I know what you’re thinking:  

I just need one more client. Maybe two. Then I’ll be successful. 

In the book The Pumpkin Plan, author Mike Michalowicz addresses this phenomenon – the feeling that you’re THIS close to success; and getting  just one more sale will place you there. 

This is why many entrepreneurs buy into marketing programs and sales training and similar offers  – to nab that one last sale. This may or may not be the best choice. 

Listen up: marketing is very necessary for a healthy sales cycle: but make sure you invest in marketing at the right time – after all your other puzzle pieces are firmly in place. 

Imagine this –  

You’re an interior designer brought into a home to create a beautiful living room. You walk in to assess the space where the client wants you to rearrange the furniture, choose a new paint color, and freshen up the windows with new window coverings. She’s talking about vases, and splashes of color, when you realize you are smelling smoke –puffs of black smoke are coming from the kitchen! 

 “Hey your kitchen’s on fire!” you exclaim. And she calmly says, “yea it gets smoky sometimes. I think there’s something wrong with the stove. Let’s go back to choosing paint colors and decorative pillows.” 

Wild, right? 

Are you ready to address the whole picture? 

Sometimes a business owner just doesn’t want to face the smoke emitting from the back of the business and wants to attract more people to admire the front of the business. Investing in sales and marketing when you have back office issues to deal with will be a waste of money because you clearly need to understand why “the kitchen always seems to be smoky”.  

Let’s see it another way. 

You are the interior design firm owner who wants to increase your success. So you pay for marketing to attract more customers. It works, and now you have 5 new hot prospects! But when you’re struggling with a busy calendar to find time to schedule the new assessments, and there is no admin or manager making and confirming appointments, and some potential clients are left waiting at the door, it’s a problem.  

Or all the prospects are ready to move forward but one of your designers just quit to go to a bigger firm, two of your key suppliers are backlogged for the next couple of months, and you are left to offer your brand new customers a first appointment 3 months from now – those customers are going elsewhere. 

So – more sales was not the answer at this moment in time. In fact, it highlighted your already present problems.  

When I work with small businesses like yours, I look at the front of the house but I also want to assess what’s going on in the back. Where are the healthy areas and where are the gaps?  I want to see it all so we can face it together, and discuss why those gaps are there.  

Let’s address it together 

This is why I was drawn to The Pumpkin Plan. It addresses your whole business – from attracting your best clients to creating an amazing client fulfillment experience. When we know the kitchen is safe and smoke free, I’ll peek into your basement and make sure it’s not flooded. And when I’m happy that your environment is stabilized, I will absolutely help you rearrange the living room furniture and choose pretty pillows.  

Let’s build an amazing 2021 together!  

If we haven’t spoken about the state of your business before, please schedule your free initial consultation here. 

If you’ve already had a consult with me and want to kick your biggest challenge in the pants, let’s get to work on a single strategy session. 

I’m always available for questions, so feel free to email me here.