10 Tips to Rapidly Build Revenue

1. Build loyalty to attract and retain new clients. Writing a note is one of the simplest, easiest, and most cost-effective ways to build loyalty and retain clients. Yet, it is the most underutilized simple marketing tool in business today. Pick up a pen, write a note, and watch your relationships and revenue prospects grow. Overcome obstacles by eliminating unproductive prospecting. Many entrepreneurs ignore the majority of marketing leads generated from current customers, online requests for information, personal networking opportunities and employee referral opportunities.

2. Building relationships is more important than completing transactions – how much value are you adding to each relationship? Meaningful conversations make the top-line tick. How many outbound calls per day are you making to introduce yourself, your company, your product or service? What support could you use to do this more effectively? Time well spent is spending time working your network – online and face-to-face and often.

3. Leverage the client relationships and referral sources that are right in front of you. Who do you know and who do your employees know? Better yet, who do your current clients or biggest supporters of your product or service know? Consider handwritten notes like I mentioned above. The problem with most traditional referral methods is that you have to continually keep asking. For many people this is not an easy or comfortable thing to do. Asking in person or over the phone for referrals often feels awkward or pushy. By sending out business thank you cards, you can begin to naturally and effortlessly generate referrals. I’d suggest at least 6-8 per day. Remember the 80/20 rule and focus your attention on the 20% of current customers, business partners and suppliers that bring in 80% of your business. If you need assistance with this or other customer-centric loyalty programs, please contact lisa@bateaumedia.com.

4. Action is KEY. Adjust your daily activity to one of a “true” entrepreneur and lead by example. Create technology efficiencies. Answer emails and non pertinent phone calls after business hours, not at the moment they come to you. Schedule specific times and create agendas to make calls and meetings more efficient for both parties. This means prioritize, stop procrastinating, schedule those meetings, mail the postcards and the thank you notes and oh, by the way, DO IT NOW! Later never exists, so DO IT NOW, then cross it off and enjoy less stress. Action does not need to be hard, just consistent.

5. Attitude is very important and affects employee morale and performance. If you are a solo entrepreneur, that means YOU! What you give is what you will get back. Forget the fret over past mistakes and eliminate worry over the future. Do a daily “to do” adjustment: Remove excuses such as time and money from your vocabulary and always say please and thank you. If you are having a bad moment or a bad day, eat something, take 5, take a nap, and regroup. Consider re-launching a new attitude in Q2 with your teams though individual or group coaching sessions. Empower your teams and help them gain clarity around WHY they are working for you or WHY you are in this business. What are your/their motives and how does your/their mission align with the corporate mission? Sign up for a FREE coaching session for you or one of your team members by emailing lisa@bateaumedia.com.

6. Barter, barter, barter and create win-win-win strategic partnerships.

7. Eliminate being held hostage, improve productivity, and be a happy “revenue camper” - by not wasting time and effort. If selling is not your best talent, then don’t do it. Hire someone who can! Get a fresh perspective. If it is not something you are passionate about and if you are the tech guy or the money guy, then hire someone who can communicate your passion and generate leads. Email lisa@bateaumedia.com for more information.

8. Make choices with confidence and eliminate indecisiveness by gaining clarity and having accountability. Be an “open door” this week. Host an employee roundtable or schedule random meeting with all different levels of employees. Ask yourself and your employees what resources they need to bring in more revenue and ask them to list obstacles to performance. Consider hiring an Accountability Advisor for yourself and for your teams. This will help you set goals and create a strategic plan that you actually stick to on a daily or weekly business. You may be surprised how this will help you in other areas of your life as well.

9. Build your brand by offering something unique. Add a new feature to your product or service. The best way to make more money is to be a little bit better, or have a better offer. Give free shipping or offer a gift card or something of value as a thank you to improve long –term loyalty and to generate repeat business transactions.

10. Collaborate – yes, that means sales and marketing working together. Revenue requires working towards one common goal of lead gen, nurturing relationships, managing communication and bridging the gap for prospect visibility. Nurture your leads by coordinating marketing and sales efforts for efficiency, creating more relevant pitches and understanding client behaviors across all channels.