Copywriting Secrets to Generating More Leads for Your Business
Copywriting is a key player in any business’s lead generation process. Every campaign email, advertisement, blog, or landing page you write must be engaging and impactful enough to convert your visitors into leads, and those leads into sales.
The trick to achieving this lead conversion is to create content that captivates your visitors. You need to get them interested in your products and services, keeping their interest long enough to convince them to invest in what you offer.
Here are 6 essential tips to create copywriting that generates more leads for your business and boosts your bottom lines as a result.
1. Bear Your Customers in Mind
Your copywriting should always focus on the needs, interests, and demands of your target audience. If your headings, topics, and calls to action aren’t converting visitors into leads, it may be time to consider updating your content strategies. If your content grabs the attention of your visitors, this will reflect in your improved conversion rates.
One effective way to ensure that your copywriting strategies are to take the reviews and opinions of past customers into consideration. Read up on past testimonials, reviews, and customer communications to find out the most notable benefits of your products and services from their points of view. You can incorporate these strengths and benefits into the future copy to ensure that you’re highlighting your business’s offerings in a positive and compelling way.
The copy on your sales pages should showcase customers’ positive reviews and experiences with your products in a way that tells your leads exactly what they can expect when they invest in them. Your sales copy or content copy can also touch on how you have addressed past product concerns or updated your offerings to meet the changing needs of your target market, showing that you’re attentive to your customers’ preferences and open to their suggestions.
For example, instead of headlining your landing page with a simple headline such as
● ‘Freelance Job Finding Tool,’ you could use the headline ● ‘Instantly Find Great-Paying Freelance Jobs Online with Us.’
The latter benefit-based headline immediately tells visitors they can expect excellent service from your business and that they can benefit directly from buying your offerings.
Creating captivating written content that increases your lead generation rates will also require an in-depth knowledge of your core audience. You need to know your target market in and out if you want to be able to use the right persuasive language to convert them into customers.
You can write your content using certain personas to help you engage with your audience more effectively. This approach allows you to address specific age groups, demographics, interest groups, and pressure points with content that’s relevant and approachable to them.
Approachability is key when it comes to lead generation, and by writing using a persona, you can make your brand’s identity seem more relatable to potential customers while offering them persuasive media that truly resonates with them.
2. Focus on Calls to Action
Calls to action (CTA) are an obviously crucial element in any business’s written copy. However, what many companies don’t realize is that their copywriting strategy should have its basis on a single, focused CTA rather than multiple, general directions.
You can use focused, imperative language to instruct potential customers on which steps they should take next. CTAs like:
● ‘call us now,’ ● ‘book your spot now,’ or ● ‘sign up for a free trial today’
are all effective, as long as a single, clear action gets priority in your text. Terms like ‘inquire’ and ‘contact us’ may suit B2B businesses more, while B2C companies can use CTAs such as ‘buy today.’
Don’t suggest further reading, flood your readers with pop-up ads, or bombard them with unnecessary actions.
Use your sales and service web page copy to tell them the benefits of your product or service and instruct them to take direct action to reduce the incidence of choice paralysis. This is one trait of being a good copywriter.
In contrast, your blogs must offer useful and actionable information that adds additional value to the products and services your brand already offers, like how-tos, guides, and relevant news.
3. Work on Your Customers’ Emotions
Copywriting is as much an art as it is a science. Using emotive language can go a long way in pointing out the benefits of your products and engaging your audience.
Headlines like ‘Take the Stress Out of Supply Chain Management’ allow your content to resonate with your readers’ potential stress points and give the impression that your brand empathizes with them. It’s crucial to word your copy in a way that highlights the fact that your readers’ lives will be easier if they invest in your products and services.
4. Be Generous with Your Visitors
You could offer your website visitors a free eBook, guide, or digital download in exchange for their email addresses or contact details. Free gifts like these act as a lead magnet to convert visitors into leads, and they also enhance your brand’s reputation, which could generate even more valuable leads in the future.
5. Focus on Readability
Today’s online audience has a short attention span, and you need to capture it quickly lest you lose it forever. You can make your content more readable by using brief sentences and paragraphs, easily legible fonts, and bullet points to help get your information across quickly and concisely.
Tools like the Flesch reading ease test can help ensure that your content is as readable as possible. This tool measures readability and grade level, helping you find out whether your content will reach the intended audience.
