Tag: Business Strategy

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E#235 3 Proven Strategies to Grow and Scale Your Business

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3 Proven Strategies to Grow and Scale Your Business

In this current podcast series dedicated to business and revenue growth, let’s talk about three proven strategies you can use to grow and scale your business – even if you’re relatively new to the business and have a few paying clients. Two of these methods discussed today do NOT require you to find new clients – which is often the most costly and time-consuming way of building your business. That means you can improve revenue immediately!

Background

When your business reaches a certain size, you might find yourself working at full capacity in terms of the hours you can physically work or the clients you can physically service in your business.

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* Upgrading Your Systems
* Changing Your Prices
* Increasing the Offers

You may reach an upper limit of income or find that your start-up business systems (e.g. manual invoicing) are inadequate and time-consuming to manage.

While there are no immediate problems with either scenario, a business that relies solely on you presents a level of ‘risk’.

What happens to the business if you get sick? What if you want time off? And how can you outgrow your expenses and start making a real profit?

These are just three of many considerations that might inspire you to grow or at least improve efficiencies in your business.

There is a saying that goes, ‘If your business isn’t growing, it’s shrinking.’

If you want to grow your business and revenue, there are several options.

Here are three of the easiest options for businesses in the early stages of growth (‘seed’) who have some customers and are ready to expand their reach, sales and profit.

Upgrading Your Systems

Upgrading your systems becomes a relevant growth strategy if you have reached a limit as to how many clients you can see, and therefore how much money you can earn.

Before you consider upgrading, you’d want to make sure you have regular cashflow and enough profit margin to cover the costs you will incur via systems upgrades.

Two ways of upgrading your systems include:

– Getting specialist help (outsourcing) and

– moving away from manual systems into more automated ones.

Either or both of these can free you up to service more clients. Let’s look at each in turn.

Upgrading by Outsourcing

Thinking about the outsourcing, hiring specialist contractors is an easy way to get qualified help when you are busy or need help in a specific area. This is known as a ‘business to business’ arrangement whereby you engage another business to complete specific work or tasks within your business.

It is also helpful if you don’t want the burden of buying and setting up software (e.g. accounting software) and just want someone to do it for you.

If you are considering outsourcing, you might not have the workload or cash flow to employ someone permanently, but they could do some monotonous but important tasks for you, or cope with irregular busy periods, so that your time is freed up to service more clients.

For example:

· Hiring independent contract coaches can be helpful for irregular work e.g.

  • busy periods
  • when you go on holiday.

· Alternatively, outsourcing allows you to hand over specific tasks or regular roles to an expert e.g.

  • virtual assistant
  • bookkeeper
  • accountant
  • marketing consultant
  • IT professional.

I will be talking more specifically about VA’s in the next episode of this podcast.

If you do any outsourcing, you would need to have a formal signed agreement in place before work commences, which clearly outlines the scope of work, specific duties and payment arrangements.

You’d need to have some clear policies in place about privacy, conduct and other things that state your expectations around quality of work and expected behaviour, and procedures to help hand over specific tasks.

Upgrading by Automating Tasks

When you start a business, you’re often doing a lot of things manually. For example:

  • Creating invoices in Microsoft Word.
  • Keeping track of clients in a log book, or an Excel worksheet.
  • Posting your social media posts one at a time on each platform.
  • Manually writing individual, separate emails to your customers, before, during and after programs.

When you switch these manual systems to automated processes and/or use software, you can save yourself a lot of time and mistakes, which frees you up to coach more clients.

Examples include:

  • Using dedicated financial software like WaveApps (free), Quickbooks, or Xero
  • Using a social media scheduling tool instead of manually posting (e.g. RecurPost, HootSuite)
  • Using an email system like Mailchimp or Mailerlite
  • Using a booking system like Calendly or Acuity Scheduling. For more info on these, you can listen to episode #105 Best Essential Business Systems or episode #106 Best Advanced Business Systems.

Increasing Your Prices

When your business reaches a certain level, a very simple strategy to grow your income without any cost to you, or without working extra hours, is to repackage services and/or raise prices.

