You’ve spent years building your business. You know your industry. You have loyal customers. You have a team and systems that work.
There’s just one problem: Your core business isn’t generating enough revenue or profit anymore.
When I work with clients who find themselves in this position, their typical reaction is, “we need to sell more.” And sometimes that’s exactly right. But sometimes the market is telling you that there may not be enough growth left in your core product or service – at least not enough to sustain the business you’ve built.
That doesn’t necessarily mean your business is broken – but it may mean you need to expand what you sell.
3 Steps to Expanding Smarter
When sales are underperforming, the goal isn’t to add something new just for the sake of increasing revenue. Expanding smarter means finding the right extension of your business.
Asking (and answering) these three simple questions will help you identify the opportunities that make sense for you – and for your customers.
- What Do You Already Have?
I’m not suggesting you abandon your current products or services to chase the latest hot opportunity. Quite the opposite. The first step is to take a look at what you already have:
- Customers who know and trust you
- Knowledge about what your customers need
- Employees with industry expertise
- Vendor relationships
- Equipment and infrastructure
- Sales and marketing channels
- A solid reputation in your market
Now, ask yourself what else you can sell that leverages your strengths. The best opportunities are often adjacent products or services that make sense alongside the business you already have.
- What Do Your Customers Need?
You have already invested considerable time and resources in developing customer relationships and building credibility. Adding a product or service that fills the needs of existing customers could be a much easier path to increasing revenue than finding hundreds of completely new customers.
Let’s say you own a company that installs commercial flooring. Your customers may also need floor maintenance, cleaning products, repairs, refinishing, or replacement programs. The same principle works in practically every industry:
- A landscaping company might add irrigation services.
- An accounting firm might add outsourced bookkeeping or CFO services.
- A contractor might add maintenance programs.
- A retailer might add installation, customization, training, or service.
- What Would Your Customers Buy?
When it comes to identifying your next revenue stream, your customers might be your most valuable resource. To find out what they might buy from you, just ask!
- What products or services are they buying that relate to what you already provide?
- Who are they buying them from?
- What frustrates them about those vendors?
- Is there something they wish you offered?
- What problems are they having that nobody seems to be solving?
This sounds ridiculously simple, but many business owners skip this step.
Look Before You Leap
The key to expanding smarter is to take a close look at your current business before you start looking for something entirely new. The next opportunity may be right in front of you – in the customers you serve, the problems they need solved, and the relationships you’ve spent years building.