The trick to making your content readable and engaging for your readers is to model each page of written content after a step-by-step process. Use a combination of headings, brief paragraphs, infographics, block quotes, and lists of imagery to keep them immersed throughout. This will also keep your content skimmable.
Using descriptive headings will allow your audience to find the areas of your content that they’re most interested in.
6. Create and Stick To Strategy
Your copywriting strategy should always focus on creating a copy that generates leads and converts them into paying customers. Once you’ve gained a keen understanding of your audience, use specific strategies to stand out and highlight the benefits of your offerings in a relatable way.
Copywriting Tips for Writing Emails That People Open
Use these 8 elements of high-opening email subject lines to craft emails that people are more likely to open.
#1. Self-interest
Using terms like ‘you’ and ‘your’ allows you to address your readers directly and to engage them with communication that speaks to their own interests.
Examples include:
○ ‘Simplify Your Life with These 3 Time Management Apps’ or ○ ‘Pressed for Time? How [your tool] Can Help You Streamline Your Work Schedule Today’.
#2. Curiosity
Email subject lines that get people curious about what the mail contains are a great way to ensure that your emails actually get read. You can draw your readers in by adding intriguing headlines like:
○ ‘Open for a Surprise’ or ○ ‘You Won’t Believe Our Festive Deals This December’.
Give your readers just enough information to arouse their interest and then leave the real explanations for the body of your mail.
#3. Offer
Nothing catches someone’s attention quite like a great deal or a special offer. Your email subject lines for offer-related emails need to be short, concise, and catchy in order to distinguish them from the many other emails your target audience receives daily.
Headlines to use include:
● ‘Spring Sale—Offers Just for You’ ● ‘Get 15% Off on All Purchases Today’ or ● ‘Sale Alert! Up to 40% Off Your Favorite Beauty Products’.
#4. Urgency
Conveying a sense of urgency in your email subject lines will compel your readers to click immediately. It’s essential to persuade your readers to read your promotional emails the second they receive them, as most people don’t go back to review past emails. Examples of urgency include:
● ‘24 Hours Left on Our Special Offer—Don’t Miss Out!’ and ● ‘Only One Week Left to Take Advantage of Our Free Webinar Program’.
#5. Humanity
The personable language will prevent you from sounding robotic in your sales emails and allow your readers to better relate to your brand’s identity. Terms like:
● ‘oops’, ‘our bad’, and ● ‘woohoo’ can add a human touch to your email correspondence.
#6. News
Most people will appreciate updates on your business. You can use subject headlines like:
● ‘We’re Open Late This December! Our New Holiday Shopping Hours’ or ● ‘We’re Going Online—Here’s What You Need to Know About Our New Online Store’ to share important news about your enterprise.
#7. Social proof
People are more likely to trust a brand that others have rated positively before them. You can make your emails more persuasive by adding subject headlines like:
● ‘It’s Overwhelming How Much Love We’re Receiving!’ or ● ‘Here’s What Chicago’s Best CFOs Have Had to Say About Our Products’.
Remember to include photos and designations of the people giving the testimonials in your emails, as this adds credibility to the message you’re sending your target audience.
Tips for Writing Attention-Grabbing Headlines for Blog Articles
Your blogs’ headlines have the power to captivate your readers—or drive them away. Catchy headlines are especially important if your goal is to gain more leads.
Attention-grabbing headlines will motivate your audience to click on and read your blog posts. They may even convert potential customers into active ones, which is crucial to your business’s success. Readers who are bored by your headlines will likely go elsewhere, and it may take more effort to recapture their attention in the few.
Here are our top tips for writing attention-grabbing blog article headlines every time.
1. How-to headlines
‘How to Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines for Your Blog Articles’ is a good quality headline for a blog article. It addresses your readers directly and focuses on people’s need to gain valuable new skills.
Computers, mobile devices, and the internet have made it easy for people to find answers or information. All you need to do is determine what problem your product addresses, and what the solution is. Once you have this information, point your readers in the right direction with how-to guides designed specifically to answer their most pressing questions.
2. List headlines
List articles are popular because psychologically speaking, humans crave certainty and predictability. A blog headline like ‘10 Ways to Earn Money Online While Traveling’ tells your readers precisely what they’re in for—that there are 10 different ways to earn money online while they travel. They can also decide if they have the time to read all ten listed methods.
