Every single department in your company has a very specific role to play. All of those roles build toward the common goal of the business and when one department isn’t working effectively, the whole company suffers. But a lot of business owners fail to see that and they think of all of the departments as separate entities, rather than parts of a larger whole. If you think of your business like that, you’ll end up with departments striving for different goals and working against one another rather than pulling together to push the business forward. The key is to encourage cross collaboration between all of the different departments in your company. If you’re worried that they’re not working well together, here are some simple ways you can change that.
One of the reasons that departments don’t work well together is that they’re stuck on opposite sides of the building. They can still collaborate over email but it’s a lot easier if you bring everybody together. That’s why a lot of companies are moving toward an open plan office instead of separate ones. It’s a lot easier for people from different departments to work together if they’re all in one big office. You should also create some group working areas to encourage people to collaborate on projects.
Share Information
Knowing what other departments are working on and having access to information makes it a lot easier for employees to make suggestions about projects outside their department and suggest collaborations with other people. Implementing a knowledge transfer program is the best way to share information between departments. You can learn more information on how to put one in place. Click here for more information on how to put one in place. When your employees have more access to information about other departments, they’ll find it easier to identify coworkers that they can work with.
Cross-Department Projects
Finding ways to encourage your departments to collaborate is important, but sometimes, you might want to give them a bit of a push. That’s why you should launch projects that draw from the skillsets of multiple departments. Once you’ve overseen a few projects yourself, you’ll find that employees will start to suggest their own. When you’re launching these projects, it’s important that you give your employees some context. If they don’t have any idea why they’re working with another department, they won’t commit to the project. But if you give them an insight into your thinking, they’ll have a lot more direction.
Scrap Business Jargon
Business jargon is a big problem when you’re trying to cultivate a culture of cross collaboration. If each department has their own different terms for things, they’ll struggle to understand one another properly. Create a common language that all departments can use so when they’re trying to work together, there isn’t any confusion. There is going to be an adjustment period while everybody gets used to the new way of doing things but once everybody is familiar with the new language, things will run a lot smoother.
Cross collaboration between all of your departments is the only way to ensure that your business is a success.
Apart from raising kids, maybe there is nothing more scary than starting a new business. It’s a leap into the unknown. It’s doing away with your security. It’s a multi-step process where there is no perfect blueprint and no guarantee of success. It’s trying to work tirelessly to overcome the odds and go from surviving to thriving in the shortest time possible. And to do all of this – to make your chances more favorable and your decisions that bit better – you need to surround yourself with the right people; the right advisors.
These are the people you’re going to call on throughout your entrepreneurial life. The people that will help you see something from a different point of view, bring up something you might not have seen or pass on some wisdom you would have otherwise not heard. So, while the people you ask to advise you will really depend on exactly what your needs are, we have pulled together a list of different people you should consider when looking for advisors.
1. Big Network Advisors
When you are starting out, no advisor is going to be more helpful than an influencer; a networker; a connector. People with the ability to introduce you to the right people in your industry. Of course, by their very nature, these advisors don’t have the longest shelf life because once they have connected you to the right people, their needs fade. As such, you find you only need this kind of advisor for a short time, after which you can keep the ball rolling.
2. Expert Advisors
No entrepreneur knows how to do everything – not at the level needed to be a success anyway. That’s why you will always need advisors that fill in the gaps in your knowledge. It could be a tech expert that knows exactly which software will help you be super-efficient, it could be a premises liability attorney that will prevent any avoidable lawsuits from popping up, it could be a content marketing expert that knows just how to boost your inbound efforts. Anything. Sure, you could find these answers on your own, but that takes time and, in all honesty, nothing beats significant experience in an area.
3. Emotional Support Advisor
Like we said at the beginning, starting a business is about as scary as any proposition can be. It’s risky, time-consuming, packed-full of pitfalls and loaded with self-doubt, which is exactly why you will want to have someone next to you able to keep your spirits high, keep you on the right path, ask you the right questions and help you see things that your emotion otherwise clouded. And before you ask, no, your partner or spouse won’t be able to fill this role. You need someone with a knowledge of business, how business works and a pragmatist that won’t just tell you what you want to hear.
Ideally, you want to be choosing advisors that fulfill a need, one that helps balance your weaknesses by offering you ongoing advice on those topics that make you sweat. Get these people right and you will find this leap into entrepreneurship is a million times less scary.
Think about all the emails and sales pages you’ve seen in the last week, offering a new class, product, or service. Often some marketers will highlight the features and benefits of their latest creation but then fall short because they didn’t include a story.
The art of storytelling in business can be crucial to your success. It can mean the difference between having a sales funnel full of leads or barely making ends meet because you’re connecting with the wrong audience. People will spend their money with you only after they know, like, and trust you. What better way to build that relationship than with your storytelling skills.
