When I work with a new client on Growth Accelerator, one of the first things we talk about is how booked out they are.

If they have a sufficient amount of clients and pipeline (people already paid up and waiting their turn to work with my client) then marketing isn't the first focus. But if they aren't booked out, then converting traffic is their first priority.

Most entrepreneurs who have been in business for more than a year will have some type of "warm traffic" where they are getting their clients from. Either it is a social media platform, a thriving blog, a network of other professionals, or even a referral network. If they aren't sure where their leads are coming from, adding the question "how did you hear about me?" is a simple addition to a discovery call or opt in form.

Once you know where your traffic is currently coming from, now it is time to improve the "conversion" of your traffic. The conversion is the process of changing a lead to a paying client. You have an existing flow of traffic, so instead of forging new pathways to scale, optimizing and capturing the steady flow of leads means that you can automatically start generating more clients - without starting from scratch.

If your leads are coming from social media, it means that you need to have more calls to action, more ways of drawing the lead from your social media platform into a meaningful conversation that can help them through the transformation process from lead to client. This can be as easy as offering a free Discovery Call and including routine calls to action in addition to the great content you are already delivering. I see all too often that business owners give amazing content but forget to ASK the people consuming their free content if they wanted to work with them.

It could be just that they have trouble asking for the sale, or feel that the leads that come for the free will be turned off by the request to become a client. It's definitely an attitude shift, but it's not something you should be afraid to do. The people who want to work with you will be motivated, and the people turned off by it weren't paying clients to begin with.

Same goes for a blog. The amazing content you create should always include a call to action, or an opt-in (an exchange of higher value content in exchange for an email address so you can continue the conversation that leads them through the conversion process), or a direct sales page. Again, it's ok to include calls to action and ASKS for clients in addition to free amazing content. It's ok to want to get paid for the services you provide.

If you have a network or referral network, then your process might be to focus on how to foster those relationships in order to get more high quality leads. This can be as simple as creating collateral that helps your network understand better what you do, having one to one conversations that help you understand their needs and them understand what a high quality lead looks like for you, or if all else fails, a referral bonus that you pay out if their lead closes.

Referral bonuses tend to cost more, but you will probably have your referrer more involved in the sales process and a partner in closing the sale.

Whatever your current traffic stream or what methods you use, it should be a natural progression of what you are already doing. It's not about reinventing the wheel or forging new traffic channels. Improving your conversion process is the simplest thing to start bringing in more clients and scaling.

And the added bonus is that since it's just optimizing vs a whole new venture, then you have more time to focus on serving and improving the client experience as you convert that traffic you already have!

If you need help figuring out how to convert your existing traffic, then let's talk! The Growth Accelerator is all about creating a more effortless, thriving business that you already have!