Tag: Tips For Small Business Owners

6 Tips on How to Grow a Small Business

July 30, 2022 / Frank Nez / 1 Comment

Published by FrankNez Team.

Building a small business means working round the clock. No real vacations, no time offs, and no dumping the responsibility over someone else’s shoulder.

We’re not sure why you chose the grind.

But now that you have, we’d like to congratulate you.

You’ve made a bold move because only 5% of the world’s population chooses entrepreneurship.

It’s surely a tough journey.

But if you do it right, it’s just as rewarding.

In this post, we will cover 6 tips that can help ease your early days and help you lay a strong, unshakeable foundation to grow your business successfully.

1. Know that you’re running a small business, not a one-person business

Speaking of 2022, one of the most common mistakes people make when they begin a small business is that they assume they have to do it all on their own.

They do so with the intent of saving more and having complete control.

That’s a destructive approach unless you’re running a one-person business.

Finances, marketing, product management, customer service, and resource management are all different and demanding domains.

If you hold yourself responsible for everything, there’s a high chance you’re going to mess things up and burn yourself out.

Consequently, you may lose your existing customers, waste investments, and lose health.

Your business will suffer instead of growing.

So, one of the first things you should do when trying to grow a small business is to accept that you need help and build a team to help with your business goals.

2. Know your financial options

For a small business to grow, it needs funds.

Many entrepreneurs choose to go the debt route by taking out loans or using credit cards.

While this is a viable option, it’s not the only one and definitely not the smartest in the long term.

Small business growth hacking is all about minimizing risks.

So, instead of taking on additional debt, consider these financial options:

Crowdfunding: This is a great option if you have a solid product/service and an audience that’s willing to invest in your business.
Family and friends: You can always approach your loved ones for financial help. Just make sure you have a proper structure in place and treat it like a business deal by creating contracts, specifying interest rates (if any), and having a clear repayment plan.
Grants: Check with the government or other organizations for business grants that you may be eligible for.

You can follow this link to learn more about financing a new growing business.

3. Aim for a small, dedicated, and resourceful team

If you’ve been smart enough to realize the need for teamwork in growing your business, there’s another common mistake you need to look out for — building a big team.

And we mean that both in terms of quality and quantity.

You don’t need to hire big names (i.e., the best professionals in the industry), and you don’t need to hire a lot of people.

Instead, consider hiring only a handful of energized people. Prioritize soft skills, field knowledge, and professionalism over field experience.

If they’re good at learning and have a dedicated drive to work, they can help you make your business a success.

Remember, you can teach technical skills, but you cannot teach soft skills. If the person is skilled at what they do but not dedicated to work, they can only keep your business running.

They’ll never help you grow it because they won’t be interested in going the extra mile. So, look for people with the right drive.

Also, initially, it’s a good idea to hire someone who can take care of 2-3 roles instead of one. The smaller your team, the better you’ll be able to communicate and innovate.

4. Build a strong online presence

how to grow a small business with social media — How to help a small business grow.

Digital presence is a great opportunity for any business in the 21st century.

Even if your target audience lives in your vicinity, it’s essential to establish a website and maintain active social media pages.

Why? Because:

It builds credibility and helps you become an authority in the industry
It eases customer experience as they can approach you without leaving their home
It serves as a gateway to potential partnerships and investments

And the best part?

It’s much cheaper than physical advertisements.

You can begin marketing your business on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube simply by creating and sharing relevant content for your target audience without any substantial investment.

Here are some easy marketing hacks to help kick-start your small business’s online growth.

5. Build a blog

how to help a small business grow — How to help a small business grow.

Blogs are also a part of your online presence. But if we were to recommend one aspect of digital marketing that can boost your small business’s growth by leaps and bounds, it would be blogging.

How so? Well, blogs help you build customer relationships and generate leads.

Basically, people read blogs to learn something new. When you share bits of your business and educate them about subjects relevant to your product/service, it helps them trust you and regard you as an authority.

It also helps them view you as an approachable and customer-friendly entity when they interact via comments or emails.

Plus, if you link your blog with an analytics tool, you can monitor the traffic and get some very useful data to generate leads. You can further narrow down your target audience or market your service/product to them via email marketing.

Now, blogging need not be on websites only. You can maintain a blog wherever you’re likely to find the majority of your audience. If you target other business owners or CEOs, it’s a good idea to maintain a blog on LinkedIn.

**Bluehost** – **now starting at $2.95/mo.**

Plus, this approach is highly resource effective. It takes only about 30 minutes to share something valuable with your target audience (no need to go fancy, use free tools like Canva to design graphics and pair them with value-adding content).

