Guest Quarters: 6 Letter Word that Ends the "Feast or Famine" in Your Business - August 30, 2009Recently, I was talking to a small business owner who shared that she had MORE than enough business at one point during the year, and barely enough in some other times. This is commonly known as “the feast or famine syndrome.” Here’s the sad reality though: Most business owners think this is just the way business happens. Many see this as normal… or to be expected… something you have no control over. But in fact, you do have plenty of control and you CAN end the feast or famine in your business. The solution is a 6-letter word too few small business owners acknowledge and even fewer put into action in their business. That word is SYSTEM which is often referred to as “Save Your Self Time, Energy and Money.” There are several systems you can set up in your business to create consistent success. Let’s explore 3 must-have systems that quickly turn a “feast or famine” experience into consistent, repeatable business success: A follow-up system: All those business cards you’ve been meaning to get to are probably cash on the table. Those customers who purchased once and never came back… Forgotten… for lack of a system. When the business cards come in, we should have a pre-thought, pre-setup systematic way to follow up. Someone’s already assigned to do the data entry if you don’t do it yourself, and, of course a system to do the follow-up for you. I use GreatSmallBusinessCards as one of my systems. Whatever the follow up looks like, it should be pre-planned, automatic and systematic. And guess what happens when you have that type of follow-up in place. Out of no-where, someone calls to do business with you. And you totally forgot your system has been contacting them automatically without you even thinking about it. I also use GreatSmallBusinessCart for electronic follow up. For most business owners, a consistent follow up system is pivotal to sidestepping the famine and creating a steady flow of business. A sales conversion system: This is a step-by-step process for sales in your business. It includes your systematic approach for converting interested prospects into paying clients – a reliable, repeatable conversation you have with your ideal prospects either online or offline that closes the sale most of the time. Your sales conversion system also includes your sales funnel – a ladder offerings (from free or low cost to high-end) that gives your customers different options for working with you. For a lot of business owners, sales and selling are not intentional, pre-planned, pre-thought. They allow sales to happen to them, vs creating consistent sales through consistent, repeatable, reliable systems. This is where feast or famine comes in… A lot of business owners see an increase in business (the feast) and forget all about what to continue doing so that “feast” never really stops. Even if your business is seasonal, you can create a sales system that keeps business coming your way all year round. Most of the time it requires that you think much more creatively about what you can offer your clients and prospects “out of season” so the income never stops. A marketing system: As you may have heard me say over and over again, marketing is the gas in your business engine. I believe the lack of consistent marketing is primarily to blame for the “feast or famine” most business owners see as “normal.” And it’s perhaps because business owners often do not think of marketing as a “normal” thing to do every single week. Give marketing a permanent, no-excuses, “come heck or high water I’m doing it” place in your weekly calendar, and you are well on your way to banishing the “feast or famine” syndrome in your business forever. —
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