Innovation, Persistence, and Consistency: Key Ingredients for Business Development

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business landscape, staying relevant requires more than just showing up every day. It requires a commitment to continuous improvement, fresh ideas, and the willingness to think outside the box for business development. If you're a business owner, you know how important it is to consistently innovate, persist through challenges, and maintain consistency to create lasting success and foster business development.

Let’s dive into why these three elements—innovation, persistence, and consistency—are vital to growing your business and making a meaningful impact. Business development relies heavily on these factors.

1. Innovation: The Fuel for Growth

Innovation is more than a buzzword; it’s a way of life for successful businesses. By constantly seeking new ways to improve your products or services, you show customers that you are committed to providing value and staying ahead of the curve. Innovation isn’t always about creating something entirely new; sometimes, it’s about reimagining what you already offer. This approach can significantly contribute to business development.

Ask yourself:  
- What small changes can I make to improve my product or service?
- How can I add value in a way that’s more appealing to my target audience?
- Are there creative solutions to existing challenges that could benefit my customers?

Keep in mind that innovation should serve your vision, mission, and values. Every new idea or improvement should align with your core purpose and contribute to profitability. When innovation supports both your business and your goals, it has the potential to be a game-changer for business development.

2. Persistence: The Power of Not Giving Up

Success rarely comes without setbacks. Behind every thriving business is an owner who persevered through challenges, learned from mistakes, and kept pushing forward. Persistence is crucial to navigating through tough times and emerging stronger, ultimately contributing to business development.

While innovation might spark growth, persistence keeps you on track. When challenges arise, remember:
- Setbacks are often opportunities for learning and growth.
- Revisit your “why” to keep yourself motivated during challenging times.
- Celebrate small wins to maintain momentum and stay focused on your long-term vision.

3. Consistency: Building Trust and Credibility

Customers crave reliability, and consistency is the key to building a trustworthy brand. When you show up consistently, you build credibility with your audience, making them more likely to choose your business over others. Whether it's delivering exceptional service, maintaining quality standards, or sticking to your values, consistency establishes a foundation of trust crucial for business development.

Consistency doesn’t mean you can’t experiment; rather, it means that your core values, mission, and dedication to quality remain steadfast, even as you explore new ideas and methods.

Your Next Big Idea Could Be the Game-Changer

Take a moment today to reflect on your business. What’s one area where you could innovate, change, or improve that might increase your impact? Remember, it doesn’t have to be a massive overhaul. Sometimes, the smallest adjustments can make the biggest difference in business development and growth. 

Incorporate innovation, persistence, and consistency into your business practices, and you’ll set yourself up not only for growth but also for making a meaningful impact in the world.

https://bit.ly/3CxmDrp

Could Your Marketing Be Wrong?

Could There Be More To Marketing Than What You Know? 

What if what you have LEARNED about marketing was all wrong?  What if the money you are spending, the time you take to carefully build your brand and your exposure -- just wasn't cutting it?  Marketing is like reminds me of my sailboat -- a hole in the water that I threw money into....BUT, it doesn't have to be that way.

When Marketing Is Set Up Wrong -- Then The Results DO NOT Happen...

There are systems that DO work for small businesses.  They are different from what works for BIG corporations.  The "BIG BOYS" have a lot of money to play with. They CAN throw money into the hole.  they can afford to market over and over again, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on their marketing.

There are several strategies that work well for small businesses. The first key is strategy.  It needs to be complete.  Not just a one off tactic, but a complete strategy.  From beginning to end... lead generation --->> through the buying process and to the close or acquisition of a new customer.

For instance -- if you are using a website and there is no opportunity for the prospect to become a lead, then the website is not an effective tool for adding new customers.  Websites should have more than a phone number or a contact us form. There needs to be an informational offer and a way to request that offer.  Then the website becomes a lead generation tool.  BUT, it doesn't stop there.  Because you also want to have a follow up system.  For leads on the web, it is easiest to have an email system that provides the informational report and then continues to follow up with the person.

Multiple Touches Are Needed in Marketing

Remember it takes 7-10 touches or connections before an individual is ready to buy.  That means that your email system needs to provide additional ways for the person to get to know you.  Follow up articles, resources, tips and strategies are each good ways to continue to connect with the individual.

If you are using networking in person as a strategy, then you need to be sure that your USP or 30 second elevator pitch is solid and gets people talking to you.  Your business card needs to be a lead generation tool just like your website.  Your business card should offer people your informational offer (on the backside).  Then it gets people onto your email list and now you are following up with them via email.  Because you met them in person, you can also follow up with a phone call, a post card, or personal note and other media forms.