For example, you might decide to:

  • raise prices by 10% and may also offer a bonus downloadable training course with your program – which raises the tangible value of your services and makes the increase more palatable with only a one-off labour cost, or
  • raise prices by 15% and re-position yourself as a highly experienced specialist in one area of coaching –raising your tangible value, or
  • creating a group coaching model to increase ROI
  • develop a premium (high-priced) specialty service.

There are many pricing strategies to choose from.

Pick the one that best suits your niche, your level of expertise and your business and lifestyle (working hours) goals. Work with a business coach to create the right strategy for you. You might also be interested in my podcast episode #202 Should I show pricing on my website?

Increasing the Options

When you start out in business, you’re often just focusing on doing one or two things well, becoming known, and getting a good reputation.

As you start to get more customers, you will start to see more opportunities to work with people in different ways.

By increasing the number of service options you have, you can grow your business and revenue.

For example:

– A short, DIY program with email support provides a low-cost entry point for people who are interested in working on one small problem they have (e.g. establishing a bedtime ritual for better sleep).

This means you are getting some income for very little live client time and gives them a step into your main program. This equates to more money for less time and effort (note: you would still need to promote this program regularly in order to sell it).

– A 1:1 program is now available as a small group program

This means you are earning more money per session, and also building a community of like-minded people who work with you and connect with each other. They are more likely to want to stay connected.

– Your initial 8-week program is now followed up with a 6-month maintenance program (VIP high-end pricing for individuals or mastermind, or moderate price for groups) or a membership.

This means you are keeping customers longer, earning more money and/or over a longer period, and helping your clients get next-level results after their initial program has finished.

– A higher value program where you add specific resources, a welcome pack, or package up other services or products such as meditation playlists, or a recipe book.

This means you can earn more money in the same amount of time.

One important caveat is this – keep your number of available services to 3 or 4, maximum. Otherwise, you risk entering the paradox of choice, where customers walk away without making a decision as there are too many options or difficulties in making the best choice.

Summary 

When you are coaching enough clients that you hit a ceiling of available time or income, or if you notice opportunities to help clients more or for longer, there are a few strategies you can do to take your business to the next level.

We talked about just three of the options today, including

  • Upgrading your systems
  • Increasing your pricing, and
  • Creating more options for working with you (but not too many).

If you need help developing business and revenue growth strategies to suit your business and niche, contact me to join my private coaching waitlist, which runs for five months in February and June of each year.

My private coaching programs usually sell out within a week of advertising, and you need to qualify to be a part of them. To enquire or join the waitlist, hit up my contact page and I’ll get back to you!

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

Learn More

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E#186 Three Proven Marketing Roadmaps for Coaches

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Three Proven Marketing Roadmaps for Coaches

If you’ve finished your coaching qualification and are ready to launch a business, it can be daunting to realize that you have no idea of how or where to find clients and to create a consistent income. On top of that, the word marketing might conjure up a sense of dread and that you need to do all these things that the experts say you should do.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Forget the Facebook ads or webinar skills training courses – in this episode, I’ll discuss three marketing roadmaps for coaches that play to your natural communication strengths and help you start promoting with authenticity, integrity and confidence.

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* Playing to your communication strengths
* The Writing Roadmap
* The Speaking Roadmap
* The Networking Roadmap

Playing to your communication strengths 

When I started my coaching business, I was convinced I needed a Facebook page and Facebook group. All the gurus told me it was the only way to ‘get clients’ – and to set up some ads.  

The trouble is, I feel incredible anxiety when I go onto Facebook. But I persisted as I thought I had to be on that platform and that it was the only way to succeed. 

So, what happened? 

I felt anxious every day. I had to force myself to open the app and create posts.  

I spent hours debating over the words, trying to get them right, and picking images. I cringed at the lack of engagement, and I stressed over the future of my business. 

For a good six months, I did Facebook training courses, paid for mentoring and joined support groups. I felt miserable and hopeless. 

Then I reflected on my communication skills and strengths and worked out that this was not how I should be doing marketing. I needed to do it MY way, so that I could feel energized, motivated and excited about connecting with my audience. 

From there, I went on a journey to explore how best to market my business.  

I realised that I feel most comfortable and authentic when I’m talking to people, networking and to a lesser degree, writing. My main skills are active listening and relationship building, so these options make sense to me. I get to express my opinions, listen and reflect, and draw on my extensive technical writing skills and experience.  

