The Two Hidden Leaks Costing You Clients Every Week

0:00Hello, this is Mark Satterfield and welcome to the Velvet Rope Playbook, Tonight's Chapter. The two hidden leaks costing you clients every week. Most marketing problems come down to just two things, traffic and conversion. Imagine for a moment trying to fill a bucket with water. You start pouring. But the water level never rises. Why? Because the bucket has two holes. One hole is that not enough water is going in. The other is that too much is leaking out. And that's exactly how most businesses market themselves. So let's talk about that first hole, traffic. Traffic simply means how many qualified people discover you.

0:48Now, notice I didn't say people. I said qualified people. Years ago, everyone obsessed over getting more website visitors. Today, people obsess over followers. Neither number means much by itself. You could probably get a million teenagers to watch one of your videos, but if you're similar to most of my followers, it isn't going to help your business. The goal isn't more people. It's more of the right people. Someone tells me, Mark, my website only gets 200 visitors a month. Is that bad? Not necessarily. Who are those 200? If there are affluent prospects actively looking for your service, I'd rather have those 200 than 20 ,000 random visitors.

1:36So here's the first question I'd encourage you to ask yourself. Where does my traffic actually come from? Now, actually write this down and list all the potential options. Google, LinkedIn, Instagram, referrals, YouTube, past clients, speaking engagements, podcasts, email, strategic partners. I've probably left a few out. Now, here's the interesting part. Most businesses depend on one or two sources. It's usually referrals, maybe Google. And that's pretty risky. If a major referral source dries up, your pipeline dries up with it. Now, one of the easiest ways to improve your marketing isn't becoming brilliant on Instagram.

2:24It's adding one new traffic source as time allows. So maybe this quarter you commit to speaking. Later on in the year, you start YouTube. Later on, you become a monthly columnist for a trade publication in your industry. Over a relatively short period of time, you've built five independent ways people discover you. Now, let's look at the second hole, conversion. This is where things get interesting. Traffic gets people to your website. Conversion determines whether they ever call you. I want you to imagine something. A successful business owner hears your name. Someone they trust recommended you.

3:06So they visit your website. What do they usually say? Phrases such as, we've been serving clients since. We pride ourselves on excellent service, our experienced team. Then they click over to another competitor. Guess what they read? Almost the exact same thing. So here's something to try. Remove your logo from your homepage. Could your competitor replace your name with theirs without really changing very many words? If the answer is yes, your website probably isn't converting as well as it could. Affluent prospects aren't looking for another competent professional. They assume you're competent.

3:54They're trying to answer a different question. Why you? Why are you different? Why should I trust your judgment? Why do sophisticated clients choose you? Most websites, well, they never answer these questions. Here's a practical tip. Go through every page of your website. Every time you make a claim, ask yourself, What evidence have I provided? If you say your experience, how do I know? If you say you're different, show me. If you say clients trust you, what's the proof? Remember, stories convert better than adjectives. Specifics convert better than generalities. Evidence converts better than promises.

4:43Now, here's where these two holes come together. So imagine Business A. They spend another$5 ,000 on Google Ads. Traffic doubles. Wonderful. But their website still doesn't give people a compelling reason to choose them. They're simply sending more people who leave. Business B spends six months rewriting their website. Very compelling and unique reasons to choose them. Excellent lead magnet to capture the attention of initial visitors. Well-designed navigation directing people to various pages on the site. The problem? Only 150 people visit it each month. They've built a beautiful store, unfortunately on a road nobody drives down.

5:33Neither business fixed the real problem. The businesses that grow the fastest usually improve both at the same time. Every month, they're becoming a little more visible and a little more persuasive. That's important because these two numbers multiply. If you increase traffic by 20 % and increase conversion by 20%, the combined effect is far greater than improving only one. So small improvements compound. Let me give you some homework. I know, we all hate homework, but trust me, this is worthwhile doing. Take out a sheet of paper and draw a bucket. On the left-hand side, write traffic. On the right-hand side, write conversion.

6:20Then honestly score yourself from one to ten. How good are you at consistently getting qualified, again that word is important, qualified people to notice you? How good are you at turning those visitors into appointments? Look at where clients actually come from. Look at how many website visitors become inquiries. Because once you know which hole is bigger, you'll know exactly where to focus your effort. Most businesses don't necessarily need more marketing. They need fewer leaks. And when you fix both, that's when your business moves to the next level. So if you'd like some help identifying where your biggest leak is and building a system that consistently attracts affluent prospects and converts them into clients, visit GetWealthyClients.com, where there's information about all my books, my programs, and even how to work with me personally.

7:25That's GetWealthyClients.com. This is Mark Satterfield. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of the Velvet Rope Playbook. I'll talk to you soon. Bye for now.