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Startup life is not for everyone due to the shear stress of trying to succeed. A handful of large companies have the luxury of leeway in terms of allowing an employee to do the bare minimum. But for most startups and those involved on the ground level, the personal satisfaction of being able to see your work impacting a company in a positive way is unmatched. The financial rewards that come with being involved on the ground level of an uber-successful startup are immense, to say the least. Startups experience times where revenue is down or the sales pipeline seems to have run dry. The following are common areas that startups struggle, but our helpful tips should hopefully fix those pesky issues.
Updating Equipment/Technology
Updating your company equipment or technology can be extremely expensive depending on the industry you’re in. Not all startups are flooded with mounds of venture capital, so keeping a budget-friendly mindset is important.
Equipment that improves the quality of work/product needs to be considered carefully. A small tweak to a product’s functionality, like perfect welding due to welding positioners will not go unnoticed. The consumer is as informed as ever before due to the rapid growth in technology. Quality used equipment can help save money in the short term. Older, legacy computer systems can in some cases prove useful, depending on if the operating software continues to receive support.
Maximize Income from the Current Customer Pool
The current customers that a startup has is one of their most valuable assets for a variety of reasons. Satisfied customers can recommend a company to their colleagues or other contacts depending on the quality of service rendered.
In certain cases, smaller organizations will pair up with larger companies for outsourced work. For example, a startup offering digital marketing services might could offer their services to a larger agency. Superior work and a request for additional projects can lead the larger agency giving more work to the startup. This occurs all the time, and if you’re running a startup, think about how you could offer your services to a larger company. It might be a win for both of you.
Utilize Freelancers To Boost Marketing Efforts
The marketing world has changed because of the monopoly that search engine platforms have in regards to online traffic. Proper search engine optimization will help any company to gain higher SERP. Ranking on the 4th or 5th page can potentially minimize online leads which could negatively be impacting sales. Ranking at the top of the SERP for a competitive term can lead to massive amounts of online leads via organic traffic. Freelancers can be used to ramp up content marketing campaigns that will lead to valuable backlinks for the company website. Enlisting the help of a marketing company is an option, but scaling can be done with freelancers. Finding great freelancers will often save a startup large amounts when compared to hiring for the role in-house.
Create A Data-Driven Sales Strategy
A sales team could be struggling although they are given high-quality leads on a consistent basis. Finding new salespeople is not always the best option. The low closing rates could be due to outdated/irrelevant sales materials or a confusing onboarding process. Data needs to be analyzed whether it is calculating open rates of sales emails or following up with leads that went cold in the sales funnel. Take a look at the salespeople that consistently close on deals to create a sales script. The transition from talking about products to pricing/contract terms could be seamless in one pitch. Another employee’s pitch transition could awkward leading to lost sales. The right script can be customized to the style of a specific salesperson as long as the general content of the script is followed. Recording sales calls can also be a great way to analyze when a pitch went wrong. Think of this as game tape for salespeople which can show a person where they went wrong instead of guessing.
Automation Will Boost Employee Productivity
Automation is going to continue to enter different industries in the workplace. Automation helps eliminate human error and saves time for staff members so they can be productive elsewhere. Files automatically transferring information from one file form to another is a great example. Data entry is not what a top sales manager is paid to do and can be a morale killer throughout the day. Tedious jobs that can be automated will impact office energy in positive ways. Also, everyone enjoys seeing their production numbers increase. Take the time to search for different tools that will help increase production or make the job of staff less difficult.
Correcting mistakes to put a startup on the right track is going to take work as well as modifications of current policies/processes. Take an honest look at spending as well as driving costs down will help increase overall profits. Startups and all businesses go through high/low points, it is how the management of the business responds that determines overall success.