We talk a lot about how to grow your business by creating new revenue streams, infusing new ideas, optimizing content marketing, etc.
Growth is key because, in this world, you either grow or you stagnate. And those businesses that stagnate don’t remain businesses for very long.But growth is just one part of the equation.In order to handle growth, your business needs to be able to handle more sales, without unleashing tons of new resources and costs.Any business can grow and add a new client or two. But what about 100 or 1000 new clients? The idea sounds nice, but the reality is that an influx of unexpected customers can send many businesses scrambling to cover new customer needs. And for some, their businesses would completely fall apart.To avoid this, you need scalability… in other words, you must ensure unexpected influxes are handled smoothly.So today, we’ll give you 5 ways to make your business scalable.
Hire Rockstar Employees
We’ve mentioned this a bit in the past before, and for good reason. Without rockstar employees, you won’t be able to handle business growth – they are key to scaling.You need great managers, salespeople, and leaders to hold the fort down during explosive growth.If you’re not sure how to hire those types of people, then check our post on how to hire rockstars who drive your business forward.
Build Stronger Systems
To truly scale, you need to have strong systems in place. These systems include sales funnels and email marketing.What happens after a customer buys a product? Are they directed to an upsell? Added to an email autoresponder that helps you build a relationship with them and guide them to their next purchase?These types of systems are key. To build them, you can use CRM software like SalesForce or Infusionsoft. If you’re just starting out and expecting to scale a little more slowly, you might consider email marketing software like GetResponse or Active Campaign.The key is to have these automated systems in place so that you’re prepared for big influxes of customers.
Standardize Processes
You need to have a set way that you handle the different processes of your business. You should have standard processes for things like managing orders, handling returns, tracking employee time, handling complaints, customer appreciation, and more.These standardized processes make it much easier to scale. No matter how many new customers or clients come in, you and your employees will know how to handle each of the processes that go along with it.This keeps customers happy and frees your business from a lot fewer of the growing pains an influx can cause.
Reduce Cost of Sales
How much time, effort, and monetary cost goes into each sale? If your next sale requires as much time as the previous one, it’s not scalable.To reduce the cost of sales, consider how you can make those sales more automated. If you’re dealing with a digital product, this is a bit easier because you don’t need to worry about shipping and manufacturing costs. But even if it’s a physical product, you can still work out deals with a manufacturer to reduce costs.You should also consider how to reduce the cost of actually acquiring customers. Perhaps you can further optimize your ads so you get more conversions and a better ROI.
Bring on Help
Even if you have the right systems in place – great employees, reductions in sales costs, etc. – you still need a little help to make your business truly scalable. Specifically, in the way of customer service.Think about it: the more customers you have, the more customers will need your help. Additionally, potential customers will have plenty of questions before making a purchasing decision. How will you handle all these extra inquiries?An easy way to do it is to bring on outside help. For example, you can bring on a virtual answering service so that someone is managing your phones and to helping you handle customer inquiries 24/7.
Conclusion
For your business to thrive, it must be growing. And to handle that growth, your business needs to be scalable.With these strategies and tips, you can make your business scalable and prepare it for massive growth!
