If you’re not a little scared when you start your business, you’re doing something wrong.
It’s a fact that most business fail before they ever really get off the ground.
From the very beginning you’re walking into something that requires you to beat the odds, odds that are heavily stacked against you.
Unfortunately, many people never take the leap into their dream business because of this fear of failure.
Having the scale tipped against you shouldn’t stop you from taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
Instead, you just need to go into business preparing yourself against failure from day one.
To do this, start by asking yourself, “What can I do to make my business stand out?”
Business is becoming more competitive and people are living increasingly hurried lives.
Imagine all your potential customers running quickly past you and your competitors, and think about what you can do to make them stop in front of you as opposed to anyone else.
While it’s essential to the long-term success of your business that you offer a quality product or service, being good at what you do isn’t going to get people in the door initially.
Everyone claims to be the best. Your prospect probably has a history of being let down by someone who made that claim in the past.
So what’s the right approach?
Well, it’s limited only by your imagination and is something that should always be top of mind in your business.
To get you started, here are three proven ways that will get potential customers to notice you over the competition.
Share Your Stories
Most businesses are just going to be focusing on how to get the sale.
They may communicate a lot with their audience, but when they do, it’s just about bombarding them with how great their product or service is and encouraging people to buy, buy, buy.
Your audience is numb to this.
The old saying that people buy from those they know, like, and trust is more true today than it ever has been.
And the process goes in exactly that order — they get to know you, decide they like you, and come to trust you enough to buy from you.
Approach your potential customers as new friends.
You’ll need an email list so you can share with them regularly, then you’ll need to send them an email once a week, or more frequently, and simply share what’s going on in your life with them.
You decide how personal you want to get, and it will likely feel a little weird at first, telling stories about your life to strangers who are business connections and not friends.
But seeing a picture of your family vacation in their email is going to be something they see only from you, so it will catch their attention and they’ll start to actually look at the emails you send because people are interested in stories.
So yes, share your baby’s first step, your child's first day of school picture, and your frustration that the vacuum broke an hour before important company was to arrive.
Become someone your prospect can relate to as a person, and you’ll stand out to her.
But, and this is an important but, don’t forget to sell in these emails too.
No one’s going to seek you out and ask you if you’ve got anything they could buy.
Talk about your product or service too, sometimes more than others, and invite them to call you, go to your website, wherever you want to send them.
Always make an offer to do business with them after you’ve shared a story.
Share Your Profits
This may be a little scary when you’re new to your business, but it’ll be easier if you build it in from the beginning.
Pick a charity that’s important to you, and donate a portion of your profits there.
As part of your story, always share that you proudly support this charity.
This doesn’t have to be a big deal, just include it somewhere on your website, and reference it with one sentence in your emails.
No one does this, so it’s not hard to get people to remember you for it.
At times you can include in your emails updates on new things the charity is doing, or exactly what the charity supports.
You can also share how much you’ve been able to donate this year and set goal amounts you share with your audience.
You can even create a low cost webinar or e-book as a special event and donate 100% of your profits to the charity.
People will love you for this, a deserving charity will benefit, and you’ll feel good about what you’re doing.
There’s no way to go wrong here.
Show up in the Mailbox
And I don’t mean the email box.
This one can get a little more expensive, but you can use it in a limited way at first and increase it as you see the results it gives and your profits start to increase.
Start by sending your best prospects, or best customers you’re looking for repeat business from, something in the mail.
Address it by hand so that it doesn’t get lost in a pile of junk mail.
And if you really want to do it right, make it what is called “lumpy mail,” that is something that doesn’t just lay flat like a letter.
You’ll have to get creative here, but you can send anything from a pencil or some other small promotional product, to a usb drive with samples of your work, to a larger item if you’re really trying to get the attention of a potentially big client.
As an extreme example, one company that sells products designed for lumpy mail offers a plastic foot you can send someone with a humorous note about how you’re really trying to get your foot in their door.
If nothing else, you’ll be remembered, and that’s what it’s all about.
This one will require a little thought on your part, but don’t underestimate the value of it.
Spend some time with Google gathering ideas and searching for inexpensive lumpy mail products you can include.
Use a clever idea or story to tie the “lump” into the offer you're making in the letter you send, but there doesn’t have to be a strong connection here. The connection is made when they receive the lumpy mail.
After you send your “lump” follow up with an email, phone call, or another letter if they don’t take the action you’ve asked them to in your initial letter.
Whatever you do, don’t discount this as something your business isn’t ready for.
You may only start by choosing 10 of your best prospects to put your time and money into with this method.
That’s okay, everyone started small.
This method works, so if you want to grow big, start wherever you can with it.
Ask For Help
Of course the best way to guarantee the success of your new business is to start with a proven business model and work with an experienced mentor.
KidsPartyCharacters.com owner Cheryl Jacobs has decided to offer new entrepreneurs, and those looking for another income stream, both of these things through a membership to KidsPartyCharacters.com.
With membership you’ll get an exclusive territory in which to book parties, the right to use our 200+ costumes, access to our casting director and acting coach, and training and support from Cheryl and the team at KidsPartyCharacters.com.
Cheryl is a serial entrepreneur with a history of knowing how to make businesses stand out and grow from zero to six figures.
Cheryl loves to give back by cutting down the learning curve she went through and helping others get started in business.
If you’ve been wanting your own business and are scared to start, or just aren’t sure how to get started, set up a no pressure chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll answer all your questions and help you take the first steps in turning that dream into a reality.
Want to see more about how fun and rewarding a children’s entertainment business is? Connect with us on Facebook for daily updates on all the happenings at KidsPartyCharacters.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment