If you’re a business owner particularly in the first few years of business, you’re probably looking for help in two key areas – marketing and sales, with the aim of getting new clients who will pay you lots of money.
And you need solutions that don’t cost a great deal because we don’t have infinite resources when we’re starting out.
This is where danger lies…
The curse of free content
The internet is a blessing and a curse in this regard. There is so much ‘free’ stuff out there, you can probably glean the answers, but you’ll waste a lot of time before you get anywhere. Or you can buy ‘How to’ books hoping they’re going to give you the answers you’re after. A few are excellent, many aren’t. Either way, you still need to do the work. Sadly success doesn’t transfer through osmosis by simply holding the book.
The curse of the magic bullet
There are a lot of businesses out there that will try and convince you that if you just do this ‘one thing’, your business will be transformed. The biggest culprits are those who tempt you with their webinars that promise the world, such as:
- My $120 million secret – the exact 7 step formula to sell anything on the internet
- How to make $50,000 a month from your Facebook ads
- 5 secrets to build a 6+ figure coaching business in less than 12 months (without any prior business experience)
I particularly love the bracketed bit – you don’t even need to have any experience in coaching and still, you can make 6 figures. Awesome, where do I sign up? - Fly without the use of wings in a week using my 5-step secret formula
These have all appeared on my Facebook feed. Okay, one of them was made up.
But wait… All of them were made up – Fake news alert!
We all know, deep down, that they’re talking nonsense, but we’re drawn in by the clever psychology and faint hope that maybe this webinar is going to be the one that shares the secret to transform our businesses, if not overnight, at least within the next few months. They all follow a similar structure. Here’s how they go…
The trouble is they are SO believable you can get swept up in the excitement of how this thing is going to transform your business and before you know it you’ve parted with your hard-earned cash. Only to get buyer’s remorse within days when you realise it’s not quite that simple, what you’ve bought is sub-par or it isn’t going to deliver the results you’d hoped for. Trust me – I’ve been there, it’s soooo disappointing!
My advice?
Don’t watch them – unless you have an hour and a half to kill whilst waiting for some paint to dry.
And try to resist the siren call of these unrealistic promises, whether it’s a webinar or other sales promos.
Your business needs a structured and planned strategy
The reality is there isn’t one magic bullet for business success. Your business needs a multi-pronged approach and one that is relevant not only to your business but where it is in its growth phase. If it’s not the right time or the right thing for your business, implementing a £10k Facebook ad campaign or buying an all-singing, dancing (v expensive) CRM solution will be a waste of money.
You need stepping stones across the alligator-infested river, not a snazzy rope swing with fairy lights to hurtle you to the land of milk and honey. I can guarantee the rope is frayed or isn’t long enough and you’ll just end up in the drink with those alligators snapping at your behind!
What you need is my webinar ‘Three steps to treble your business revenue in 3 months’ …
Really though, my next article will be about the useful tools you can use to run your business that will cost less than £50 a month and are the right stepping stones for small and younger businesses.