Tina Tower [00:00:00]:
Welcome to her Empire builder show. I am Tina Tower. Thank you so much for joining me today. I am talking about something today that no one likes to talk about. What to do when sales are slow and how to reignite the momentum and boost your revenue.

Main Episode

So one thing no one ever likes to admit inside business is sales being slow. I know many course creators and a lot of people I have spoken to, and sales are a bit slow, but on the outskirts, they're like, no, I'm killing it. I just had a record breaking launch, and I'm like, you lied.

Tina Tower [00:00:38]:
Which is not cool. It's not something I should be laughing about, but it's something that I want you to know happens inside our industry. And so sometimes what can happen is when your sales could be slowing, it can be really discouraging. But I want you to know that it happens to everybody at some point. I know it's happened to me so many times. And it's usually a sign that, you know, there's an opportunity to pivot and to refresh the strategy. You know, we've all been there. Sales hit a slump, and it feels like the momentum has, like, all of a sudden just come to a screeching halt, and you're like, what's happening here? What have I done wrong? But guess what? Like, a slow sales period does not mean failure.

Tina Tower [00:01:24]:
It actually is your chance to take action and turn things around. The market changes really, really quickly. And so sometimes we can be, we can be used to doing, like, rinse, repeat. And this is also cruel because you can, in your business, like, you get it all dialed in and all perfect, and then the market shifts and you go, okay, so I've got to change with the times and reinvent just as you're getting the hang of everything. But you're never starting from scratch. You're always starting from what you've already built. And usually what I have found in the past is it's not a total reinvention. Often it just requires, like, a little shift, like a little step to the right or step to the left.

Tina Tower [00:02:05]:
You know, that sounds like a song. Take a step to the left. Take a step to the right. Put your hands on your hips. Oh, goodness, it's been a long day. And so what you can do with that is really look at it and go, all right, what can I tweak? Maybe it's just your messaging. Maybe it's revamping the branding. Maybe it's a different sales strategy.

Tina Tower [00:02:27]:
Maybe it's a different marketing strategy. There is many, many different things and that's what I'm going to be talking about in this episode is some practical, actionable steps for turning slow sales into a time of growth and opportunity. So by the end of this episode, you will have your strategies to boost your sales, to reconnect with your audience, and to get your momentum back on track, which, as we complete 2024, this year, has been, you know, the global economic contraction. You know, you can listen to as many mindset people as you like saying it's all in your mind, but really, like, the economy is in contraction. And so there are definitely people making massive money. There's definitely people that are having their best years ever. There's definitely people whose sales are going really, really well. But it's usually because they have adapted to the market and they've changed their messaging to match the times.

Tina Tower [00:03:22]:
They're not marketing their business now like we did in 2022 when we were coming out of COVID It's a really different environment to be in, and so that's what I want to share with you today. All right, let's get to it. Hello and welcome to her Empire Builder show. I'm your business strategist and host, Tina Tower, and I am so happy you are here. My goal with this show is to bring you the inspirational and informative conversations with interesting humans, as well as the tools, tips, and resources to help you build your online business. Since starting my first business at 20, I have built and sold four times. And in 2018, while traveling around the world with my family for a year, I tripped and fell into this wonderful world of online courses, and I instantly fell in love. I'm a million dollar course creator, a world traveler, best selling author, a mama of two man children, and a lucky wife.

Tina Tower [00:04:18]:
There's no playing small here. It's your time to grow to run a highly profitable business that makes you wildly wealthy while you positively impact your clients and the world around you and have the life you've always dreamed of. Let's get it. So we always have, like, these little micro seasonal trends. And so, you know, when you're looking at wire sales down, it's really important to take the emotion out of it, because I know that probably one of the most valuable things that I have learned in business is to not take everything so personally. I used to take everything so personally, which is just exhausting. And so I really want you to always try and maintain a pragmatic, objective look at your business. You and your business.

Tina Tower [00:05:10]:
It's why I always tell people, like, don't say your business is your baby. Your business is not your baby. It's not a part of you. It is something that you have created and you can move on from it. You can change it like it is separate to you. This is coming from someone whose whole identity was defined by her business. So I know, I know how difficult that that can be. But when you feel like you are your business, it can be really hard to keep objective about what's going on and to not take everything so personally.

Tina Tower [00:05:41]:
So there's a few different reasons. Like three main ones of why sales are slowing down. The first is seasonal trends. So this is something that, like these micro trends that happen every year. So they're usually, in terms of online business, they might be summer vacation time, they might be holiday distractions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and, you know, in Australia, like Australia Day, all of the main things. And it's important to understand all of these patterns so that you can avoid unnecessary panic. So sometimes it's just the season, sometimes there's nothing you're doing and you shouldn't change anything. And this is why I think it's really good to keep a really pragmatic view is because sometimes we can panic and change things when it's actually got nothing to do with us and we just kind of have to ride it out.

