Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

It’s Not Luck

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The other day I had a longer term client email that in the new year it’s time for a break. That’s OK, it happens and it’s always good to see what’s working and what’s not in any business. Then at the end of the day I received an email from a potential referral partner saying they needed help with the EXACT same service of the client who’s leaving. I know what you’re thinking “wow, that’s amazing luck!”

No. It’s Not.

It’s a lot of hard work. Every time I wrap up with a project or finish with a client, even if I am thinking “crap that was a good chunk of money each month,” inevitably within a week or so someone pops up in my pipeline to replace them.

Every. Time.

After 7+ years in business I have discovered that by being consistent in my newsletters and following up regularly, the right people show up when they are ready and when the timing is right. For both of us. I’ve talked about scarcity before – it’s not a thing. If you’re consistent – networking, following up, engaging, good at what you do – in time the right clients will just start showing up and the wrong clients will take their exit.

It sounds just like magic. But it’s not. Its years of hard work, consistency, amazing referral sources and DOING THE WORK. I know that’s not a fun answer. I’m not lucky on a regular basis, I have built up systems and schedules that keep my sales pipeline healthy and active. And we all know the first thing I do…

Follow Up.

As usual when something like this happens I text my business coach, because we all need a cheerleader. Her response?

“THAT is what happens when you are consistent.”

Not Lucky.

Guest Post: The Same Goals Get the Same Results

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goal without plan is just wishToday’s guest post is from one of my favorite people, and my business coach, Debbie Page. Trust her wisdom, heed her advice, she’s the real deal folks. 

It’s the time of the year where e v e r y o n e is talking about goals. Asking if you’ve set ‘em, and what’s different than last year?

Do you ever find yourself with goal shame?

You’re not alone. Many of the people who I work with come to me with goal shame and fatigue. They’ve been setting the same goals again and again because they never hit their marks. Stuck in this cycle of set – not reach – repeat they are horrified at the thought of downsizing their goals. Because you just don’t do that, right? Wrong. You can. It’s your business. Downsizing a goal to the right size is a strategic business move.

As a business coach to women one of the first things I do with a new client is ask them how they set their goals for their business. Often times the answers start with, “I picked numbers that seemed reasonable.”

Ok, and then what? (Insert cricket sound here…)

Often underestimated by entrepreneurs is the fact that goal setting is a process that requires several hours of evaluation and projection. It is a process.

These are 3 ways to get your goals right this year:

  1. Gather your data – Gather it all. All your inquiries, where they came from, your conversions your sales cycle time, your average sale, your average revenue per sale. Each of these provide invaluable information for you to understand where you’ve been in order to determine where you are going.
  2. Look for inconsistencies in execution – What are your real marketing numbers? If networking was to be one of your initiatives to grow your business, how many events did you attend and how often. If you only attend when business is slow you will not get sustained results. Consistency in marketing is a critical factor in your success.
  3. Constantly measure, review and adjust when needed – time on your calendar must be scheduled to regularly adjust and modify as needed.

Goal setting for results is possible. It’s not necessary to repeat the same goals year after year hoping you’ll get a different result. To get something different you have to do something different.

If you are ready to do something different I have two resources for you to consider:

Request access to my 6 Days to Ultimate Business Success Challenge. A challenge where you will ultimately determine what you really want in business, how to navigate your business fears and take confident action, develop a higher money consciousness and how to pay yourself first.

Join my Free Facebook Group, The Women’s Business Profit Lab where you can find a library of nearly 50 video trainings as well as access to nearly 800 women business owners from around the world who share ideas and best practices on running and scaling their businesses.

About Debbie: I’ve been a business owner and entrepreneur for more than 22 years now…and yup – it freaks me out to say that – because in my mind I’m still 26…anyhoo. I might be like you. I’m an accidental entrepreneur.  I said yes to one opportunity, and then another. I’m the leading authority on cash flow and profitability for women in business and a systems and process nut and love teaching people how to leverage and scale their business.

When is the Right Time to Run a Referral Campaign?

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When is the Right Time to Run a Referral Campaign_The other day a client asked me to review a letter to clients about some technology glitches their company recently had. One person involved had included the idea for a referral contest to engage the clients.

All I could think was “How do I tell my client that this is a terrible time for this?”

Luckily my client agreed with me. Phew.

Running a referral campaign to increase leads to your business is a great idea. It might be a social media contest or an ongoing practice that you have in your business.

However, if your business is in the midst of having just upset a good chunk of your clients, that’s not the time to ask them to refer business to you. It’s the time to make sure that you go above and beyond in your customer service and acknowledge the hassle. On a case by case basis you can send a specific thank you/apology gift and make sure that all clients are happy to be working with you.

Then, once all glitches are worked out and things are running smoothly you can setup your referral campaign. Referral campaigns can be great. I recommend setting them up in a quieter time in your business. Make sure that you have time to do the follow up and have time for the additional work when it comes in. For some people that’s the summer, for some it’s the beginning of the school year.

Figure out when a quieter time is in your business, then figure out WHAT you want to offer – is it special pricing for new clients? What’s the contest reward for current clients?

By all means run a referral contest if that’s a good lead generation tool. AND make sure that your clients will gush about working with you.