How to Grow Your Small Business with Rocket Speed

An entrepreneur’s journey is never so easy, and there is nobody who would say they had an easy leap in business. Successfully scaling a business requires that you have worked on building a strong foundation, with a clear vision and mission in mind. It also requires that over the initial days you have invested well in building a strong core team of investors, a sales force, and a customer base who would vouch for the products and services you are offering. A strong foundation is what will help you attract more sales and eventually your business will skyrocket. However, the gradual growth of about 4 – 5 % per week is a very healthy and achievable target to set for yourself and your team.

There are a host of things one needs to focus on before even thinking of scaling up the business. Ask a set of serious questions such as:

• Are you healthy and fit physically and mentally?
• Are you having the right energy to drive a high-energy sales team?
• Are you having the right team to take that business leap?
• Are you prepared to withstand adversity if encountered?
• Are you having enough financial reserves for future business?
• Is your business plan for the take-off ready?

Well, if your answer to all the above questions is “yes” then it is the best time for you to begin scaling up your business. Here are some of the points, that would help you take your business to the next level.

1. Building up an effective sales strategy

Well now that you have successfully finished laying a good foundation, possess good market experience, and have solid market feedback on your product and services finally focus and build a more impactful presence by working on a new marketing strategy and plan for business expansion. Most of the strategies here would change as there would be demographic expansion too, which will require a new set of sales teams and more targets to be met.

2. Use effective apps

This stage of your business requires more focus and better results in lesser time, which means that time is of great essence here. Take the help of some smart apps to keep you in line with your deadlines and stay focused at the same time. You could explore, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Wave, and Expensify for accounting and finance. To manage your inventory you must explore, SOS inventory, Delivered, Sortly. For POS and payments make use of Square, Paypal, and GoPayment, and most importantly for managing your team and time tracking use Tsheets, Gusto, Teamdeck, or HotSchedules.

3. Keep an eye on your competitors

Like you have done this before, this is probably the breath of your business as, as long as you keep researching and keep a sharp eye on what your competitors are doing you will keep doing good in business and the moment you stop this, your competitors would engulf you, without you even knowing it. Keeping an eye over your competitors would not only help you stay ahead of them but will also help you come up with smart sales ideas, to keep your customer base happy whilst attracting new ones.

4. Make customer-centric strategies

Work over customer-centric strategies and promotions, especially build on an attractive loyalty program, which would not only make your brand popular and loved more but will attract new customers gradually. An effective plan can be worked out if you have been in good touch with the market trends.

5. Look out for fresh opportunities

A good understanding of the market and keeping a good track of your sales performance in the market are important. Analyzing good research and customer database accumulated over some time is crucial to any future planning of a business. Understanding your current location’s response and new demographic expansion plans along with the sales channel you wish to establish requires good study. Once your study is done, you will be able to look out for fresh opportunities in the prospective market.

6. Build a customer database

Every customer is important to you, keeping the valuable database of new and old clients is a must, and a smart entrepreneur would never stay away from keeping in touch with them in some way or the other. Keeping your customer and database of inquiries keen about your new ideas and offers is a great way to keep them engaged positively and a great brand-building exercise.

7. Search out for partnerships

Several new entrepreneurs would hesitate to partner with new businesses or get into a joint venture, while the reasons could be many but if you look at it closer, there could be several benefits too. Although finding a good business match with the same level of enthusiasm and transparency is not easy. But if you get one it would be a great way to expand your business, as the partnership would share your workload and that would mean, you will be in a better position to address important things which are related to expansion and monitor the progress.

8. Don’t neglect your online presence

It has been observed that most entrepreneurs who had started up on social media and gained a good reputation die out on their social presence as they are growing in terms of business. Well, it is advised not to make this mistake. All that time and effort spent online to build up your own social media community would collapse almost instantly and you may also get caught up with wrong publicity about your business by competitors.

9. Sales channels or licensing deals

Focus on building a sales funnel and spend time on building effective and trustworthy sales channels. If your product and services allow, licensing deals are a great way to speed up your market presence and be known to people. This step is great if you have a product that can be licensed to others and a revenue share can be kept aside for yourself while the entire work in that location is taken care of by the licensed office. Licensing deals are made keeping different needs in view.

10. Plan to diversify

Every product cannot be sold in the same volumes for a long time unless you plan some attractive add-ons to it. Diversifying often helps in keeping your customers and having them come back for your products. Diversifying could mean adding complementary services or products to your existing line of products. Keep an eye on what the customers would love to buy along with it, besides the usual step. For example: If you are selling any product, a free add-on can be given to enhance the usage or maintenance of the same.

11. Check out your passive income sources

Expanding your business takes a lot of your time, energy, and investments. If you have been working with marginal profits to attract customers, it’s high time you have a passive income to support you financially. With this passive income, you will get the confidence to try and withstand mistakes. It will help you keep running your business without depending on any other sources.

12. Try Acquisition

The acquisition is also a smart way to control the flow of your profits and make use of some other already established setups or business. This is by far the most effective way to shoot up your business presence many folds in the market. Therefore, keeping a watch on similar businesses, which could complement yours, and letting them know about your Acquisition interest is a great way to multifold your existing business profits.

13. Go beyond the comfort zones

Doing the same monotonous business every day while you are comfortable is an easy thing to do, at this level you are probably way too comfortable with what your income is or badly scared of scaling up your business, as you are scared to fall. Well, this is not a great way to do business as this will not only kill your creativity but new customers may not find it attractive. So move out of your comfort zone and stand strong and face the winds, or else the new trends or competitors will bury your business soon.

14. Strong revenue sources

Let your old and new customers be your strong revenue sources. If you are consistent with your competitive pricing, quality, and deliveries followed by good after-sales strategies and support, you would rarely run down into losses. Make sure you stay on top of your customer’s minds about what certain products and services they require.

15. Build and expand networks

Your current research and customer satisfaction will take you places within the country and may even take you internationally. If you have been a loyal and dedicated businessperson sleeping and waking up with the mission and vision of your company, this step is essential for you. Meeting and connecting with new people belonging to the same business from different locations, this networking will work wonders in grooming you for the next level in business.