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What’s the one thing that separates 5-figure-a-month online businesses from the ones struggling to make ends meet?Master marketers tell you it’s many things … “the list” … traffic … SEO … affiliate marketing … joint ventures … but none of those is really the “magic bullet” that takes a one-person-show all the way to the top. I can say this because I personally coach 5-figure-a-month marketers, and the more I get to know them, the more I see the one critical skill that brings them to the top of their game (and keeps them there). And the name of that skill ? …

It’s balance. The right mix of all the important income-generating strategies, not just one of them. And it’s not a stagnant mix, either - but a mix of tactics that they keep refining month after month.

Do You Have A Plan That Will Get You There?
If you don’t have a system in place to develop a balanced arsenal of business-building tactics, it’s like sending a race car out with just one person in the pit crew to gas it up. Sure, the car will have the fuel to keep going … but it won’t last long without someone to replace the tires when they wear out, or to maintain the engine after it’s been running hard.

A pit crew is a team, with a balanced set of skills that come together to get that car across the finish line. And it’s no different with your business. You need a balanced set of skills to keep customers coming to you again and again - and in greater numbers every time. And if you don’t have that already, you need a plan to get you there.

So to start you off, here are seven critical money-making skills as identified by some of my top coaching clients. Bookmark this page (or subscribe to my feed here) to get updates as I write additional articles going into more detail on how to rapidly build these skills. Here goes:

Skill #1: Value Building.
To make money on a consistent basis, add real value at every opportunity. When a customer walks away from a purchase knowing that the benefit will far exceed their purchase price, they will gladly pay you again for something else. They will gladly refer others to you. You will never be seen as someone trying to “take” from them because they are conditioned to receiving from you.

You’ll hear over and over again how important it is to calculate the lifetime value of a customer - but it’s equally important to turn the tables and consider your lifetime value to the customer. As The One Minute Millionaire says, “Givers Get.” If you are focused on how you can truly add value to the customer, and you do so at every turn, you are building the foundation for a sustainable business.

Skill #2: Network Building.
Nobody builds a successful business in vacuum. Their business grows at a certain pace until they meet the right people, make the right connections, and then things take off. Resources become easier to find. Lists build faster. They have access to skills that would normally take them ages to develop. Networking can shave years off of your learning curve if you do it right.Networks develop best when you do two critical things: Ask, and Give.

Networks don’t form on their own … you have to ask the people you already come into contact with who they can connect you to. And the easiest way to grease the wheels of that process is to have a way to give something of value to the people you want to connect with.

Skill #3: Reputation Building.
People do repeat, sustainable business with others based on a perceived value, not just on a list of benefits. Think of all the people you know who remain loyal to paying premium prices simply because they are confident that it’s going to be “worth it.” When you can convince your readers / subscribers / customers / raving fans that whatever it is you’re doing, it will add value to their life or business, you build a reputation of value that will pay off via increased sales.

If you’re not consistently communicating the message of value in what you’re offering, you’re having to re-sell the customer every time they come into contact with you. You can quickly begin building a stronger reputation by blogging, interviewing, or showcasing your highest-profile customers.

Skill #4: List Building.
Some say “the money is in the list.” In truth, the money is in building a solid relationship with the list so that they are comfortable hearing from you and trust what you say. But you still need to build that list. If you haven’t set aside a specific time to work on increasing the size of your list, then you need to make that part of your weekly routine, now.

While you’re building that list, though, you need to keep in mind strategies to make your list more responsive. Think about the lists you are on, the ones you are responsive to. What makes you want to respond to them? How do the list owners treat you, and how does that make you want to treat them in return.

But that’s just a first step since you are (likely) not your target customer. So why don’t you ask them and find out why they still enjoy being on your list?

Skill #5: Process Building.
Once you learn a solid tip or system for building your business, you need to concentrate on building a process out of it so that you spend less time making it work while still maintaining the same level of quality. You want to make your business a well-oiled machine, not one that needs you constantly cranking to keep it charged up.

Automation is the simplest way to start doing this. You don’t want to manually deal with the work of maintaining a mailing list, split testing, order processing and fulfillment, and answering the same customer emails over and over and over again. There are great programs (many of them free) to help you with all the repetitive tasks that are part of running your online business.

But the real gem is being able to turn everything you do into a step-by-step process, so you don’t have to figure things out along the way. Whether it’s connecting with JV partners, setting up websites, doing niche research, or any other process you do repeatedly in your business, you want to do two important things:

• Figure out how to get the process down to a step-by-step science, and
• Figure out how to get through those steps faster (or with less personal time from you)

Any time you free up via process improvement is time that can be spent working on your other skills. Leverage it.

Skill #6: Traffic Building.
You don’t need a tidal wave of traffic to your site (though it helps). What you really need is a steady stream of targeted traffic that will not only come to your site, but come back again and again. Tidal waves of traffic will bring you some of those people, but you want to build traffic streams that are both sustainable and start doing the work for you.

Sustainable traffic comes when you have a high number of quality inbound links - from meaningful comments or guest posts on other blogs, positive reviews of your products or services, or simply articles you’ve posted yourself that drive targeted traffic to you. If you don’t have a plan for building sustainable traffic, you need to start one.

Traffic that ‘does the work for you’ is viral traffic. And by viral I mean that those visitors that come back again and again bring their friends. They tell people about you. They do promotion for you, because you’ve communicated your value to them so well, they can communicate it easily to others.

Build traffic streams that are sustainable and viral, and your site will become more popular month after month.

Skill #7: Schedule Building.
Setting business goals, business plans, and business hours is critical to making all of this work. Not only do you need to plan to do the things you’re already doing on a consistent basis, but you also need to schedule in time to build the six skills you’ve just read about.

Make time management (scheduling and productivity) your first priority, and you’ll have make time to take care of the other skills - the ones that can double your income over and over - and you’ll reap the benefits quickly and consistently. Subscribe to productivity blogs (but not too many!) or better yet, get your hands on a good time management program.

And there you have it. While this list will undoubtedly grow to include more than 7 skills, you’ll benefit by starting with these for the moment. Make a plan to get started on developing these skills in a balanced way right now, and make the next 12 months of your business the best 12 months of your business.

How have you started putting these skills into practice? Share your experiences with a comment below.