If you’re blogging on a social channel like LinkedIn, you will have minimal platform costs. And if you have a website, you’ll only have to pay around $20 – $60 monthly.

Related: Blog Like a Champ in 2022: Easy Beginners Guide

6. Keep a close eye on competitors

Small business owners often make the mistake of assuming it’s too early to compete.

But once you’ve entered a market, you’re already in the competition.

Do not hold yourself back by either thinking too less or too much of yourself.

You’re in the field and are just as equal.

So, make sure to regularly conduct competitor analysis and learn from their flaws and strengths.

A key tip to boost your growth by 10x is to look for that one complaint that your competitor receives frequently and fails to address.

Good luck!

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How To Reach $10K Per Month In Sales

June 5, 2020 / Frank Nez

If you’re a sales rep or business owner looking to reach the $10K mark we have you covered. We’re going to dive deep and present the strategies that allow this amazing goal to be attained no matter what industry you’re in. Here’s how to reach $10K per month in sales.

Target Specific Companies

In my eBook you’ll learn that I wasn’t doing much of this at first. I was instructed to contact as many companies as possible until business came in through our doors.

While persistence is certainly going to be a major component to reaching this goal (or any goal), targeting specific companies will work better than reaching a ton of random companies within your industry.

Target Specific Companies To Reach $10K Per Month In Sales

Target specific companies if you want to reach the $10K mark and don’t stop following up until you’re presented with an opportunity. You can target companies who are local in order to offer the convenience of proximity or you can target industry leaders. Be clear about what you want your clientele to look like.

Don’t be surprised if you build a clientele consisting of several small companies but aren’t reaching $10K per month in sales yet. While small companies are always welcome, aim for a big client that can generate at least half your monthly goal in sales to reach your mark faster.

Imagine having two of these or even three plus! Luck is on your side if you land a client that surpasses this mark.

The question is can you keep the client? Do you have what it takes to retain the client? Read: 6 Amazing Strategies To Retain Your Best Clients. On to the next strategies!

Tip: Always aim big.

Create A Client Database

Create a client database to stay organized. Your database allows you to see your sales pipeline and who you need to continue to reach out to. Your best bet is to create one using Microsoft Excel and customizing it to your liking. A client database is perfect for:

Managing the status of prospects
Taking notes (when to call back, last discussion, etc.)
Keeping track of your growing customers
Eliminating dead companies (do not call)
Targeting specific companies

These databases allow us to be aware of our progress in sales. When you’ve chosen your targeted companies, put them down in your ever-growing database so you can focus on them accordingly.

Deliver Exceptional Customer Service

Your customer service skills will make you either a likeable or dislikeable person. Learn to read your clients as you don’t want to be overly enthusiastic if your client is more of an introvert. Adjust your tone and delivery for each individual so that you personalize the way you speak to your clients.

Put yourself in your clients shoes. Would you rather work with someone bland who’s job it is to put up with you or would you rather work with someone who seems eager to help you meet your vision?

It’s these simple modifications that allow people to reach $10K per month in sales and beyond the mark. People are already dealing with so much outside of work and the last thing they want to deal with is a somber business partner. Make the client remember you for your exceptional customer service.

Tip: Don’t put on a show, be genuine. Really learn to connect with your clients in order to build amazing and long lasting partnerships.

Provide Amazing Quality

You can talk the game but you also have to walk the game. In order for you to be a top seller, your product or service must be of quality work; especially if you just closed a new account.

You’ve managed to talk your way into closing a sale, now you must deliver on your word with the quality of your service or product. Amazing quality will take you to the $10K mark quick as it will earn you a reputation for your work.

Think of food as an example; no one goes back for crappy food. People keep coming back for the stuff that tastes amazing. We especially love when the food looks, smells, and tastes great so make sure people keep coming back to you due to your quality of work.

Tip: If you aren’t producing quality work then invest in your company a little more to equip yourself with the necessary tools to make this happen. Think long-term.

Network With More Reps

Networking with your clients colleagues will make a worlds difference when it comes to reaching the $10K mark. It is not enough to only work with one rep from a company, especially if it’s a big company. Work your way into being referred to more reps within the company so you can begin to increase your sales.

It’s great to close a new account but what you’re doing there is adding to your client database instead of multiplying it. If you want to reach $10K per month in sales you’ll have to multiply the number of reps you do business with.

