4 Simple Mistakes That Could Be Costing You Business

These 4 common mistakes could be costing you business. The good news is, they’re all relatively easy fixes. Spend a few minutes on making things right and stop losing business.

Mistakes to avoid:

[su_heading size=”18″]1. A Confusing Elevator Pitch [/su_heading]

Remember: If your grandmother can’t understand your elevator pitch, it’s probably too complicated. Stick with the following formula:

My Company <name> is developing <offering> to help <target audience> <solve a problem> with <a secret sauce>.

This formula comes courtesy of Adeo Ressi of Founder”s Institute.

Use simple words and lose the jargon whenever possible. If you stick to the script, you’re much more likely to get your point across and help others understand how you can help them.

[su_heading size=”18″]2. Not-So-Social Networking [/su_heading]

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Like most people, if I’m interested in using a new software or service I’ll check them out on social media. Businesses often make the mistake of opening accounts on every social network, and then letting their posting fall to the wayside. This gives potential customers the impression that you don’t follow through, don’t respond to customer feedback/questions, and aren’t big enough to manage your social media properly.

The solution to this problem is simple: if you’re not going to use a social media platform, do not set up a profile on it. Having no Twitter page is much better than having a deserted Twitter page with little or no updates and unanswered customer questions.

[su_heading size=”18″]3. A Bad E-mail Signature [/su_heading]

Sometimes it’s the little things that can tell you the most about a company. While having a good e-mail signature may not secure you new business, having a bad one is a great way to actually lose potential business. If you can’t represent yourself well, why would someone else want you to represent them?

Take 10 minutes and put together an e-mail signature that is visually appealing and has your proper contact information. Be sure to add your company logo accompanied with a link to your website.

[su_heading size=”18″]4. Putting Things Off [/su_heading]

Got a hot new lead? Pick up the phone and call. This may seem simple, but too many entrepreneurs put things off and don’t talk to customers when they have their wallets in hand. To keep track of your priorities, I’d highly recommend using a visualization technique.

At Cave Social, we use a kanban board to monitor what’s pressing, what can wait, and who’s in charge of each task. This way when a hot new lead comes in, it goes straight into our “doing” column, where there’s no room for procrastination.