Where Businesses Fall Short (Part 2)

8. No Strategic Partners- Successful business owners don't go it alone.  They associate, partner, and network with other highly successful and exceptional people.  Partnering with others is a way to quickly expand the reach of your own business.  There's a wonderful synergy that comes with doing things with others.  There are more ideas, more knowledge, and more resources to create products and services.  While you can be successful on your own, you can do more and do it more quickly when you work with others. 

9. No Ways of Monitoring Progress- You cannot manage what you cannot monitor or measure.  Every business needs to identify its key success factors.  It might be the number of products sold, the number of service hours provided, the number of signups generated from an email campaign, or even the perception of your business in the local community.  The only way you can improve your business and attain the success you desire, is by measuring the results of your actions.  You'll be able to identify what is working and also where the shortfalls exist.  You can use any number of methods including internal operating checklists, customer surveys, and even peer reviews - feedback from your alliance partners or competitors.  This valuable feedback will be extremely useful in realigning your business efforts in the direction that maximizes success.

10. No Professional Approach- Successful businesses develop systems to deal with all aspects of business operations.  Whether it's a system for marketing products or services, or a system for dealing with customer orders or complaints, policies and procedures serve to make business run more smoothly.  Your systems will cultivate a sense of confidence and trust in the hearts and minds of prospects and current customers that they will be dealt with in a consistent and professional manner.  

11. No Commitment to Learning- There is no place for complacency when it comes to being an entrepreneur.  Successful business owners search constantly for new and better ways to get clients as well as to serve the ones they already have.  They are aware of the latest trends and ideas so they can create products and services which best serve the changing needs of their target market.  They learn about and implement processes that increase the effectiveness of their day-to-day operations.  By committing yourself to learning and to implementing what you learn, you're committing yourself to success in all parts of your business.

12. No Follow Up- Business owners that don't follow up with clients and customers are perceived as inattentive, uncaring, and unprofessional.  Lack of follow up is a surefire way to lose clients and to ensure that you won't be referred to any new ones.  Whether it's returning phone calls, following up with emails, or delivering a product or service to the client as promised, make sure that you complete these tasks.  Following up is fundamental to creating great, long-term customer relationships.  Not only does it show that you respect your clients, it is a standard of excellence among business professionals.

13. No Consistency- Consistent action is one of the most important habits to cultivate if you truly desire business success.  First, you must be committed to the long-term - that it will take time to build up your business.  But more importantly, you must be committed to taking consistent action - taking the steps to market yourself on a regular basis.  The only way to be heard above the “noise'' of thousands of other marketing messages is for potential customers to see and hear about you on a regular basis.  Each day, commit yourself to taking one action that will increase your visibility or credibility.  You'll be surprised at how quickly these little steps build into much larger successes.

14. No Way to Monitor Website Activity- The success of your website is dependent on multiple visits and repeat visits to your website.  In order to determine the effectiveness of your website, it's important to monitor which parts of your website are attracting the most traffic.  Successful companies use various tracking software programs to see which pages are visited most often and which links are clicked most frequently.  This valuable information will tell you what is and is not working.  If something isn't drawing the attention you desire, it's important to make changes and quickly.  Making changes to your website is one of the easiest things to do to keep your business moving forward.

15. Not Willing to Ask for the Sale. Without sales, you won't be in business.  No matter how skillful you are with running the day-to-day business operations, if you don't sell your products or services, you won't need to worry about running a business for long.  All of the marketing efforts in the world won't create customers who are beating down your door to buy from you.  Your marketing effort must extend beyond the regularly scheduled activities on your marketing calendar.  Being confident in what you are selling, being skillful in conveying benefits and features, and managing objections are key to making sales.  The most important action to take, however, is simply to ask for the sale.

If you feel like you might need some extra help in working through any of the points mentioned above, feel free to schedule a free 30-minute call with me to see how I can help.

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Getting StartedJordan Kennedybusiness development, startup tips, entrepreneurshipComment