The ABCs of Business Growth – Easy as 1-2-3
(queue The Jackson 5 hit song ABC)
Ok, maybe this song doesn’t immediately make you think of growing your business, but perhaps it will give you an uplifting, high-energy, positive mindset to think about “what’s next” to move forward. In sales-centric organizations – which should include EVERY business – there is a time-tested acronym that really captures this approach to growth.
ABC, or in long-form – Always Be Closing.
Simple. Catchy. Easy to remember. But “Always Be Closing” shouldn’t mean bad stereotypes associated with pushy salespeople. Rather, the ABCs of business growth should guide tactical activities that accelerate moving your prospects to qualified leads to paying customers. Salespeople (and many others) know this as pipeline management. And that acceleration happens with more impressions of your solutions to your target audience.
Why are impressions so important? It’s actually quite simple. Any buying decision for any product or service is the result of a series of impressions, and especially for the first purchase. Repeat purchases come from impressions also but are different as you already have a relationship with the buyer. When thinking about impressions, it’s not just about advertising. Here are some key ideas to accelerate your impressions and implement your ABC plan:
- Build strong referral relationships – the most powerful, and perhaps the least expensive in terms of financial investments. Getting others to talk about your business is proven to have the greatest impact of accelerating growth.
- Be a Thought Leader – Develop a strong personal perspective of your industry and your capabilities, and then tell the world through regular posts, conversations, speeches, and other outlets.
- Engage with your social networks. People connect with other people, not machines or computers or objects. People also buy from other people. Be active on LinkedIn or Facebook or Twitter or other platforms. Like, Comment, and Share posts that you find relevant to your goals for growth.
- Allocate resources to promotional activities – Your ABC plan should include some direct campaigns, such as advertising, emails, speaking opportunities, sponsorships, and so forth. Be specific about how your solutions address existing needs.
- Ask for the business – Yes, literally “always be closing” and be clear that you want them to buy your solution. These impressions may be small in number, but are the most important, as they are the tipping point for a lead to become a customer.
There are likely other types of impressions that can help you to Always Be Closing. It’s really important to always have an ABC mindset focused on accelerating prospects through your process to becoming buying customers. And if you need a reminder, just save The Jackson 5 hit ABC to your playlist and play it every day.