079​.​ How to Drive Revenue Simply with What You’ve Already Got

Welcome. I am marketing expert and business coach Melissa Kellogg Lueck. And this is the Doing Business Like a Woman podcast where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Well, hello my friends. Happy Friday. How are you? I hope you're having a great Friday so far. Welcome to the Almost weekend. Today I'm really excited because it is Friday. I love Fridays. And also I am starting a new regular live broadcast. And this is what it is. It's Marketing with Melissa live right here. You and me live each Friday to talk about marketing, to really help you to streamline and simplify your marketing. I want to talk about and share with you what I'm learning, what I've been learning throughout the week and, and really help you to sift through all of the latest trends and help small business help you as an entrepreneur, small business CEO, to really know what you should be paying attention to in terms of what's coming up and the trends for marketing and what's not. So that's what's happening. But today I want to just kick all this off with a really great teaching. I'm going to keep it as short as possible. I know that we've all got lots to do and so I'm going to let you get back to work as quick as possible. But I wanted to do the training. I'm getting distracted here with comments. That's. That's one of the things that I always struggle with with the live broadcast. Anyway, squirrel. I'm very squirrel. Anyway, I want to share with you a training that I did a couple of weeks ago live in person for a networking group. And it was so incredibly impactful for them that they sent me an email and said this was the best speaking, best speaker we've ever had in the history of this group. And so it was so helpful to them. And I thought, well, I love that. So I might. I wanted to share it with you too and hopefully it's impactful and helpful for you as well. So we do have the comments going and so if you have questions, I am happy to answer those for you and with you and want to help you and to, to drive revenue simply is what we're talking about today. There are five opportunities that are right under your nose to create more value and make more money, you know, at any point in time. But over the next 30 days, I think if you really focus in on these things and really put intention behind them, that they will help you to drive that revenue. And they're simple, right? These are things that are already. You've already have in your business, you're already doing, but just doing some of these really great tweaks that I'm going to talk about today. Okay, so let's dive in. Okay, so opportunity number one, and I had my flip chart and everything, but my. My other audio setup isn't working, so we're doing it this way. But opportunity number one is to be bringing new connections into your business with intention. And I know that we all go to a lot of networking event. Maybe you go to a lot of networking events, or you're networking on social media, you're meeting people, when you're out and about, you're telling them about your business. But when we're doing that, we want to make sure we're doing it, doing it with intention. And what I mean by that is really making sure that we're creating connections with all of those people that we connect with. We're not just handing out business cards or connecting with people on social and then never really nurturing those relationships. And we'll get to that next. But we always want to be bringing new people into our sphere, into our orbit, into our audience, because our businesses need that in order to grow. We need to continually be bringing in new people. So however you're out there meeting new people, whether it's through networking in person or online, it might be through a freebie that you have out into the world, or if you're on social media and you're using hashtags or networking in Facebook groups or speaking, doing speaking engagements and free workshops, those are great ways to bring in new people into your world. Podcast guesting is a great way as well. And then, of course, paid advertising, we can pay Google or Facebook to introduce us to new people. And so those are some of the ways that we do it. But what we want to make sure that we're doing it with intention. And what that means is that we are getting those contacts and keeping track of them. So whether it's people signing up on your email list or you're connecting with people on social media and keeping track of those connections and tracking them and reaching out to them regularly, we want to be bringing those new people in and keeping track of them. So, and this is something I help my clients with all the time because, you know, I find. And I used to be this too, like a contact hoarder, right? Like, I'd go out and just meet all these people and then never be in touch with them again. So how do we know they are ever going to work or not work with us? Right. Like we want to be keeping those connections, developing those relationships, and that's where our business comes from. So it's a huge opportunity. That is opportunity number one for you is meeting people and doing it with intention and keeping in touch with them. Right. So, okay, I'm just looking at my notes here. I do have a handout for this. If you want this gorgeous handout in PDF format, I'm happy to send it to you if you want to DM me or just put it in the comments and I will DM it to you on social. Happy to do that. So let me know if you want that. But okay. Opportunity number two to drive revenue simply in your business is to build and strengthen the relationships that are already around you. So we all have people already in our orbit, right? Whether it's