12 questions which will revitalise your business development

It is the challenge of every start-up business... how to grow a profitable revenue stream. The success of any start up business comes down to 2 very simple things, how efficient; effective the marketing is... and how well it is financially managed in the early days. I was helping a new business on a networking forum, who was 6 months in and finding business was slow. I thought it might be useful to share the questions I asked the start up business owner to get to the root of her problems..

I  first investigated where she was having problems in her 'sales funnel'.... Is it generating interest and awareness of what you do? Is it generating enough of the right type of leads? Is it converting leads into serious buyers? Or is it closing the deal with the serious buyers?

If your problem is with generating interest and awareness, then I would suggest you look at your PR - where are your target market seeing you talking about what you do? Are you hanging out with your target market?

If your problem is with generating leads, then how well are you explaining how you meet your target market's needs with your products or services? Or at an even more basic level, do you know what your target market’s top 3 issues and concerns?

If your problem is with converting leads into serious buyers, how well are you encouraging your buyers to take action? How well are you demonstrating your credibility and expertise to solve their problems?

If your problem is with closing the sale, what objections are you hearing from your potential buyers? How are you overcoming these objections?

Heather Townsend is the Chief Coach at The Efficiency Coach, and Founding Elder of ‘the executive village’. The Efficiency Coach, an award-winning business, works with professional advisors and business owners to help them achieve better business results for less effort. The executive village brings together business owners to help them solve their business challenges.