It’s so easy to get behind when it’s busy season. Some things can wait, but these five tactical mistakes will cost you big money if you don’t address them immediately.
They might sound basic, but every week I see these mistakes repeated over and over again. Here’s a checklist for you to grade yourself. Don’t just read through it; check your own systems. I’d be willing to bet you’ll find at least one thing that needs to be done better.
- Mailbox full.
Call yourself and make sure your clients are not getting a “mailbox full” message. It’s easy to slip up, especially right now. I just called one of you this morning and got it. I couldn’t leave a message, and neither can any new prospects or loyal clients until you get it fixed.
- Your website contact form.
Do you get any leads from your website? You sure won’t if your contact form responses go into spam or worse, aren’t received by you at all. Test your contact form and make sure you really are getting the leads that you’ve spent your hard-earned marketing dollars on.
Better yet, throw out that old-fashioned contact form and replace it with a “Schedule Me Now” button. You’ll need an app that interfaces with your calendar, and these are incredibly effective and much better than a contact form.
- Uninitialized voice mail message.
Don’t we go years without hearing our old voice mail message? Last month I switched cell phone providers and totally forgot that I had to do something about my voice mail. It even took a few people saying my phone rang and rang and rang before I realized it was my fault.
That example was one of not initializing my entire voice mail account, but more commonly I see clients who do not have a personalized message. The default automated message goes something like this: “The person at 555-1212 is not available.” Most prospects won’t leave messages with that lack of customization.
- AOL email.
Nothing screams “I don’t know anything about technology” like an AOL email address. Just get yourself a free gmail address and cancel your AOL subscription. Unless of course, you want technology laggards and luddites as your clients.
The best of us make these mistakes. Fix them quickly so you can have a most profitable season.