(I’m speaking to business owners and leaders here.)

And I’m guessing you probably aren’t sure.

One of my sales conversations this week was with the owner of an environmental services firm who wants to grow – he wants more commercial work and to increase his residential business so he can add another employee and another truck.

Growing is hard, and it’s expensive. This business owner is in a competitive market with local firms and national players; almost all of his current business comes from referrals from other firms in related, but different, businesses. Referrals are great business, but they’re unpredictable.

He needs to be found by people searching for services, and he needs to build his network of referral partners organically (by being found). A quick look at his website and his social profiles told me he badly needs some help.

We talked about things he can do and things we can help with, but my ultimate recommendation is first to understand where he actually is. What does his business look like from the outside in? I suggested he have us do a full audit detailing his online reputation, visibility, and competitive landscape.

Your brand is what others say it is. It’s how you (your company) is talked about when you’re not in the room. And what better way to find out then thoroughly reviewing what’s being said about you and how you’re being found online?

So, for under $1000, we offered to fully review where he stood from Google’s viewpoint, how he stacked against his competitors, what his reputation looked like to an outsider, and what content he should consider. Armed with that information, he can set priorities and make more informed decisions about who to hire and when. 

His answer was, “I’ll think about it.” He’ll think about it? Really? He clears $300 per client, and if he gets advice that helps him get just one more client a month, the review pays for itself in three months – and then he comes out ahead by $2800 for the year. Thinking about it is costing him money as I write this.

In one of my previous posts, I talked about accelerants versus shortcuts. The review is a shortcut to discover what’s going wrong and an accelerant to make it better. If you think we could show you a shortcut and act as an accelerant for your growth, message me, call me, email me. Seriously, it’s under $1000 for the full audit and review about what to change or improve.

If you keep doing the same thing you’ve been doing, nothing will change (and since the search engines and review sites keep getting more sophisticated, things may actually get worse). Sure, you can do this review yourself, but if you’ve never done it, it’s going to take a lot of time (which you should be using to sell to or service customers) – and you’ll probably miss something.

It’s ridiculously easy to waste $1000 (and the audit is less than that). That’s printing and postage on 1000 postcards (that will likely end up in the trash). It’s a couple of weeks of a Google AdWords campaign you run yourself (and probably gets you visitors, but no sales). It won’t buy you a booth at a tradeshow, it won’t pay for a telemarketer, and I promise you it won’t buy you a quality email list. Spend the money and learn where your real opportunities are.

The price in this blog post expires on 10/1/2018.