For a business owner, being between a rock and a hard place is being flat out busy but still needing to take on new clients pronto - but new clients are only a temporary solution to a recurring problem in your business.
By listening [and taking notes], you’ll learn:
Enjoy!
Resources:
If you’d like to work together with me as your 1:1 business and marketing consultant, book a call here.
For a business owner, being between a rock and a hard place is being flat out busy but still needing to take on new clients pronto - but new clients are only a temporary solution to a recurring problem in your business.
By listening [and taking notes], you’ll learn:
Enjoy!
Resources:
If you’d like to work together with me as your 1:1 business and marketing consultant, book a call here.
H ey guys. Welcome to the podcast, super excited to jump into this episode today.
Shannon Stone:Today we are talking about some things that you can do if you're always busy but you still want more clients. And I'm talking about busy to the point where you can't even do your marketing or you can't do it consistently. But as a business, you've still got to bring in that revenue. You've still got to bring on more clients or new clients consistently. What do you do Now? This is something that's obviously come up for a lot of different businesses. Definitely, clients of mine where they're just flat out busy Could be with client work. Generally, that's the main thing that takes up their working time, but still, there's always other things in the business to do as well. And but what do you do when you also need to take on more clients as well? So in this episode I've got five non-marketing strategies that are going to help you. Because if you can't take on more clients now, even though you want to and it's like, yeah, I'll just fit them in some kind of way, somewhere they'll fit in, but the reality is you are just extremely busy and this has been a constant thing. It's not a this week thing or this month thing. It's a constant thing. We have to do things differently. It's like, if you want different, you have to do different. And what can we do to release some of your time so that you do have time to work with more clients, but you've also got the time to bring those clients on to do your marketing activities and things like that. So we will jump in. Definitely have your pen and paper, as always.
Shannon Stone:What I will say for this episode. So there are five different strategies that I'm going to take you through, or five different areas that are going to help, but what I would love for you to do is you're listening, is to almost mentally bookmark which one of these areas will be the one that you need to focus on. You will. Obviously. These are things that all businesses can work on and improve and focus on, but we have to start somewhere. So choosing one of them is going to be your action step at the end of this episode.
Shannon Stone:So let's jump in number one. So if you're always busy and you want more clients number one you can increase your prices. So by increasing your prices, you by default say you've got your revenue goal there. You would need less clients to fulfill your goal. So this could be an area that you explore and consider. Is that okay for me to be less busy and to have less on my plate? Maybe it is a good idea for me to increase my prices, and obviously you would justify this with the value that you bring to people and make sure that it's a fit for the people that you want to work with. But that is a great way to reduce your workload by increasing your prices, but obviously it's got to be aligned to all the other. You don't just increase your prices for the sake of it although you can, I guess, but it's got to be I think it has to be conducive to the value that you bring your clients. So that's number one, really short, simple one. And if you do want to know how to increase your prices, and do it really intentionally, with a price increase campaign inside the Good Marketing, good Business Facebook group over on Facebook, it's a free group you can join and for years I've been sharing content in there. The group used to have a different name, but there is a price increase campaign, three-part video, I think it is. So you're welcome to go and listen to that. And if that's something you want to do whether you're doing it for the sake of this episode or just in general, you do want to increase your prices definitely check out that training. I'll also link to it in the show notes as well.
Shannon Stone:Okay, easy one. That's number one. Number two is that your sales need optimizing. So if you are busy all the time, what can often happen is people can be talking to potential clients and a lot of it just goes nowhere. So a really good metric that I like to stick by is a minimum of a 50% conversion rate. So say you end up talking to and you know, every industry can be slightly different. There can be changes to this. I always aim for higher, but anything less than 50% conversion rate to me is almost a red flag of why are we not exploring this and why are we spending so much time talking to people but few people are actually buying? So Say you've got 10 people that you chat to over the course of the month and five of them say yes to working with you. That's a 50% conversion rate. But say less than five people are saying yes to working with you.
Shannon Stone:I would be looking at your sales, that whole sales process. I'll talk about a few different ideas here, but that is a lot of time wasted. If you're talking to a lot of people and they're not going ahead and working with you, maybe they will down the line, so it can have a benefit in future. But often this is a leak where you're losing a lot of contact and a lot of opportunity in your business as well. So if it's less than 50% conversions your sales calls in particular I would definitely be looking at how you can increase that number and I find there's three ways to it.