Tina Tower [00:06:32]:
And so recognize minimizing the natural ebb and flow in the industry can really help planning better as well. Second one is market changes. And this is something I've seen a lot this year. So changes in the market, like really heavy on the economic factors in 2024 and shifts in an audience's need, and that can cause a dip in sales. So this year I've seen probably more than any in a while, a shift in what the audience wants, a shift in the way people are consuming content, the way they want to be sold to the price they're willing to pay, the expectations that people have, all of that has had a little bit of a shift. And so we as course creators, have to respond to that and rise above and do better, deliver more, be able to deliver what the audience is wanting, so that, you know, the market might shift, but it's a great time to reassess and to adjust offers and meet the new demands that the market is asking for. The third is the internal business factors. So sometimes it's like simply a matter of not launching a new product or a course recently, like your marketing efforts might be lagging, you might be a little bit on rinse and repeat, you might not be actually proactively making sales so if you've been riding on the success of previous launches, it might be time to give that strategy a refresh and reconnect with your audience.

Tina Tower [00:08:02]:
Because, you know, a lot of it is, and there's different seasons that I will have with the internal business factors where I will take my foot completely off the accelerator and know that I'll slow down for a couple of months. And I know that revenue is going to affect that and I don't care or I will plan for it. So I know throughout November, December, January, I won't be very present inside my business. And so that means that through August, September, October, I have had to do a lot of preparation and a lot of batching so that when those three months come, that I am traveling a lot, we're moving house, I'm taking a big vacation with my family when that comes. And I want to really enjoy all of that. Everything will go out like clockwork and the market won't be affected by that. My customers will not be affected by that. And so sometimes it takes a whole lot of planning and sometimes it just takes a whole lot of acceptance in there as well.

Tina Tower [00:08:58]:
Okay, so if you need to reconnect with your audience, then a way to do that is first re engage with your existing customers. Your existing customers are your most valuable asset in your business. A lot of people always think, like, more, more, more new, new, like Facebook ads, like top of fun, like, let's go, let's just build, build, build. But if you nurture and take care of your existing clients, then you don't need to be selling as much. And so making sure that the product that you're offering, like, if I use myself as an example, my membership has just hit four years old. And so we followed a lot of that same structure for the last two years. At two year mark, I readjusted the offer for the market and then we went out again. And so through 2023 and 2024, we've had the new offer.

Tina Tower [00:09:48]:
Actually 2022, 2023 and 2024, we've had the new offer. But now that we're in mid 2024, I was looking at that and going, I don't want to get complacent. I don't want my members, who have been members for a really long time to go well, I should leave now because I'm kind of, you know, it's the same shit over and over again. And so we wanted to keep it fresh. We always want to be at the forefront. And so part of that was, was doing every month. Now we've introduced AI workroom where I share new AI tips prompts that people can use like a lot of templates because that's where the market has gone. That is what my customers want and need as well.

Tina Tower [00:10:25]:
And so I want to be the one that keeps and give that to them. And so it's really looking at how can you provide more value to your existing customers to improve retention? Because that is a much easier and more lucrative and more fun way to do it than going and buying new customers all the time. So use this time to check in, like maybe offer some exclusive deals or create some special offers to encourage people to repeat purchase. So your warm audience is much more likely to buy from you than new customers. So don't forget about them. Another thing that you can do if you want to reconnect with your audience is survey them for feedback. So actually ask if you're wondering what are people struggling with right now, get on SurveyMonkey. Like SurveyMonkey is a free survey software.

Tina Tower [00:11:10]:
You can send ten questions for free, send the link out via your email database, ask people what they're struggling with right now and then use that feedback. Feed it into chat GPT, ask it to analyze the data and ask it to give you the recommendations so that you can offer a tailored solution to those problems. So by showing your audience that you're listening, you can create something that directly addresses their needs. So it means that when other competitors in the market are going down, you're able to be like two steps forward. The other thing that you can do is content strategy. Refresh. So how long since you've had new photo shoot, done some new videos in there? Like do they look like you? Have you shaken everything up or is everything been the same for a year or two? So you want to start increasing your visibility. If you want to boost revenue again, one of the easiest ways is to get out there, be visible, start talking to people more, produce fresh content like live q and a sessions, run some webinars.

