Business in 2021…it just looks different than business in 2019. 2020 took us on a ride. I don’t need to tell you or remind you about that. But it has shifted how the world operates.
Anytime there’s a big change, you can look at it a couple of different ways. You can either look at it from the negative of “here’s what I lost from these changes”. Or you can look at it from the positive and ask yourself “what doors are now open for me now that these changes have taken place?”
Ask yourself “What possibilities do I have now that I did not have in 2019?” Think about all the doors that have opened to you because of the pandemic and the changes that are happening. The second thing I’d encourage you to ask yourself is “What do I have to build to fully take advantage of these new doors that are open for me?”
In this post, I discuss
- Transitioning from in-person to screen meetings and how to monetize this opportunity.
- The importance of building a strategic team in 2021.
- How to effectively nurture your customer database.
From Face-To-Face TO Screen-to-Screen
Let’s start with the fact that we can no longer hang out together face to face in a room. We can’t do door knocking and we can’t go to conferences. What does that mean? I want to encourage you to look at this as an opportunity to take your business and remove the geographic barriers that you or your company put on you prior to the pandemic
Because now instead of being limited by a location that you would have to drive to, you have an opportunity to sell across the entire state that you live in from the comfort of your home. And so you have an opportunity now to take your business, outside of the geographic boundaries that you were restricted under prior to the pandemic.
So you asked yourself about your online presence. Do you need a website? Should you build a Facebook page out? Should you start establishing yourself on other social media platforms? I can’t answer that question for you, you know what you have set up right now and you know where your customers are. As you build up social media don’t build out necessarily where you think people are hanging out. Build where you feel the most comfortable, because where you feel the most comfortable on social media is where you will pay attention and grow.
Building an All-Star Team
With the pandemic, a lot of people started working from home. And so for you, as the entrepreneur, you can now hire someone to join your team. And they do not have to be in the same neighborhood, city, or even state that you’re in. Here at the Branning Group, we have employees that are all over the United States. You can hire them from anywhere in America, you can even go international if you want to. If you’re looking for an all-star to join your team, don’t restrict yourself to somebody with who you can shake hands. Look for somebody that can join your team, from anywhere in America.
True entrepreneurial freedom comes when your business is running without you having to be there.
Back when I first started, my business depended on me to even finish the most basic functions. Because I had ingrained myself so much in the day-to-day activities that without me, there was no Branning Group. It took me about two years to get to a point, where for whatever reason I couldn’t come to work, whether I was sick or on vacation, where my absence was hardly felt.
Now I want you to visualize your business where you don’t show up to work because you’re sick. What happens? I want you to think about somebody being there to answer the phone, respond to customer questions, even set appointments for you so that when you get back, you have appointments on your calendar. And again, you do not have to have people that are in an office. You can find amazing people to join your team from anywhere in America or internationally.
I want you to be aggressive in building your team out. True growth happens when you can focus only on revenue-producing activities and the busy work of your business is being done by people who are solely focused on specific tasks.
Nurturing Your Customer Database
When it comes to nurturing your list, you should have an email database so that you can email out occasionally. Maybe you’re only comfortable sending out a monthly email. An email once a month updating people on what you’re up to; maybe sharing a silly joke or a personal story and then inviting them to hop on a call with you. Email is critical and free. I highly recommend emailing.
I also recommend staying in regular contact with your list over the phone. Give people a quick call. Just ask them how they’re doing and how you can serve and support them.
I also recommend staying in touch with your contact list through paid advertising. You can do retargeting ads, where they see a short video that you produced. And retargeting on YouTube and Facebook is very inexpensive. It keeps you in the forefront of their mind and turns you into a quasi-celebrity in their eyes. Because everywhere they go, they will see you. It’s a brilliant way to stay in contact with people.
And then last but not least, as you’re working on nurturing your list, I highly recommend that you show up in their mailbox with personalized messages. Send a letter, asking them how they’re doing. I would wish them Happy Birthday if you have their birthdate. Send them a card to celebrate the Fourth of July or something random and fun like that!
The more fun that you have with your list, the more fun they’ll have with you. And if they feel like you’re a fun person to hang out with and do business with, they’ll spend more money with you. It’s just human nature. We are attracted to people that make us feel good. And if you as the business owner make them feel good, whether it’s by a laugh or just showing that you care, you are putting yourself in more positions to earn their business.