Shannon Stone:So there's before you talk to someone. So, however your sales process is at the moment, there is always that period where before they talk to you. So maybe you get them to book in a call. Are you sending them something before the call? Are you ensuring that they are showing up to that call? Are they getting reminders? Do you want to send them some case studies or testimonials beforehand or a questionnaire of some kind? So how can you increase your conversion rate before that sales call?
Shannon Stone:So there's before it. There's also during that sales call. So what's happening on that call itself? Are you asking the right questions? Is there enough time on that call? Do you have a structure or a process that you take people through? Are there regular touch points or things that you want to make sure that you communicate to them? Are there certain things you want to understand about them? So that's during the sales call and then there's after as well. So, however it goes after, are you sending a proposal? Do you need to follow up with them? What happens after that conversation?
Shannon Stone:So when I talk about this point number two here that sales need optimizing, just think about the before, during and after. So what is happening in those three stages? And are there areas I would go through it with a fine tooth comb and see okay, well, how can I get my conversion rates up to at least 50%, if not more. And by looking at the before, during and after, there's some great insights into where you could be looking. The other area that you could be looking when it comes to optimizing your sales is having a look at the people who don't go ahead to work with you, because all your knows that you get, even if they're they're ghosted, knows they're still a no. That is incredible insight that you can hold on to. That's gold. Honestly, for you to make improvements in your business, we want everyone to say yes, we want everyone to work with you. Obviously, and while you can learn things from there, you know what caused those people to say yes. Great insight there. You also want to be looking and seeing well what causes certain people to say no or to not go ahead, and there's going to be a lot of good insight there. So look at that before, during and after what caused them to say no? So that is number two your sales need optimizing because if you're spending a lot of time with people who aren't going ahead, you're going to be really busy and it's not going to be going anywhere, and no wonder that you want more clients.
Shannon Stone:Okay, number three your systems need work. So if anyone is extremely busy, I always think there's a few things that could be on. But this going on systems is definitely one of the big ones. But when I say systems, especially the systems that I like to focus on with my clients or with businesses, I like to focus on the systems that support their goals. So you could focus on your inbox systems, your email systems. You've got a you want to be an inbox zero kind of person. Well, that's a system managing your emails. There's so many kind of systems that businesses can have, but I think the most important ones are the ones that align to the business objectives, the revenue goals that that business has. So I think about how can we get more done in less time? So the systems I'd be looking at this, three of them.
Shannon Stone:Your marketing systems. A lot of time, people would drop the ball on their marketing. They'll go really good and really hard for a while and then something happens will, usually because they've been going really well, really hard, with their marketing. They get clients and then they stop marketing because they're too busy to get any other work done. So this is one of the areas where you need stronger marketing systems, so not just any systems, but systems around your marketing of the things that you can improve. There can you automate, can you schedule. So marketing systems. The other systems are sales systems, so systems around your sales. And this is really, you know, documenting with SOP, standard operating procedures, what happens at each part to make sure. See, one of the things I think about systems is you have them, so you follow them 100% of the time. So this could be a space where you're losing people from signing up with you because you don't have the sales systems in check and you're not following them 100% of the time because your sales system, your sales process, is not documented, it's not written down, it's not we send them this thing or it automatically sent. The system might send the things over to them, but having a look at your sales systems is also a critical area as well.
Shannon Stone:And then the third system is around your client delivery and ensuring that your clients get excellent results. Whether you call that a system or not, I see it as a very important part. But if you can really focus on getting your clients the most incredible results you can, two things are going to happen. One, they're probably going to stick around with you for a really long time. And two, they're going to be an amazing testimonial case study, referral person for you. So can you have a system around your client delivery and getting your clients excellent results? I think we can. Think it's like the quality of the results come down to the quality of the questions we ask. So think about this for yourself. What are the systems you need around your client delivery and helping them to get excellent results?
Shannon Stone:To share an extreme example, one of my clients did have to focus on the systems around her client delivery because, like so many businesses, how she would work with clients was so in her head. There was nothing documented and it was almost like chasing her tail every single time. She'd do the same things for the most part with all the clients she had and they were like over 20 steps when we did document it. But just getting those down on paper, even though it was in her head, it made it seem. And it did not just seem, which is great, because sometimes you need it to feel the impact, but also you need to see it, see the data, see that it does make an improvement to the business and the bottom line as well, but she did see the impact it made by documenting it, because it's sped up so much of her time and it was just like, okay, I do this and then I do this next and I do this next. And it also kept, in her case, her clients in check as well, keeping them on time, which kept her on time, which kept her business on time, and that is our topic here today. So creating systems around your client delivery is something that really does affect your workload and it does affect your ability to take on more clients and to increase your revenue as well.
