When 2015 started, if you’re like most people, you set goals for yourself and your business. Revenue goals, sales goals, growth goals, etc. Well, guess what? The sprint to the 2015 finish line is right around the corner (I know. I can’t believe it either.)! Do you know where you stand compared to your goals for this year?
Is your goal a realistic one? Or, have you given up on a totally unrealistic goal, and now you’re just going through the motions? Here’s the deal: The first thing you need to evaluate is whether or not the goals you set are realistic. If your sales revenues are currently $200,000 and you want to make a million, you either need to bust your you-know-what and market as aggressively as you possibly can, or you need to establish a more realistic goal.
I’ve been able to double Suite 4’s revenue every year for the past three years. I’m not saying this to brag, but I want you to see that it IS possible to double or even triple your revenue if you do it right. Here are 3 tips that I use myself when I’m going after a growth goal. If your goals are already out of reach, set new goals and still use the 3 tips. No reason to throw in the towel for the rest of the year. Regroup and be persistent.
Now back to those tips…
- Increase Your Marketing Outgo
There is a basic Universal principle that I subscribe to. The principle is this: Outflow=Inflow. The more you send out (in terms of marketing), the more you will get back in (in terms of revenue). This is the single most important thing I’ve done to grow my company. Every time I wanted to grow into a new sales bracket, I upped my marketing spend, networked more, blogged more, did more social media, sent consistent emails to my list, increased my Pay-Per-Click spend. Was it painful at the time? YES! Do I regret doing it? No way. Did it work every time? No. That brings me to point number two below.
- Target the RIGHT People With the RIGHT Message
All the outflow in the world won’t help you if you’re going after the wrong market or the right market with the wrong message. You’ve got to know your ideal customer profile backwards and forwards, and you have to know what makes them tick. What motivates them to do business with you? What magazines do they read? What social media profiles do they hang out on (and which ones do they not)? It’s not just about what kind of car they drive or what their household income is. You have to dive deeper into the psychology behind your ideal customer profile. One of the very first things we do with our clients is we create an Ideal Client Persona profile. This way, when you’re investing your time and money into all the various marketing avenues, you know how to speak their language and how to attract their attention. VERY key.
- Cut Back on Your Spending
Typically, the first two areas where business owners tighten the belt are 1) Laying people off, and 2) Cutting marketing spend. This is deadly. If you want to meet your sales goals the way you do that is through marketing. Another option that works in tandem with that is taking a hard look at your budget. What can you sacrifice? Don’t go easy on yourself. Shut off all other spending except for any spending that helps with promotion and marketing. Once your marketing kicks in and you see your sales revenues climb, then you can splurge on the “nice to have” things. Until then, focus on promotion and marketing.
On that note…. here’s a shameless plug: Give me 15 minutes of your time, and I can tell you exactly how much money you SHOULD be spending on your marketing to meet your revenue goals. I can also evaluate what you’re currently doing and give you more tips based on what’s working and not working for the 100s of other business owners we have worked with over the years. So if that last point resonated with you, you should DEFINITELY SCHEDULE a call with me! Seeing small businesses succeed is our NUMBER 1 passion and purpose, and I totally want that for you! 🙂
Thanks so much for reading! As always, let me know if I can help you in any way.
Drop me a line at rachel@suite4social.com or book a FREE Marketing Consultation with me using the button below.
Best,
Rachel