Multi step follow up is a key to an effective marketing strategy. It does not work to just run an ad.  You want information from the person in order to continue marketing to them.

- Identify 5 Common Errors in Marketing Your Business

- Follow-Up Strategies

- How to Follow Your Calling

- Money Systems

- Marketing Your Business https://bit.ly/3wniPX1

The Gratitude Project

🌟 Discover the Power of Gratitude with The Gratitude Project!

🍃 Are you ready to embrace a life-changing attitude? "The Gratitude Project" offers a unique opportunity to transform your perspective through the power of gratitude. This course is not just about learning; it's about experiencing a profound shift in mindset.

📘 Dive deep into the world of gratitude. The course provides a comprehensive package including a workbook, video, eBook, and specially designed gratitude exercises. These resources are crafted to help you understand and practice gratitude in your daily life, leading to lasting positive changes.

💫 Gain full access to this transformative course, including journals and the Gratitude Challenge, designed to make gratitude a natural part of your life. And there's great news for members of the Womenpreneur’s Resource Center — access is absolutely FREE!

🔥 This journey is more than just a course; it's a pathway to a more fulfilled and joyful life. The Gratitude Project is your stepping stone to a mindset where gratitude is not just an occasional practice but a continuous, enriching habit.

🔗 (https://compassroseconsulting.com/course/gratitude-project) and start your transformative journey. Witness how the simple yet powerful practice of gratitude can revolutionize your outlook, relationships, and overall well-being.

#GratitudeProject #TransformYourLife #AttitudeOfGratitude #PersonalGrowthJourney #Mindfulness #LiveWithJoy 🌈✨

https://bit.ly/2Mzfw7Z

Values Alignment

LEADING TO YOUR VALUES

As a leader, the values of the organization need to be a focus.  When you lead to your values, then you are walking your talk, practicing what you preach, and living those values.

Values Alignment Check

Doing a periodic values check is important. Are we in alignment with the values of the organization?  Do the values we have outlined still fit the organization? And, what do we need to do to be in alignment with the values of the organization?

Here at Compass Rose Consulting, we just recently been looking at our own values. But values alignment is something that has been important to me for a long time. It was included in my first business development program: Business Builders Intensive and is still a part of Business Growth CORE in the Womenpreneur's Resource Center.  It is important to look at.

When you are out of alignment with your values -- your staff notice and your customers notice.   Something doesn't feel right. They know it and it impacts them.

Our values alignment evaluation looks at:

What is the value? Name it:

How is it practiced across the organization?
Operations?
Products?
Marketing?
Leadership?
Staffing?
HR?
etc.

For instance, I worked with an organization that worked with youth and taught that you needed to get a college education so that you would be fairly paid. And we hired people with college degrees to work with the youth. BUT, we did not pay a fair wage for the work done.  The values were out of alignment with the practice. I successfully changed that practice or at least improved it.

When you do the values alignment, you are going through each value and making sure that you are walking your talk and practicing the value in all that you do.

Take a look at your values and how they are working in your business. Is there something that you need to shift or change?  Is there a way to practice them better?

Leave me your thoughts below and let me know how your business is doing on it's values alignment.

https://bit.ly/2UI1TUW

Do you have a strategy for that?

🌟 Uncover the secrets to successful strategic marketing with Donna Price from Compass Rose Consulting in our newest video, "Do you have a strategy for that?" Gain valuable insights into the importance of thinking strategically and creating a solid plan for your business's success.

Learn how to align your day-to-day tactics with your overarching vision and values to propel your business forward. Check out the video now and head to our blog for even more in-depth information on strategic marketing framework. Don't miss out on this game-changing advice!

#StrategicMarketing #BusinessStrategy #CompassRoseConsulting #WomenpreneursResourceCenter #BusinessGrowthCoach #NJBusinessCoach🚀

https://bit.ly/4aa1aRF

Repurposing Formats to Increase Your Audience

Table of contents

- Repurposing Formats can be the answer to: The Top Reason People Ignore Your Content!!
- Repurposing Formats can Accommodate Various Learning Styles
- Analyze Your Content When Considering Repurposing Formats
- Repurpose Your Content!!
- Monitor Results

Repurposing Formats can be the answer to: The Top Reason People Ignore Your Content!!

Do you find yourself spending hours researching and creating content and when it finally goes live nothing?

You have created engaging material about topics your audience cares about, but the likes, shares, or comments are underwhelming.