Here are some benefits of networking with more reps:

If a rep leaves the company you will still have business
People know your name which means you will consistently be referred
You are receiving orders from this company no matter who the rep is which means your sales increase
Loyalty begins to form | Loyalty = Long-Term Partnerships

Build Relationships With Existing Clients

Not all companies will become loyal, but building great relationships with your existing clients will mean you will always have work as long as they’re in business. The relationships you have with your clients determine how long they do business with you.

Often times, people are too careless to build relationships with their clients and end up losing the client when a competitor takes such action instead. Humans are social for the most part and we like to engage.

Treat your clients like the individuals they are and never take their business for granted. Chances are someone else out there is fighting for their business and you can believe they are starting by trying to build a relationship with them.

The question is are you going to let someone else take your client or are you going to stop taking their business for granted? Keep them close and you’ll begin to reach $10K per month in sales in no time.

Take Walk-Ins To Make More Money

Take Walk-Ins To Reach $10K Per Month In Sales

I’ve personally known reps who don’t really care for walk-in sales. They’d rather pass them to someone else or eventually end up neglecting them. Treat walk-ins like any other customer and take as many as you can.

Walk-ins have the potential to continue to give you business even if it’s once or twice a year. Besides, they’re also great at referring you to other people who might one day need your service or product.

Tip: Every sale and every dollar has a mission to reach $10K per month in sales.

Reach Out To Your Clients Competitors

Your clients competitors are in the same league as your clients. Reach out to your clients competitors to gain more ‘same-size’ clients. This strategy is great way to reach $10K per month in sales due to servicing a broad range of clients similar to yours.

Owler allows you to look up your clients and see who their competitors are. It’s an amazing platform to use when reaching out to new business. The website shows you approximately how many employees businesses have and how much they gross yearly. Remember, you got this from Frank Nez. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter!

Overcommunicate

Overcommunicating is a great way to let your clients know how attentive you are. It shows your commitment to the service you’re providing and lets them know you care about their experience using your company.

When you overcommunicate you also eliminate any possibilities of coming across any discrepancies. This form of action is very important when setting your goal to reach $10K per month in sales. It allows you to:

Avoid mistakes or discrepancies
Retain your clients due to the great service
Continue to build relationships with your clients
Be the number one person of choice for said product or service

Tip: Don’t be intimidated to ask as many questions as you have in order to make sure the project or product meets the clients vision.

Stop Undercharging

If you want to reach $10K per month in sales you’re going to have to stop undercharging. Don’t be that person who people go to just because you’re cheaper than your competition, it will only get you so far.

If you haven’t reached $10K per month in sales yet this is going to be a big reason why. You might be overworking yourself for a fraction of the what the project is worth only to land the job. Charge fairly so that you can make money too.

Tip: Learn to identify which clients can pay a little more vs those who are on a tighter budget. Don’t be afraid to increase your prices a litter every year (especially walk-ins).

Don’t Be Afraid To Seek Help

Seek internal help within your company to see what advice you can receive from your colleagues. Talk to your sales director and gain knowledge. What motivated me was seeing how much the sales director was selling! Of course, they are much older but it’s that experience that provides us with insight to the unknown.

Don’t be afraid to seek help from your sales team. Find ways to learn something new from everyone in your circle.

Keep Yourself Motivated In Order To Reach $10K Per Month In Sales

Reaching The $10K Mark
How To Reach $10K Per Month In Sales

Keep yourself motivated by reading books or watching mentors online. It is important to fuel yourself by maintaining focus through material that inspires you to continue to work towards your goals.

I self-published an eBook specifically for my readers who are looking to further grow their sales and reach that $10K mark.

In this short story, I break down the challenges I faced through my own struggle to reach the $10k mark. A goal that whenever was within reach would dissipate due to unforeseen circumstances.

The pushback in this eBook is described as crashing waves that eventually led to being washed ashore. This inspiring and motivating eBook captures the world of every aspiring seller striving to make it big in their sales career.

My eBook is completely free if you’re part of Kindle Unlimited. Be sure to add it to your collection and review it for others as well. You can get your copy here.

Reach The $10K Mark By Being Persistent

You will face setbacks, it’s just part of life. What’s important is the actions you take upon receiving the pushback. It’s about how you pick yourself up that determines your success rate. If you aren’t reaching your goal and you’re thinking of quitting or settling, go back to the drawing board and continue to persist.

In my eBook I go into detail about the pushback I faced when setting myself up to accomplish this goal. I talk about wanting to quit when things simply weren’t happening for me. Let me tell you something right now; it’s possible.

We must never let the waves crashing down on us to destroy our will. Even when we’re washed ashore.
frank nez (Reaching The $10K mark)

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