5 Things Entrepreneurs Can Do to Explode Their Businesses in Q2

Guest Post By: Rachel Wilson Thibodeaux

You may have noticed March is over, spring is in the air (at least in some places), and the second quarter of 2017 is here. Whether you’re ready or not.

You know where you are with your business goals. Did you do what you set out to do in Q1? Did you experience the kind of growth you wanted, i.e. sales, clients, referrals, income? If you don’t know the answers to those questions, that’s another issue. Just saying.

Whether your Q1 was awesome or not, let’s make sure Q2 is even better. Entrepreneurs, particularly women and service-based who I primarily work with, can get caught up in a lot of activity. Not necessarily effective activity mind you.  No, we can get caught up in busy work that takes time away from doing the most important things that really move the needle in our businesses and grow our brands. I assure you there is another way.

Here are 5 key actions entrepreneurs, small business owners, and brand builders can take to explode their results in Q2 and beyond:

1. Review your goals daily, or at least daily-ish. I cannot say enough about keeping our goals front and center. Hard to do if we never look at them. It’s harder if they’re tucked away in an old notebook or in a dark drawer somewhere. Keep your goals handy and review them a LOT. Shark Tank co-host, investor, bestselling author, and branding expert Daymond John says he looks at his goals twice a day – once in the morning and again before going to bed. With a net worth over $250M, a successful clothing line that has intersected fashion, culture, and music, multiple bestselling books, and more, it appears this practice just may be helping him.
2. Follow up. Yes I’ve said this before and will continue to say it. It’s that important, and I continue to come across too many business owners who suck at it. Make it a priority to follow up with prospects, existing clients, potential referral partners, mentors, anyone you know you should be following up with. Ideally, you should be following up with people within 48 hrs. If it’s been much longer, you can still follow up. You may have to remind them (or yourself) how you guys met. People who have a genuine interest in what you do or offer want to hear from you. Please keep in mind it takes 5-7 “touches” (or contact) to close a sale. It can take more for high-ticket services. Yet, so many fail to follow up more than twice – if at all. Really? Not only are you leaving money on the table, but on the desk, the dresser, the counter, and most importantly, in your prospects’ wallets.
3. Seek to connect with at least 20-25 new people each week. Sound like a lot? It’s not if you combine attending 1-2 quality networking events each week with online networking. You could do this just on social media, but I prefer to incorporate both online and offline strategies. Connecting with more people, week after week, month after month, can do wonders for growing your network and generating leads. It provides more opportunities to spread the word about your brand.
4. Launch and/or promote something. If you have not already launched (or relaunched) something this year, it’s time to do so. If you have, promote the heck out of it. Make sure people know about it – more than once (see #2). Putting something out there, especially if on social media, once or twice is typically not enough. You need to go all in. Don’t just mention features. Make sure you’re addressing the benefits of your product, service, or event. Highlight the desired outcome from your offering that is a good fit for your target audience. Warning: somewhat shameless plug ahead >> My new book, Sell. Profit.™: Slay Your Brand, Sell Like a Champ, and Profit Like a Boss will go into more depth on selling. It connects the dots between building a powerful brand and the bottom line. This is not your typical business book folks. Available now on pre-sale, you can reserve your copy at www.bit.ly/bspbook
5. Shift your mindset as well as what you say. Ever hear someone say, “making money is easy?” Did you believe them or give them the side-eye? Do you believe growing your business is easy? Do you believe people are clamoring to talk to and work with you? If your answer to any of these questions is no, a change is needed. Even if you don’t totally buy into it yet, start believing and declaring in what you’d like to see happen. Making money may be a struggle for you because you keep saying that it is. Getting more ideal clients who cannot get enough of your products and services may not be happening, because you’ve convinced yourself you’re not ready, there is too much competition, or some other excuse that’s likely untrue. You keep asking limiting, defeated questions like, “why is this so hard?” Why is it not happening for me? Will things ever turn around? Change those questions to reflect what you’d like to happen. Believe and behave as if success (or much more) is your current reality. What we focus on grows. Focus on explosive results and get explosive results. Focus on crap and…you get the idea.

If you do just three of these, persistently and consistently, you should see a difference. I dare you to do all five. Then let me know your results. I promise not to say, “I told you so.” Well maybe.

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©2017 by Rachel Wilson Thibodeaux. All Rights Reserved. Rachel Wilson Thibodeaux, also known online as the SWAG Strategist, is an award-winning speaker, brand and business strategist, bestselling author and founder of SWAG Strategy Solutions (SWAG -Strategic Women Achieve Growth). For more information and FREE resources, visit her website at www.swagstrategy.com