Make more money

Did that subject line grab your attention?

Of course, it did and so it should — we all started our own businesses for different reasons.

Some of us took the entrepreneurial leap so we could have more autonomy.

Some to gain more free time (how’s that working for you?)

Most of us however are looking to make more money — not for the sake of money but we know it gives us freedom and options.

That’s why we invest in marketing like email campaigns and social media.

That is also where we often go wrong.

Here are the three biggest mistakes I see business owners make in their marketing and how to fix them.

They make it about them

Imagine if the heading for this article had been “Make me more money”?

Would you have read it?

I wouldn’t blame you if you said “no”.

I am sure you see that kind of marketing all the time.

You know the posts and emails that say:

“How I made $30k in 30 days”

“How I scaled my business so I can lay on the beach all day”

It’s all self-focused ego-centric bullshit.

I wouldn’t open an email or click a link that spoke everything about them.

I might however be very tempted to read something that told me how I could make $30k in 30 days or how I could create a business rather than just a job (What a great title for a book! You can grab one here).

The point is that your message, however, you choose to send it really needs to speak to the audience.

You need to show them how they can achieve or benefit from what you offer.

Take a look at your current message and ask whether it is all about them or about you.

They sell the logistics and not the outcomes

I once had a potential coaching client ask me how many hours a month, he would have access to me.

He was buying my time, that’s where his focus was.

I told him it was the wrong question to ask.

What he should have asked was what outcome would my coaching bring to him and his business.

So many businesses focus their marketing efforts on selling the sausage rather than the sizzle.

I don’t want to know how many hours my house cleaner is going to spend each week.

I want to know how clean my house will be, see the difference?

It is about selling the outcome or the transformation that your product or service will bring to your client, not the logistics of how it is delivered.

Your prospects are buying the transformation, not the details.

What does your marketing message sell?

Logistics or transformation?

They don’t aim it at their target market

Have you ever driven past a suburban lawyer’s office and had a look at their signage?

I saw one last week which said they specialised in about eight different areas of law.

I am not picking on lawyers although they are always fair game (It’s okay, some of my best friends are lawyers).

The reality is that you can’t be a specialist in everything.

Nor can you appeal to everyone in the market.

The quickest way to grow any business is to become an authority in a particular field, product, or service.

That doesn’t mean that you can only sell one thing but taking the time to identify your best target market and aiming your product or service squarely at them is going to get you a load more ‘bang for buck’ in your marketing efforts.

You are not going to visit your dentist to have a heart check-up!

Have a look at your current marketing message.

Are you trying to appeal to too broad an audience?

Can you narrow the message, so it speaks to a target market that is far more likely to buy from you?

Taking time to review your current marketing message and applying these three principles should see you gain greater traction, attract the right clients, and increase your sales conversion.

ALSO READ: Here’s something you must understand if you want to grow

About Mark Creedon Mark Creedon is Director of Metropole's Business Accelerator Mastermind and business coach to some of Australia's leading entrepreneurs - each who call him their "unreasonable friend"
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