Two things can change the trajectory of your startup and have a big impact on its growth.
How many customers you retain and refer to you, and how well you convert your leads and prospects.
If you retain your customers for 2 years instead of 1 year, and convert 2 leads out of 10, instead of 1, you see a multiplier growth effect.
If your usual annual growth rate is 10-15%, this way you can grow 4x or 400%. How is that for growth?
To increase your leads better you can do three things.
- Establish your credibility
- Qualify them
- And, don’t try to sell them all you’ve got, all at once
Ideally, your credibility should be established before the leads come to you by seeing a video you made or a book you wrote, an article you wrote or because of a solid recommendation.
To qualify, whether the lead is the right fit for your business and if they are a serious buyer, talk to them to learn about their business and the kind of revenue they are generating. You can decipher this by asking for their products, number of units they sell in a year, etc?
Understand if they have sufficient revenue to be able to pay you.
Augment your understanding of online research.
For example, if you run an agency, and selling an INR 1Lac/month retainer some with INR 1.5L/month revenue won’t be able to pay you.
If you think the lead is good to take the discussion further, invest more time to understand client aspiration, budgets, and most importantly get ok on doing one particular thing you recommend, on a fixed budget.
This first buy should be low-cost so that it seems like a no-brainer to a first-time buyer.
And, never give a detailed plan for free. Instead, send a short email, 5-7 bullet points with your approach and outcomes (aligned with client vision).
