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Don’t get me wrong. I’m not telling you to give up your vacation or cancel summer plans. But after you enjoy your R&R, regroup and ensure that strategies are in place for your business to achieve the profitability you desire. Let me put it another way. It’s time to make money, reach sales goals and finish the year strong!
I’ve interacted with several incredibly knowledgeable women business owners over the past few months and they’ve shared some great ways for increasing profitability. I want to pass along five tips for boosting profitability this summer.
1. Build profitability into your schedule.
Marley Majcher, CEO of The Party Goddess and author of “But Are You Making Any Money” says, “Look at your calendar and see what’s coming up. Block time for what gives you the highest return on investment.” I love this tip, but if you’re like me, this may involve some shifting of a few calendar items, reprioritizing and perhaps simply saying no to requests that do not add to your bottom line. Or, as Majcher suggests, “Figure out what your goals are and get rid of garbage on your calendar.”
2. Become more efficient.
Sounds simple but this again may require you to really roll up your sleeves and dig deep to discover the things that are making you inefficient and limiting your profitability. Majcher recommends that as business owners, we should track our time. Time, after all, is an expense. So for every project you take on, track the time spent. Another tip for being more efficient is “Batch your tasks and don’t spend all day on email,” says Majcher.3. Develop a rock star social brand.
Wouldn’t you like to have clients and customers clamoring for your products or services like fans enamored with a rock or rap star? According to Lisa Steadman, bestselling author, results coach and CEO of Woohoo, Inc., rock star branding is the next evolution of personal branding. To begin building a rock star brand, you need to embrace and celebrate your big mission—the premise behind your business—and then broadcast your message widely and frequently. Steadman says, “Shift your messaging to be more engaging, inviting and enrolling.” 4. Add multiple revenue streams.
Once you’ve established a rock star brand, leverage it and create multiple revenue streams. One idea is to consider writing a book. The fastest way to become an instant expert is to add “published author” to your resume. Whether you sell one book or a million books, simply having written the book catapults your credibility and leads to more sales. Another way to parlay your brand and make more money is to do speaking engagements. You’ve shown expertise online, so why not offer it in person? Consider adding training to your platform by offering seminars/webinars and workshops. With a celebrity-like brand, people will want to learn from you.5. Ask for the business (or more business).
Seems obvious, but women often have an aversion to selling. We like the developing, creating, coordinating and managing, but selling, not so much. The trick is to not look at it as selling. Julie Steelman, Selling Mentor and author of “The Effortless Yes” says, “It’s a conversation and problem solving.” Your potential client has a problem and you can solve it. If the potential customer gives you an objection, don’t freak out. Steelman says, “An objection is just a vocalized thought about where the customer is in the decision process.”I love that. And speaking of decisions, while you’re relaxing in the sun this summer and sipping fruity drinks with cute umbrellas, don’t forget to make the decision to be more profitable by year-end and put a few strategies in place.
Joan Burke Stanford, founder of Jazzy Pen Communications, is more than a professional writer/editor. She’s a communications stylist who ensures that business owners rock the marketing runway with their best words forward. She writes the content they need to get the results they want. For a jazzy article, blog post, newsletter, tagline or other communications project, visit www.jazzypen.com