Everybody experiences a loss of momentum at some point. In fact, if you’re human (and I’m assuming you are if you’re reading this), you’ve hit a wall once or twice in your life, yeah? Lots of things can contribute to that … burnout, loss of passion for what you’re doing, or general life overwhelm, just to name a few. Small business owners lose momentum for any of these reasons and usually because one or more of the following 6 areas is slipping.
1. You haven’t identified or activated your audience.
Most small business owners go after the low-hanging fruit and see quick success by selling to their immediate sphere of influence. It’s exciting to get that quick win! But then comes one of two roadblocks. (1) You’re selling to anyone interested and you come to realize you’re not interested in working with just anybody. (2) You get that “now what?” feeling. There isn’t anybody left to reach out to, so now what do you do to increase your reach?
2. Your brand story and branding isn’t connecting.
After two decades of experience in branding, I can tell you that if you don’t clearly capture a prospect’s interest quickly, you will lose them quickly. Your brand story needs to be clear, concise, and connected to the needs and desires of your audience. Your branding needs to be recognizable in the market and to do that, it needs to be consistent.
3. You have too many offerings (or they aren’t clear).
This is super common! If you can’t explain how you work, then your prospective clients can’t understand how you can help them. Yes, your work is customized to each client, but your foundational process is actually quite structured. I promise. I unravel this mystery all the time for my clients. Simplifying your offers, and clarifying your processes is pure gold for your business growth.
4. You don’t have a sales strategy.
Just to clarify, “I’ll work with anyone!” isn’t a sales strategy. Kidding, but not kidding. If you don’t have a process to connect with prospects and vet them through a conversation, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Likewise, if you don’t offer a way for prospects to connect with you and vet you, they’re likely to find someone who is willing to take the time to talk with them before they hand over their hard-earned money. Earning a client’s trust is a privilege, not a right.
5. Your systems are confusing to a client.
There is a fine line between good-enough-to-go-live and having-it-perfect. You don’t need to have your systems perfected to take on clients, but you do need to be organizing them as you grow. Your processes will work for you if they are clean, straightforward, and helping you grow. Think: tracking software, automations, easily fillable forms, touchpoints for your clients. These types of systems keep clients gaining momentum, feeling supported, and coming back for more!
6. Your marketing strategy needs work.
Maybe you’re following a class you took on how to get clients that is all about social media (and you hate social media). Maybe you’re relying on friends and family to fill your client list. Maybe you don’t have a marketing strategy at all. Your marketing strategy needs to reflect how you prefer to connect with people. If you hate social media and that is the only place you’re showing up, that will sabotage your success. Align your preferred communication methods with your marketing strategy and voila! Authentic and energized connection. There are so many ways to market. Find the ones that light you up.
Keep Your Momentum Rolling
Seeing yourself in one or more of these 6 places small business owners lose momentum? I do, too! Whenever I feel myself slipping in momentum, I revisit these 6 things.
If you’d like support to get back on track, join my 8-week Fall Business Breakthrough Class starting mid-September! Whether you are a new business owner, or an existing one, I’ll help you align your business in each of these 6 spaces so you can jumpstart your business momentum (and keep it going)!
