If that router fails – you’re disconnected completely.

A single point of failure (SPOF) is a computer term that refers to a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working.

Needless to say, that’s highly undesirable in any system that needs to be reliable and predictable.

Too many businesses have SPOFs

Let’s take the example of an insurance agent, Robby. (sorry insurance agents)

Before the whole COVID-19 pandemic, Robby was killing it.

He was good at networking in physical events, connecting with people, building relationships with them – and then, eventually offering his service of providing insurance coverage for them.

Since that was working well for him, he shifted his sales focus to only on networking events.

Then the lockdown came.

Robby is now stuck at home.

For some reason, he’s lost his magic. Trying to build relationship with people over Zoom calls and Facebook, isn’t the same anymore.

His friends were collecting leads running ads on Facebook. But Robby, he has no idea.

Robby’s ‘business model’ was flawed.

He had a SPOF (single point of failure) – which was to run his business only through physical networking events.

And now, a marketing example.

Do your business rely on single method to drive leads?

Maybe you run a business and have been driving most of your inquiries and sales from your Facebook page.

But bad things happen.

What if Facebook decides to shut down your page? Or change their algorithm?

In fact, this actually happened with many businesses a few years ago – who spent a lot of time/money to build their Facebook fanbase on their page. Then Facebook change their algorithm, and they find themselves having to run ads to even reach people who have already liked their page.

What I recommend.

The solution is to have a few ‘reliable’ sources where you can predictably generate leads for your business.

And search engine optimization (SEO), despite me teaching its value to businesses, isn’t counted as a reliable source of leads. Because you don’t have control, if Google decides to be funny and change their ranking algorithm.

Best to have up to 5 predictable sources to get leads, such as:

• Paid traffic sources (Facebook ads, Google ads, etc.)
• An email list with your targeted audience.
• Running paid events & promotions.
• Partnerships with another non-competing company.
• Getting referrals from your best customers.

Is your business currently running with the risk of a single point of failure?