business, but that was before you had the data you have now. When you do this exercise, you will see the difference between what you believe and what has proven true over time.
You’ll also begin to see whether the price you’ve been charging is comparable to the value you create for your clients. If there’s a mismatch, you’ll have the information you need to correct it and create alignment between the ROI you deliver and the revenue you receive in return.
Armed with this newfound clarity, you’ll be equipped to make strategic, informed decisions that maximize your company’s potential and revenue. Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can spend the energy you DO have to market and sell your best to the people who need your special sauce the most.
So you can spend less time working to make more money and start spending more time living a life you love.
Ready to skyrocket your sales without sacrificing all your personal life to do it? Unlock the strategic solutions that will grow your company while giving you the freedom to live a fulfilling life beyond your business. Fill out your personal CEO assessment to get expert advice and step-by-step best practices tailored to meet your needs and bring your vision for your company to life
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