The Curvy Coach

In my last post I talked about the importance of how to strategically set a financial goal for your business without pulling random numbers out of the sky. Now that you have a number in mind, we need to figure out exactly what avenues are going to help you achieve this goal.

• Are you marketing to the right customer? Remember All Plus Size People Are Not the Same.
• Do you need to drive more traffic to your website?
• Do you need to increase sales conversions from your existing prospects?
• Do you need to grow your list of prospects?
• Should you repackage & add value to existing products/services?
• Do you need to make more offers to your clients?

These are just a few questions you need to ask yourself and carefully evaluate which one will lead you to profit. It’s easy to get caught up in the planning stages of your business because it is a fun process for most big-picture entrepreneurs. However, there comes a time when you must begin to implement and give your bottom line the attention it deserves.

Here are a few quick tips to help jumpstart a plan to the profit line:

• Sometimes your message to the market you’re targeting is not a perfect match. Re-fine your unique marketing message so that it only captures the right customer for your business. For example, maybe you should be selling to the professional woman instead of the young trendy teenager.
• Engage with your customers. Don’t make the mistake of communicating with your customers only when you have a sale going on. Social media has practically forced us to build relationships first and then be rewarded with a sale. Take advantage of this and build an effective communication strategy that reaches the right customer.
• Install Google Analytics to identify which platform is generating the most traffic for your site
• For example, if most of your traffic comes from Twitter then you need to optimize your site so that your products can easily be shared on twitter and twitter users can easily comment on your site using their credentials
• Use Google Adsense Keyword Tool to get an idea of what people are actually searching for
• For example, your site may bring in more traffic with “trendy tops for women” vs “women’s tops”. Instead of competing for the top spot with “women’s tops” you might rank better for the former. So create a category on your site specifically for trendy tops and monitor the results using your Google Analytics reports.
• If you have a lot of prospects but they aren’t buying, do a quick survey to find out why. Is it due to price? Value? Lack of Knowledge?
• I’m sure you’re familiar with the fact that many people visits hundreds of sites every day without the intent of buying anything, but don’t let money slide off the table by not giving them a reason to come back.
• Newsletters, free reports, coupons are very common giveaways that allows you to capture the email address of a visitor and gives you the opportunity to market to them at a later date.
• Every few months you walk into a store such as Wal-Mart, the merchandising may have changed or even the layout of the store. Sometimes we see bundles of products like a free tiny bottle of conditioner included with a shampoo as a new promotion. How can you spruce things up on your website to keep your visitors and customers interested?
• The holiday season is a great time to re-package some of your products, add a special note to your packages, or bundle some of your old products that you may have forgotten about.
• Last but certainly not least, there are a few of us entrepreneurs who are afraid to ask for the sale. While sales is touchy subject for many, if you aren’t making irresistible offers on a consistent basis then chances are you’re not making enough sales. Stop having every day Wal-Mart and Macy’s sales. Be creative and look for ways to make offers that your customers can’t resist.

What are some steps do you need to take to achieve your financial goals?