One easy way to get your business noticed.
In the whirlwind world of entrepreneurship, sometimes it's the simplest and most overlooked actions that yield the biggest rewards. If you’re looking to double or even triple your revenue this year, start by increasing your business’ footprint in the world.
This week's homework is to talk with 3 new people about your business each day. (I recommend continuing this exercise daily until you have a waiting list for your products or services.) This can be done in person or via email (or even a social media dm), but it needs to be personalized. This is not a static post on your Instagram page, but actively reaching out to contacts and letting them know more about your business.
This has the potential to achieve a few different things:
They become a client or customer. Obviously this is the best outcome! Then you can wow them with an incredible experience so they also become your biggest fan.
They become a contact. Even if they don’t end up working with you, they may be willing to refer you in the future. For example, I only work with women in my coaching business, but I’ve had a lot of men refer me because they remembered me when a female business owner mentioned needing help growing her business. People love to make connections between others!
They become a mentor or business bestie. Becoming a customer isn’t the only valuable relationship. I’ve had amazing opportunities and experiences just from connecting with fellow business owners or coaches. We all need support and people that can relate to owning a business.
Does the idea of talking to people about your business freak you out a little? Here are some ways to do it (in order of most impactful):
Strike up organic conversations with people you meet in your day-to-day life. Waiting in line at the grocery store? Say hi to the person behind you. Take your dog out for a walk or to the dog park and talk to other dog owners. Talk to the barista at Starbucks. The more people you come in contact with, the more opportunities you will have (plus it feels really good to connect with other human beings). Feel weird talking to strangers, try joining a networking or volunteering organization, where introducing yourself is expected. Also, not every conversation is going to lead to talking about your business, but if you never have any conversations, you’ll never know.
Reach out with a personalized email. Just introduce yourself and explain why you’re reaching out (e.g., I’ve been following you on social media and have loved your content. In fact, your post on X, Y, Z inspired me to start a new business making lip balms. I just wanted to say thank you and would love to send you a free sample!). You can also send email to your contacts announcing your business if you’re just getting started and if they know of anyone that would benefit from your products/services, please let them know. You can even include a private friends/family discount because people love to be able to offer private perks to their friends (I referred Flodesk’s discount code to every businesswoman I know).
Send a personalized DM. Once again, make sure you include personalized details so it doesn’t just look like a spam marketing message. The goal with this exercise is to make connections, not spam every influencer you know. You can write a similar message to the email one above, just make it appropriate for the platform.
Give it a try this week and see how many new customers, clients, contacts, or even email subscribers you get! The bonus is all the extra human connection will boost your mood!
Good luck!
- Valerie