Fast forward to today, and these are the ways I do my marketing. 

As part of my ‘visibility’ marketing, I write an article each week and turn it into a podcast, where I speak about things that my audience wants to know about. These build trust and relationships.  

I’m pretty busy with contract work and as a board member of HCANZA, our industry association does much more than this. But If I wanted to go really big online, I’d be looking to be a guest blogger on a nationally-recognised online magazine, or a guest on a podcast that is nationally-recognised, or on the radio. 

As it is, I share links to articles and podcasts on LinkedIn and Instagram. These are my best promotional platforms because I feel comfortable and more connected with my audience – it’s where ‘my people’ are. 

But actually, my preferred way of marketing is networking, so I do a lot of connections with others so I can meet and learn more about what people do, where there are synergies, and work collaboratively via cross-referral and cross-promotion. 

As you can see, I have a mix of marketing channels that leverage my communication skills, and help me build visibility, and the ability to scale if and as needed.  

It’s taken me a while to get to this point, but when you’re starting out, it’s better to start more simply. Let’s talk about three rough marketing roadmaps for coaches that leverage your communication skills and can help you get visibility, new clients and traction more easily. 

Please note that it’s highly likely that your ideal clients within your niche have the same communication strengths and skills as you. By playing to your strengths, you’ll more likely attract your people. 

Here are three roadmaps that I think are the most effective for building coaching businesses. There are other marketing strategies out there, but these three are more effective because you get the chance to connect more personally and emotionally with potential clients or referrers. 

As per my previous episodes – it’s the emotional connection between you and your clients that builds the trust and rapport that clients need before they’ll commit to buying from you. 

Now, let’s explore the three roadmaps! 

The Writing Roadmap 

If you’re a great writer and you love writing, chances are your audience is the same. 

You’re probably someone who:  

  • journals a lot 
  • likes writing lengthy passages/stories  
  • is creative with the written language 
  • writes emotively and descriptively 

If this is you, then it’s entirely possible for you to engage your audience in this way. 

As a skilled writer, it’s relatively easy to gain visibility by guest blogging on highly visible online publications like MammaMia, Forbes, Thrive Global or other platforms.

You could also write case studies, stories and articles for your own blog and build a following, or long-form posts on social media platforms where your audience hangs out.  Mine is on LinkedIn, yours might be elsewhere. 

You can write for your local industry association and/or industry publications to gain visibility. 

Of course, any writing you do needs to be publicised via sharing through emails (to your network), and on social media and your client email list. 

If most of your audience are readers, then your website can offer a well-written lead magnet (e.g. a how-to guide) that they can download, and join your list.  

As you become more comfortable with writing and build a presence, you can start to offer live webinars or 1:1 calls to connect with you. 

Writing as a stand-alone marketing tool can take more time than speaking or networking, so if you are starting here, you would aim to build in another marketing strategy later such as networking or speaking, events or PR, to speed up the process of becoming known, liked and trusted. 

The Speaking Roadmap 

If you’re a great speaker and you love talking, chances are your audience is the same. 

You’re probably someone who:  

  • enjoys socialising and in-depth conversation 
  • likes speaking at length, teaching and/or telling stories 
  • has a good vocabulary 
  • speaks confidently and articulately and likes public speaking. 

If this is you, then it’s entirely possible for you to engage your audience in this way. 

As a skilled speaker, it’s relatively easy to gain visibility by being a guest on a highly visible podcast to get interviewed on the radio or score a regular community radio spot. 

You could also develop your own podcast or YouTube channel, where you build a following by posting audio files or video files and inviting comments.  

You can deliver a signature talk to local groups, allied health professionals or clients. You could engage your local public library to help you promote and deliver a workshop and present your signature talk (promotional) in their space. 

You can present at conferences, expos or other events. 

Of course, any speaking you do needs to be publicised via sharing through emails (to your network), on social media and your client email list, or the list of the event organiser. 

If most of your audience are speakers and listeners, then your website can offer a well-scripted video or audio that they can watch that invites them to join your email list or meetup group.  

