5 Key Business Drivers No Matter What Business You’re In

Online, Offline Brick and mortar, Professional Services Mobile service providers, Tradies – these apply to everyone running a business

1: Lead Generation

This is the process of generating consumer interest for a product or service you offer with the goal being turning that interest into a sale.

So what does this look like for your business? 

This includes your online presence – your website and socials aimed at creating awareness and interest in working with you.

These would clearly highlight your positioning in the market by speaking directly to your ideal clients’ desires, pain points or problems and demonstrating how you can help them.

Other means of outreach could include direct mail (flyers), email, cold calling or having them subscribe to your email list or opt in to a free offer.

The goal is to create that first connection with your business by email, phone or visiting your store in person.

2: Lead Nurturing

These are the activities that take place after that first connection which most often is an enquiry.

However, not all people who make an inquiry are ready to buy. They might need more information before making a decision to buy OR they might need more information from you so that they can compare your products/services with another provider.

How well this part is handled will directly influence whether that enquiry turns into a sale.

I like Alex Hormozi’s little quote here: 

“Most businesses obsess over getting more customers when they haven’t even fixed what happens when the phone rings”

How well is your front desk team trained to respond to phone or email enquiries?

Do you have clear follow up instructions or SOPs to ensure all enquiries are handled correctly?

How do you warm these people up to the point they’re ready to buy from you?

How quickly does your team follow up? Do you use automations to help simplify the process?

For some businesses there could be a large time gap between enquiry and a decision being made. So continuing to follow up during this time is critical to the process.

If you’re not getting great conversions from enquiries to the sale then this area might be letting you down.

3: Conversation i.e. The Sale

This is where you’re actively asking for the sale. For many businesses this is booking an appointment with your company.

Ask yourself – how well are you promoting the clear benefits and advantages of your services that will compel your customers to commit to a sale?

What makes your product or services more valuable than your competitor’s products or services so that the sale is a no brainer?

How easy are you making it for your customer to book an appointment with your company? Can they book online? How quickly does your front pick up the phone? Are customers left hanging on hold for too long?

How well are any concerns or objections addressed at this point?

4: Fulfilment

This is the process through which you actually deliver the product or service as promised to your customers. Remember,your customer now has a set of expectations based on your company’s pre-sale communications.

How well does your team deliver on that promise?  Are you meeting or exceeding your customer’s expectations here?

Some businesses make bold promises but if there are no set standards for fulfilment then the quality is likely to be inconsistent.

Does it vary depending on which team is assigned to it that day? OR is it process driven so that it is delivered to the same standards each and every time no matter who is delivering the service?

This process MUST be standardised across the company in order to deliver a consistent experience for your customers.

5: Retention

You’ve made the sale now what?

This is where things generally fall off the cliff.

Your company needs to have a retention strategy in place.This includes recognising and calculating your ideal customer’s lifetime value through repeat business.

We all know how much harder it is to attract new customers yet we often forget to look after the ones we have.

What are the next steps your business takes after making that initial sale? Are you keeping in touch with your customers through regular email communications or follow up calls?

What are you doing to encourage them to come back for your other goods or services?

Are you providing further special offers or educating them on the benefits of your other products and services. Or perhaps the importance of regular visits and why?

So many businesses fail to do this yet this is the easiest way to build and maintain trust and keep your customers loyal to your mission.

🤔 So if things are feeling a bit slow right now and you need to get more customers through your door then perhaps you need to look at each of these drivers and see whether you need to uplevel your internal systems and processes to improve their performance.