Be Proactive – Not Reactive. Growing Business from the Inside Out

September 8, 2011

(Guest Post by Amy Grant, Managing Director Organik Consulting)

Do you ever feel like you can never catch up?? Are you frustrated with people telling you to be more proactive and you feel like you are doing all you can just to get through the day? This is sadly becoming the norm for most business owners. Everyone is working so hard to just catch up that they are always falling behind.

Luckily this is a habit that you can break!! This first thing to do is:

1. STOP: THINK about what you are truly trying to accomplish. Most business owners I talk to answer, “Trying to improve our bottom line. Keep my business not only running, but growing.”

2. ASK: HOW, what is your plan of action in bringing in more capital? The answer most business owners reply is, “Simply to get more clients, make more sales!”

3. UNDERSTAND: WHY, obtaining a new client is a tireless task. Also, it costs more to obtain then it does to retain.

4. CHANGE: GROW from where you are right now by thinking from the inside out. Instead of seeking out for new clients look in to your current clients for growth.

5. BECOME: AWARE, find out what current and past clients think of you! Survey your clients and understand why they bought from you, what they feel you are missing, would they refer you and why. Take the information and implement it into your selling and marketing process. Not only will this put you one step ahead by understanding your clients and business better, you may find new ways to add another revenue stream. By seeing what your clients need you can turn past clients into current clients by adding value to the relationship.

6. REWARD: LOYALTY, make sure that your clients feel appreciated. Contact them about ways to grow their business. Add value to the relationship. Become an industry leader through knowledge, social media, blogging and validation.

7. BE PROACTIVE: SIMPLIFY your plan of action to allow what you have already planted to grow by just watering daily. Add value to current customers, grow loyalty from within, increase your sales and referrals and further validate your business.