As you become more comfortable with public speaking you can offer live webinars or workshops that promote your service offering. 

Speaking is a fabulous marketing tool that requires confidence and practice. It’s easiest to start small and with people you know and build up to larger audiences and/or more complicated means of delivery (e.g. person vs online).  

One thing is for sure – public speaking is one of the fastest ways to becoming known, liked and trusted because there is an authentic connection in real-time, and you can build trust and authority easily if you know your subject matter. 

The Networking Roadmap 

If you love interacting and meeting people to share ideas, chances are your audience is the same. 

You’re probably someone who:  

  • likes meeting people, breaking the ice and having in-depth conversations 
  • likes speaking but is also curious about other points of view 
  • enjoys collaborating and brainstorming to build on ideas 
  • is comfortable with sharing opinions and exploring differences. 

If this is you, then it’s entirely possible for you to engage your audience in this way.

As a skilled networker, it’s relatively easy to gain visibility by attending events that are hosted by business, social or online groups, or joining networking groups or social media groups. 

You could also develop your own group (e.g. a Facebook group), WhatsApp messenger chat, or live MeetUp group if you don’t like social media that much (MeetUp is a platform to facilitate groups that meet.  

You can offer interactive workshops, breakout rooms or discussion/opinion topics with allied health professionals, complementary businesses or potential clients. You can co-host workshops with other professionals to share knowledge and gain insights. 

You could also host events like movie nights, book clubs, meditation sessions or other such events that bring people together to meet, connect and share insights and ideas. 

This is a lot like the ‘speaking’ roadmap, with a key difference being that you are more interactive and collaborative, with a focus on sharing ideas and listening more.  

Of course, any networking you do needs to be publicised via sharing through emails (to your network), and on social media and your client email list, or via the event platform. 

If most of your audience is interactive too, then your website can offer a live session with you (could be virtual) as a 1:1 on a meeting platform, VR, or to attend an introductory group event.  

If you are attending networking events hosted by other people, it’s important to define a goal for the event and complete that goal so it advances your marketing effort. For example, I make a point of finding one or two people at each event that I like connecting with, and to email them afterwards and set up a coffee date. This could be a potential client or a potential referrer. 

As you become more comfortable with networking, you can start your own group or simply schedule connections with like-minded people that you’ve built connections with. An allied health professional near me does this well – he emails me every quarter to set up a coffee date. 

Networking is a fabulous marketing tool that requires confidence and organisational skills. It’s easiest to start with small local groups and build up to attending larger groups or even creating your own group (which requires learning a bit of tech in some cases).  

Networking is one of the fastest ways to becoming known, liked and trusted because there is an authentic connection in real-time, using both auditory and visual cues to gauge and develop rapport.  

My opinion is that while speaking can build a sense of authority, networking can build connection and engagement. 

Summary 

Today we talked about three marketing roadmaps for coaches. 

To create your roadmap, it helps to play to your communication strengths and style to build confidence and to be truly authentic. 

Depending on your personal skills and strengths, I outlined three roadmaps: 

  1. The writing roadmap 
  2. The speaking roadmap 
  3. The networking roadmap

There are other marketing strategies, but these are known to be more effective because you get the chance to connect more personally and emotionally with potential clients or referrers.  

If you need help developing your proven marketing roadmap, book a good fit call to see if I can help you. My books are closed to personal clients until July 2022, but I have space in my June Passion to Profit program if you need help building the foundations of your business. Click the link to learn more about the program. 

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

Learn More

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E#174 Your Foolproof 2022 Business Plan

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Your Foolproof 2022 Business Plan

The start of the year is a great time to make plans. But how do you make a plan that is realistic and will guarantee results? 

Today, I cover the three ingredients of a successful business plan that will ensure your success.

Ingredient 1: Start with Strategy 

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘plan’?  The internet defines a plan as: 

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* Why starting with a strategy is so important
* How to create a structured, SMART plan
* Reviewing and course correcting
  1. An orderly or step-by-step conception or proposal for accomplishing an objective. 
  2. A proposed or intended course of action. 
  3. A systematic arrangement of elements or important parts; a configuration or outline. 

What do you notice about these definitions? 

I see that they are all about taking action. And taking action is great, and important….but in the words of organisational theorist Kenichi Ohmae: 

“Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.” 

