The ROI of Doing Nothing

Often, when a business-owner invests in marketing, they want to know when they will see a return on investment. It should be a question and a concern; it would be cavalier to dismiss otherwise.

However, when a business-owner finally realizes that marketing is key to new business development, some think that results rapidly occur. It doesn’t work that way.

Besides considering the cost of marketing, the time before profit is realized remains uncertain. In my experience of running a business and investing in marketing, a person skilled in sales considers budget, cost and equally as important, the confidence that the potential solution could be a cure to stagnation.

It’s hard to quantify the loss of income when nothing is being done to attract new business. It’s not unusual that, sometimes, we spend a lot of time rationalizing not investing a few dollar to make more dollars.

Did you ever go to a networking event, meet people, get business cards and never follow up? It happens! We spend money to attend the event, gas for the car and lose quality time with family and/or personal endeavors. The ROI of dong nothing equals nothing.

As a licensed insurance person, it would be tough to write insurance if I thought “that person doesn’t need insurance” especially when they have insurance because I know they own a car, a home, and a business. 

Do you like tea? If you do, you know that when you make tea, you don’t drink it immediately after pouring the hot water into the tea cup. You have to wait for the tea to steep so it maximizes the ingredients and flavor of the tea; otherwise it’s just hot water.

Marketing is like tea. it takes time. Besides needing money to invest in marketing, we need patience to develop a reputation. You know what costs money? A reduction in new business while overhead continues to increase.

Don’t be cheap, steep! Then, enjoy one sip at a time. 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0Geehxw1S0r73lODPnzQgumWyj-0Tjh

Applying Sunscreen to the Status Quo

It’s summer time…the joys of barbecues, boating and the beach. Except when you fall asleep on the beach without reapplying your sunscreen. I hate when that happens!

The worst part is when you’re showered, refreshed, and ready to relax from the relaxing, the negligence kicks in. BAM! 

The savage tan you were hoping for is replaced with red, blotchy skin that stings to the touch. It’s painful, isn’t it? The raw burning pain is all we think about. We focus on seeking that remedy, that magical ointment, that will relieve the burn.

These ailments are physical…and visible. They can limit us in our mobility because they devour our thoughts with the pain while waiting for the relief to set in. When will the pain stop?

Unfortunately, there are no physical signs when we are STUCK in a RUT. And just like forgetting to apply sunscreen, there is no warning that this rut is imminent or happening as we speak.

To make matters worse, unlike the relentless focus on physical pain, we justify and defend our lack of progress. Isn’t there an ointment for that?

Think about it, the status quo is like walking around with a sunburn and not knowing it. It’s safe; it’s NOT uncomfortable. We aren’t in pain. Or are we?

Overcoming the status quo is like the ointment on the burn. As much as we try to maintain the status quo, the more we find the outside world will force us out of our comfort zone, through no fault (or desire) of our own.

There’s a big, bad, world out there waiting to spin us around in an attempt to try something new, whether we like it or not.

Is your status quo any of the following:

  • Is sales and/or marketing not your forte?
  • Do you think you don’t know how to sell?
  • Do you not like to bother people with asking them to buy from you?

Many of you may feel dread and trepidation thinking we’re intruding on someone’s privacy. What’s up with that?

What happens if YOUR service and/or product is something THEY really need? We only hurt ourselves with missing out on that next new client who wants, nay NEEDS US!!! 

We hurt ourselves by sticking to the status quo; you know, like a sunburn.

Learning how to overcome the hesitation we have about asking for someone’s business is a lot easier than you think. It’s like putting the ointment on the sunburn. Failing to overcome that hesitation results in losing money for no reason other than your awkward shyness. Failing to apply the sunscreen results in that nasty sunburn.

Pretend that sunscreen is merely a shield from your shyness and go burn it up!

Prospecting: TR(Y)AL & (T)ERROR

I’m a broken record when it comes to new business development.

Unless your business never (and I mean never ever) has clients that retire, relocate, downsize or die, you must consider new business development strategies, aka PROSPECTING.

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “prospecting”?

Networking, maybe?

Cold calling? Did you just shudder and break out in a sweat? I don’t blame you. 

Did you know that dictionary.com defines prospecting as:

    • to search or explore (a region), as for gold.
    • to work (a mine or claim) experimentally in order to test its value.

That’s pretty cool even though I know that they are not distinguishing the word in a sales capacity.

Sales & Marketing gets a bad wrap, and prospecting, to me, is the gritty way to say new business development. 

Most people DO NOT have the same reaction (shudder and sweat) when you discuss customer service. Some people think it’s “safe”. We get to respond to clients who are looking for us to help them. Makes sense.

I don’t want to be a party pooper, but customer service involves its own form of prospecting. Every interaction with a client is an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, solve a problem and….wait for it…remind them why they do business with us. 

Not so fast. That’s the easy part. 

The hard part is not letting them off the hook (literally and figuratively) once you managed the task at hand. Taking a few minutes to ask them for feedback on how you’re doing and reminding them what else you do in your business, gives them a reason to think about why else they need to hire you.

It’s harder than it sounds. In the insurance world, we call that “account rounding” and “cross-selling”.

Without getting too dense, if you’re not getting uncomfortable with how to find new clients, you are not growing. It may not seem like it now, but there will come a time when a shift will happen. The key is, either doing it voluntarily and proactively or reacting to circumstances beyond your control out of desperation.