WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS - Blog

Think "free" first! Make your marketing budget go further

In these challenging times it's more important than ever that we make our marketing budgets go further.

What if I told you that I've spent less than £250 on advertising in the past 7 years? Yet I've never been without paying clients - even in a crowded market and even in a recession!

One of my first business mentors got all his students to always think of the no cost options first. This is particularly important when you're in the start-up phase of your business. Yet some people can make the mistake of throwing away their marketing budget on unfocused advertising.

If you've been following my posts for a while, or have signed up for my newsletter and bonus Special Reports (See blue box on the top right of this blog) you'll know that the marketing and business advice I give concentrates on the low cost and no cost options. If you're self employed or have a micro business, then traditional marketing and advertising is not the best option. What works for big brands is unlikely to work for a self employed service professional. So hold onto your marketing budget and learn what you can do using time rather than money!

It Pays to Love Your Business!

I was working with a client recently who was feeling a bit down about the current economic climate and the effect the down turn was having on her particular business. As we talked, I realised that she was actually feeling almost resentful towards her own business. It felt as if her business had let her down and now she was feeling demotivated at the very time she wanted to rev things up a notch.

What turned things around for her was when I asked her to do a simple sentence completion exercise. If the problem was that she was feeling resentful towards her business, I wondered what would happen if she changed that feeling of resentment to love!

Yes I know I usually teach very practical marketing tips, but your mindset is the single most important aspect of running a successful business. It impacts on everything you do. Humour me and do the following short exercise. If you've been feeling any of that negativity and resentment towards your own business, try writing several endings to this sentence:

"If I really loved my business I would...................." Try to find at least ten different things - 20 would be even better! Can you feel the shift in your energy? This simple exercise can help you refocus on what really matters and can jump start your motivation again.

Invest in your business

When was the last time you invested in growing your business?

Have you been on any training courses lately, or read any books that would give you new ideas for your business? One of my own business mentors spends a huge proportion of her income on learning with the best in the business. This really works for her because she is now  close to being a dollar millionaire and that's annually!

OK, most of us don't have huge amounts to spend on training courses and expensive marketing gurus, but there are  still lots of ways we can invest in our businesses - some that cost money and others that cost time.

Brian Tracy, one of the most successful business and sales experts in the world, recommends reading for at least an hour a day in your specialist subject. This way he says, you can quickly become an established expert because most of your competitors will be too busy to set this time aside.

I like to have my own copies of books so I can mark them and highlight them without getting arrested, but just about anything can be ordered through the local library.

New skills can either be learned or outsourced, depending on budget. Even as sole traders we don't have to do everything ourselves.

Nervous in the current economic climate? Keep on marketing

Now is not the time to be a shrinking violet! Keep right on marketing. I know it's scary when household names go to the wall, but as small business owners we're in a really good position. We can trim costs off our business and still remain viable, and if we don't employ any staff it's even easier for us to keep on going even with a tighter budget.

So try to remain optimistic. Don't batten down the hatches waiting for this to pass because the people who'll succeed and not just survive, but thrive and still be there at the end of this crisis are the people who have continued to market and keep their business profile high. Pick the lower cost options but keep right on marketing.

MONEY MATTERS

Money is still rather a taboo subject with many people! We may discuss the most personal details of our lives, but it just isn't "the done thing" to talk about money. As business owners we need to get over this one. We are in business to make money and to make a profit, so we need to get confident in this area. One of the toughest challenges for a new business owner is to get comfortable talking about money and, most importantly, naming your price.

Money is an area where many small business owners struggle for one reason or another. Money brings up all sorts of issues for all sorts of reasons Charging what you're worth is a reflection of self worth. At some point as a self employed professional you're going to have to bite the bullet and name your price.

It's a thorny issue and many, many people are undercharging and undervaluing their services. We're so used to being paid for our time that we often forget to factor in the value of the service we provide.

The work we do can make an enormous difference to people's lives, or to a company's bottom line or its staff retention. But whatever area we work in, as long as we continue to price ourselves simply by the hour, people just hear the price and not the value.

 A real confidence booster is to make a list of the results your clients achieve through working with you. And if you can put an approximate monetary value or quality of life value on that, so much the better.

For instance, supposing you work with busy career women with children and you help them achieve a better work/life balance. This means they get to spend more quality time with their families. Who can put a price on that one? So think about these things and make your own list.

Sometimes as self employed people we may not pay enough attention to money. We can tend to ignore it until we can't ignore it - if you see what I mean! Having a very clear idea of your incomings and outgoings can help you to feel more confident.

Even if you just write down in a notebook what you spend on the business and what you have coming into the business and from what sources, it's a start. Keep a simple log with a running total - preferably weekly, and certainly monthly.

I recommend getting an Accountant or a book keeper to keep you on track. Feeling in control of your money can be a major confidence booster.

Ideally we will keep a very firm grasp on our spending, but not be so mean and penny pinching that we never invest in our businesses!

Women especially can feel uncomfortable naming the price of their product or service. The key thing to do at this stage in the conversation is to name your price - and then shut up! Don't make excuses, don't apologise and don't offer a discount.

Remember to highlight the benefits and results your service or product can offer and be ready to answer any questions. Try not to get involved in a pricing conversation before you've had this benefits and results conversation.

Fortunately, naming your price gets easier with practice. Knowing the true value, rather than just the cost of what you offer, is a major step towards having the courage and confidence to ask for what you're worth - and getting it. Being paid what you are really worth is in itself a fantastic confidence booster.