people on social media or our friends, our family, our network, our community, neighbors, we have people all around us. I see such an amazing opportunity for all of us to make sure that all those folks already around us know about our business. They know what we do, how we help people. And in such a way that's simple to them. So that when they need what we have to offer or when they meet someone that needs what we have to offer, we're the first ones they think about. And that happens when we are nurturing and growing the relationships around us, right? In, around us, in our audience, in our communities. So this doesn't mean we're spamming people. It doesn't mean we're like, you know, stuffing our message down their throat all the time. But what it does mean is that we are staying in touch with the people around us. And I have had clients that have, have come to me that have. I've been friends with for 20 years, right? And it's because I've been. Well, I've been in business for 18 years, so I've been doing the same thing and they remember that, but they see me on social media and I'm stuck still doing the same thing. And I'm doing the same thing and talking about the same things. And so that consistency of showing up for them and then also maintaining those relationships and keeping in touch with people, that is what brings that business around. Because I like to think of all of our people in our network, they're like our little cherry tomatoes right in our garden. We're getting ready to plant our gardens here now, where I am. And so all of our little tomatoes are going to ripen at different times. So we bring all these people into our network, we invite them in, and then we nurture those relationships. We give those relationships sun and water and fertilizer, right? And then they're all going to ripen at different times. And so that's what I like to think about, is the nurture activities that we do in our marketing. That's why they're important. So I see this as a huge opportunity that you have all these people around you. Do they all know what you do and how you help people? If not, there's a lot of, there's a lot of different ways that we all need to be doing nurture activities, nurture marketing activities. And so what I think about is your email marketing or your involvement in a networking group, your YouTube channel, if you're on YouTube. A podcast is also a nurturing activity. Having phone calls and just calling people up and touching base with them, Setting up coffee chats where you meet with people. It's any of these activities that we're doing that we're keeping in touch with people, and we're doing it on a regular, consistent, frequent basis. And again, this is what I work with my clients on in setting up these systems, looking at where they are, you know, what's happening currently in their marketing, where they need to grow it and amplify it, what's working, what's not working, right? And so, so we've got these two important parts, right? We've got, we've got to bring all the people, the new people in, and then we're nurturing the relationships. And these are two opportunities that, that you can start and amplify at any point in time. Ok, so number three, for our five opportunities to drive revenue, simply, number three is making more active offers. Now, I know I have been guilty of this in the past, that I go out and I'm meeting a bunch of people, I'm nurturing those relationships, I'm creating all this goodwill and putting tons of value out there. And then I'm not making active offers. My offers consist of if you want to work with me, DM me. It's not very compelling, right? So I want you to think about how are you offering what you do to folks, right? Do they understand how they can work with you? Do they understand what it looks like to work with you? Do they understand if they might be the right fit and how they could know they're the right fit? So I want you to think about, are you making these active Offers. And if you are awesome, make more. Right? Let's make more offers. And in the way of just telling people how they can work with us, right? It's not, again, spamming people or going out into the world and just trying to shove it down everybody's throat. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is we put out so much value and goodness and presence into the world and then we need to let people know how they can work with us. And remember to do that always. Like, I know I'm guilty of, you know, writing a great post or even post, doing a video or a reel on social media and I forget to make an offer to say, you know, just to invite people in. And it's not always selling something. Sometimes it's just inviting them to, to follow you on social media or inviting them to check out your freebie. So think about where you have the opportunity to make more offers and letting people know how they can work with you and in an invitation way. Right? I'm just looking at my notes here to make sure I'm getting all these points. And in making your offers, you can think about how you can make it more compelling. And what does that look like? That looks like knowing what your mo. What your client, your best fit client, knowing what they most want and then talking about that, right? And then knowing what is their greatest desire and then speaking to that. What do they want freedom from or what do they want? What are they desiring? Right? And just really talking about that and how your solution, your service, your product really speaks to that. And I'm really rushing right now because I want to get through all this, but this is something I help my clients with. So if you feel like your offers aren't compelling or aren't irresistible to your audience, I can help you