Service, sales, and marketing as a solopreneur

It can be difficult to find balance without pressure as a solopreneur. With so many moving parts, how do we keep it all under control? Especially when it comes to the balance of sales and marketing vs service. To solve any problem, we must first seek to understand why it exists, here’s my take. 

When you’re in a service based business such as coaching, physical therapy, or chiropractic care there tends to be a direct correlation between service hours and revenue. The more clients you see in a week, the more money you make, and the inverse is also true. Since this operational setup has the natural ebb and flow of volume, I tend to see service hours quickly cannibalize business building strategies such as sales and marketing. Why? Because instant gratification beats delayed gratification relatively naturally. And this isn’t a big deal… until it is. 

Service revenue is a fairly consistent current indicator whereas sales and marketing have a delayed effect. So what happens when service dries up and you’ve been neglecting nurturing sales and marketing leads… panic. 

Here’s my tip to resolve this once and for all: treat your sales and marketing times as non-negotiable. They are essential to the lifespan of your business and time needs to be dedicated there weekly! Next, once you have your sales and marketing time blocked out and dedicated, adjust your service capacity. Maybe it’s only 3-4 hours to start, but when you begin to become efficient at it, that might be all you need.

Remember, sales and marketing sets you up for future service opportunities. Just because you don’t see the value NOW, doesn’t mean it can be sacrificed. If you struggle in this area, you’re not alone! Just remember, you can get out of the service trap by establishing a firm boundary for yourself. Create opportunity, if you look hard enough, it’s everywhere.