The problem is not always the quality of the material itself, but it could be the format.

Do you understand WHERE your audience consumes their info?

Repurposing Formats can Accommodate Various Learning Styles

People have different learning styles and preferred ways of consuming content. So, you need to look at how to accommodate that!!

Written: Written content including articles, eBooks, and blog posts appeals to people who prefer reading and have strong comprehension skills. Written content gives people the freedom to take in information at their own pace and easily refer back to sections they want to review.

Visual: Visual content like charts, diagrams, infographics, and videos appeal to learners who process information visually. For them, pictures and graphics make complex information more digestible, accessible, and memorable.

Audio: Audio content includes audiobooks, lectures, and podcasts, and it suits learners who take in information by listening. Its also useful for people who like to multi-task, tuning in while exercising or commuting.

Analyze Your Content When Considering Repurposing Formats

Quickly review the last 10-15 pieces of content you have created. What percentage of your content is written, visual, video, or audio?

Lets say the majority of your marketing content is written, for example, blog posts, social posts, reports, eBooks etc. Various studies have shown that up to 65% of the general population are visual learners. If you do not accommodate this segment of your audience, you could end up losing them.

The solution?

Repurpose Your Content!!

Repurposing allows you to connect with more people, using content they enjoy consuming, across various platforms.

Repurposing is not simply about recycling content. Its about strategically transforming your content to cater to your audience and the different ways they consume content and learn. For example, you could transform a long-form blog post into an infographic, explainer video, or podcast episode, reaching your visual or auditory learners.

You can also repurpose to incorporate all mediums and learning styles, making sure each type is represented: written (a social post), visual (an infographic), and auditory (a podcast episode). Or, when you repurpose, combine 2 or more mediums in one piece, for example, add an infographic and audio snippet to a blog post.

Monitor Results

After you repurpose, monitor your engagement metrics: Which formats are getting more likes, shares, and comments? Are certain types of content driving more traffic to your website? Asking these questions will allow you to know your audience better and adjust your repurposing strategy as needed.

Learn more with my Content Repurposing Guide:

Want to connect with a broader audience through repurposing? Check out my course, Repurposing which teaches you the A to Z.

This guide will give you Quick Tips for creating a content marketing strategy.

Using your content only once is cumbersome. It means that you are constantly creating new content. But when you repurpose your content, then you are able to maximize its reach and its power.

Check it Out

Content Repurposing is central to an effective Content Marketing Strategy.

Can content be a marketing strategy? YES!! Definitely! Content educates your prospect, your leads about YOU, your organization and what you have to offer. It is a pre-seller to your services.

Content Repurposing Workshop

https://bit.ly/4di0B9e

Top 5 Tips to Add Value to Your Repurposed Content

Repurposing Saves You Time and Money.

Don't let it be overwhelming!!

You’ve heard it said numerous times: repurposing content isn’t simply a matter of recycling – you’re not just taking the original content and pasting it into new formats, in different mediums, on different platforms. For example, if you’re repurposing a blog post into a social media post, it’s not enough to cut and paste a paragraph from the blog and call it a day.

You must tailor and tweak the content to suit different media and audience preferences. You are transforming content, not duplicating it. You need to add value.

But how can you make the repurposed content distinctive, unique, and valuable without spending hours recreating it? After all, isn’t repurposing supposed to save you time and resources?

You don’t need to do a complete redesign or rewrite. Here’s how to add value to your repurposed content without reinventing the wheel.

 1. Tailor to the Medium and Audience

Every medium, whether it’s audio, video, visual, or interactive has its own distinct characteristics. Tailor your repurposed content to that medium and its audience. For a video, incorporate a live demonstration to simplify complex ideas or processes. When developing an infographic, break down the essence of the core content into five key visual points. If you’re creating a podcast episode out of existing content, focus on the key points and deliver it in a conversational manner, or, think of questions you can ask your guest that will naturally expand upon the topic.

 2.  Add Fresh Insights

Your original content may have been published a while ago: incorporating a fresh perspective or new insight is an effective way to rejuvenate old material. Add information about the latest industry trends, the launch of a relevant product, or the results of a recent study. By doing this, you’ll add value to the original material, keeping your content current and useful.

 3. Integrate Examples and Case Studies

Examples and case studies enrich your repurposed content, supporting your claims and explaining your concepts. For example, if your original content offers productivity tips, in your repurposed material, add a case study illustrating how the techniques made a difference in a client’s work life. It backs up your material and provides your audience with a tangible, real-world application.