3. Curiosity
This is another psychological copywriting tactic that plays on people’s natural curiosity. Your readers want to learn, and they want to know what their peers know too. Questions are an effective form of writing a copy for headlines as they prompt readers to think about the answers to the questions. For example, a headline reading ‘Are You Really Ready for Marriage?’ would get plenty of attention from single people, people in relationships, and even those who are engaged who want to make sure that they’re ready to take the plunge.
4. Threat and warning headlines
When it comes to writing topics to attract more audience, these headlines are extremely compelling to readers, most of whom want to avoid problems before they occur.
Headlines like:
● ‘Do You Recognize the Warning Signs of Early Dementia?’ or ● ‘Here’s Why Social Media Addiction is the Next Great Health Crisis’
promises essential tips to help your readers avoid these issues before it’s too late.
Headline Template Hacks
Last but not least, these headline templates are all based on highly effective content writing strategies like the ones listed above. Use them in your next blog posts to captivate your readers and improve your blog engagement rates:
● What [#] Studies Have to Say About [Subject]
● [#] [Noun] That Are Proven To [Desirable Outcome]
● [#] Ways To Be [Adjective] When You Don’t [Verb] [Adjective]
● How To [Verb] An [Audience] With The Best [Subject] Tips (+[#])Free [Resources])
● [#] Data-Driven [Noun] From [#] Of The Most Popular [Noun]
● [#]+ Easy Ways To [Verb A [Noun] That Will Skyrocket By [#]% In 1 Year
● How To Use [Noun] To Increase Your [Desirable Outcome]
● The [#]-Minute, [#]-Step Solution For The Best [Noun]
● How To Rock A [Noun] That Will Save You Tons Of Time/Money
● How To [Verb] Your [Noun] For Massive Growth
● To The [Role] Who Will Settle For Nothing Less Than [World-Class Outcome]
● Break All The Rules And [World-Class Outcome]
● How Your [Service Provider] Is Ripping You Off And What To Do About It Right Now
● I Found A [Adjective] Way To [Get Incredible Outcome]
● See Why We Have An [Adverb] [Adjective] [Social Problem] In Just [Short Time]
● [Influencer Or Celebrity] [Emotional Reaction] [To Thing That Basically The Whole World Already Understood]
● Is This The World’s First [Good, Bad, Or Desirable Thing]?
● How To Survive Your First [Good, Bad, or Desirable Thing]
● Who Doesn’t Like [Somewhat Accepted Taboo]? [Unexpected Answer With Tease About Why]
● I Spent [Time] [Working Toward Goal]. I Just [Quitting Statement]. Here’s Why.
● I Don’t Regret __________. But Here’s What I’d Do Differently
● Would You Do [Unimaginable Thing]? I Just Did.
● Who Else Wants __________?
● The Secret Of __________
● Here Is A Method That Is Helping __________ To __________
● Little Known Ways To __________
● Get Rid Of [Problem] Once And For All
● Here’s A Quick Way To [Solve A Problem]
● Now You Can Have [Something Desirable] [Great Circumstance]
● [Do Something] Like [World-Class Example]
● Have A [Or] Build A __________ You Can Be Proud Of
● What Everybody Ought To Know About __________
● How To __________ Every Day
● How To __________ As a [Role]
● Give Me 30 Minutes And I’ll Give You [Desirable Outcome]
● Try These 5 [Tactics] For A Week, And Be Twice As [Productive].
One significant trait that stands out with successful businesses is the simple factor of having the right teams behind them. It means that they take their recruitment process seriously. They use well-thought strategies to evaluate carefully each individual who applies to work with them. They do these tasks to ensure that they get the right fit to join their teams not just in terms of skills but character as well.
Why is it necessary to have the right team in place for your business? Well, having the right team will positively transform your business in many ways. If you have always been in haste with your recruitment process, here are six reasons why you need to slow down and ensure that you hire the right people for your team.
Reason #1: Time-saving elements
Managing your team takes a lot of your time. A workforce that is dedicated to offer their best and display a good performance will facilitate your work. People who are self-starters don’t need you to remind them of what they need to be doing. The right fits in the team will collaborate well to ensure that they meet deadlines and drive results. It means that you only put a little time into managing them, giving you a chance to focus on growing your business the rest of the time.
