Cash Flow Problems are Marketing Problems

Whenever someone tells me they have a cash flow problem, I almost always uncover that they actually have a marketing problem.

Humor me for a moment and ask yourself, what would need to change to lose 10-15lbs?

Could you eat healthy one day a month, and binge the rest of the time? Could you exercise only when you “felt” inspired?

Of course not. You’d have to eat healthier every day consistently, and you’d have to exercise on a regular basis, at least 3x a week, if not more. You’d have to eat more green vegetables, consume way fewer carbohydrates and sugars, and drink a LOT more water. If you did all of that consistently over a long period of time, you’d start to lose weight.

But, if you stopped, you would gain the weight right back.

Now, have you ever had a cheat day and got on the scale and noticed that you didn’t gain weight? So you did it again, and suddenly you fooled yourself into thinking the rules had changed and you could eat whatever you want and not worry about weight gain.

Yeah, me too, and every single time, I gained it all back.

Here’s the deal. Your cash flow problems are caused by the same thing…a lack of good and consistent marketing habits.

You gain or lose weight based on the habits you choose, and you gain or lose customers based on a set of habits you choose, too.

Let me explain:

My business has grown in top line sales and profits every single year for the last seven years because of a few super boring things that some of you don’t do.

1. Do you blog EVERY single week? Do you take responsibility to create valuable content seriously? If I was to look at your blog, would I see that you show up consistently? There should be no gaps in your content creation. It’s fundamental to your marketing strategy and credibility.

2. Do you email your list EVERY single week? Don’t go missing, don’t disappear, stay top of mind and send out value-based content every week.

3. Do you show up on your primary and most valuable social media channels EVERY single day and share something of value? People should never wonder if you’ve gone MIA. They should see you showing up every day.

4. Do you go to live events 2-4 times a year? Make sure you’re getting out of your track pants and into the real world where you can be face-to-face with other entrepreneurs and expand your network. If you don’t like to travel, I get it. I’d rather stay home with my dogs and my husband, too, but I do this consistently because I know, without fail, every time I go to an event, I grow my business. Events are great marketing tools. 

5. Do you invest in your learning EVERY single day? Whether you read every day, or you work with a coach/advisor of some sort and challenge yourself to grow, you need to be investing in your learning on a daily basis. I am always making that investment because when I do, I can show up better for my clients. If you don’t keep growing, your clients will outgrow you.

6. Are you responsive? Do you ever avoid conversations with people? Especially when they’re uncomfortable conversations? You need to be upfront when there is a problem and follow through on your word. When you say you’ll do something…do it. No ifs ands or buts.

7. Do you respond to emails, texts, and social media messages in a timely fashion? This is important! Don’t leave people wondering if you’re interested in their business.

8. When someone refers business to you, do you keep them updated? I don’t have a set of “partners,” but I do receive a lot of referral business. It’s important to close the loop on that business and let the person who referred someone to you know what is going on so they don’t have to wonder if you’ve responded.

9. Are you creating video content so that people can see you live? It can be wildly beneficial to allow people to see you and your energy in the social space. It’s an extremely important part of my marketing strategy. You should also invest in captioning those videos so people can read what you’re saying if they don’t want to turn the audio on.

10. Do you invest in ads regularly? I invest in ads anywhere from $350 to $1500 a month. By doing this, you ensure that your content remains visible for others to see. If you don’t have your content in front of people, out of sight means out of mind, and out of mind means empty pipeline.

If you want to grow your business consistently, you’ve got to be CONSISTENT about how you market.

It’s super boring, but…it’s the truth.

Leave a comment below, and let me know which one of these 10 things you know you’re doing a great job at, and which one you know you need to improve on.