Connect with the Right People
Of course, your storytelling skills are wasted unless you identify your ideal clients and where to find them. Think too broadly and you’ll attract freebie seekers or others who will want a price reduction. Or maybe you’ll find those who can afford your price point but who don’t want to do the work. Narrow your sights on your ideal client and create a storyboard with their demographics. Where do they live? Are they married? Do they have a family? How old are they? What are their pain points? How can you help them?
By stating these specifics, you will paint a clear picture of who you want to help, who you want to attract into your funnel, and where you can find them to start interacting. Focus on building relationships instead of selling products. Not everyone you meet will be ready to buy or maybe they are just on the fringes of your ideal market and not the right fit. Keep growing your network and you will find your tribe who will appreciate what you are offering and trust your judgment enough to make purchases.
Make Your Connections Personal with Stories
Your audience wants to connect with YOU, not with your product. What more personal way to make a connection than with a story, or two. Your customers or clients want to know your history, why did you start your business, and how can you help them. How are you different from all the other coaches out there? What is your inspiration? What personal struggles have you overcome?
Yes, at some point they will want to know about the features of your product and how it can help them but start off by allowing your audience to know you. You can show your human side by telling your stories on video. They don’t have to be as polished or as lengthy as a TED talk but you’ll be surprised how many people prefer video over reading outrageously long pages.
Show your human side; don’t edit out all your flubs. What better way to portray yourself as human than to show some bloopers. Showcase your expertise but show your tribe that you’re accessible by answering questions and asking them directly what kind of help they need.
When you decide to connect on a human level instead of always pushing a sale, people will naturally be attracted to you and will want to learn more about you and your business. Be patient; relationship building takes time but the sales will follow.
Have an awesome week!
Robyn
PS: Are you looking for support for your online business? Having the right support is crucial and it will make all the difference for your bottom line. Click Here and Let’s Chat.
If you are in the midst of starting a small business, you will spend the vast majority of your time making decisions. For the most part, this process is highly enjoyable: you are detailing the roadmap for the future of your company, and there is a definite joy to be found in making decisions that will contribute towards your future success.
Some of the decisions you will make as part of this process are easy; decisions you can make instinctively, based on your intuition and your experience. However, there are four decisions that are far more challenging than you may expect, so make sure you make time in your schedule when deciding the following new business elements…
#1 – Your business name
Deciding on a business name is rarely simple. You have to find the exact right fit for your company; something that explains what the business does or… actually… does it need to explain what the business does? Maybe it would be better to go for something catchy and unique, something slightly opaque that makes people want to know more? Or… no, perhaps you should just name the business after yourself, for clarity… or is that a step too far?
The above thought process – and the many, many more that are similar to it – can make the task of naming your new project incredibly difficult. You will likely spend hours agonizing over finding the perfect name and, even when the decision is made, may change your mind. While this can be irritating, it is completely natural, so try to go with the flow until you finally alight on a name you are completely content with.
#2 – Your payment processor
The vast majority of businesses will need to establish a method for accepting payments, but with so many options available, deciding which is right for you can literally take weeks.
In this case, there is some good news: there’s so such thing as too much information. All of the time you spend reading guides to working with payment processors like BlueSnap and similar services will undoubtedly be beneficial, as this decision will impact a variety of areas of your business. So while it may take longer to choose a payment gateway than you expect, at least you can be sure the effort will be beneficial to your business as a whole.
#3 – Your products or services
In many ways, it seems like this decision should be the easiest of them all: you’ve already had the business idea, so surely you have a firm plan for what you are actually going to sell?
However, deciding on your introductory range of products or services can actually be incredibly confusing – especially if there are numerous options available. You will need to trim your many ideas into a small, easily managed range for the initial business opening, which means spending a large amount of time deciding what you want to offer right now and which you want to introduce later on. This is an important decision, and one that shouldn’t be rushed, so take the time you need to ensure you are happy with the choice you make.
In conclusion
While taking time to consider your options regarding the three decisions above may seem like an unnecessary delay, these are important factors that demand careful thought. It may take you longer to make these decisions than you expect but, ultimately, the time you take considering them will ultimately be time well spent.
So, you’ve come up with an idea, you’ve learnt how to grow your company, and you’ve made a product that you think is going to go the distance. What happens next? Are there ways for you to get your product to the general public and for you to make your millions? Well, it’s not that simple…
Finding Your Audience
Hopefully, this has been at the back of your mind, but if you have a product that is for a specific type of person, it makes no sense to try and fit a square peg into a round hole, as far as making it appeal to more people than is necessary. In this incredibly competitive world, it’s far better for you to find your niche with regards to the right marketplace. Finding your audience is quite a challenge, but there are so many tools for budding startups out there to find the right target market. Market research is one of the most useful components any business can leverage because you can find out if there is a demand for your product before you spend so much money manufacturing it.