to focus in on those and really develop that offer that's going to really speak to your best fit client. And I would love to go into tons of more detail, but. Okay, so opportunity number four is to take your value, the value that you put out into the world, to the next level. So what that looks like is, well, we know that value people pay for value, right? Whatever your service or your product is, is benefiting them in some way, right? And that's what they're willing to pay for. And so when we understand exactly what our clients want, what they need and in the way that they want it, we can increase the value that we are offering to them. And when we increase the value, we attract more clients. We can increase our prices, those sorts of things. So in a marketing sense, it's all, it's the same way, right? When you increase your value, you increase the opportunities that come to you, you increase the number of clients that are coming in. And so how do you create value? And if we think about, I love thinking about Amazon. Love them or hate them, we all use them. Amazon as an example that they have really got their finger on the pulse of what their customer wants, right? They started out like we have all the things because, you know, we all wanted great selection. So they said, okay, we're going to get the biggest selection and we're going to be called Amazon. And that's what they've done. They've really owned that space. Like if you're looking for something, you know you can find it on Amazon, right? And then pricing, they know we want it at the best price and so that they've, they have met that need and that's extremely valuable to us. And what else is valuable to an Amazon shopper? Easy returns, fast shipping, right? I don't know how they figured out how to get things to us so quickly and still have cheap prices, really great prices, but they've done it and they, because they know we value it, so they figure out a way. And so that creates loyal customers, that creates, has obviously created more revenue, more clients, more customers for them. And it's the same way in our businesses, right? It's not like we have to know everything our clients are ever going to value. Right? Now we see a need, we see something they really want that's valuable to them and we provide it to them in the way that they want it and it increases our value. And so it's the same thing in our marketing, right? So I know the trend in marketing right now, which is the business I'm in, coaching and marketing is more telling or I'm sorry, more showing more value and less like showy and telly type stuff. That's really where customers are going. And my best fit clients, they want to know that I can help them. And so I'm doing things like that, like this live right now where they get an opportunity. Folks that maybe don't know me, haven't worked with me get an opportunity to see the way I work, to, to see what it's like to be in my energy, to see what I think and the way I do business, the way I teach. And so this is my way of giving value. And so in the exact same way you can think about what is valuable, what is one thing that you know is super valuable to your clients, to your best fit clients and provide that to them through your marketing. And when we provide that value ahead of time and those results ahead of time, people are much more willing, much more trusting. They want to work with us, spend money with us, and so you can do that in your marketing. So think about how could it be possible to over deliver to your clients and referral partners right now. Right. Without changing anything. For example, I think of a real estate agent that I know that she knows obviously her clients are going to be moving, right. And so moving boxes is a huge thing for them. So it's just a little thing. Maybe it costs her a hundred or two hundred dollars, but she gives and delivers, hand delivers moving boxes to all of her clients. And it's just a little something, but it's something really valuable to them. And so I love that. So think about what would surprise and delight your clients and then give that to them. And if you don't know, just ask them. Right. We forget that as small businesses and entrepreneurs we are in direct contact, close contact with our clients. So we can just always ask them these questions that we're wondering and they will tell us. So think about what could you offer as an add on or an upgrade that would be super valuable that you could use in your marketing as well. Right. And talk about in your marketing. So that's opportunity number four. We're moving right along. Opportunity number five. This is the last one is incentivizing referrals. And so I talked a lot about this when I did this training in person because this is kind of a really cool new trend. Maybe it's not a new trend, but it's changing a lot. I see a lot of shifting happening in marketing around incentivizing referrals. And I think it's so fun, it's so exciting. So I want to just talk to you about it and share with you what I'm learning about incentivizing referrals. So as we know, we can always invite our clients, clients, friends, family, referral partners to refer business to us. And we do that. And that works a little, you know, I know there I have quite a few clients that the majority of their business comes from referrals. And so I am always thinking about, well, how can we increase that or amplify that, grow that some more. And so you can always, obviously if it's legally allowed in your industry, you can always offer incentives like whether it's a gift card or a bonus of Some sort, right? And think about how you can do that and then promote that in your marketing. Sending out an email or communicating with your clients and