 4. Incorporate Data

When repurposing your content, insert relevant data that supports your content. For example, if your original piece is about social media trends, add the latest statistics or a chart that shows growth over time. Visual representations of data are easier to digest and understand. Adding data is especially powerful when transforming written content into a visual piece, like an infographic or video.

 5. Edit and Improve

The final way you can add value to your repurposed content is simply improving it. When we complete content, there’s always something we wish we had tweaked or refined the minute we click publish. When you repurpose into different formats, this is your opportunity to make those changes. An explanation that wasn’t quite right, examples that could illustrate your point more clearly, or even the style or tone. Take the time to fix the things you weren’t 100% pleased with in the original content.

Want to learn more about how you can improve YOUR content? Head over here:

https://bit.ly/3X2SOHG

YouTube SEO Blueprint

SEO for Visibility and Engagement

Welcome to YouTube SEO Blueprint!!

I am thrilled that you are here!!

YouTube is a great platform for connecting with potential customers and clients.

But if you fail to take the time to do the SEO piece of each video you could miss the mark. I know I did!!

https://bit.ly/3W8URsP

5 Benefits of Empowering Employees

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Table of contents

- 1. Free Up Management Time:

- 2. Company Growth

- 4. Empowering employees is good for morale.

- 5. Increased staff satisfaction

-  

Empowering employees can have multiple positive benefits to the workplace.

1. Free Up Management Time:

Employees can take the lead on projects and tasks and free up the manager or leader to do other things.  The leader often has the responsibility of growing the company. When they tie themselves up in the day to day operations they remove themselves from this important task.

2. Company Growth

Growing the company, getting out and acquiring new projects, new clients and visioning greater success are all part of being the CEO or leader.  Employees can take on the day to day operations of organizations.

4. Empowering employees is good for morale.

When managers have to control every aspect of an employee’s work it is demoralizing to the employee.  When staff make suggestions or put forth ideas and they are never accepted or considered, or have to be the idea of the manger or leader, then employees stop making suggestions.  Staff do not work for pay alone.

5. Increased staff satisfaction

Work conditions play a major role in staff satisfaction and performance.  When staff are in a situation where they have little control, are not acknowledged for their work or ideas then their performance suffers.  The results for the team or the company are negative.  Turn-over increases and the costs to organization are impacted.

Empowering means giving up some control, but does not mean that the organization runs wild. Staff have great ideas.  It is gold.  They see ways to improve operations, get things done faster, easier for less cost.  The misconception of the micro manager is that only they care about the company.  When true leaders share their vision and passion for the company, employees can embrace that vision and passion as well. When that leader then empowers the employees to do great work, results can soar.

As the leader or CEO you can set up communication systems that empower employees and at the same time keep you informed and in the loop.  But you do need to follow through and let employees make decisions and not take back all control when you are informed of staff decisions.

Empowering instead of micro managing will result in better organizational results and free you, the leader up to further grow the organization.

When you develop an environment that coaches staff, then you are meeting with your staff consistently and regularly.  Your staff have specific goals that they are working on and reporting on and you are both tracking what the results are. That environment looks forward towards the company vision and strategic plan so that everyone is working in the same direction for the growth of the organization. This shift not only empowers staff but also empowers you as the leader to be the leader and focus on growth.

 

- How to Stop Micro-Management and Empower Staff

- Team Building

- Donna Price Books

- What Happens When You Put Off Leadership Development?

- Leadership Growth - A Number 1 Success Strategy https://bit.ly/48wmDlU

Building Your Marketing System

Why do you want and need a marketing system?

When you build a marketing system that is YOURS, you KNOW that you have a way to increase your revenue easily and predictably.

A marketing system consistently:

- Brings new and qualified leads (future buyers) into your business

- Has a system for follow up and nurturing that helps YOU connect with your new leads and build the "know, like, trust" relationship

- Uses calls to action wisely to bring people into your customer base.

- Provides customer service that builds loyalty and repeat business.

- Works easily and reliably so that you know what to expect for your growth each week or month.

- Is trackable so that you can improve it when it is not working as well as you want or need it to.

So what does this really mean? Isn't all marketing the same?

There are definitely marketing concepts that work across businesses and industries that you should be implementing in your business. But they can look different for different companies.

For instance, if you are a local boutique you need local traffic into your store. Can the Internet or social media help with that? Definitely. But you also need signage on your storefront, local ads with calls to action.

The biggest mistake I see is that people focus on getting buyers and that doesn't work in a lot of industries. And the mistake is that they don't get the person's information or capture the lead! They have no way to follow up or continuing to build the relationship. The interaction is over.

