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The interactive newsletter with action items you can implement today!
by Dianne E. Dawson, M.A.
Are you generating the revenues you should? Are you overlooking opportunities?
While there is no pat definition of what you "should" be generating, there are factors to consider to make sure you are on the right track.
One of my clients, the Marketing Director of a small Internet company on the West Coast, was overlooking a customer base right in her own back yard!
The company offers software products that allow website owners to easily add specific features to their websites. The company also offers web design and hosting services. After going through a process, we discovered that there was no cross-selling taking place - customers of the web design services weren't being offered the software products. The company had gone after an entirely different market for the software, overlooking a customer base right in their own back yard.
It's easy to miss opportunities that are right under you nose.
Here are five areas that, when handled properly, could lead to a boost in your revenues. Think through the answers to the questions (scroll down for the questions). You may have revenues in your back yard, too!
- Target the right client/customer
- Check your capacity
- Fine-tune your product/service mix
- Evaluate your focus
- Review your pricing strategy
Target the right client/customer
Your great product or service won't sell if you are targeting the wrong person.
- Do you have a client/customer profile?
- How did you select your target market?
- Do they want the services/products you are offering?
- Can they afford your services?
- How are you reaching your target market? Do they know the range of your services?
- What is your capacity?
- In other words, how many services can you provide in a week/month if customers were banging at your door?
- How many products can you actually deliver/distribute?
- Be reasonable about the number of hours you would put in to make this happen.
- Is your business scalable?
- Do you work alone or do you have employees (how productive are they)?
- How are you using your time? Can you outsource small or administrative tasks?
- Back to scalability.
Example: E-book revenues require no real work after the book is written and posted to the Internet. Workshop revenues are limited by things like room size, your ability to travel, cost to produce, or hours in the day.
- What are you not offering that your clients need?
- Are there services or products that would compliment your offerings?
- Have you limited your services based on what you think others will buy without really knowing?
- Do you offer enough variation in your product/service to meet the needs of potential clients?
- Are you spending the bulk of your time promoting and delivering a service that does not have high profit potential?
- What is your sales history (amounts, customers, trends [months, weeks, days])?
- What sells well? Why? What does not sell well? Why?
- Are you cross-selling? Up-selling?
- How have you priced your products and services? What strategy are you using? How does it fit into your overall strategy?
- What is the net profit for each product or service (Be careful about assuming that if you didn't outlay cash to provide the service that it's all profit.)
- How have you packaged your services? Can you bundle?
Coach's Comment
What three questions on the list above would make an immediate difference in your revenues if you were to address them now? Print out this page and highlight those three questions. Jot your thoughts in the margin. Not sure how to proceed? Click here to arrange a complimentary coaching session. We'll talk about your unique situation and formulate strategies you can put in place the same day. This free 30-minute strategy session is available only to subscribers of "Tips for Business Success". I'll talk to you soon!
Dialogue
I'd like to get some feedback from you! After reviewing this article, what was the highlight for you? What did you see or think of that made a difference for you? Send me your comments. Your feedback is appreciated!
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Dianne E. Dawson, M.A., Principal of Dawson Resources, LLC and founder of VirtualBusinessIncubator, is a Business Coach working with highly motivated business owners and self-employed professionals who want to significantly increase business growth, profitability, and client retention. She has an International coaching practice. dianne@dawsonresources.comReprints: You have permission to reprint this article in its entirety, including attribututions. You may not alter the article or attribution. Please send an e-mail with the link to the webpage where this article is reprinted.
You may visit her websites at http://www.virtualbusinessincubator.com and http://www.dawsonresources.com
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