letting them know I have this referral bonus or this incentive program, you know, I'm adding on new clients. And so for everybody, every client that you refer me, you're going to get xyz, right? There's also this trend towards micro influencers. So we've all heard about influencers, right? These are folks that have a million followers on social media and so major brands will hire them to talk about their product or service to their audience, right? And it's incredibly valuable and lucrative for the brand that hires them. Well, let's think about this on your level, right? So say there are, there are influencers. I'm not saying they, but I know there are influencers around all of our businesses at all times, right? Whether they're fast folks in our community, maybe it's members of our chamber or members of our networking groups that have a lot of influence and their opinions are highly regarded by the local, you know, community or by the, it could even be an affinity community. For example, I'm really getting into pickleball, right? So I have a friend that is this pickleball maniac and such a huge fan of pickleball that everywhere she goes she tells everybody they need to play pickleball. And so I, you know, my husband and I, we started playing pickleball. My mother in law taught us. She's also a huge proponent of pickleball. But then I have this friend that's local and she's always talking about it. So who did I go and ask, you know, what racket should I buy? What shoes should I buy, what, you know, all the equipment. She gave me the list, you know, from Amazon and I just went tick, tick, tick and I ordered all the things. This could be your business, right? And mine, right? Like we could have these community influencers. And so there are brands and small companies like yours and mine that are doing this. They're paying. And this actually happened to me for. I was hired as an influencer for aging hair care products because I have gray hair, right? And I have a small social media following. But a brand actually hired me and sent me product and asked me to promote it to my audience. And I did, of course, because I love their products. But we could do the same thing in our, with our businesses where we identify someone that is highly regarded and they might even already be a client of ours that, that's highly regarded. They don't have to be on social media. They just have to know people and talk to people. And we, we all know these kinds of people that once they, you know, we have them all in our groups, right, where once they find something that they love, everybody that they know knows about it. And so you can negotiate a deal with them, whether you bonus them something or you give them a incentive of some sort, or give them free product or free service and they go and tell their whole network in whatever way they communicate about your business. So it's a, you know, there's businesses that are now putting their money into these types of micro influencer campaigns more than they are giving it to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. So this really is what I'm hearing is the new trend. So if you don't want to be spending a bunch of money on Facebook ads or you're frustrated they're not working for you, this might be a really great way to get access to whole new communities. And I think it's something that's an opportunity that's right here in front of you, right around you right now. So those are our five opportunities, guys. And I believe that it's possible that you have all the clients that you need in your business, that you want to have in your business, that you have capacity for. I believe these people are already all around you. And I invite you to consider how that could be true for your business. And so if you put these five or even one of these opportunities into practice, I know that you can grow to whatever level that you want. And I am here to help you, my friends. I can help you to implement and take advantage of all these opportunities. This is what I do with my clients. I come in and we take a look at your business, your marketing, how you're bringing clients in. Thanks for the thumbs up, by the way, you guys. I love seeing it. And we take a look at your business, identify the opportunities, identify the growth and the opportunities for growth in your business. And then we put together a plan to create the clients, the marketing and the business, the revenue that you want to be bringing in. And if that is of interest to you, I invite you to schedule a call with me, a private call where we can talk about your business and you can see what it might be like to work together to have my help, my eyes, my 20 years of entrepreneurial experience on your side. So that's what I have for you today. This is again, this is marketing with Melissa live on Friday. So I hope you are having a fabulous spring Friday and I hope you have so much to celebrate. I have tons to celebrate, you guys. I have signed like three new deals this week. It's just been May. I don't know, it's like the clouds have opened up and the rain is falling in a good way and I just love it. Okay. But I don't want to go too long because I know we're all have a busy Friday ahead. So I hope you have a great rest of your week and round it out. Have a great weekend and I will see you next Friday if not before. Take care. Bye. If you like this podcast then you have got to sign up for my free on demand video training Grow youw Sales Doing what yout Love Where I teach you in depth. My simple process that you can implement right away to harness your mindset and your skills to grow your sales to whatever level you want. So go grab that now. The link is in the show notes and I'll see you next time.