The #1 Business Problem? Getting More Leads.
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Well, we’re here. The tail end of 2024.
I took a look back at the past 12 months to see what nugget I could come up with for you. Was there a big takeaway, a major trend, over the past year?
Yes and no.
Sure, there was inflation, fears of recession, and an election.
But what I saw in 98% of businesses, including my own, is that they have exactly one major challenge to overcome.
Leads.
Business growth is ultimately contingent on your ability to get leads for your products or services.
Do people want to buy what you’re selling?
Do you have the mechanisms to find those people?
Do you have the messages to effectively tell someone why they should buy from you?
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Getting leads is business 101, and it’s so basic that we sometimes overcomplicate it.
We focus on company culture, or tightening up operations.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard a team say, “Our biggest problem isn’t getting more business. We need to fix operations to keep the customers we have.”
Yes, that’s true. But follow the thread with me here.
Let’s say you solve all the other issues:
- You figure out who should be doing what in your company
- You get rid of toxic people and underperformers to build a great team
- You tighten up your processes and make sure everybody follows them
- You improve efficiency and profitability
- You upgrade your delivery standards to make clients happy
(All of those, by the way, are highly fixable problems. They take time, and they require making tough decisions, but they are very, very manageable.)
And….then what?
Now you’re back to problem #1, the problem you should always be thinking about, no matter how much s*** is hitting the fan internally:
How am I going to get more leads?
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Don’t overthink the basics. You need to eat your business fruits and vegetables.
Apple is thinking about how to get more leads.
So are Amazon, Starbucks, and McDonalds. They have more customers than you, but they’re always thinking about how to acquire more.
Why does it matter?
Because all of us—myself included—tend to forget that leads are a lagging indicator. The leads you have today are the result of the effort you put in months ago.
So if you have no leads today, how long will it really take for you to get your pipeline up and running again?
It doesn’t happen overnight (although we all wish it could). You have to plan ahead.
And that’s hard to do because there are a thousand other things on fire, right in front of you, demanding your attention.
If you have leads today, and your team is overwhelmed, you might be tempted to take your foot off the gas.
Don’t.
Because once those fires are out, you’ll see that the biggest challenge in your business has been, and probably always will be, getting enough new prospects through the door.
It’s so simple you almost overthink it.
All roads lead…to leads.
If you want to finally figure out your leads problem in 2025, contact us.
Wishing you, your team, and your family a very happy New Year. See you in 2025!
