As a kid, when we went on family holidays, I learned how to get scrappy and clever with money. Always having more money than my big sister (who obviously got more allowance than me) and at the END of the holiday still have cash left. It baffled my whole family. I would save up all my coins, ask my dad for the "shrapnel" he didn't like to have in his pocket and I would do things like taking bottles back to the store for the deposit. Remember those days?
My perspective on money hasn't changed, even though I'm an adult. What's more, is that I never let myself wait for the moment my allowance has run out before I set out on finding treasure.
As a business owner, there are times when cash is tight. There are times when you will spend a boatload of cash before you see the return. It's natural to feel the squeeze, especially in the early days. I do know that in the early phases you go all out doing what needs to get done and bootstrapping if you have to. As our businesses grow, sometimes the risk factors change. We have more to lose and growth slows down as we wind down on going all out. Well, if you need cash now I'm going to share a few ideas to find unmonetised revenue opportunities.
There's gold hiding in your business, you have to be willing to dig a little. Shall we go on a treasure hunt?
5 Ways To Find Hidden Revenue In Your Business
Dig #1 : Ask for referrals, don't just wait for them
I bet you’re already getting referrals. I bet that referrals are the number one source of new leads in your business. I’ll also bet that you’re not leveraging it by way of having a proper, systematic referral strategy in place. Am I right?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This is the number one most overlooked marketing strategy!
When we overdeliver and really wow our clients they want to give us referrals and it often happens naturally. If you take a little time to come up with a strategy to thank them and get specific about what you're asking for and what's in it for them, you can double your sales and help more people!
I get you might be cringing at the idea of starting a conversation to ask for a referral or an introduction. If you don't ask you don't get and you'll never know how much business you're not getting by not asking. So just do it.
To put it another way, if you set yourself a challenge to ask for one referral a day, over a year that's about 261 asks. If half of those gave you referrals, half of those became prospects and half of those became clients, you’d have 65 new clients in a year. How would that change your business?
Here's the thing, humans are wired to want to help each other and if your referral strategy is framed as asking for help, you will be set up for success.
There are at least 99 referral strategies I can think of. Set aside 1 hour in your calendar right now to come up with a referral strategy to test in your business.
Dig #2 : Create a promotion with a micro-offer
Have a think about your current business and do a little audit. What do you have readily available that, if packaged slightly differently, could be a micro-offer? If you have something to put together, offer and plan a mini promotion around it.
Micro-offers can set your business up for success, cover ad spend and get some quick wins. These tend to have a small financial commitment but they allow you to build some goodwill with your audience and go a long way in getting them to know, love and trust you.
Have you got something in mind? Great. Now, why not invite your email list, your prospects, your audience to join you on a webinar or an online workshop. The idea is to make another connection, be present with them and add massive value. After the webinar, you can make your offer.
This is called a liquidation offer. It's something small that could wedge nicely between your high ticket offers. Here's an example, I have my Clients Like Clockwork program. In the run-up to that, before jumping in with both feet, I have Offer Fix which is a small program designed to get some wins but goes a long way to show what's possible.
Other promotions with a liquidation on the backend that prove really popular include challenges and mini-training courses.
Dig #3 There’s cash in your email list
You don’t need a huge email list but make sure you are growing that email list. It’s an asset. Here’s the deal, you might already be using this marketing strategy but you’re not using it enough.
In a recent coaching call with a client, he said, “anytime I send out the sequences I get new clients signing up.” It’s funny that, as if by magic. People on your list have subscribed to your list so they want to hear from you! And people love to buy! Fun, valuable weekly emails are like a deposit in your investment account and if you add value 80% of the time, 20% of the time you can make a withdrawal.
If you have a list, I want you to plan a short sequence to paint a problem, map out your solution, tell a story, make an offer, and creates some internal urgency. You can totally do that, maybe you can link it with the offer you created in step #1 crafting a micro-offer.
#Dig 4 Re-engage old clients, lost contacts
Your micro-offer and reviving that dusty old email list is a great way to re-engage lapsed clients or lost contacts. It might feel a little awkward but they bought from you at one point in time, why not again?
Things have changed, your business has moved forward and maybe you have new, improved services or offers. Don’t fear following up. I have done business with people I hadn’t spoken to or been in touch with for nine years!
And as for lost contacts or prospects, well you don’t know how their circumstances have changed. Maybe they are now ready to go ahead with the project or service, maybe they aren’t happy with the vendor they went with and they’re open to hearing from you again.
Followup, followup, followup. If you don’t have a follow-up strategy, head on back to the episode about leaving money on the table.
Dig #5 Sell your brains, not your hands
I’ve been slightly obsessed with this saying since I heard it. If you’re a busy service-based business and you’re hustling, this might not be super attractive as we only have so many hours in the day so look at this as something special you might only offer to your existing clients.
You have special skills, special experience and depending on what you do, create an opportunity for people to take advantage of that for a premium. If you’re a web designer, offer to do an audit on someone’s website. If you’re a financial planner, maybe you can do a review of people’s retirement plans.
I had a lot of people asking to “pick my brains” which is great, I love people picking my brains but as I said, we all have a set number of hours in the day. I wanted to have those coffee meetings and I really believe that when we pay we pay attention so I created “Power Hours”. It’s just one example, but make no mistake, this is not my core business and something like this shouldn’t be your core business either.
Think about your niche, your perfectly aligned clients, and have the expertise you can offer them to give your revenue a nice pick me up.
There you have it. 5 ideas to give your revenue a little boost by finding un-monetised opportunities in your business.
If I told you that doing some of these exact things added multiple-five figures in revenue to my solo business this month, would you do them? It’s true, so go find your pot of gold. I'm an action taker and money likes speed so I'm serious, I want you to whip out your calendar and schedule these actions in right away.
Here’s a summary of your action points to go find some un-monestised revenue in your business right now!
Design and implement a referral strategy that works for you
Create a micro-offer that you can promote through a webinar, workshop, or something of that kind
Reengage lapsed clients, lost contacts, and start a reach-out program
Create a short, punchy email sequence
Start charging for your expertise and stop giving it away for free
If you'd like to hash it out, soundboard, or get some support with growing your business and adding consistent revenue month on month, let's have a 15 min clarity call and see if I can help.
