Do you want more customers for your business?
Dumb question?
Perhaps, but some people tell me they don’t.
Do you struggle to get enough new business to keep you and your employees busy?
Do you stress out when payroll comes around because your customers pay slow, but everyone else expects you to pay on time?
Have you ever had to lay people off because you just didn’t have enough work to keep them busy?
If you answered yes to any of these, then I want to show you what you can do right now to get more customers to come to you each and every week.
And believe it or not, there is a major cost of doing nothing.
If you just keep doing what you are doing your business will eat every hour you have and every dime in your bank account.
Even worse, it will eat every single dollar you can borrow.
Don’t believe me?
The statistics don’t lie.
Only 1 out of 10 businesses make it and if you aren’t making a killing now, in a great economy, then what happens when we go through another down cycle?
I know what happens and I think you do too.
But, there is still time to do something about it, if you are willing to tweak a few things and learn something new.
In 2003 I wanted my business to grow and didn’t know where to start.
I hired some coaches and consultants, spent tens of thousands of dollars and nothing seemed to work like I was hoping.
And then in 2005, it all happened by accident.
At that time there were several prominent scams going on in the electrical business, nothing new, they seem to pop up every few years.
But one of these guys really pissed me off by claiming we had knocked off one of their scam products.
So I wrote a book, Energy Savings Without Getting Scammed, which not only exposed them for the shysters that they were but also exposed others in the industry as well.
The book was free and easily downloadable online.
What happened was amazing.
Over several years the book was downloaded over 30,000 times and I had more leads than I could possibly sell to.
I had over 400 leads coming in every single month and because of it, I was able to generate over 50 million in sales from that one e-book.
But more importantly, I learned why it worked.
It worked because my ideal customer had a problem that they wanted to be solved.
The e-book not only answered their questions and solved their problem, but positioned me as an expert they trusted.
So who do you think they purchased from for the solution?
If you guessed me, you are getting the simplicity of what I stumbled upon.
There are lots of people who would be your ideal customer if they knew you existed.
They are seeking an answer to a problem and if you don’t provide the answer they are seeking, someone else will.
Today there is a platform that will allow you to reach your ideal customer with your message without being a writer, without hiring some big marketing firm and without spending tens of thousands of dollars.
And that platform is LinkedIn.
There are over 260 million active LinkedIn users and two new people sign up for LinkedIn every 2 seconds.
People go to LinkedIn because they want to connect on a business level.
Rarely is there any political BS or dancing babies. It’s 99% business all the time.
It’s where you can talk with your ideal client and connect with them on a business level.
People buy for two reasons:
1. They have a problem that they want solved
2. They want their lives to be better.
If you want new customers, you have to provide your prospects with information that shows them that you understand their problem and that you are the right person to help them solve their problem.
You are the expert they are seeking to make their life better.
You don’t have to be the only expert, just the one they know about.
It’s not complex and if you do it right, you will have an endless stream of new customers who come to you, instead of you chasing them.
Now relax, you don’t need to be a writer and you sure as heck don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a big marketing firm.
One thing you can do right now to improve your LinkedIn profile is to tell your ideal client what you can do for them, instead of all you have done in the past.
Too many people’s profiles are focused on themselves instead of on how they help their customer.
Consider adding some information to your profile about how you solve a problem or make your client’s life better.
Tell them in detail how what you do benefits them.
Tell them how you can improve their lives or solve their specific problem.
People do not care about technical specifications or features.
Focus on them and it will change your business and your life.
Ultimately that’s what they are focused on so as the saying goes, if you can’t beat em, join em.
One more thing about your profile.
Use a professional picture for your profile.
When I say a professional picture I don’t mean one taken by a professional I mean use something that would be the way you would want to look when going for a job interview because that is what your profile is doing.
People are interviewing you when they look at your profile so this isn’t the time to post the picture with your buddies killing a pitcher. Save that one for Facebook if you need to.
Connecting on LinkedIn.
When you ask someone to connect with you, they will read your profile and when they see how you can help them, they will be far more likely to connect with you.
This is why your profile needs to talk about them.
Don’t just use the canned connect request.
Write a short note that’s a little more personal and let them know you are interested in them.
“He Bob, I saw you’re from the great state of Maine, love the snowmobiling there. Would love to connect and find out more about your business.”
Something personal increases the percentages of people who will connect with you.
Once you connect with them don’t bombard them with sales pitches, that will repel people.
No one likes to be sold but everyone likes to buy.
If you have something of value that might interest them, ask them for permission to send it to them.
Apply these easy tips and you should be able to add a few new customers a month.
If you would like tips on how you can improve your LinkedIn profile schedule a call with me using my calendar link. Click here
To your lifelong prosperity,
David Mulvaney
P.S. To find more helpful insights to improve profitability in your business go to DavidMulvaney.com.