Shannon Stone:So step number three here is your systems. Okay, step number four is to delegate. So, again, delegating. I always look at delegating things in the way of how does this align to the goals that you have? And there's a couple of areas that I would focus on delegating. One is your marketing. So can you delegate all or some of your marketing? Especially, there's a lot of administrative marketing actions that you know businesses do need to take, but do you need to be the person to do that? Maybe you want to create the content, but someone else could schedule the content. Even just that little bit extra. It's a little bit more off your plate and it also holds you accountable to doing it as well. It's okay, I've got to create the content because I've got this person who's going to schedule it for me and you don't want to let them down. So it's part system, part delegation, holding you accountable. But delegating some of your marketing is a really good area.
Shannon Stone:Another area to delegate or to look at and again these could be in full or just parts of but the next one is your client delivery. So, depending on your business, depending on the way that you work with people for me I work one-on-one as a consultant I do not delegate any of my client delivery. Definitely doesn't make sense for me. But if you have a project-based business, if you do, depending on what you do for your business, but can you delegate some of that client delivery, even if it's in the back end, in the background they don't have to do any client-facing things but can you delegate some of that client delivery so getting client work done gets done so much quicker because you've got an extra set of hands? The other area that you can look at delegating is just areas in your business that will relieve your time as the business owner. So maybe there's elements in your business as the business owner, that you're wearing all the hats, you're spinning all the plates and you're held responsible for so many different things. So are there certain areas or certain tasks that you can delegate to someone, because it doesn't matter what it is Say it's the bookkeeping, for example, or maybe it's updating the website, for example. It doesn't matter what area it is. What it does is it relieves your time and it creates more support for you as the business owner. So, again, you are less busy and if you want to reallocate your new found time into more marketing so you can then take on more clients, that's a really great way to reallocate the time that you do get back. So relieving your time in any kind of way whether it's the bookkeeping, whether it's website updates, whether it's admin or client delivery or marketing there's so many different areas that you can be delegating.
Shannon Stone:Delegating and getting people to help and support you honestly is such a way to grow your business. I've seen so many clients the way for them to grow. There's only so much we can do on our own, and I know it can be like a chicken or an egg. It's what do we do first? Do we hire someone or do we make the sales and take on the clients first. And if you've been pushing to get the sales and the clients for so long but you've been too busy and things are just not working there, maybe the time is to hire someone, even if it's a few hours a week, to help support you, so that you've got more time up your sleeves to then really focus on the marketing and that client acquisition. So delegating is a very underestimated and, I think, feared part, like people can get scared of it when it comes to business, because it does involve an investment. It does involve more of your resources and not just of investing money into people. It's also investing your time and training people. So it can be a really scary part, but it's a very rewarding aspect when you can get through it as well. So number four is to delegate.
Shannon Stone:Okay, the fifth and final step that I have for you today is to retain clients longer. So, coming back to our topic, if you're busy all the time but you still want more clients just imagine that you want more clients but you're so busy wouldn't the best idea be to keep the clients you do have? Because, as you will know, it's easier and faster to work with the same clients for a longer period of time. Anytime you take on a new client, it doesn't matter what it is that you do, what industry that you're in, it's getting to know that person, the way they do things, the way they like things and in the scope of the work, whatever that looks like. That's a whole lot of education as well for both parties for you and the client. So if you work with the same person for longer stretches of time, you're going to save so much time as well.
Shannon Stone:Now there are a couple of other things that you can do to help retain clients longer. One is how you package and structure your services. So some people might sell sessions, depending on your business. If you're a consultant of some kind or an expert in some type of industry, you might sell some type of session with people and they might be one off. So that is a really hard way to work with people on a longer basis and retain them, versus if you packaged up your sessions into three sessions or three months or six months or 12 months, whatever it might be. But instead of being more like a transaction, where it's like one session at a time, you could be packaging up your sessions as well.