Perhaps what can save you even more time is leaving the recruitment process to the professionals. If your business’ location is in Canada, for instance, you can partner up with a Canada PEO to help you find the best candidates in Canada. With their extensive network across the country, you can be sure that they can find the best fit for you in record time and compliantly. This strategy will save you the tedious recruitment task, allowing you to channel that effort to other elements of the business.
Reason #2: Maintains your good name
Building a business reputation is very crucial for any business. If you are to attract people to your service and turn them to return customers, you need to be mindful of the experience you give to them. Your employees act as the middlemen between you and your business. If you have the right people in place, they will portray professionalism when dealing with your customers. They will offer quality service that will leave the customers delighted and spreading good words about your business. This factor will grow your reputation significantly, drawing more people to your business.
Reason #3: Builds strong teamwork
Teamwork, communication, and collaboration are very crucial keys for any team to be successful. These aspects are important because team members have to work together in harmony towards a common goal. However, for this to happen, all members need to feel connected or at least be they should be able to work together in solving problems and completing projects. These results can only happen if all individuals fit well in the company’s culture.
When every team member feels at home with the rest of the team, working in that environment becomes pleasant. They can find happiness and job satisfaction, which are essential in growing employee engagement in the company. And when employees are engaged, you can be sure of increased productivity, sales, and profits for your business.
Reason #4: It is economical
How does hiring the right people save you money? Posting job ads needs money. Communicating with new prospects takes money and time. Training new employees requires money. The list can go on and on. When you hire the wrong fit, it is only a matter of time for them to leave your company. Once they leave your company, that will mean lost sales as you try to replace them, as well as spending additional money in recruiting a replacement.
On the other hand, when you hire the right people from the word go, you avoid going back to the drawing board for a very long time. Hiring the right people right from the start saves you employee turnover costs. But it also saves you the time you could otherwise be using going back and forth in the recruitment process.
Reason #5: Cultivates the best customer service
Hiring the right people will foster the best customer service experience. Employees who possess excellent interpersonal skills are the best fit for this section. And undoubtedly, giving the best customer service means growing your business success overall. The candidates must be aware that the top priority of your work delivery is keeping your customers content and pleased.
Reason #6: A trusted team gives you peace of mind
Think of all the data that you possess, the passwords, Slack channels, social media accounts, even customer contact information, would you trust all that info to someone that will later leave? When you hire someone, you are immediately trusting them with all this data. Hiring the right people means you won’t have to worry about what you are sharing with them.
Conclusion
Many say that your employees are the facets of your business to the outside world. In this case, you need to have individuals who are motivated to invest in your brand. These are individuals who are willing to grow their roles as your business grows. Their dedication and engagement are essential to transform your business positively. If you have been hiring following a hunch, the above points should give you a reason to be mindful of who you bring into your business.
QUESTION: What is your biggest challenge when it comes to finding the right person for your team? Share your comments and questions below.
A lot people I talk to think they need to be spending a ton of time to attract clients on LinkedIn. But, in my experience when you know where to spend your time and what to focus on, you can accomplish a lot in little 15 minute spurts.
LinkedIn is a great resource for marketing your business to help you attract clients on LinkedIn with ease. And it’s free. I used to spend $50,000/year in advertising. I love that all the marketing I do on LinkedIn is free!
Here are 12 tips to help you attract clients on LinkedIn in just 15 minutes a day.
1. Send 10 LinkedIn invites to continue to grow your network of your ideal clients and potential strategic referral partners. The more people you have in your network the easier it becomes to attract clients on LinkedIn. I noticed more prospects responded to my LinkedIn activity once I hit the 500 connection level.
2. Research 1 or 2 potential clients. This will help you target your services and they’ll be impressed by what you know about them.
3. Post 1 tip. Choose 1 tip to share that solves a common struggle among your target market. Like bees to honey your tips shared consistently attracts clients and draws them to you while building your thought leadership.
4. Scan and search for relevant LinkedIn groups to join. If you want to attract more clients on LinkedIn be found where your best prospects are. As of this writing (May 2018) I have found that the overall effectiveness of posting a new discussion inside LinkedIn groups have has shrunk quite a bit. Although there has been less engagement in LinkedIn groups, joining targeted groups is still a useful tactic to help you get connected with members inside the group who share targeted interest.
5. Keep a friendly eye on your competition. Watch what your competitors are up to from their LinkedIn activities and what they post. This will give you a good idea about how you can differentiate yourself from them and add value in your own unique way. *You probably want to change your settings to anonymous prior to viewing their profiles.
