In today’s fast-paced world, one of the most common questions we get is how to grow your business. Many small business owners feel that the window for success is a tight one, and that in order to succeed, rapid growth must be achieved. While we would first remind you that you need to slow down a little in order to accomplish more, we certainly understand the need for businesses to scale and ramp up their operations.
However, there are right and wrong ways to grow your business quickly, and many people are left without a good idea of where to start. Read on to find out how to grow your business in a fast, efficient manner with these three easy steps.
Step One: Build A Sales Funnel
In order to have an efficient, scalable business model, you need to make sure you have a sales funnel that works for your company. You need to identify your offer, and plan your customer’s journey every step of the way.
Having a sales funnel that is proven to work will make your business much more automated, allowing you to focus on personal relationships and spend less time on the sales process. If your company doesn’t have a plan for a sales funnel and your sales process, watch this video here.
Step Two: Identify Strategic Partners
By identifying strategic partners and forming business relationships, the benefits are twofold. First, you have people in different industries that can help you with work that is outside of your wheelhouse. Secondly, these strategic partners will do the same for you. This means that they will refer you clients, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.
To go about identifying strategic partners and forming relationships, a good first step is to consider what sort of work you think your company might need. This can include partnerships with everyone from accountants to lawyers to mechanics, depending on your industry. Personal relationships are key to any successful business, and if you want to grow your business, having this out-of-house system will help you immensely.
Step Three: Utilize Your Email List
If you’ve been in business for even a little while, chances are that you have an email list of current and/or past clients. Put this list to work for you!
Whether you are in an industry where you will have repeat customers or not, your past and current clients have value either way. If you have clients that used your business for a one-time project, create a mailing asking for referrals. If you have clients that might be interested in using your company again, send out an email with an offer that is too good to pass up.
In any industry, using the relationships you’ve formed as an asset is very important. Put your mailing list to work and keep your customers engaged – it’ll make a difference.