Shall we talk about the dementor in the room?
No, it’s not just you – business is a little slower than usual.
The economy, the cost of living and an impending recession mean that consumers are more discerning with how they spend their money right now. It’s not to say they’re not buying – it’s just at the moment, sales aren’t as fast and free-flowing as they once were.
There’s a common theme in the conversations I’m having with other business owners and I want to first reassure you that it’s not just you.
And what I know to be true is when I’m having the same conversation with multiple people, that means there are more of you out there feeling the exact same way. And I never want anyone to feel like they’re alone in what they’re going through.
Most business owners I’ve spoken to are also experiencing a slower start to the year – slower sales, slower launches, increased decision time and lower engagement. So, now you can exhale knowing it’s not just you!
Secondly, I want to share what this means for you. Because you don’t have to sit in the fear and uncertainty and let it consume you. It’s the perfect time to get proactive about where you’re spending your time in your business and what you’re going to do to navigate the current landscape.
4 things to focus on right now to keep building momentum and making money in your business
First things first – don’t freak out! Just because business is slow right now, doesn’t mean you should throw your business in the bin! If you plan on being in business for the long term, you gotta expect quiet periods from time to time.
Not every season will be big, expansive growth! And I’d argue that how you spend the quieter, slower periods in business is what sets you up for that big, expansive growth in the future.
The businesses that will continue to move forward, to grow and to make sales despite everything going on external to their business, are those who are smart and intentional with how they spend their time right now.
1. Your current client experience
Instead of focusing on the people who aren’t spending their money with you – focus on those who ARE. Client retention is a whole lot easier (and more cost-effective) than trying to convert new clients.
When you provide an epic client experience – you create your very own army of loyal clients who tell every Harry, Ron and Hermione about you and why they need to buy from you. They will shout your name from the rooftops without you having to ask them to. It’s your very own in-built marketing team.
When sales are slow find ways to further nurture your current client relationships
For example, this could look like:
- Creating an additional resource or training for your past and current clients
- Adding an additional touchpoint of support
- Love-bombing clients with a voice-notes of support
Recently I’ve been feeling called to bring my wizarding community back together. So those wizards who’d previously signed up for the School of Content Wizardry or Become a Launch Wizard (or both) are invited to The Council of Magic Mastermind Sessions.
This is a free monthly session for them to come together and can ask me anything about business, content, launching (or whatever they’re currently navigating in your business). It’s my way of supporting the people who’ve always supported me.
This is your reminder to not overlook those existing relationships because you’re too focused on the drop in new sales.
2. Re-evaluate and refine the parts of your business that have the biggest impact
Remember when you first started your business, you said you didn’t have the time to do things like:
a) Start your email list and create an epic lead magnet to attract magical humans into your community
or
b) Invest in a course to upskill your content, launch, marketing or sales process
or
c) Create and implement processes and systems in your business to save yourself even more time
…Remember that?
With business a little slower than usual, now you have the time. Use it to re-evaluate and refine the things in your business that will actually help you to take your business to the next level.
For example, this could look like:
- Going over your sales pages and updating the copy
- Writing a nurture sequence for your freebie that directs new subscribers to take a certain action (aka book a call, or buy from you)
- Create a repeatable launch process
My biggest recommendation for you here is to review and refine your messaging. As I mentioned earlier, people are taking longer to make purchase decisions so your messaging needs to be on fucking point – how you position and market your business and your brand matters.
So I’d take this opportunity to tap into your audience and do a little market research to see what your ideal clients are experiencing, navigating and feeling and then from that insight decide how you can support them.
3. Create an irresistible offer that solves one specific problem
Use your market research to create an offer that’s an easy yes for your ideal clients. Something that’s a complete no-brainer – take my goddamn money.
If you haven’t already – I highly recommend listening to episode 95 of the How I Do Content Podcast where I share more on creating an in-demand offer that sells out (and fast!)
The episode covers:
- Creating a quick win for your ideal clients
- Creating a cash injection for you
Use downtime to identify how you can build momentum and money in your business quickly
This could look like:
- Creating a shorter version (or taste test) of your high-ticket offer
- Creating a mini-course on a hot topic
- Bundling some resources as a digital product
- Running a group or 1:1 intensive
The most important thing to remember here is to understand your ideal clients and what they’re experiencing at this moment in time, and then create something bespoke to support them. We never create anything just because we need a quick cash injection, okay?!
4. Keep selling
I often hear “no one is buying so I’m going to stop sharing my offer so I don’t annoy them” … BIG MISTAKE!
For the love of dogs, DON’T STOP SELLING!
The businesses who will successfully ride out this period will be those who keep showing up, adding value and sharing their offers. It’ll be those businesses who can tweak and shift their marketing and sales to meet their ideal clients where they’re at. They’re the ones who will remain top of mind and be rewarded when those funds start flowing again.
Don’t stop marketing and selling your offers just because things are slower than usual.
In fact, this is when you should be going ALL in! If you want to continue to grow your business even when times are slow – you need to understand marketing and sales and how to use it to your advantage.
So there you have it – the 4 things you can focus on right now to support you to navigate this current season in business.
Keep going – test, tweak, try again.
I’m right there with you – we’ve got this!
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