Ready, Set, No. This is the recipe that every successful small business owner has had to resolve and endure to make it to their current story of business fulfillment for whatever it's worth. Today, we're going to take some time and look at the steps of the successful business owner who has not quite seen the fruits of their labor come to fruition. For starters, this demographic generally has to hustle through employment, multi-level marketing, catalog sales (i.e. Amway and Mary Kay) and the third party sign up to take home programs at a small percentage. Depending on their personality type and personal goals they have set for their organization they may be doing well at one of the above and are seeking an opportunity to expand or advance in the up and coming virtually lead marketplace. However, if they have not been successful or are not seeing the revenue that will ensure the payment of their personal business obligations it could be time to take a minute and go back to the basics. To obtain the desired form of wealth that you put on your vision board at the onset of your business planning stage; I would encourage you to read on.
For starters, you need to take a look at your current prospecting style. For the most part people in small business survive off of word of mouth referrals, third-party sign up sites and social media. All of which are great ways to get the word out about your prospective products and services but serve as a super stopper and puts a cap on your ability to do business with companies and organizations that could possibly be connected to your client's because of a conflict of interest or disclosure concerns within your prospective industry. I have found that I run into a lot of great opportunities and when I send marketing material to someone in the network they are already utilizing my competitor because they can also provide my services at a fraction of the actual cost. Which is neither here nor there because you have probably chosen who is in your target market and their income bracket which will traditionally be included in the market analysis which can be found easily in a Google search. To enhance your prospecting, you should remember three things: be concise, considerate and confirm. You can look in the dictionary for a detailed description but the short order version to keep on hand with your prospecting script is as follows: when you're connecting with respective clients be clear about why you're initiating contact. For example, are you looking for a job or a long-term client-provider relationship. Focus on the products and services that you offer. Many of us offer at least three to five services or products to a prospective buyer. Only market what you're sure they would have an interest or need for. Be certain to consider their time as well. With the new stay-at-home orders in effect most clients and vendors have to share their time and space with family, friends, loved ones and co-workers. So, being concise and considerate is going to pay off when they're in a time and space crunch with limited time to make their decision about whatever it is that you're presenting to them.
Next, revise and update your marketing materials and your advertisements to fit the virtual market that best suits your industry needs. Most self-employed small businesses and work from home marketing specialists and procurement clerks have been using a myriad of social media platforms to get the word out about their product or service. So, take a look at what works best for you. LinkedIn seems to be a great resource for professionals, recent college grads, writers, public speakers and entertainment professionals. Instagram seems like a winning platform for jewelry wholesale and dropship champions. With a winning intro to resources for theater and entertainment pros as well. Facebook is doing a number of updates and still seems to be the number one resource for multi-level marketing groups and meeting new catalog order clientele. There are a couple of other platforms you might want to look into in the event that you aren't seeing the results that you're looking for or you're looking for more growth in the market. Reddit, Quora and Xing to name a few you can also review, https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/small-business-marketing-guide to see industry specific marketing and social media platforms that might be helpful right now. Remember all of your materials should be readable in three to five minutes, with color resolution to match billboard marketing standards and your emails should be sent through a third party site like constant contact if it's for more than 25 recipient's. Because these sites have built-in compliance managers that ensure that their communication meets the new GDPR standards. With that you should be off to a great start, to expand and grow your company or organization in a great way.
Reference:
Boyarsky, K. (n.d.). 42 ideas for Your 2021 small business marketing strategy. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/small-business-marketing-guide
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