6. Improve your profile. Your LinkedIn profile will either make a great impression or a terrible one. You don’t want people to be confused as to who you help, what you do and why you’re different than your competitors. Remember, a confused mind says ‘no’. Go through your profile and make sure everything is complete, up-to-date and you’re communicating the right messaging. Read it as if you were a potential client or partner and notice what they would see.
7. Recommend 1 person in your network. One great way to get recommendations is to give them. Be thoughtful about who you give them to though. You should recommend those people who you have experienced their services.
8. Request 1 recommendation. Don’t just do great work for others. Ask them to recommend you as well. The best people to approach are those who already know, like and trust your work. There is a limit to how many people you can request recommendations from at one time. And you can’t ask someone more than once to recommend you if your request is pending. I know many of my own clients have told me what attracted them to me on LinkedIn was reading my client recommendations.
9. Leverage LinkedIn messaging. When you have a few minutes to kill, use the LinkedIn app on your smartphone to send and respond to messages. LinkedIn Messaging allows you to communicate with other LinkedIn members that you’re connected to. On LinkedIn, you can only message your 1st-degree connections (and, within group pages, fellow group members) for free. If you aren‘t connected, you always have the option to send an InMail. Next to each person’s photo you’ll see a green dot that lets you know they are online and on LinkedIn, which means people tend to message you back right away.
10. Create a quick video. Yes, you can create a video in just 15 minutes if you get out of the perfection trap. Smartphones have great video cameras which already has easy options to upload straight to YouTube from your phone. Just talk for 1-2 minutes where you can share a couple of quick tips. Then you can upload your video right from your phone straight to your page on LinkedIn. What attracts clients on LinkedIn faster is giving them the ability to feel like they can “meet” you even when you’re not available in person.
11. Share your comment on 1 or 2 LinkedIn posts in your feed. Ideally, you should look for posts on topics in your area of expertise. This is a great way to network with people and add value to conversations. Look for discussions that solve the problems of your ideal clients. When you add to the conversation, you’re showing the depth of your thought leadership on your topic and that not only attracts clients on LinkedIn the day you posted your comments, but even long after since your connections (and everyone else’s connections who commented) will have that post show up in all of their feeds as well.
12. Ask for an introduction. You can search LinkedIn for specific job titles as well as specific companies and geography and LinkedIn will show you a list of results and whether they are a 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree connection. It will also tell you who you are connected to who is connected to the potential prospect you wish to be introduced to. So, who makes a great strategic referral partner for you? Who is the ideal client / decision maker? You can find them all on LinkedIn, find how you’re connected to them and just ask for an introduction. It’s really that simple and easy.
If you’re currently not getting a steady flow of new leads and new clients from LinkedIn you’re stepping over $30,000, $100,000, even $250,000+ in new business. It makes sense then, to invest in getting expert help.
So, LinkedIn is just one of multiple marketing tactics you should have in your marketing plan. If you’re not yet sure what your marketing strategy should be, be sure to download my free printable MARKETING CHECKLISThere
QUESTION: What do you think is stopping you from unleashing the power of LinkedIn marketing for your business?
There’s nothing wrong with aiming high – but striving for perfection could be hindering your success, If you can relate to any of these 5 signs, you need to get out of your own way, and stop being a perfectionist:
Sign #1 – Success is black and white
A lot of perfectionists can be characterized by their black or white approach to success and failure. Instead of appreciating a spectrum of success, with some business ideas achieving moderate, or even mixed results, perfectionists will view everything they do as either a complete success, or a total failure. This can be severely hindering to a business, as it encourages an attitude of ‘all-or-nothing’ – with entrepreneurs unable to see the good in their ideas, and unable to achieve satisfaction in anything they do.
Tip to get out of your own way:
Remind yourself that even bad ideas can offer value; and a failure is one step closer to success.
Sign #2 – You won’t take risks
This tendency to view all failures as completely catastrophic encourages an attitude of risk-adverseness – a desire to avoid any and all risk. An element of risk is part-and-parcel of being an entrepreneur (‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’), and being a perfectionist can reduce the growth of your business, and your willingness to adopt new ideas.