In other words, planning your actions is important, but there is a step BEFORE that. 

The step is creating a strategy. 

A strategy is the overall aim, objective or goal that you want to achieve. 

When it comes to your 2022 business plan, you would define your primary aim for the year BEFORE you start the planning process. 

I believe the best aims or outcomes are inspirational, realistic, aspirational and measurable. Here is an example.  

“By 31 December 2022, I want to have helped 50 women reverse diabetes.” 

If you think about this as an outcome, it meets all those criteria.  

For the right person, this is:  

  • inspiring (ties in with a passion),  
  • something that can realistically be achieved with the right support, systems and effort (the timing and number and content has been done before by others),  
  • something to aspire to (reversing diabetes), and 
  • measurable (it has an end date and a number of people).  

So my question to you is – what is the overarching strategic goal you have for this year? 

All of your plans will be borne out of that. 

Ingredient 2: Create a Structured SMART Plan 

This one is essential and it’s where a lot of people go wrong with a lack of detail, specificity and not seeking help. If you’re new at business and/or planning, you will need help with this! 

Like the strategy, a structured plan has very specific actions, dates, milestones and metrics so that you can schedule tasks and check that you are on track. 

Using the example I just mentioned, we can start teasing out elements of the plan. 

“By 31 December 2022, I want to have helped 50 women reverse diabetes.” 

In this example, we can see that we need two things: a way to solve the problem, and a way to engage the clients. 

Firstly, you will need to have a program and/or method for helping people reverse diabetes.  

  1. What is program or method you will use?  
  2. Has it been created yet?  
  3. Do you need to test it/get social proof? 
  4. Who else might need to be involved to help you? 

By answering those questions, you can work out the actions that need to be taken, in which order, who will help you – and you can schedule those into a timeline. 

Secondly, you will need to have a channel to find those 50 women with diabetes. 

  1. What does your market research indicate? 
  2. Where will you find them / where do they hang out?  
  3. What is your best marketing strategy that plays to your strengths – e.g. writing, speaking, PR etc.? 
  4. Who can connect you with them?  
  5. What opportunities are there in your existing networks? 
  6. What will your marketing plan look like? 

By answering those questions, you can work out the actions that need to be taken, in which order, and who will help you – and you can schedule those into a timeline. 

Ingredient 3: Review and Course Correction 

A plan is great, but things invariably change as you progress, so you need to schedule time at least once per month to review your progress, and course correct so you can achieve your goal, or change the goal as needed. 

We all find this a bit hard because nobody likes changing the goals or goalposts!   

Change requires a shift away from what we know and feel safe with, into the unknown. 

BUT, as we know through coaching clients, the process of experimenting invariably changes the journey. 

Making time to reflect, review, let go of what doesn’t work and change gears, is the absolute key to success. 

In the example above, let’s assume that you did all your actions in January to find prospective clients through your networks…..but you drew a blank. 

Or perhaps you thought you’d have your program finished by now and ready to pilot, but you haven’t gotten there yet and can’t find any pilot clients. 

Eeek! Now what? 

Well, simply go back to your plan and review it.  

What didn’t work? 

What did work? 

What other opportunities are there to find a pilot or real clients? 

Who can help you get clarity on these things, so you can progress your plan? 

As you can see, it’s one thing to come up with a strategy and plan, but life and business don’t go according to plan. 

Your ability to problem-solve, troubleshoot, brainstorm, seek help or even pivot are what will help you succeed. 

Please know this – there is no magical solution to any of these or any other problems. They require focus, attention, and work. 

This is the reality of running a business, and you will gain valuable experience not just for yourself, but also empathy for your clients who are going through exactly the same process! 

Summary 

Today I mentioned that planning is essential for a successful business, but many plans go awry or fail. 

The three ingredients for success are: 

  1. Start with a big-picture strategy 
  2. Turn the strategy into a structured, SMART plan 
  3. Review and Course Correct with help in order to stay on track for success. 

If you need help with business planning, I have three spots available in January. Click here to book.  

Otherwise, you can waitlist for my June Passion to Profit Course where we go through the foundational work behind the plan that is essential for success. 

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

Learn More