Business Startup for Moms PART 2: Business Systems for Mom Entrepreneurs
Once you have built the beginnings of your business, the next step is to create repeatable systems that will help you cover all of your business, personal and family bases. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the business aspect. Systems reduce anxiety and help you focus on the customer experience and financial growth.
As soon as your business plan is written and your biz entity is set up, you will want to start thinking about acquiring leads, turning them into clients and keeping them in your marketing efforts to continue buying from you. Statistics say it is 6 times easier to make a sale to clients who have previously made a purchase. So, keep that in mind when thinking about systems for growth. Always seek to attract new clients while building relationships with existing clients through systems that involve spreading the love (emails, phone calls, satisfaction surveys, handwritten notes of congrats, flowers, special promotions etc)
The first system that you will put into place is client attraction. What are your top three methods for capturing the interest of your ideal client? Unfortunately the “if you build it, they will come” mentality doesn’t work in business. It would be really cool if it did, but it doesn’t. So, we need to let people know that our businesses are not only here, but how we can help our target audience.
Marketing is another word for client attraction. Some business owners focus mainly on online marketing to find new clients. Online marketing can include utilizing social media, video, pay per click ads, e-newsletters, press releases and webinars. Choose the most effective method for reaching your ideal clients by testing and tracking your efforts. (Sign up for my mailing list if you want to receive a Monthly Client Attraction Marketing Strategy Planning template.)
Offline marketing is often overlooked by a lot of entrepreneurs, but it is a very effective form of client attraction as well. Offline marketing techniques include direct mail, speaking engagements and radio and television appearances. (I’m not an expert in offline marketing, but if you need resources, email me or comment below and I can send you some amazing resources.)
No matter what your strategy for client attraction is, you have to put a system in place to engage leads that you attract. And yup, you guessed it…
This is called your client engagement system.To get visitors to your website to engage with you, there will need to be an opt-in form that allows you to collect names and email addresses. It should be placed above the fold (so you don’t have to scroll down on the page) on your website. An offline client engagement system might include a phone recording where you collect email addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses. An increasing list of interested buyers is essential to the growth of your business.
“Even in such technical lines as engineering, about 15% of one’s financial success is due one’s technical knowledge and about 85% is due to skill in human engineering, to personality and the ability to lead people. “
-Dale Carnegie
Once you get the attention of your ideal clients, how will you engage them so that they buy from you?
Will you write a phone script to create a system for selling them on your services? Will you send them a series of emails? Will you mail them a monthly printed newsletter? What is the BEST way for you to connect with your ideal client?The only way to know is to try a few, test them and track your results. This is a critical part of understanding how to get the right eye balls on you. From there, it is about establishing a relationship with your audience BEFORE they will buy from you by giving them results up front (from your online and offline opt in offers). If you can create a gift when someone opts in that will help them to achieve desired results before they buy anything from you at all, you will set yourself up for a much easier sales process.
If you can give results for free, people will be lining up to buy from you! Think about that.
Once a lead purchases your product or service, they move into the client services system where you will deliver the product or service to them. It is within this system that you will not only execute order fulfillment, but you will also deliver gratitude emails, phone calls, follow up emails, hand written notes, referral and testimonial requests, and customer satisfaction surveys.
What other elements can you put into place to ensure a positive user experience for your business?Ok, now once a client makes a purchase, do you have a system in place to keep them coming back for more? This is called client retention. Again, it is six times easier to sell something to a customer who has already bought from you, so focus a good amount of time on this system and keep at it.
Testing, tracking, making adjustments… Sending surveys, tracking traffic, paying attention and documenting everything!Actions like sending hand written birthday cards, coupons for preferred clients, follow up surveys and check in phone calls can be easily scheduled into your calendar and can keep you firmly on the radar of your best clients.
Launch your business with the preparation for when clients will be rolling in the door on a consistent basis. To do this, make sure your financial systems are set up to record all bills that need to be paid, payments that need to be received, financial projections and revenue growth planning. Your chart of accounts will help you to keep all of this information in order, but having a bookkeeper and an accountant to work with on a regular basis will help this system to perform so that you can focus on creating great products and offering exceptional service.
(BTW, if you need a referral for these services, comment below or shoot me an email and I am happy to refer some great service providers to you! It can be hard to know how to find the right person for the job. Referrals give you somewhere to start.)Last but not least, to grow a successful business, you will need a team that supports your vision and your growth. As you assemble team members (virtual assistant, bookkeeper, lawyer, web developer, etc) make sure that their values are in alignment with yours and that they understand and believe in your ultimate vision.
If your ultimate vision and theirs are complimentary, you are much more likely to have a devoted and happy team.Protect yourself with NDAs and service agreements as part of your team management system. Ensure that your team members feel supported by you by incorporating satisfaction and feedback surveys as well as hand written notes and phone calls of thanks and congratulations for a job well done.
Stay tuned for Part 3: Self Care and Success Strategies for Moms
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