This happens over and over. A business owner runs an ad -- sending the lead to their BUY NOW button and they don't buy, they bounce! But what if was a different call to action -- an optin where the first step was a really valuable item at a low cost or no cost. Then you have the opportunity to continue marketing and building the "know, like, trust."

So, whether you are a local shop or an online business -- lead capture is key. It has to be a part of your marketing system!!

Lead capture or optins are different from followers or connections. When you build your email list -- it is YOURS. When you have followers or connections or friends on a social media platform, they can definitely become buyers but they can also be taken away by the platform without your control. Moving people over to your email list is key.

What are the pieces of the marketing system?

- Being clear on your target market -- who are you marketing to?

- Lead capture -- having a way of capturing the information when someone connects with you.

- Follow-up - they say the money is in the follow-up and so many miss this opportunity to continue connecting.

- Presenting valuable offers -- when you have done a good job of connecting with your target market, your service should be valuable to them. Building good offers that provide a ton of value are the offers that people will be interested in.

- Loyalty -- everything you are doing up to this step is geared to help you in building loyalty. If you don't have a good follow up system, you will lose customers and they won't come back, because you are not telling them what you have to offer to them.

When you build YOUR system, you have the ability to predict your results. You can turn it on and off. Or up and down based on what you can handle.

When you have a working sales and marketing system -- you can look at HOW to scale your business!! That's exciting! Not everyone is doing that, because not everyone is building a system for their sales and marketing. If there is only one system that you are going to build in your business -- this is the one!!

https://bit.ly/3LrNhDW

Assess Your Lead Generation Strategies

Having a Lead Generation Plan that Works, Makes Growing Your Business Exciting (and Predictable)

Generating new leads is a focus of most business owners.  But do you ever stop to evaluate where your leads are coming from and how your lead generation methods are working? It is important to have systems in place to track new leads and evaluate each lead strategy. You have to KNOW your numbers in order to have a system that is really working for you.

Many business owners miss this key metric. Marketing numbers or conversion points can dramatically impact your revenue and even small changes to those conversion metrics can make a BIG difference.

So what numbers do you need to be looking at?? There are a couple of ways that you can do this.

1.  Website –

If you have a website then it should be one of your lead generation strategies.  Your website has to be set up to work for you!!

You want to have your subscription form on your site for your free gift.  If you don’t, you will not be able to keep in touch with folks that visit your site.  Take a look at your website statistics to see what kind of traffic your site receives and where the traffic is coming from. A free gift is a free report or tip sheet or video or.... that provides YOUR prospect with valuable information. You are working to

If your web host does not provide statistics you should set up a Google Analytics account and add the code to your web pages in order to track your traffic.  You want to know who is visiting, how long they are staying on your site, what pages they are visiting and where they came from to get there.  Did they do a search?  If so, what keyword were they searching that landed them with you?  Once they are there are they interacting with you and your site: subscribing to your newsletter, taking surveys, leaving feedback on your guestbook or forums? All of this detail is great information for you.

2.  Lead Generation

Do you receive leads from referrals, lead boxes, listings in directories, yellow pages?  When a new person contacts you it is a good idea to ask where they got their information from. Recently several business owners have asked whether the Yellow Pages is a good place for them to spend their money. As a business coach I really don’t know the answer to that because it is different for each business.  It depends if YOUR business is receiving calls as a result of the ad.  That is why asking about where the lead came from is so very important. With the Internet, the effectiveness of Yellow Pages is definitely diminished. But if you have a marketing strategy that is working, you need to KNOW which one it is!!

It's essential that you know where your leads are coming in and what isn't working. It's not cost effective or wise to use mediums that aren't working. They should be changed so that there are more leads generated, in the case of a website, or done away with altogether, in the case of a newspaper advertisement.

The medium that you dispose of right now can always be revisited in the future.

A down economy is a great time to evaluate everything that you are doing, but it is not a time to eliminate advertising and marketing.  You have to continue to market or you won’t have new leads and referrals.  Do your marketing wisely, track it all and evaluate relevant pieces each month.

So take the time to do a marketing evaluation and understand your marketing metrics. Need help? Schedule a Business Breakthrough Strategy Session.

Lead generation is a foundation of building your business. Without an effective lead generation system it is hard to predictably build. When you have a lead generation system that is working for you, then your business is growing consistently and that decreases stress, enables better sleep and so much more!!

It can be frustrating to get the system right and understand all of the numbers.

https://bit.ly/3UEwCSG