7 unwritten business growth rules

Favourable Market Conditions

1 – Supply V Demand

Understanding who you are and what you do is absolutely crucial to establishing yourself in any given market.

Being all things to all men (and women) only creates uncertainty as to what you stand for and the problems you can help your customers solve.

Carving out a niche by narrowing your focus is essential, and one of the best places to start is with your existing customers.

Look at what types of customers you have and what generates the most profit.  That’s your niche.

If you don’t have a niche then look at what interests you and what experiences you have.

Why Should I Buy From You ?

2 – Why Your Business

The question that most buyers are unconsciously asking is “Why should I buy from you”.

If it isn’t clear from the beginning then it will come down to one thing and one thing alone, PRICE.

What you do and how you do it could be a reason why people buy from you.  The product or service itself maybe the reason or how you position yourself and interact with your customers could be another.

Again, asking your current clients is a great place to start and often the best source of understanding why customers choose you from the customers view point.

It was coined in the title of a famous book called Differentiate or DIE by Jack Trout and that about sums it up in the world of business.

Information That Sells 24/7/365

3 – Information Widgets

Most people want to do one of two things.  Learn something that can empower them or just buy something.  A lot of the time the sales process gets in the way by inappropriately selling or pushing people unnecessarily and at the wrong time.

Structuring your sales and marketing in such a way that it educates and shows your customers that you understand clearly their situation and problem and have an ideal solution is essential.

Often, it’s not what you say, but what others say about you that are most important so use testimonials and examples to show how you can help your prospects and clients.

The Law Of Business Attraction

4 – Attract Or Polarise

Having an idea of who you are targeting with your product or service is only the beginning.  You must now find a way to attract and polarise that audience to you, turning suspects into real prospects.

Getting people to identify themselves, sometimes shyly, is a great way of focusing your efforts on what/who should become customers.

Offer information as one way of letting prospects raise their hands and then take them on a journey to becoming a customer.

Jumping in straight away and selling, may not be the best way to get them on your side so you may need to draw them closer to you before selling.

Once they have identified themselves though, your communication should continue to address their interest or need more closely.

Test, Test, Test

5 – Never Assume

Sales and marketing is a science, there are rules, laws, principals or fundamentals that give a predictable outcome.  However the details require in many cases some trial and error to get them right.  Testing.

By testing what you do and measuring the results you can begin to understand what really works or does not and then modify it to get the desired results.

Running similar adverts or marketing pieces in split tests or showing people different headlines to your marketing piece and measuring how they react will guide you in the right direction.

Smart marketing people test and measure everything they do until they get it right.  It is also the safest way of avoiding wasting a ton of money in sales and marketing by committing to an assumption.

Business Leverage

6 – The Fulcrum Point

To move a massive weight or achieve great things you need a leaver and in business we can do the same thing using leverage.

Many businesses keep harvesting for new customers and forget about their valuable and existing customers which are usually the source of their existing profit and most likely the source of much more.

Finding ways to serve them better and tap into the trust and open door you already have with them is one of the simplest ways to grow and they will continue to rely on you as you grow your business with them.

Create A Growth Formula

7 – Formulation

Create a formula for getting your customers to spread the word like a virus is a low cost and rapid way of growing your sales.

Make sure that they understand it’s a condition of doing business with you so that you can keep servicing customers and avoid wasting time prospecting all the time.

Set the expectations correctly so they understand that you help them to get what they want and in return your customers give you referrals.