And when you’ve undertaken sufficient research, and have obtained satisfactory results, it’s now time to tailor your marketing efforts towards the right target market. From social media to email marketing, finding the one true method to communicate with your audience is essential. Many businesses make the mistake of employing a blanket campaign, but this is a very foolish method to adopt, because it’s the equivalent of playing Battleships- it’s a very blind way to get concentrated results!
Choosing The Right Marketplace
Depending on your product, you may be better off choosing a specific marketplace. You may want to go it alone and sell the products through your own business website, and control the entire process yourself, or you may want to embrace the online marketplaces like Amazon. An Amazon sponsored products campaign is something that can benefit some businesses when they don’t know how to get the product out there effectively. And you can learn how to set up an Amazon sponsored products campaign online, but with this approach, you are getting the exposure. This follows on directly from the target market, if you pick the right marketplace, you know you are heading in the right direction.
Continuing The Marketing Machine
Once you’ve discovered your niche, found the right way to market your product, and uncovered the secret to make it connect with the right audience, it’s merely a case of lather, rinse and repeat. Once you’ve got to a comfortable point, this isn’t where the journey ends, it’s now time to modify your product, or to create new products. In essence, this is what happens when you’ve got a killer product, but know that it’s not just the product you need, it’s getting the audience to buy it, but also the right marketing practices to get that item to the correct market. Getting these three things in place is paramount.
For small business owners who are struggling to gain clients/customers, a common problem I see is…well…that I can’t see them!!
Despite their fantastic business ideas and useful services/products, no one is noticing them because they are ‘invisible’ online.
Do you feel like your business is invisible? Or that no one is noticing you?
Unfortunately, the online world is not a game of Hide & Seek! Instead of waiting for people to find you, you’ve got to get yourself put right in front of them. The internet has enabled us to advertise our businesses literally INSIDE someone’s home on their computer screen!
It’s time to take full advantage of this. 🙂
Today I’ve got a few tips to help you put yourself out there and get noticed by your dream clients:
#1 WHERE Are Your Dream Clients?
First, you’ve got to focus on your ideal or ‘dream’ clients. Who are they? WHERE are they hanging out (which social media platforms, websites, etc.)? What are their pain points? What problems do they have that you can solve? Figure out the answers to these questions so that you can be more effective in your marketing! Most platforms now allow you to select specific demographics and types of people to show your advertising campaigns.
#2 Write Consistent, High-Quality Content
Thought blogging was dead? Think again! A great way to become a respected leader in your industry is by providing accurate, high-quality content regularly. This also helps you to appear on search engines when people are looking for services like yours. Filling your website with useful content will attract new clients and also opportunities such as telesummits, speaking gigs, guest author requests and more.
#3 Connect with Influencers
An influencer is anyone with a large, engaged social media following. Try to find influencers that are in your niche or who publicly support the type of products/services you offer. Take any opportunity to connect with them and build a positive image for your business. A strong network of influencers can help to promote your work and get you in front of a wider audience. They also build your reputation and credibility by showing their followers that they trust you as a reputable brand.
#4 Leverage Co-Marketing Opportunities
Unless you have deep pockets, one of the most effective ways to promote your business and brand is through co-marketing. What is co-marketing? It is connecting with other business owners in your industry and working together to host a webinar, telesummit, social media campaign, retreat, giveaway, etc. You can also create share deals on your social media platforms (You share each other’s content on your social media pages, give each other shout outs, do guest emails to their list, etc.).
#5 Be Yourself
Some coaches out there will tell you to do things you really don’t like to do. Granted, sometimes you DO need to step out of your comfort zone to learn and grow, but there is also something to be said about just BEING YOURSELF. Find what type of marketing resonates with you most. Are you a great writer? Focus more energy on your blog and/or Instagram posts! Do you prefer speaking on camera? Create videos or do Facebook Lives and Instagram Stories. Are you a graphic designer? Create beautiful infographics, quote pictures, diagrams, etc. There are so many options, find what works for you! You can use the online video maker Lumen5
#6 Focus on Standing Out
As you know, your potential clients are being bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of advertisements every single day. In order to get noticed, you have to stand out. There are a lot of ways to do this. Think about how you can be slightly better than what’s already out there. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel- just take the wheel and make it bigger, better, flashier, more unique, more affordable, more customized etc. than the other wheels on the market.
#7 Answer the Questions Your Dream Clients Are Asking
Get into Facebook groups or other online groups where your target market is hanging out. Examine what questions they are asking the most. Figure out what their biggest pain points are. Take their questions and frustrations and build your brand around their needs. Can’t find the perfect group? I’ve seen many entrepreneurs create social media groups just for their target market! They create a safe, no-pressure community where their tribe can connect, support each other, ask hard questions, celebrate together and be exposed to the admin’s brand.
