Do you want to make your business growth the envy of all your competitors, even in this economy?

The business owners whose companies are experiencing rapid growth in this recession have seven traits in common:

1. They Know Their Primary Job   The primary job of the business owner is to get and keep profitable clients.  Sure, you wear a lot of hats, but so many forget what their first duty to the business is.  No one else in your company has the same vested interest in its success.  You can delegate the marketing but cannot abdicate it.
    
2. They Know the Most Valuable Asset   Chances are your first answer is wrong.  It’s not your people or you.  It’s not your real estate, equipment or inventory, either.  The most valuable asset is your client list.  Without people to buy from you there is no business.
    
3. They Know the #1 Number   The most important number for any business is the Lifetime Value of a Client (LVC).  Knowing—and knowing how to use—this number is the foundation of your company’s immediate and long-term success.  Not knowing it is like carpentry without a tape measure.*
    
4. They Have Clients, Not Customers   Customers buy stuff, they want it cheap and they see no value in anything you offer.  That goes for B2C, B2B and B2G customers.  Clients are “under your care and protection” and look only to you to solve their problems.  That equals loyalty, higher margins and long-term equity in each client.
    
5. They Have Strategic Alliances & Joint Ventures   Strategic alliances are your relationships with other business owners willing to share their knowledge and experience.  Good examples are CEO clubs and Mastermind groups.  Joint Ventures* are combined marketing efforts with companies you don’t compete against but with whom you share the same ideal client profile.  Your company has an ideal client profile, right?
    
6. They Do Systematic Follow-Up   3% of ad respondents are ready to buy now, and 7% never will buy; which leaves the biggest profit potential with the 90% who are not ready yet.  They need to be nurtured and brought along until they’re ready to buy.  Generating leads is expensive.  You need a systematic plan for continued marketing, not a haphazard left-to-chance non-system.  The best systems are built on the question: “What’s next?”
    
7. Have a Newsletter or Ezine   A newsletter or ezine adds twelve additional contacts to your customer/prospect base.  Preferably it’s a printed newsletter sent inside an envelope.  Ezines are a low-cost alternative but are too easily victims of the delete key.  The worst newsletters are poorly disguised sales letters and are all business.  The best are professional and personal with the main goal of building and maintaining a relationship.*

Any one trait you don’t have now, when added to your business practices will improve results.  Any combination of two or more will improve your growth even more.  Practicing all seven traits won’t change or improve your business—it will transform it!

Wherever you see a * we have a free white paper on the subject.  To get a pdf copy, email thayes@smithgrowthpartners.comand put the trait number in the subject line or put “all”. Want a printed copy?  Just include your name and mailing address in the body of the email. 

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