Hidden Opportunities: Uncovering Growth Potential in Your Business

The number of small businesses that make it to their five-year mark is fewer than 50%, but did you know that when it comes to new businesses launching, women are significantly outpacing men almost 2:1?

For me, as a woman-owned business, it feels important to identify key causes of business failure and create a pathway to long-term success!

The secret to a thriving business comes from hidden opportunities that already exist within. And guess what! With the right systems or tools, 99% of business owners can reduce/eliminate most of those missed opportunities.

The best revenue-building opportunities are hidden in your sales process. To take someone from a complete stranger to a raving fan, there are three phases: Attract, Sell, and Wow.

Attract: Drawing in Your Ideal Clients

No matter what you’re selling, there’s always a period where a prospect enters your ecosystem before they are ready to buy. The “ATTRACT” stage starts with you knowing exactly who your ideal client is; then crafting content that naturally draws them to you. Here are the hidden opportunities and strategies to overcome them:

To seize hidden opportunities in the “ATTRACT” stage, know who you’re talking to, build content that is engaging to them and have a clear follow-up strategy for engagement. This prevents potential business from slipping through the cracks and sets the stage for meaningful interactions and future sales.

Sell: Educating and Converting Prospects

Now that you’ve attracted the perfect client to you and built a rapport with follow-up, you’re ready to make an offer. I’m going to let you in on an important secret…buyers buy when they’re ready to buy, not when you’re ready to sell. Just because you make an offer and they don’t take you up on it, doesn’t mean that they never will. Having a system in place that keeps you top of mind ensures that when they are ready to purchase, you’re the first person they think of. Here are the hidden opportunities and strategies to overcome them:

Put yourself through your own buying experience thinking like a nervous purchaser. If you can comfortably say, “yes, I’d buy this product/service,” then you’re on the right track. If you find yourself feeling frustrated with certain parts of the purchase/checkout, these are your “friction points” and a great place to start making changes.

Wow: Delivering an Exceptional Experience

The final stage, "Wow," focuses on delivering an exceptional experience that turns first-time customers into repeat buyers. This is the biggest area for hidden opportunities because they’ve already purchased! You’ve won them over, but if you fail to take care of them, then there’s nothing enticing them to keep spending their time and money with you. Worse, they’re not sharing the good news with others. Here are the hidden opportunities and strategies to overcome them:

Conclusion

Time to evaluate. Where are you doing well and where are the hidden opportunities for you and your business? Small steps in each area will set you on the path to a business that is thriving!