Marketing is one of the big challenges for any business.
In order to keep your business running you must make sales. In order to make sales you’ve got to generate consistent enquiries and in order to do that you’ve got to get good at marketing.
That in itself makes perfect sense.
In fact, you probably know all of that already right?
47% of small business owners are responsible for all their own marketing and they don’t outsource it so let’s not beat about the bush here…..marketing is an essential part of growing your business.
If you know that marketing is essential to create the consistent flow of enquiries then what’s stopping you from doing it?
Here’s some common reasons I see why many small business owners find marketing (and the selling stuff) so bloomin’ difficult!
There’s so many options to choose from when it comes to marketing your business!
So where do you start?
And what should you do for the best?
There’s no wonder that your mind boggles when it comes down to what to do.
The simple advice I give to clients here is to start small. Get the foundations right in terms of your message, targeting and your service offering and then apply the tactics that feel easiest for you to implement. You can add to your marketing repertoire later!
Marketing isn’t an exact science
The marketing landscape changes quickly so what worked a few months ago might not work right now.
And because there’s so many variables, some in your control and some which aren’t results can be different even though you’ve done exactly the same thing in the same way again.
That’s frustrating.
That’s why I work with my clients to work out their marketing and selling process and encourage them to start capturing the data so that we can review what’s happening together, change the things that need changing and go again!
The stories we tell ourselves!
“I’m not good at marketing.”
“I don’t have the skill set required.”
“I hate tech.”
“I’m too busy.”
“I need a couple more clients then I can hire someone to do it.”
“I’m not a sales person.”
“I can never think of anything to write on social media.”
“I’m waiting for that quiet week so I can get it done.”
“I get all my business through word of mouth and referrals so I don’t need to do any marketing”
I could write a list of the “stories” that I hear about the reasons why you can’t do your marketing and I’ve heard them ALL before.
Regardless of the size of your business and whether you’re responsible for doing your marketing or not, if you’ve heard yourself saying any of these things before I’d challenge you to change your thinking.
If you’ve got any ambition to grow and scale (and clearly you have because you’re reading this) then marketing your business is critical so having an understanding of what to do and how to do it when it comes to marketing and selling is key!
What’s the reason marketing feels so hard for you?
What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to getting your marketing done?
If you want some help to market your business and sell your stuff so that you can see the growth you know your business is capable of then drop me an email del@delparsonscoaching.co.uk or book a 30 minute clarity call with me here. Let’s talk about how I can help you get your marketing sorted, once and for all!
When it falls to you to market your business and sell your stuff it’s easy for those marketing and business growth tasks to fall down the things to do list for one or many of these reasons.
😫 You don’t see the results you want as quickly as you want them so you give up way too early because “marketing doesn’t work”
🤯 It takes too much time and you’re busy so it falls to the bottom of the things to do because your diary is already squeezed and you can’t dedicate whole days to “doing your marketing”.
😳 Nothing you’ve tried so far seems to work even though the gurus tell you it will.
😫 You can never find the right words to really explain what it is you do and the impact it has so you sound just like everyone else who’s doing a similar thing to you.
🤯 You hate social media and you never really know what or when to post and when you do – no one comments, likes or slides into your DMs
😳 You tell yourself that “your clients come to you” so you don’t have to market your business anymore which means you’re leaving money on the table.
😫 You don’t feel confident doing your marketing. It feels overwhelming so you adopt the “ostrich strategy” and bury your head in the sand and do what you’ve always done.
🤯 You’ve got one eye on that competitor of yours that’s seemingly smashing it so you’re mirroring what they’re doing but here’s the thing…..you’re not them.
😳 You tell yourself it’d be easier to outsource your marketing but you don’t have the cash to do that.
😫 You’re worried what people might think of you when you start showing up and selling your stuff – I mean…. ‘who do you think you are” to be selling your stuff so blatantly!
🤯 And, the fear of getting it wrong and things not being quite perfect holds you back from even starting!
😳 Selling always feels icky and awkward and all that hoping and praying that someone will buy from you isn’t a reliable strategy.
😫 You get comments like “I can’t afford it” when you were pretty certain that piece of work was in the bag so you blame it on Brexit, the recession, or that they’re just a cheap skate client.
🤯 You don’t have a robust sales process and end up in follow up hell. You have great conversations and then get ghosted by the prospect you thought was in definitely going to buy.
😳 You’re fed up of the “business growth BS” that seems to be everywhere and even though you know you’ve got to get your marketing sorted to hit your growth targets it simply feels like hard work and if you’re honest you don’t know where to start when it comes to sorting it out.
47% of small business owners are responsible for all their own marketing and let’s not beat about the bush here…..marketing is an essential part of growing your business.
