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Most businesses want to grow and become million-dollar businesses (or more). The problem is that most people try to do it in the wrong order. It actually *seems* like the right order at first. It’s only once you’ve actually reached the 7-figure mark that you realize how quickly you could have gotten there if only you had started right and had the right planning in place all along.
If you aren’t interested in growing your business to 7-figures, there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to grow. If you do … read on!
Where entrepreneurs tend to make a mistake is that think they need to focus on business and marketing strategies for 5 figures first – or anything smaller than their true end goal. You’ve likely seen a lot of those strategies plastered everywhere online, people speaking to the entrepreneur who wants to take their business to the next level and make five figures. “Get your first 4-figure month.” “Grow your business to five figures – here’s how I did it.”
A lot of the strategies that will get you to 5-figures require just a tiny small change here or there when compared to what you’re already doing. For most businesses that aren’t quite there yet, the changes needed to level up from 4 figures to 5 figures are minor. And that’s great news … it doesn’t take much effort, it’s relatively easy to do, and you’ll probably have more than you did yesterday.
But … there’s a problem here … those strategies still only get you to a 6-figure year if you’re lucky. It turns out that simply changing your strategy a little doesn’t really make quite the impact you were looking for. Yes that may be more than you made last year. No it’s not where you want your business to end up.
But everyone is telling us to there, and get everything going, and then next we’ll work at doubling your income and start those strategies. Then next it’s adding some other small strategies on top of the others to get you to the next level. Layering on a lot of little strategies.
You know what happens? Suddenly you find yourself scrambling through a bunch of little tasks and you’re hustling too hard and churning your work day like a hamster on a never-ending wheel that you can’t get off.
The problem is that the work you do to hit 5-figures needs to increase tenfold to get you to 7-figures. And small little changes aren’t going to work to get you there; actually, those strategies may hurt and cause it to take lots longer, years longer, to reach that mark. Your strategies and processes get too bogged down on doing the wrong things.
The best way to reach 7 figures is to focus on 7 figures from the outset so that your process and strategies are set up to achieve that eventual goal.
You will still hit 5-figures and then 6-figures along the way, but having a 7-figure plan from day one will get you there so much faster – and with less stress.
There’s a lot more to it than what we discuss below – and you’ll find a lot more information throughout our blog.
The first step is to understand the difference between marketing for a five-figure business and a seven-figure one (and the fact that there IS a difference).
The strategies that got you to where you are now are not the same strategies that you need to take you to the next level.
In general, the strategies are sort of the same – you need to identify your target market, find out what they want and need, and then give it to them in the most appealing way possible. Yet at the same time they are different. There are key distinctions that set apart successful seven-figure businesses from their lower-earning counterparts:
They understand that people are always looking for the best deal, so they offer more value per dollar than anyone else in their industry. This could mean providing better customer service, offering unique products or services, or simply being faster and more efficient than the competition.
For example, the company that makes the most expensive car will always sell more of its vehicles than anyone else in the same price range. Seems counterintuitive.
A brand is much more than a simple image or identity that identifies a particular product from all others on the market. There’s plenty of examples that come to mind. Think of Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan for example. Their branding goes so far beyond just the simple swoosh logo.
In order to create a successful seven-figure business, you need to know what your customers want and then give them exactly what they’re looking for with strong branding strategies – such as providing value by offering unique products/services (e.g., Starbucks coffee), be faster/more efficient than competitors (Starbucks again) and make sure everything looks consistent across all channels (website, social media pages etc).
There’s so much talk about mindset that I hesitate to even mention it … because the mindset we’re talking about isn’t the same thing that most of the “mindset coaches” are selling you.
Seven-figure businesses are always looking for ways to improve themselves and their processes. For example, a company might realize that their customer service needs some work so they put together an action plan with specific goals in mind – like increasing the number of prospects called back within 24 hours, or lowering wait times on hold by 50%.
So, yes, you may need to shift your mindset a bit. But it’s not how you’ve been led to think it needs to shift.
Million-dollar companies make sure they’re doing everything possible for the customers’ convenience and happiness before anything else.
This could include offering free shipping, easy returns policies, excellent customer service (which will help get those positive reviews) – whatever makes the most sense for the business – all while increasing the overall ticket price through upselling/cross-selling techniques that don’t feel pushy.
It’s about being focused and strategic in understanding the intricacies that will impact your bottom line, and then formulating the processes that will get you there.
The main difference between marketing for a five-figure business and a seven-figure is not simply mindset.
Seven-figure businesses are the ones who understand the importance of putting their customers first and making sure that they are always happy with the experience. They also understand the importance of putting the right procedures and systems in place long before they are needed – which is why our marketing services always include the tactics that will help a business now yet also set them up for future success.
One great place to start is with a high-level strategy session with a high-level expert.
Vicky is the CEO and Chief Creative Strategist of Vicky Wu Marketing. She draws from 30 years of experience at the CMO level, the CEO level, marketing for Fortune 500 companies and multi-million and multi-billion-dollar organizations, PLUS strategies learned helping startups and nonprofits with limited budgets … now focusing on providing SMBs with effective and efficient marketing strategies – giving them access to the same level of expertise as the really big guys with deep pockets, that they may not otherwise be able to access.
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