I knew a small business owner, a friend of mine, that was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – to pitch their products to one of the market-leading giants of their industry. My friend was relatively successful, with a small but established customer base; and the perceived risk of scaling up their business was too much for them. They declined the offer, and missed out on the chance to sell their products internationally. Why? Because they didn’t want to risk failing – no matter how small the risk, or how big the reward.
Tip to get out of your own way:
Try and identify a spectrum of risk; ranging from small, harmless risks, to huge, life-altering ones. Make a conscious effort to take a small risk on a regular basis.
Sign #3 – You take criticism personally
Criticism is crucial to the development of a business, and the advice of our peers can provide some of the best insights into successful business development. Perfectionists have a tendency to take this criticism very personally – and they’re unable to separate business criticism from personal criticism. This happens because perfectionists invest themselves into their ideas, and take professional criticism as an attack upon their abilities. This can prevent businesses from making vital changes, and can severely limit growth.
Tip to get out of your own way:
Critique your own ideas, and try to identify an aspect of your business that could do with improving.
Sign #4 – You never reach your goals
Perfectionists are renowned for setting unreachable goals; and even rationalizing away their success when they do reach them. Perfection is rarely attainable, especially for real-world businesses and people. There are always limits and problems that arise from government legislation, employees and sheer logistics – and striving for the perfect business will prevent an entrepreneur from ever reaching their goal. Even successful entrepreneurs might never be satisfied – because they believe that their business could always be improved.
Tip to get out of your own way:
Analyze your ambitions – are they realistic? Could they ever be achieved? Set goals that are aspirational, but still founded in reality.
Sign #5 – You think unhappiness is the price of success
The end-result? Unhappiness. Most perfectionists believe unhappiness to be part-and-parcel of achieving success, and live unfulfilling lives because they think it’s vital to achieving their goals. In reality though, happiness should be a goal in its own right – and success at the expense of your own happiness isn’t really success at all.
Tip to get out of your own way:
Make happiness an ambition, and don’t strive for success at the expense of your own happiness.
QUESTION: What tips do you use to get out of your own way? How do you prevent yourself from being overly-perfectionist? Let me know in the comments!
5 Ways to Maintain Cash Flow For Your Struggling Business in 2021
On top of everything else, 2020 has been a tough year financially for most individuals and businesses around the world. Many small businesses have lost the fight to stay open amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and several larger organizations have had to make serious budget and staff cuts to survive. This has all led to many companies leaning heavily on their emergency funds and perhaps you as well running extremely low on your line of credit.
It all started off simple enough—stay at home, operate as best you can, or take a brief break while we flatten the curve. However, as the months have drawn on and life has not returned to normal, it’s become harder and harder for many businesses to keep their doors open. The second wave of the pandemic certainly hasn’t helped.
However, it’s not the end of the world if you’ve reached the end of your credit. There are many ways for you to maintain cash flow for your struggling business in 2021, and even fund it’s growth!
#1: Make Strategic Budget Cuts For Your Line of Credit
If you haven’t started tightening your belt, it’s time to do so now. You need to see how your company can survive on less money each month.
The first step is to draw up an extensive list of regular expenses so you can see where your money goes, and where you can cut costs.
The biggest damage to a company’s profit margins doesn’t come from once-off expensive items—it comes from the regular payments that could be reduced. Look at items you can remove entirely, such as subscriptions to services that are nice to have but not essential. These can always be reinstated when cash flow improves. Then look at where you can reduce costs; for example, switching to more affordable coffee and cleaning products. It’s time to make concessions, and this means pinching pennies.
#2: Put A Spending Structure In Place
This is the kind of policy that a business should have in place regardless, but it may need to be tightened up a little bit if your credit has run dry. You need to be very strict with what can be expensed to the company, and what is for personal expenses. However, explain to your employees why you’re making these changes, how making them will help them keep the company alive, and how they contribute to ensuring their jobs stay intact. Without employee’s support and understanding, your efforts will probably look draconian and very demanding.
When changing your spending structure, focus heavily on why the changes are being made, and how you hope they’ll only be temporary. Then make sure that the changes are clearly spelled out so that there are no mistakes that could cost money you don’t have. This step will also help to give you clarity on your monthly budget for expenses, giving you a better understanding of what you’re dealing with.
#3: Clarify Your Payment Policy With Clients
Again, this is a policy that should already be in place. However, it’s well worth reviewing and ensuring that you, your employees, and your clients are up to speed–and that your payment policies are suitable for the current economic climate. This way, the people expected to pay you know what to do, and those who are following up on payments will have a straightforward procedure to follow.