Tina Tower [00:12:09]:
Start creating helpful blog posts that meet your audience where they're at. So sometimes a slow sales period is your cue to show up even more. And what I see often is when sales are slow, people will retreat, people will go, I won't spend time and money on marketing right now like they go into a little bit of a hole. But that is time that you need to accelerate your growth, your learning, your sales, your marketing. So create content that reconnects and reinspires not only your audience, but also you. Like, I know at times where my business has gone into a sales slump. It, it almost always coincides with also how I feel because I don't have the energy or the inspiration to reinvent, to get creative, to do all that. So I have to really take a good hard look at myself and go, what is sapping my energy? Like, how do I, how do I need to change this so that I can feel inspired? Because when you, as the course creator, show up inspired and excited, that energy will permeate everything.

Tina Tower [00:13:11]:
And the opposite is also true. All right, so next is tweak your offer. Now, I would always like to do the things I've spoken about so far first before tweaking the offer, because sometimes I, it is nothing to do with the offer and you don't want to go to the trouble or sabotage an offer that is gold if you haven't done the other things first, because often it's the other things first. That is why sales are slow. So if they fail, then you're going to tweak the offer. But I don't want you tweaking an offer if, because sometimes people are like, you know, it must be the offer. I'll do a different offer. But it's like you haven't shown up, you haven't got visible, you haven't really tried to market really well, you haven't done all of that.

Tina Tower [00:13:55]:
So you really want to do the other things first and then look at your offers. So if people aren't ready for a big investment, I would look at low ticket offers. So if your industry is hard hit by the economy at the moment, there's some industries that they haven't noticed. A bump, nothing. There's not a wobble at all in some industries in terms of the economy this year. But some industries are very hard hit. And so if people are looking for smaller investments, offer something smaller to get them into your ecosystem. So think a mini course or a workshop or an ebook or an event or templates.

Tina Tower [00:14:31]:
You know, a low ticket offer can be the perfect way to bring in new customers who aren't ready for that larger commitment yet. And one thing that I know from my business and working with so many course creators is once people buy from you, they're more likely to buy from you again. And so having that low cost like barrier of entry, there will go a long way in being able to then show them your other products that they're going to enjoy if they enjoyed that first one. The other thing you can do is look at bundling some products and services so you can create bundles with your existing offers. Which can add some value without discounting too heavily. So a great way to increase the value without slashing prices too much is to offer values. So two or three of your products or services packaged together for like a good deal that people want to get. Another idea is you can run a limited time offer or a flash sale.

Tina Tower [00:15:28]:
So we have Black Friday coming up. So that's a really great excuse to be able to do that. But you could also have a new year sale. You could have different things going on that can generate some excitement in there. So I know for us, we do two major launches a year, and so that leaves six months in between each time we launch, which, you know, things can get a bit boring in that time. And so we want to do like some little flash things, some limited off bears, like some fun stuff in there that is fun for me and also can get new customers in and create some urgency. So don't be afraid to run like a short, high impact sale that encourages your audience to act fast. The other thing is to refresh your course or your membership launch.

Tina Tower [00:16:14]:
So if you haven't launched for a while, now could be the time to prepare to do that. But give your stuff a revamp in there as well. So if it's been a year or two since you've revamped that, looking at your course content, making sure that that's still valid and relevant. Add in any bonuses if you need to update those. I know every time we launch, we revamp our bonuses because each time, bonuses are always designed to be the most irresistible thing to encourage people to jump in early and each time it's something different. You know, sometimes people are worried about time, sometimes it's money, sometimes it's like people's problems in the market kind of go in a trend. And so you want to look at the thing that people are struggling with the most and then add the bonuses that could be the most helpful. You might introduce new modules if your market has changed a little bit.

Tina Tower [00:17:05]:
So do anything you can to make it more appealing to the audience. So a small refresh or an added bonus can be the difference between someone saying, I'll wait till next time. And yes, I need this now. Okay. We also want to boost your visibility. So a couple of different ideas to boost your visibility. One is to collaborate with other people. So partnering with other entrepreneurs, influencers, industry leaders, expand your reach.

Tina Tower [00:17:35]:
So this could be things like guest speaking, cross promoting, joint webinars. Like, I bring people onto my podcast, I bring people in as guest experts inside her empire builder. We do a lot of collaborations with people and it is always helpful to the people that I bring in. So collaboration is the key to being able to expand to new audiences, to build that authority. And when you partner with other people, you tap into a whole new audience without doubling your workload and without having to buy that audience as well. Okay. Another thing that you can do to boost your visibility is increase your social proof. So those beautiful customers that you've been serving so well, how long since you've got testimonials from them? Can you get better testimonials? Can you use something like video? Ask and get some cool videos? Some case studies, some success stories, like show how you have helped, others show your audience what's possible with that social proof.

