First of all, Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone’s enjoying some time off to spend with friends and family.

Saturday’s show was a little different than usual because we wanted to discuss some tips and tricks to growing your business. Since many of our listeners are not only homeowners, but also small business owners, we felt now would be a good time to bring in Kevin McArdle from McArdle Business Advisors. The idea was to have anyone out there who’s a small business owner, have a fantastic next year!

Small businesses drive the economy, but as Kevin mentioned on the show, a large portion struggle and can’t always put their finger on why! Some may think it’s all about what industry is doing well, but Kevin talked about specific traits that can create focus and clarity in your business, no matter what industry,

First off –

How are you different from your competitors and how can you create a different experience for your customers?

This is what most companies focus on on their websites. They want to convey to their potential clients that they have something of value that sets them apart from others.

Demonstrating your value is the second objective.

Your customers are coming to you with a problem in their current situation and it’s your job to create a contrast in the negative present and the positive future – as Kevin explains it. This is not in the product or service you supply. It’s about how their world changes and becomes better because of that product or service, which creates the value.

As important as both of these are, you also want to convey you’re different and have value by using what Kevin calls ‘consumer centric’ messaging.

When looking at your messaging, your websites, etc. 85% of the content is about you and your business. However, if you focused more on using ‘you’ phrasing, all of the sudden your value is easier for the customer to see. They can envision how your company will be of benefit because you are focusing on them and their current problems. By doing this you will differentiate yourself from your competitors.

It’s easy to say you’re about your customers, but it can be difficult to build messaging around that. Kevin talked about this in further detail on the show, but if you’re interested in discussing/ learning more, visit www.helpingcompaniesgrow.com.

We also had Justin Jurkovich from W.J. Bradley in studio to discuss the process of using your tax statements when thinking about buying a home. It’s important for borrowers to understand the process because many different people work with your file. If your loan officer presents your file to these people in the right way, your loan will go through! One way to make this process as simple as possible for the buyers, as Justin discussed, is to look at your taxes and use a direct deposit right from the IRS. Once the lender sees that, they don’t have to get 3-4 months of bank statements to worry about source and seasoning.

W.J. Bradley works hard to get everything about the borrower out on the front end instead of just doing a quick overview. As we discussed on the show, this is one of the things that sets them apart and creates value! – Lots of good things to think about and take away from Saturday’s show!

Stay tuned for next week….