When you are in a situation where businesses are operating on a knife-edge, it’s even more essential to ensure that invoices don’t go unpaid, or payment gets delayed. Having no line of credit as a backup means that each payment coming in on time is crucial.
Your payment policy should cover:
Payment deadlines–you should always follow the same deadlines for each invoice. They should be on a specific date or by a specific length of time. Having the same conditions for each client across your company makes tracking invoices much easier.
Penalties and fees–it’s essential that you spell out what the penalty is for late payments and how it will impact the invoice.
Terms and conditions–this shows that the deadlines and penalties are something you’ve instituted company wide, and not just for a specific client. Using the right language here will also illustrate that your policy is non-negotiable, and that you will not give any client special treatment.
In addition to reviewing your policy regarding payment terms and penalties for late payments, you can look at offering incentives for early payment. If you know you need to get cash into your business because you have no credit left, you can offer customers the option of a small discount for quick settlement terms. This is a great way to help keep your cash flow looking good, it encourages loyalty with existing clients, and may even earn you some new ones. Customers may well need the break of the reduced rate as much as you need the income in trying times.
#4: Investigate Business Loans And Investors
A line of credit is not your only source of extra income for a business. You can look at getting a loan from a bank or some of the less traditional (but still safe) lenders. Crowdfunding is another great way to bring in income if you’re struggling with cash flow, as is looking for investors to help you stay afloat.
Credit running dry doesn’t have to be the end of your business. It’s all about finding the right way to bring in extra funds. Ensure your business plan is watertight, your financial records are in order, and your business is a solid investment, then approach lenders for assistance. Even a short-term loan could be enough to see you through a rough patch, or to facilitate the growth you need to keep pivot your business and keep generating profits.
Remember, a lack of credit isn’t the end of your business. It’s a push you need to investigate new ways to cut costs, streamline expenses, reaffirm payment policies, and seek alternative avenues of funding.
SOLUTION: Shift your focus from credit to getting creative with what you’ve got.
#5: Try Bartering to Reduce Out of Pocket Spending
One creative solution for your struggling business when cash flow and credit runs dry is the age old currency of bartering. Coming up with new ideas is one way to think outside the box, but sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
You can simply do what our forefathers perfected and trade your services for goods and services you need. There are various bartering networks you can google. One we recommend is Better Business Barter Club. You can contact the member chairperson at BucksContractors@gmail.com.
QUESTION: Which of these tips could you implement IMMEDIATLEY to maintain cash flow for your struggling business? Share with us in the comments below!
If you don’t know how to create high performing teams then managing a staff will quickly feel like a burden and drain your time, energy and money. But, the alternative is just not acceptable either.
You don’t want to resort to wearing all the hats in your business or you’ll quickly burn out and so will your sales. Trying to grow your business all by yourself is definitely the LONG, SLOW way to go. Even if you are running a solo practice you’ll grow your business much faster with a small team of just you and one other person.
When you create high performing teams you no longer have to “babysit” your staff or waste precious hours each week chasing after them to meet deadlines.
If you want to know the secret to creating high performing teams — onsite employees or a virtual team, then don’t miss this week’s Q&A episode.
This might sounds like a simple question, but it is definitely not a one answer solution.
In this week’s Q&A episode you’ll discover:
* Strategies for holding your virtual assistant (and onsite team) accountable, so you don’t have to constantly follow up with them. * How to build team morale even when everyone is living thousands of miles away from each other. * Plus! I have a special free 11-point checklist you can download to help you create your very own high performing team!
Click the audio or video below.
Then, be sure to share your questions and comments below. I’d love to know what your biggest challenges are when it comes to managing your team.
Yoon ~
PS. Ok, I gotta tell you … I am loving recording these Q&A episodes for you!
This feels so much more interactive for me to hear your questions directly from your voice messages. The feedback I’ve gotten so far is that you love being able to listen on the go. And, many of you shared you like that I do a much deeper dive on the audio than I can typically cover in a text only blog.
I have to say, it’s definitely a win-win because these audio and video sessions are so much faster for me to record than writing everything out on a regular blog. (Believe it or not, I am a painfully slow writer!)
So, as long as you guys keep sending me questions I will keep sending you the mini lessons through the audio blog and vlog format.