Shannon Stone:So just a little side note here, coming back to today's topic around always being busy, but you still want more clients. I hope you're starting to see all the different ways that we can be losing time in business and all the different ways we can be solving this problem as well. So many people will think I just need more clients, I just need more leads, and people will tell you that as well. They'll make you believe that, yeah, that's all I need to do in order to grow my business. I just need more leads, I just need more clients. But it's not the case. When you grow and enhance all these areas of your business, you retain clients longer. You've got the systems in place, your sales are optimized. Of course, you're going to be able to take on more clients, and you're going to be able to do it in a more smoother way than if you had just been throwing yourself at marketing and throwing yourself into trying to get more clients. And I think the way that you would like to grow your business is in a way that is sustainable, that is also enjoyable and that doesn't break you in the process.
Shannon Stone:So, coming back to retaining clients longer, so your packages and how you structure, it can be a real great way to retain clients working with you longer. So, whether it's session-based thing, whether it's a time-based three, six, 12 months and beyond they actually saw someone I've seen offers, honestly, like anything is possible these days someone selling their services to work with them for two years. It's a 24 months. I've also seen people pitch their services to work with people for three years. So whatever you think people actually need like this would be a whole other conversation altogether. What is the problem you solve and how do you create the package to best suit that? But if it was three years, create it for three years.
Shannon Stone:But something for you to consider around retaining clients longer how you package and structure your services is one of the big ways that you can do that. Another way that you can retain clients longer is thinking through how you approach servicing your clients. So do clients come to you and say I'd love to buy this thing from you, almost like they're picking something off a shelf? I'm coming to you to buy that one single thing off the shelf rather than you focusing on how you can truly help them? So even if people come to you to say I want to buy that one thing off the shelf you can say I can definitely sell that to you, but first please tell me what's your goal. What is it that you're looking for? What's the outcome that you're after here? Hearing that from them and based on what it is that they actually want, not the. They can have the thing off the shelf, but what is the reasoning behind that? Just so that you can understand, and if there was something else they needed from you, making those suggestions to that client.
Shannon Stone:So I think so many businesses will lose a lot of business by just letting their clients and customers guide them on what to buy, rather than reminding themselves that you are the expert at the problem. And so what is it that they actually need? What is it that they actually want? And making those suggestions to them If they say no, that is okay, but you will find you will increase the number of clients you take on. You will retain clients for longer just because you've asked them what is it that you're looking for? What is the result? How can I really help you with this? So that's another way to retain clients, and the final way to retain clients not the only final way, but the final way I've got here for you today is to sell more to the same client. So similar to what we've just discussed, but if someone is, and this doesn't have to happen straight away as well so if someone spends $1,000 with you, for example, do they then go on to spend more? Or, instead of spending $1,000 with you, are they going to spend $2,000 with you? Or do you go back to all your past clients as well and just sell services the same services, new services, other services to those same clients your business? It's like a compound effect the more your business grows, the more clients that you work with, the more clients you'll work with and the more that your business will grow. So a few other ways that you can retain clients for longer. Okay, to wrap up this episode Sorry Coming back to it, if you are always busy, but you still want more clients, we mentioned it's not just about getting more leads and more clients.
Shannon Stone:It's about tightening up everything in your business. So your business grows holistically. It could be increasing your prices, it could be that your sales need optimizing, or your systems need work, or you need to delegate or retain clients longer, and it could be all of those things. So the action step for today, and I did mention right at the start to choose one area to focus on. So, while not just your business, but every business needs to look at these different areas, really at the end of the day we can only focus on one at a time, and so that would be your action step. So what is that one key area to focus on? First and choose that one. If it is to increase your prices, definitely take a look at the price increase campaign in the good marketing, good business Facebook group. It is pinned there somewhere, and if you are focusing on any of the other four areas that we spoke about, what I would do, even with the price increase campaign, I would create that in your mind, in your project management tool, in your business, whatever makes sense for you, that that is your core focus for now. You can move on to the other ones after.
Shannon Stone:But say, for example, you recognize that your sales need optimizing.
Shannon Stone:You talk to a lot of people, but not enough of them are saying yes, and that's just taking up so much of your time. Focus on your sales and optimizing your sales until you really start to see the improvements. If you focus on it almost like a one track to mind. This is really what I need to focus on in my business to help it to get more time back, and then also, the default is to take on more clients. That's how I treat it. Rather than just scratching the surface of lots of different things, go deep on one of these and one at a time.
Shannon Stone:So that's what I have for you today. If you have any questions, of course, do reach out, but I hope you have an amazing day and we'll talk very soon.