Sticking Points.  What’s keeping you from achieving the growth, business success and prosperity you deserve? 

Do you ever wonder why some businesses seem to succeed with almost no effort, while others seem to require Herculean efforts and constant attention?

I know I do!

A few years ago, I began sharing what I did to grow 5 successful businesses with a select group of people in my high end training and mentoring programs. I use the exact same principles as I teach in the program, to run consulting projects with a few select clients each year.

Some of the results have been astounding - everything from making an extra $14,000 from a single idea in my newsletter to growing a business from $2,000,000 per year in sales to more than $6,000,000 in just under 2 years. 

The ability for some business owners to create MASSIVE and FAST business growth not only made me very proud, but also very curious.

• Was there something specific causing this level of success?
• What sort of things get in the way of success?
• Why are some very ordinary people successful with seemingly simple business ideas?
• Why are some brilliant people with great business ideas unable to achieve their goals?
• What are the things that slow people down and sap their profits and cash flow?

In looking at these successes and failures, I’ve found there are several “Sticking Points” which trip up smart business owners and undermine their success.

What I now see, is that to grow a successful business, requires you to understand what these sticking points are and to put plans in place to overcome them.

The good news is that these sticking points are relatively few and most are relatively easy to deal with. A few require some diligence and focussed work, most require a bit of thinking and some change in behaviour.

On May 5th I am running a public seminar called:
“Sticking Points.  What’s Keeping You from Achieving the Profits and Business Success you Deserve?”

Register right away to attend this seminar and I’ll underwrite your attendance, so you can attend for free. register now.

3. Increase Frequency of Purchases

(Helping clients buy more often.)

If customers can be persuaded to purchase more frequently, the impact on your bottom line is immediate. Again the tactics are seldom complex and can be borrowed from personal selling.
One of the most effective tactics is to find other products and services that your customers need once they have your product. For example, one company selling bottled water to offices, now offers other beverages and snacks. Instead of buying monthly, many of its customers now buy weekly.

If you can program customers to buy regularly, you create an annuity. Some music companies do exactly this with their affinity programs. They offer a fantastic deal up front on condition you buy at least one CD a month from them. This way a $20 occasional buyer turns into a $240 customer.
If your products or services are ordered or consumed several times a year, another option is to program the purchases your customers make. For example, if you are a florist, you could offer your customers a special deal where you supply flowers to a specified list of people with birthdays and anniversaries for a fixed price covering a certain number of deliveries each year.

This gives you cash up front so you can afford to offer a generous discount for advance payment. As well, it saves the customer from having to remember the dates and making the necessary arrangements each time flowers are sent.

The easiest time to sell something to customers occurs when they are already buying. You just have to bring it to their attention, make the offer attractive and make it really easy to do business with you.
Customers will come back more often to buy the additional products and services you now offer. Try it next time a customer is buying from your Web site or calls in response to an advertisement.
All businesses have additional services that can be offered. Sometimes it requires a little imagination, but usually there are items which can be added even if they are not items you normally offer. If these items are what customers need, they are appreciative of your help.
If you don’t want to go to the trouble of handling these additional products and services, it is very effective to leverage your customer base by writing to your customers andrecommending someone else’s product you think they will appreciate. You can negotiate a cut of the profits and your partner gets access to your customer base without your having to give up the database.
This kind of tactic has a high level of success because in most cases, your customers have your trust and will be happy to try something you suggest. The key here is selecting a reputable and trustworthy partner.
One of the most overlooked opportunities is staying in regular contact with existing customers. This can be by phone, letter or e-mail.
It is a simple matter to write to them and tell them how much you value their business, educate them about your value and offer them some special offer available only to your best customers. This kind of communication is very inexpensive, pays for itself quickly and is one of the easiest tactics to implement.