A friend reached out to me. Their company was going down in flames and there was nothing they could figure out to do about it. They were smart. They worked hard. It’s just business seemed to turn for the worse and there was no end in sight.

So they decided to do a “Hail Mary” pass and try to drum up some business before closing their doors by posting on social media. They wanted people to know that business is hard (and it is) and they needed the support of the community (and businesses do) if they were to keep their doors open.

Nothing wrong with posting you are struggling in business but might I suggest that it won’t make any lasting impact.

You may, or may not, get a small spike in business with your Hail Mary post. But you can’t expect one post (or even 10) to dramatically change your business.

In order to save the business you need to change how you operate the business.

The top 5 Business Killers

The things I consider when I have a struggling business are:

Killer #1, poor lead generation.
A business needs new people walking in your door and trying your products.

Killer #2, poor lead to sales conversion.
You might have great advertising, and people might come through your door, but you need to get them to actually BUY something… and buy regularly.

Killer #3, poor product fulfillment.
Honestly, we all hate it when someone says one thing and does another. A product or service provider has to do a great job fulfilling their product or service. Poor performance will drive away good customers.

Killer #4, poor cash flow & billing cycles
If you have to wait to pay for products up front and only get paid for 60 days after fulfillment… you have to carry all the cash requirements of the business from your own bank account. Sometimes your margins just aren’t right. These things kill cashfflow and kill your business.

Killer #5, not marketing to existing customers
A person who buys from you once is far more likely to buy from you a second time, more so than in finding a new customer. So you should be reaching out to all those people who already know, like, and trust you in order to get them to purchase again.

These are, hands down, the top 5 business killers. Adressing these 5 issues, and making changes, can often be done in less than a day. Positive results can often be seen within a week.

For those familiar with the 5by5 Business System you will notice these 5 points are in order of customer experience. If you want help addressing issues in your business, reach out to an IBA Advisor.

For more insight into how to avoid the 5 deadly business killers, check out the 5by5 Business System for free at IBAUnited.com