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When you’re managing a business, it’s common to see growth just after launch and in the months or even year or so following it. However, often this growth slows down after a time and can even seem to stop altogether or go backward.
When you’re running your business from home and relying on the income, it’s important to find ways to make your venture keep moving forward. You must be sure not to get so busy working in your business, handling day-to-day tasks, that you are unable to spend time working on ways to build it up. Read on for three ways you can go about boosting your company’s growth rate.
Spend More Time on Sales
First, keep in mind that to get more sales you have to spend more time focusing on the sale process. You, and your team if you have one, must increase the hours you spend trying to generate new leads and converting leads into sales. It should be a daily priority, not something always left for later.
>> RELATED: How to Grow a Small Business
While it can be a little daunting if you don’t have much sales experience or feel too shy to get out there, it’s something you’ll need to do. Besides, selling is important not just when it comes to customers buying your products or services, but also with regards to selling your business concept to lenders or investors, top job candidates you’d like to join your organization and journalists who you want to write about your brand and its wares.
If you have a salesperson or team in your business or someone you can outsource this function to, this will take some of the pressure off you. Just make sure you set some key performance indicators (KPIs) for them to reach each week and communicate with them often to find out if they’re achieving their goals and, if not, what the issue(s) may be.
As for yourself, try to pick up the phone, send an email, arrange a meeting and follow up with customers and other contacts on a daily basis. It’s also helpful to attend relevant business and industry events each month. By being “out there” and networking, you will be able to generate more interest in your firm and also be more likely to get repeat business from past customers while you’re at it.
Learn New Things
Next, it’s vital that, as a business owner, you keep learning new things. The most successful entrepreneurs are always those who have a growth mindset and who continuously look for ways to add to their skill set, get more experience and diversify their knowledge.
>> RELATED: 10 Strategies to Grow Your Business Without Borrowing
There are many different ways you can learn and grow. For example, it pays to commit to higher education, by way of online Masters programs, in topics such as business, leadership, finance, psychology, marketing, communication and the like.
If a structured study isn’t for you or you don’t have the available time to commit to it, then source information from other places. For example, read books, newsletters, reports, blogs and magazines, and listen to videos, podcasts, and speakers at seminars, conferences, networking nights, trade shows, workshops, etc. You can also learn from joining business clubs and associations.
Get Help From Others
Lastly, even if you’re working from home, remember you’re not alone and should have a number of people to reach out to for help with growing your business. While it may be tempting to try to do everything by yourself, no one can build a big business solo. Growth comes from delegating tasks so you have more free time to spend on strategy and other big-picture jobs, and from getting new ideas and opinions from others.
If you don’t have employees yet, then at least outsource some tasks to freelancers and other businesses. There will no doubt be numerous jobs that are too time-consuming for you to keep working on, that you really hate doing or that you just know nothing about that you can get other people to do. You’ll often find that by outsourcing these tasks to people who are quick and experienced at completing them, you’ll actually make your money back and enjoy increased sales in no time at all.
In addition to delegating work, it pays to locate mentors and other advisors who can help you to reduce business risks that could stunt growth; identify new opportunities that will lead to more growth; solve problems that have been holding you back; and simply be there for support when you’re feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and fearful.
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- Mail.ru
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- LiveJournal
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- Mix
- Instapaper
- Copy Link