Friday Funnel Focus by EPOCH Sales Management Solutions
Based on recent online SBA statistics:
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- 78.6% of all US businesses have less than 10 employees
- 89.1% of all US businesses have less than 20 employees
- 98.2% of all US businesses have less than 100 employees
- 99.7% of all US businesses have less than 500 employees
Only 1.8% of all US businesses grow beyond 100 employees.
Which plateau are you stuck on?
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- Less than 10 employees
- 10-20 employees
- 20-100 employees
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When it comes to growing your business and building a healthy sales pipeline, this question may be holding your business hostage.
What problem does your business solve?
Without a good answer to this question and a sense of urgency to implement a predictable process, you might not have a business.
This article asks lots of questions, but this first one is the most important of all.
( I admit the next two are important too.)
- Will people pay to solve the problem you are trying to solve?
- Can you deliver on the promise that your business can solve that problem?
Do you know what problem your business solves?
AND
Do you have market data to back up your answer to that question?
If not, we recommend that you invest more time in the answer to that question and make sure you are trying to solve a problem that exists and people will pay.
Statistics show that 50% of the small businesses have no market.
If you are confident in your answer about the problem you solve, here is the next question.
How long did it take to answer the question about what problem you solve?
- Start asking people what they do and what problem they solve
- See how long it takes them to answer the question and ask yourself if you understand what they just said.
- My guess is that you will be amazed at how few people can succinctly tell you what they do and what problem they solve before you lose interest.
Don’t be that person!
It should take seconds at most a minute or two.
You need to be able to define the problem you solve quickly and clearly to attract the right prospects.
Be clear and be quick!
P.S. Be sure the problem exists, people will pay, and you can solve the problem.
One more question today.
How do your leadership team and salespeople answer the question?
It is critical that each of them take personal responsibility to fully understand the problem your business solves and clearly communicate it to prospects and other team members with passion and excitement. This goes for your marketing team too.
Action Items:
- Record your answer to the question, “What problem does your business solve?
- Confirm the problem exists with peers and prospects.
- Ensure your leadership team, marketing and salespeople can clearly and succinctly answer this question.
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While growing Small Businesses and Building Great Sales Teams is hard, the process to do this is simple. But, simple does not mean easy.
Want to explore the process further, schedule a free 30 minute consultation.
In the meantime, get our guide to the 3 Part Formula to a Healthy Sales Pipeline