Tina Tower [00:18:36]:
Real stories from people who have seen results from what you're teaching. That way people are able to see, like people like me do business with people like you. And so I want to be part of that. You could also revisit paid ads. So if you're someone that runs ads in the past, like revisiting that strategy and testing new audiences, testing ad copy, testing visuals, they're changing all the time. Which is why I do not love Facebook ads. You know, meta just changes the game on you. You go into the portal and it's like, everything looks different now.

Tina Tower [00:19:08]:
Why? Why? I mean, for a platform that's supposed to be for small business, you're like, really? Really? But paid ads can reignite interest if done strategically. So trying a new ad set or targeting a different audience could be something really good to try. When sales are slow and you need to pivot that little bit, next is to focus on mindset and patience. Like trust the process. I know it's hard. I know it sucks. Slow sales are unfortunately part of the entrepreneurial journey. Remember that consistency and perseverance pay off in the long run.

Tina Tower [00:19:45]:
And building a business is a marathon. It is not a sprint. So if you keep showing up, keep refining trust, sales will come back. And on the flip side of that, know that when sales are pumping for you, that too shall pass. All of it goes in stages. And one of the things that I tell business owners all the time is, is make sure you are banking your profits when the profits are there, saving 20% to build your buffer. So that when the economy does go, or when you've got different seasons in your business and you're taking that dip, you have that buffer there already. So if you're in a slow sales period now, next time you go into Boomtown, when you're in Boomtown.

Tina Tower [00:20:29]:
Start banking that in there. So that, yes, you're enjoying it and you're using some now, but you're also investing for the future. So that when it goes up and down, like, if you see growth graphs of people's businesses, you know, looks like the roller coaster, right? It's going up, but it's going, like, up, down, up down, up down, up down. But the. The mean line is going up, but everything goes, like, slightly up, slightly down, slightly up, slightly down, slightly up, slightly down. And so you want to prepare for those times. So stay proactive, not reactive. I'll say that again.

Tina Tower [00:21:02]:
You want to, in these times, stay proactive, not reactive. Instead of panicking, use the slow periods to build your pipeline, to improve your systems, to strategize for future growth. I know it can be difficult when you're in it, but slow times are an opportunity to plan and to set yourself up for bigger success down the road. You will be very thankful that you have done it. So when you're in slow, it can be really easy to think in, like, catastrophic absolutions like, this is it for me now. It was good, and now it's all gone. This is the end. You know, I know I have been there where I think, like, this is it.

Tina Tower [00:21:38]:
It's all gonna disappear now. Like, I've peaked. I've peaked too soon, and now it's over. You know, I can go down that straight, that kind of path, and I have to bring myself back in. But when. When I know that I'm being proactive and not reacting to the current situation, then I know that it's gonna go up and down, and I know that I'm gonna be back into boomtown again soon. And I can use this time to be really strategic. I can use this time to create things that are going to pay off down the track as well.

Tina Tower [00:22:10]:
The other thing you can do is lean on your support system. So, one of my favorite things about her empire builder is the community that we have. It really helps people, like, regain focus and get that inspiration, because it can be hard. And I wish everyone was winning nonstop. Like, I wish it was nothing but winning. But I also know that that's not true. And so I have no shame in saying sometimes people win, and sometimes they lose. I wish we won 100% of the time.

Tina Tower [00:22:41]:
But in the times that you're not doing so well, being part of a supportive community like her empire builder can be your lifeline. It can be something to. Cause you've got all of these people around you. That are like, oh, honey, I've been there. Like, I've been there. Like, let me tell you the story of when I was there and how I got out of it. And now look at me. Like, look at what it's become now.

Tina Tower [00:23:02]:
So it can be really helpful to have that support around you. So, you know, if you're not part of her empire builder, like, go to a networking event. Go and find a group, a community, someone that can mentor you, someone that can be there to lean on when you need it. All right? So I really want you to know from this episode that slow sales are normal, but they don't have to derail your progress. So stay proactive, connect with your audience, make strategic tweaks, and you can definitely turn things around. Slow sales happen to everyone. It's how you respond to that that makes all the difference and makes all the difference to how quickly you swing the pendulum the other way. So take this time to reassess, to tweak, and you will come back absolutely stronger than ever.

Tina Tower [00:23:55]:
This episode was brought to you by my signature group coaching program, her Empire builder. The best online education for female course creators in the world. Check it out @tinatower.com. along with so many free resources to help you get building your empire and seeing those results that you deserve. If you loved this episode, please don't keep it a secret. Share it with a friend on social media and tag @tina_tower and give it a review. It really does help us to be able to bring you bigger and better content as we grow. Have the most beautiful day.

Tina Tower [00:24:32]:
I'm Tina Tower, and I'm cheering you on all the way.